Did A-Rod hit on two women in ALCS?
Excuse Alex Rodriguez for his postseason struggles, baseball fans. He just may have other things on his mind.
The struggling New York Yankees third baseman, who has done close to nothing on the field during the 2012 playoffs, is apparently trying his damnedest to get around the bases off the field. The New York Post reports that Rodriguez actually started flirting with two women sitting near the field on Saturday night in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series — after he was pulled from the game for a pinch hitter.
According to the Post, Rodriguez started flirting with the two women from the Yankees dugout after leaving the game in the eighth inning. So at least he had the decency to wait until he wasn't in the game, if you're looking for a silver lining or something.
In what would be the most cliche move ever, Rodriguez reportedly sent the two women a baseball asking for their phone numbers.
"The girls, who had already caught two balls, seemed bemused at first and tried to hand the ball to another fan, but other fans noticed the note on it and yelled at them to read it," a source reportedly told the paper. "The note asked them to write their phone numbers on the ball and throw it back.
"One of the girls, with darker blond hair, wrote . . . on the ball and threw it back at A-Rod, who gave her a big smile."
While Rodriguez may not have a knack for the big moment when he's actually playing, he was better able to assess this situation off of the field. According to the report, the flirting subsided after Derek Jeter broke his ankle in the 12th inning of the game, an eventual loss to the Detroit Tigers. It's all about priorities.
When asked about the report before Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said: "I am not going to comment on that. I don't really have a comment."
Rodriguez is not in the lineup Tuesday, but Girardi insists the benching is strictly based on Rodriguez's on-the-field performance.
"No, there are no other issues," Girardi said.
Rodriguez's people contacted for questions reportedly directed the New York Post to the Yankees, who hadn't gotten back to the paper.
There was no word on whether or not Rodriguez, who is hitting .130 (3 for 23) with 12 strikeouts in the playoffs, ended up striking out yet again later that night.