CHARLESTON, S.C. — New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, showered with admiration and laurels in his first trip to South Carolina, may not have gotten the results he hoped, but will depart town Thursday believing this could be the start of his rebirth.
Rodriguez, playing the second game of his rehab assignment for the Charleston RiverDogs, went hitless in two at-bats for the second consecutive game, but says he feels strong, and believes he'll be ready in three weeks, likely returning to the Yankees on July 22 against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Rodriguez, who grounded out three times and struck out once in four plate appearances, says it will take at least six games for him to even start thinking about results. He joked that it wasn't fair to face Rome Braves starter Mauricio Cabrera, whose first pitch to Rodriguez was clocked at 101 mph.
"The good news for me is I didn't hit 101 before hip surgery, that kid was throwing gas," Rodriguez said. "It's a process. I'm most interested to see how my body reacts in back-to-back games.
"I felt good. To me, that's the barometer I'm looking for, to come back-to-back games.
"I don't mind if I save all of my hits for New York."
Rodriguez is scheduled to work out Thursday in Charleston, then play for the Class A Tampa Yankees in Lakeland, Fla., during the weekend. He played three innings on Tuesday and Wednesday, but will soon increase the workload to five innings. He's scheduled to join the Class AA Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre teams in the next three weeks, and even return to Charleston again before making his 2013 debut with the Yankees.
If nothing else, Rodriguez certainly made an impression on the folks in Charleston. He signed hundreds of autographs at Joseph P. Riley Park, with Darius Rucker, the lead singer from Hootie & the Blowfish, even stopping in for a visit.
The RiverDogs certainly will hate to see him leave. He paid for the team meal the last two nights, including steaks from Outback on Wednesday. He spent nearly 30 minutes with them before Wednesday's game, providing advice to help realize their dreams of reaching the big leagues.
"It was a great experience to talk to someone of his stature in the game, one of the all-time greats to ever play baseball," RiverDogs first baseman Greg Bird said. "What he's gone through is a great experience for us. He taught us the consistency of a routine, how it starts the night before a game, all of the way to what he eats for breakfast, lunch, and gets ready for a game.
"It was just a great experience being able to play with one of the greatest baseball players ever. We all got to shake his hand and say, 'Thanks.' We'd love to have him come back."
Rodriguez told the kids that they were closer to the big leagues than they realized. He even pumped up their egos by saying it's easier to play at the big-league level, considering the conditions, than the lower minor leagues.
"This is very challenging, very difficult, for many reasons," Rodriguez said.
The same, of course, can be said for Rodriguez.
"Obviously, there's going to be a tremendous amount of naysayers out there," Rodriguez said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and contributing and helping my team win. That's what I've done since I was three years old."
Follow MLB reporter Bob Nightengale on Twitter @BNightengale.
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