A-Rod Homers in 1st Rehab Game

Alex Rodriguez began his minor-league rehab assignment with Tampa last night in their 6-4 loss to Dunedin. A-Rod went 2-for-3 with a double a HR and 2 RBI for Tampa. Here's are some quotes from A-Rod via YES:

"For me, the home run meant a little bit more than a home run just because the last several weeks I was playing in New York I wasn't able to drive the ball," Rodriguez said. "I probably didn't hit a home run for like, over 70 at-bats."

"My team expects me to hit the ball and drive the ball out of the park," he added. "That's what I expect out of myself, too. So hopefully I can come back and hit the ground running, and help my team win the division and go from there."

Although Rodriguez's rehab will likely continue at third base on Saturday, he is confident that his knee is in Major League shape.

"Just making sure that we take it one step at a time," Rodriguez said. "We've got about five or six days here to work with, and my idea is to always to ramp it up and hopefully keep increasing the intensity."