TAMPA, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez ducked follow-up questions about his drug use, refusing to address a report identifying the cousin the Yankees third baseman claims injected him with a banned substance.
“I’m not talking about it anymore,” Rodriguez said Thursday.
The slugger also wouldn’t discuss Major League Baseball’s attempt to interview him about his tainted past.
“I’d rather not get into that,” he said.
The three-time AL MVP met with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and worked out on the main field at New York’s spring training camp. Fans applauded and shouted encouragement, and critical shouts were at a minimum.
“The relief was just putting the uniform back on and running out there with my teammates,” Rodriguez said. “No matter what happens and what has occurred in my life, the baseball field is where I feel most comfortable.”
During his news conference Tuesday, he said a cousin injected him with “boli,” a drug obtained in the Dominican Republic that Rodriguez believes led to a positive steroids test in baseball’s 2003 survey. Rodriguez wouldn’t identify the cousin, reported by to be Yuri Sucart of Miami.
Glavine re-signs with Braves
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Left- hander Tom Glavine has returned to the Braves, reaching a preliminary agreement on a $1 million, one-year contract that includes $3.5 million in bonuses based on roster time. Glavine, who turns 43 next month, was 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 13 starts last season, cut short by an elbow injury.
Also, outfielder Jeff Francoeur agreed to a one-year contract worth $3,375,000.
Footnotes.
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled prosecutors cannot use three positive steroid tests and other key evidence in Barry Bonds’ trial next month. The decision is a setback for the government in its five-year pursuit of Bonds, who has pleaded not guilty to lying to a grand jury Dec. 4, 2003, when he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
• Second baseman Brian Roberts and the Orioles are near agreement on a four- year, $40 million extension through the 2013 season.
• Outfielder Carlos Lee, who missed the last seven weeks of the season with a broken finger, arrived at Astros’ training camp — albeit two days late — and pronounced himself ready to go.
The Associated Press
