A-Rod arrives, via high road

No, not the part about being a "clown," which is what Nixon called the Yankees' third baseman last week. A-Rod didn't bite at that insult, or none of the others cast his way by the Sox, opting to take the high road in his first appearance of the spring in Yankees' camp yesterday morning.

But Nixon had a point, Rodriguez said, when the Sox outfielder didn't include A-Rod on his list of players he thinks of first when he thinks of the Yankees.

"As far as earning your stripes, I really couldn't agree [more] with Trot Nixon and the guys that have said that, because, hopefully in due time, when I pay the price like Paul O'Neill and Roger Clemens did, then the fans of New York would realize that, hopefully, I'm a Yankee," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez claimed ignorance of much of what has been emanating from Sox camp. For those who know him, and his awareness of every word written or said about him, that would seem to be a stretch, precisely the kind of stance that leads some to label him disingenuous, or worse (Jose Canseco called him a "phony" in his book, which, as "Juiced" damage goes, is more tolerable than Jose saying he stuck a needleful of steroids in your buttocks).

But he refused to be drawn into returning fire, though he delivered a jab of his own, intentional or otherwise, when he referred to Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo by the wrong name.

"Brandon is a great pitcher," Rodriguez said. "I played against him in high school."

Relayed A-Rod's remark back in Fort Myers, Arroyo had his doubts about the innocence of the mistaken identity.

"You would think he'd know [my name]," Arroyo said. "It might be a mistake, but probably not. He's been listening to Tim McCarver."

Fox TV analyst McCarver also misspoke during the postseason last October and called Arroyo "Brandon."

Rodriguez wouldn't speculate on the Sox' motives in running him down, which is beginning to take on WWF dimensions with the constant baiting. "I can't get into somebody else's brain," said Rodriguez, admitting that he found it all a bit "perplexing."

"The only thing I can say is they are the world champions. I have the utmost respect for all those guys, 1 to 25. They're a great team. They have a very good manager in Terry Francona. We have a great challenge ahead of us.

"The bottom line is they won. They've earned the right to say whatever they need to say."