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TAMPA, Fla. Brandon Wilson Jersey . -- New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is set to play Tuesday night in his first minor league game on a rehabilitation assignment. And this time, all sides agree hes ready to go. Rodriguez said he felt fine and was eager to get on the field for Class A Charleston. "Awesome," he said Monday at the Yankees spring training complex. "Im really excited." Rodriguez said he didnt have a timetable for rejoining the Yankees, a team in desperate need of hitters. He was on a conference call with team officials earlier in the day. "I have no idea," he said. Last week, Rodriguez posted on Twitter that his hip surgeon had cleared him to play in rehab games. That upset Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who said Rodriguez hadnt been OKed by team doctors. Cashman lashed out at Rodriguez with a profanity, then said the next day that he regretted his word choice. Rodriguez later spoke with owner Hal Steinbrenner, with the executive reiterating that injury news should be announced by the team, not players. Now, no problems. "Its all been very positive. Were all looking in the same direction: ... Get back to New York as soon as possible, and tomorrow is the first big step," Rodriguez said. "Weve talked to all our doctors. Everyone has approved it." The Yankees rank near the bottom of the American League in runs and home runs. Minus Rodriguez, the Yankees have especially struggled at third base. Rookie David Adams is hitting under .200 and Kevin Youkilis, signed in the off-season to hold the job until A-Rod returned, was batting only .218 before he went on the disabled list with back problems. Rodriguez and Youkilis are among several injured players on the Yankees, who began the day in fourth place in the AL East. Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are also sidelined, as are others. Manager Joe Girardi called the rehab assignment "a step in the right direction." "I expect him to be a productive player," Girardi said before the Yankees opened a series at Minnesota. "The last time he got his hip fixed, he came productive. Hopefully this will solve some of the things he was dealing with last year and I expect him to be productive. "I cant tell you exactly what hes going to do, but I think hes going to be a good player," he said. The Yankees said Rodriguez was scheduled to start for Single-A Charleston in the South Atlantic League. Rodriguez was supposed to play at least three innings against Rome during the game in South Carolina. "It will be the first game that I play in, in maybe over eight months. Its been a long time. Its going to be great to suit up again. It gets me one step closer to helping my team win in New York," he said. Rodriguez has been working out in Florida this year while recovering from surgery on his left hip on Jan. 16. The three-time AL MVP turns 38 later this month. Many rehabbing Yankees play for the minor league team in Tampa, but lately the weather has been rainy. The inclement forecast prompted the Yankees to have Rodriguez start with Charleston. "Two things -- were working with the scheduling, where all these teams are at. Theres rain all over the East Coast. So, were just going to try and run away, try to find some good sunshine." "It has to do more with the weather. In an ideal world, we would always play at home because we can do more work, but if the weather is bad, we may have to jump over at X, Y or Z, depending where the sunshine is," he said. Rodriguez walked out of the camp carrying an equipment bag while a clubhouse assistant brought a box of bats. They put them in Rodriguezs car, and he signed several autographs before driving off. Rodriguez has 647 career home runs. The Yankees have struggled this season while Rodriguez and several other stars have been on the disabled list. Rodriguez has 20 days on this assignment to get ready to play. Once he is ready, Girardi said he still envisions Rodriguez as an everyday third baseman with no plans to make him a primary designated hitter. "Weve had trouble scoring runs," Girardi said. "Thats no secret. So itd be nice to get some big bats back." NOTES: SS Derek Jeter (ankle) ran the bases for the first time during his recent recovery. ... OF Curtis Granderson (broken finger) put on a glove and caught easy flyballs. Drew Sample Jersey . The Raptors two leading scorers were never able to co-exist the way they hoped or the team had envisioned, but individually DeRozan was thriving, in the midst of a career season. Bobby Hart Jersey . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. http://www.cheapbengalsjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap...ant-jer sey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal.When you grew up in Ottawa, back in the days before the Sens, you really had just two choices when it came to NHL teams to cheer for: the Habs and the Leafs. If I could afford a therapist, I imagine the good doctor would tell be that my affection for the Leafs was part of an ongoing and pathological need to be alone and unhappy. Though, quite simply, its more likely that its because thats what was on local TV in Ottawa. I admit I could be wrong. I dont have a PhD. Thats right. I was a Leafs fan. I had a Leafs sweater that I slept in, that my dad bought me after some endless whining in the aisles of a Canadian Tire. An Allan Bester poster hung above my bed. I wore number 9 in Little League because of Russ Courtnall, and I may have cried when he