A-Rod Arrives in Tampa

From the AP:

Alex Rodriguez has resumed drills on the baseball field five weeks after surgery on his right hip.

The New York Yankees third baseman hit 36 balls off a tee and took 42 swings during a soft-toss hitting session Monday. He also fielded 40 grounders and did light running at the team's minor league complex.

Here's some more from Tyler Kepner:

“It’s just good to be back in spikes and uniform, with a glove and a bat in my hand — it’s been a while,” Rodriguez said. “The next seven to 10 days are very important as we enter Phase Two of rehab. I’m doing all I can to come back as quick as possible."

When he does come back, Rodriguez said he would scale back his work before games, even taking batting practice off two or three times a week. With a more extensive surgery still to come, the goal is to save nearly all wear and tear for games.

“It’s important to put most of my focus on what happens at 7:05 and not what happens before,” he said. “It’s almost like, ‘Show up and play.’ ”

Rodriguez said his month in Colorado helped him narrow his concentration to baseball. He seems to realize that the many distractions in his life—as exemplified by the cadre of publicists and image consultants he employs— can be counterproductive.

“Not only was I able to fix myself, I was able to rethink things and reorganize my thoughts, kind of put your arms around where you want to be and where you want to go,” Rodriguez said. “It’s all about our team, and everything else is on the back burner.”

Rodriguez is said to be distancing himself from Guy Oseary, the Hollywood agent he hired before the 2008 season. The photo shoot in Details was a P.R. disaster for Rodriguez, and while he did not offer concrete details about how he would put other things in the background, he emphasized that was the goal.

“Tunnel vision,” he said. “I want to get back to what I did in ’07, cut some of the fat out and focus on playing baseball and focus on what I do best.”

Good to see Alex back on the field. It's interesting to hear he's distancing himself from Oseary. I never thought a baseball player needed so many handlers/P.R. people anyway, even if that player is A-Rod.