Nightengale: A-Rod a circus for everyone — except him

TAMPA -- The New York Yankees keep trying to convince everyone this will be a normal spring, but it took just 10 minutes for GM Brian Cashman to say he's sick and tired of answering the same questions about Alex Rodriguez.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi lasted one minute longer, before raising his voice in anger over an A-Rod question.

It took just one day of workouts to expose the Yankees' spring training morphing into baseball's version of the Kardashian sisters.

It was so bizarre that Rodriguez, who had not been with his teammates at George M. Steinbrenner Field in two years, actually turned out to be the coolest cat of all.

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"It was like going to Disney World,'' Rodriguez told the throng of reporters surrounding his locker.

For the rest of the Yankee management, it felt like they were on the witness stand answering questions from a federal prosecutor, hoping not to slip up.

"Is this still awkward for you?"

"Do you trust he will make the right decision and not go back on steroids?

"Are you happy to have him back?"

Finally, Cashman couldn't take it any longer, and pleaded for mercy.

"I don't really want to talk about the Alex stuff like this anymore,'' Cashman said in the clubhouse, just a few feet from Rodriguez's locker. "At some point, hopefully, you guys can let it go too….I don't feel like dealing with it too much longer.

"I just don't want to talk about the same stuff we covered already. I feel like we've been there, done that. I feel like we're going back to stuff that's already been asked, which I feel is a waste of time.''

And to squelch any potential suspense, Cashman revealed that A-Rod will definitely be on the Yankees on opening day.

"He's on the team,'' Cashman said. "He's got a three-year contract.''

Yep, and as everyone knows by now, worth $61 million, which has the Yankees wishing A-Rod's hip would blow out, enabling them to cash in on their insurance policy.

It wasn't much different in Girardi's press conference when he addressed reporters after their first full-squad workout.

He took 23 questions.

It wasn't until the 15th question until someone asked about any other player than Rodriguez, with the exception of one about Derek Jeter, who was not in Yankees camp for the first time in two decades.

By the time the 22nd question came along, Girardi lost his cool.

"Are you happy to see him in camp here?"

"I don't understand what kind of question that is, to be honest,'' Girardi said, his voice slowly rising. "He's a player of ours. Of course, I want him back.''

When the follow-up explained that not everyone in the Yankees' front office shares his opinion, Girardi didn't respond.

Welcome to the Alex Rodriguez Show, starring Alex Rodriguez, presented by Alex Rodriguez and sponsored by Alex Rodriguez.

There were 66 players at the Yankees' opening workout, and 65 of them could have stripped naked and done somersaults on the field, and no one would have noticed.

All eyes were on Rodriguez, whether it was the 600 or so fans in the stands, or the 100 reporters and cameramen.

Stretching. Playing catch. Waving to the fans. Taking grounders. Tossing a baseball to a kid. Batting practice. And autographs.

There wasn't a single fan asking for an autograph other than A-Rod's, let alone even cheer anyone else. He had fans racing to the right-field corner, with six security guards positioned on the field and in the crowd, trying to protect perhaps the most infamous Yankee in modern time.

Where else can you get an autograph from only the second Yankee to ever hit 600 homers, a two-time steroid cheat, and a man set to collect $61 million - plus potential bonuses - merely if he keeps playing three more years?

"I was a little nervous,'' Rodriguez conceded. "The process I've been though, that's on me. I have no one to blame but myself.''

Rodriguez actually looked more comfortable than anyone on the field, and relaxed in the clubhouse. He joked with reporters at his locker. Mocked himself for being able to 55-mph fastballs Thursday, but unable to hit retired Freddy Garcia over the winter.

Thanked home-run king Barry Bonds for his hitting advice. Checked to see if someone wanted to break in his new first baseman's mitt for him. And teased first baseman Mark Teixeira for predicating that he could hit 30 homers.

Well, A-Rod did hit three homers in 32 swings during batting practice.

Really, his teammates kept reiterating, he looked and acted like the same old A-Rod, only a little older, a tad heavier, and embracing his return.

"Alex is not a bad person,'' Teixeira said, "Alex has made bad decisions. And he's owned up to them. Hopefully now we can get past it.

"It would be different if he were still denying it, and putting on a different face. He told everyone he was sorry for what he did.''

Rodriguez, 39, who walked in and was dressed in just four minutes, shaking hands with teammate Brian McCann, says there was no need for him to apologize again during the Yankees' team meeting. He says he went around and introduced himself to a number of players, and hopes to get to everyone in two days.

Then, it's back to business, A-Rod style. The Yankees say they'll treat him just like any other player, but he's getting some perks. Friday, he's slotted in the final group on photo day - two hours later than the first group. He still has a coveted corner locker, just a few steps away from a door leading to the batting cages. And we'll find out in March if he ever has to take a long bus trip this spring, or chooses to play games only close to Tampa.

Really, all you need to know about Rodriguez's allure is that during the entire time the Yankees were on the field, not once, Cashman said, did it even cross his mind that Jeter wasn't around.

It was that kind of day.

And if the first day of camp is any indication, it could be a stress-free spring, with not a single fan booing or taunting Rodriguez.

"We've seen in this game guys are suspended and done things that weren't on the up and up,'' Girardi said. "And come back and people cheer them. That's just part of being a fan.

"I said to him, he needs to worry about pleasing himself. And pleasing his teammates. And taking care of his job. And not worry about the reaction he's going to get.''

Trying to please everyone else, well, that's always been Rodriguez's greatest flaw.

We'll soon see if anything has changed.​