was traded to the dreaded Habs for John Kordic. My parents werent sports fans, but they let me bring an old black and white TV into my room to watch Hockey Night in Canada, to fall asleep to the third period charms of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. I cant often remember my postal code, or where I lived in 2009, or the name of that girl, but I easily recall the names of Dale Degray, Peter Ing, Brad Smith, Ken Yaremchuk, and Dan Daoust, forgettable Leafs from a forgettable era.The arrival of the Ottawa Senators coincided with the arrival of my first love. Well, the first reciprocated love. Fittingly I used this sea change to shift my affections to the Sens, whose losing was familiar but who provided a new hope, a virginal slate upon which to build a new love. The Sens got better, but love did not. Like it tends to, it left, mostly my doing, as I had found affections for all sorts of other things one does as they enter their 20s.The Sens and I remained true to each other, even though I carried the relationship. I lived in Vancouver for a few years, but never felt any connection to the Canucks, nor for any West coast girl. Well, there was one girl, but she left me for my best friend. In that manner, she was not unlike the Sens. All kinds of promise, ending in sure disappointment; the better looking, more mature Leafs beating the Sens in the playoffs year after year.With both the Sens and the Leafs the pain was the same: expectations were crushed by reality. No matter what I did, season after season they hurt me. They left me alone in June, as other teams and their fans moved on to full playoff beards, Cup parades, and what I can only assume is happiness.Years passed. I moved back to Ottawa. I watched hockey less. I dated seldom. I grew a playoff beard in January. My mother worried. She had nightmares that I was floating through life without RRSPs, without a mortgage, without a wife, and without kids. My dad seemed to understand, even though he wasnt much for hockey. I moved to Costa Rica. My beard got longer. My tan was superb. Televised hockey was difficult to find. Beer was cheap. There was no fear of commitment, because everyone was transient, moving on, moving forward, or at least sideways.But the rains came and I returned to Canada, but this time to Montreal, a city that truly appreciates the lovelesss. Anthony Munoz Jersey . A city where the bars are open late, and life exists only in the present. And I found myself watching hockey again, with people who didnt know about my past, about the Leafs and the Sens, who didnt know of my failings in my mothers eyes. And I found myself cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the longtime enemy of both the Leafs and the Sens. Outwardly I was a fan, but inside I was in turmoil. I felt like I was cheating on myself, as if I was committing hockey adultery, even though I was single and every team I ever loved sucked.And then came 2010. And a magical run through to the Conference Finals. And Halak signs. And PK Subban. And overtime wins. And there was a girl. A girl I loved. And for a brief moment I thought about breeding, about ceremony, pageantry, making my mum happy, a parade down Ste. Catherine, about my dad in a tuxedo, about rings.But, as hockey and love have taught me, all good things end in horrible, crushing, debilitating disappointment sometime in June. The Habs lost to the Flyers, and someone else won the Cup, and Halak was traded, and the girl left because I was afraid she might not, and summer arrived with condolence beers and late nights on terrasses and waiting for next year. Always next year. My mum didnt say anything, but I could see her deleting imaginary grandchildren in her mind, and transferring familial hope to my sister and her young family.And life went on. Seasons changed, both on the calendar and the NHL schedule. I still rocked a playoff beard, out of both laziness and hope, so Id be prepared in case of victory. The Habs sunk back to middle-of-the-pack mediocrity. The Leafs and the Sens lived in that same ether. My mum would send me promotional materials for post-graduate programs and ask how my married friends were doing. My dads tuxedo remained in the back of his closet, dry-cleaned and at the ready. I still watched Habs games, but my interest has waned, my commitment faltered.Then, two weekends ago, I was having a few adult beverages and watching the Sens and Habs battling each other in an important late-season game. It was like watching the past fight for your affections. With just under four minutes left, it looked like the Sens had the game won. But the Habs scored once, twice, and a third time with only .3 seconds left to tie it, before winning it in overtime.So buoyed by the victory, and spirited by the spirits, I headed out to the local to meet a friend and celebrate the victory. And in the back of the bar, a bar cheered by the win and the hour, was the girl from 2010. And we talked for a bit. And she asked about my folks. And we smiled when youre supposed to smile. And we spoke longingly about spring coming. And after a silence, and a pause, she had to leave, and as she did she looked back and said, "Maybe Ill see you soon." Maybe. And maybe the Habs will make a run, and my mum will stop worrying about matrimony, and my dads tuxedo will be content in its stasis, and maybe I will see her soon. That wouldnt be so bad. Better than being a Leafs fan. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '
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