TAMPA, Fla. -- Alex Rodriguez is finally the ultimate "24-plus-one" player. After all his narcissism, all his breaking the rules, all his lying and suing, he has made it so the Yankees' roster could include 24 players they want around and one they most definitely don't.
This is why the Yankees' current relationship with Rodriguez might be the strangest in sports history. In reality, neither side wants to stick together, but there are three years and $61 million keeping them bound for the time being. Beyond that, though, there is a high level of mistrust.
On Monday, A-Rod showed up under the hot Florida sun, three days early and a couple of phone calls short. After vowing open communication, some of us in the media found out he was showing up before the Yankees' hierarchy knew. This is not the way to start fresh.
Rodriguez has no trust in the Yankees, even after their clear-the-air meeting. He knows they are keeping him around for now only because of the three guaranteed years and $61 million on his contract.
They have already told him that if he reaches any of the $6 million home run bonuses contained in said contract, they will fight him for them. So maybe that is why Rodriguez chose not to make a simple call or send a text to Brian Cashman in advance to tell him he'd be in on Monday.
In the course of the case of Alex Rodriguez vs. the New York Yankees, this is a minor affair, but it is probably foreshadowing. When it ends, it will not be pretty.
A-Rod enters this final fight of his playing career ill-prepared because he doesn't have his greatest weapons.
Fifteen years ago, when then-Mets GM Steve Phillips tarred A-Rod with the "24-plus-one" label as a way to shield the team's ownership as it exited the A-Rod free-agency frenzy before it started, Rodriguez had his full arsenal at his disposal. Not only could A-Rod answer the criticism with his talent, he could turn to drugs to make him even more imposing.
Yeah, he was a diva, but he was an MVP diva.
On Monday, he lumbered around the Yankees' minor league complex for an hourlong workout and displayed what we already knew: There is probably no more magic in that bat. Craning to look over an outfield wall is no way to judge a player, but even from that Uecker seat point of view, it seems obvious Rodriguez won't be a standout player who can change the narrative of a team.
Instead, with two hip surgeries, a 40th birthday in July and without a standout regular season since 2010, Rodriguez is just around to see if he can keep from messing up so Hal Steinbrenner won't have to pay him anymore.
That is really the end game here -- who blinks first? Rodriguez has no reason to retire, nor does he have any incentive to allow his career to end because of injury, which conceivably could allow the Yankees to collect insurance money.
The Yankees are waiting for Rodriguez to let vanity overcome sanity. For the record, he said he is not on performance-enhancing drugs now, but the Yankees know that if he is caught using again, he will be barred for life. Then they would save whatever remains on his contract. So they wait.
In the meantime, Joe Girardi will talk about how A-Rod had to earn his place on the team. There will be daily reports on how Rodriguez appears at the plate. He may even try playing first base, a position A-Rod said he might give a stab at, but sounded less than enthusiastic.
A-Rod said he "cringes" at some of the stuff he did. He said he has only himself to blame.
He is focused on 2015, saying his suspension is over.
Now, though, he is stuck in baseball purgatory.