A-Rod jokes about Yankees’ success without him

Alex Rodriguez is certain that he and his left calf will come back from the disabled list “strong and ready to go.” But he joked that the Yankees might not be in a terrible rush to get him back. “My only concern, the way the team is going right now, they’re [12-0] without me,” A-Rod said before last night’s game, his first public comments since being put on the DL on Saturday. “I’m afraid [Brian] Cashman and Joe [ Girardi ] are going to bring me into the office and upgrade it to a 60-day DL.” Rodriguez injured his left calf Aug. 16 and tried to return Friday. He lasted one at-bat, aggravating the injury on the swing and coming out of the batter’s box. “Friday [showed] me that the DL was definitely the best option,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have been convinced [otherwise].” A-Rod said for the next five days, maybe more, he won’t do anything baseball related – just continue to receive treatment on the calf. “I think hopefully, when the dust settles in September and late October, we can look back at this and look at it as a blessing in disguise because I know I’m going to come back strong,” he said. – Newsday