If I could find a way to thoroughly cover the Yanks without ever mentioning A-Roid, I would.  It is my sincerest wish.  However, at this point, sadly, it’s like trying to discuss the earth without ever referring to the ocean.

The latest is, of course, that A-Roid has a hip injury which may or may not require surgery eventually.  Initially, the only problem that anyone was aware of was a freakishly large cyst, which until now he failed to mention for whatever reason.  The Creature commented, “The cyst he has got to the size that was extraordinarily large and it finally brought him to the point he needed to get medical attention.”

Seriously?   I don’t know much about cysts.  However, I’m pretty sure that for a cyst to grow to be “extraordinarily large,” it would have to have taken at least a few weeks-possibly months.  If you’re Alex Rodriguez, and you have so much as a hangnail, don’t you just like go to the doctor?  Immediately?  Because you happen to be one of the people in the country who can afford good health coverage and because your career depends on your physical well-being?

But, whatever.  The cyst? That’s old news.  The new news is what lies beneath that cysty veneer-namely, a torn labrum.  And while A-Roid and the Yanks were not aware of the specific diagnosis, it turns out that they have been aware of an issue in the hip region since as late as last season when Alex  went in for an MRI for a strained quadricep.

The Yanks claim that they didn’t want to rock the boat last season because Frost Tip was asymptomatic and, well, it was the middle of the season.  Fine.  But, uh, what about all frickin’ winter when no one was playing baseball?  Wouldn’t that have been a good time to look into the situation?

Faced with the prospect that A-Roid might have to have surgery, forcing him to sit out several weeks of the season, Brian Cashman says that he’s a little bit taken aback.  Having initially assumed that they’d be dealing with a cyst, this is just a lot for him to handle so early in the year.  He said, “To be honest, it’s like drinking from a fire hose.”

To be honest, I can relate because that’s sort of how I felt when I found out that no one had considered A-Roid’s irregular MRI from 2008 an issue to address over the offseason.

Despite initial reports, it looks like A-Roid won’t be having surgery for now.  Instead, he will see if he can get away with rehabbing the injury and addressing it more seriously next winter if necessary.  Though, it’s official that he will be sitting out the Classic.  But fear not, Dominicans.  In an effort to find someone equally as winsome to take his place, Felipe Alou has moved Miguel Tejada over to third base.

He’s the other pride of the Dominican Republic.