Alex Rodriguez: 'Enough doctors, let's play'

Alex Rodriguez, in a new statement Thursday, says he’s ready to play and wants to be in the Yankees' lineup Friday night.

“Enough doctors, let’s play,” Rodriguez said in a statement sent to a number of media outlets.

The Yankees' third baseman has yet to play at the MLB level this season and has been sidelined since Sunday with what the Yankees’ doctor called a Grade 1 strain of his left quadriceps. He had been playing in rehab games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and was on track to join the Yankees this past Monday in Texas prior to the injury.

Rodriguez also had Dr. Michael Gross, an orthopedist at the Hackensack Medical Center, look at the MRI this week and gave permission for Gross to speak to several news outlets, including Newsday. Gross said he didn't "see anything too significant."

That led to a back-and-forth about whether Rodriguez obtained proper permission for a second opinion, and how much validity that opinion had, given that Gross never examined Rodriguez in person.

“I think the Yankees and I crossed signals,” the statement from Rodriguez reads. “I don’t want any more mixups. I’m excited and ready to play and help this team win a championship. I feel great and I’m ready and want to be in the lineup Friday night. Enough doctors, let’s play.”