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A-Rod feeling good, could DH soon

BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com

April 25, 2008

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CHICAGO - Alex Rodriguez made it to Chicago yesterday, rejoining his teammates after spending two days in Miami following the birth of his daughter, Ella Alexander.

The celebratory cigars were distributed throughout the Yankees' clubhouse. Any celebration of Rodriguez's return to the lineup will have to wait a little bit, though, as his strained right quadriceps kept him out of action last night.

"The leg's good," Rodriguez said. "I got treatment the last several days at the University of Miami. I've not run on it yet, just hit. Felt pretty good ... Hopefully, I'll be ready to go pretty soon."

Rodriguez strained the muscle in the sixth inning of Sunday's game in Baltimore. He flew to New York after that game and received physical therapy Monday before flying to Miami to join his wife, Cynthia, as she was in labor. He said he arrived at the hospital 10 minutes after Ella, the couple's second child, was born.

Manager Joe Girardi was not quite ready to predict when Rodriguez will get back in the lineup. This weekend in Cleveland is the goal, though.

"That's what we're hoping for," Girardi said. "You can't predict when you work a guy out how he's going to respond."

Derek Jeter strained his left quadriceps earlier this season and did not play for the next six days.

Rodriguez said Girardi is thinking about having him return to action as a designated hitter, then shift to third base when he comes through OK at DH.

The tarp was on the field yesterday afternoon because of rain, so even if Girardi had been ready to test Rodriguez, he would have held off a day. Rodriguez said he is not ruling out the possibility of playing tonight in Cleveland, but he will have to push himself running before that can happen. "The biggest test is going to be running," he said.

Rodriguez rarely misses time because of injuries. He has not been on the disabled list since July 2000 and has played in at least 154 games each of the past seven years.

Rodriguez thinks he can rule out going on the DL. "I have a pretty good feeling I won't need the whole two weeks," he said.

The Yankees have had several players suffer minor injuries that were not serious enough to place them on the DL but kept them out of the lineup for several games. Jorge Posada was out of action completely for several days with a right shoulder strain and was not able to catch for two weeks. Jose Molina missed five games with a hamstring strain. Jeter and Rodriguez have had quad strains.

Joba Chamberlain also missed five games while he was with his hospitalized father in Nebraska. Chamberlain was placed on the bereavement list and was replaced on the active roster, so the Yankees were not short a player. In the case of the injuries, though, the Yankees had to play a man short.

Playing without such core players has certainly been a challenge for the Yankees, who also have had a grueling travel schedule this month. At the end of the four-game Cleveland series, they will have played 18 of their last 20 games away from New York.

Girardi has gotten big contributions from the fill-ins. Entering last night's game, rookie Alberto Gonzalez was hitting .333 (5-for-15) and played stellar defense while replacing Jeter at shortstop. Molina was hitting .333 (12-for-36) and third catcher Chad Moeller was hitting .350 (7-for-20) with three RBIs and five runs scored. Infielder Morgan Ensberg was hitting .308 (8-for-26).

Tonight

Yankees at Cleveland

7:05 p.m.

TV: Ch. 9

Radio: WCBS (880)