A-Rod ready for 'hard road back'

MIAMI (AP)

Alex Rodriguez went to see doctors with hopes of finding something wrong. When they actually located a problem, only then did he start feeling a bit better.

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The New York Yankees' third baseman said Saturday that plans set for him to have surgery on his left hip in mid-January, and that he's eager to embrace the challenge of coming back from both the operation and an unbelievably abysmal finish to last season.

It's expected that Rodriguez, who will be making his sixth trip to the disabled list in six seasons, could be sidelined until the All-Star break.

''I'm not concerned,'' Rodriguez said. ''I'm actually, in many ways, relieved that there's something tangible that we can go fix.''

Rodriguez had surgery on his right hip in 2009, missed about the first month of the season and still finished with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs - plus helped the Yankees win the World Series. This surgery is more complex, since it'll repair not only a torn labrum but also a bone impingement and a cyst. The surgery is next month because it was determined he needed some time to strengthen the hip first.

''I am fully committed to a very hard road back,'' Rodriguez said. ''We've done it before in '09 and it was a great result, both on a personal level and on a team level, more importantly. I take it as a great challenge and I'm excited for the challenge.''

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Rodriguez is a 14-time All-Star and baseball's priciest player, with his current deal being worth $275 million.

He batted .120 (3 for 25) with no RBI in last season's playoffs, including 0 for 18 with 12 strikeouts against right-handed pitchers. He was benched and replaced by a pinch hitter in key spots, too.

Rodriguez originally thought he was having issues with the right hip again - he wasn't - and it wasn't until November that the issues within the left hip were detected. Now knowing that something was wrong, Rodriguez said a lot of things from last season - particularly how it ended - make more sense.

''It was definitely an unfortunate situation,'' Rodriguez said. ''And if we knew, I think we could have avoided the bloody bath of the last two weeks. Obviously, that wasn't fun. It was quite miserable, to be honest with you.''

Rodriguez finished this past regular season batting .272 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI. He now has 647 career homers, fifth-most in baseball history and 13 shy of the No. 4 player on that list, Willie Mays.

Rodriguez was in Miami, the city he calls home, on Saturday to host a pair of events for children - his basketball tournament which he started a decade ago, and a toy giveaway at a Boys & Girls Club where he was a member until getting drafted by the Seattle Mariners.

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He addressed about 150 players at a breakfast honoring the eight basketball teams in the morning, telling them stories about his upbringing and earliest days as a student and athlete that many in the room did not likely know.

''You're probably sitting there saying, `Now, how can you relate with us? You play for the Yankees. You make all this money. You date so-and-so,''' Rodriguez told the basketball players. ''What you guys don't know is we're all alike. I was sitting in that chair just 15, 18 years ago. My mom had two jobs. I didn't know if I would ever have a steak dinner. That didn't exist in my house.''

He also met privately with some of the athletes afterward, advising them about upcoming decisions, such as what to look for in a college. Rodriguez also posed for several photos with the teams and their coaches.

''I can't say enough good things about him,'' said Brother Kevin Handibode, the president of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where Rodriguez attended as a freshman. ''I know about all the good work he does, and you don't hear about it. You just don't hear about the good that Alex has done in a very, very quiet way.''

Later, at his afternoon event, Rodriguez donned a Christmas hat and handed out toys for about 30 minutes, everything from basketballs to bicycles to Barbie dolls.

He isn't exactly sure what the next few weeks will entail; there's no firm date for the surgery and the plans for his rehabilitation are still largely being worked out.

''I think I'm definitely going to play,'' Rodriguez said. ''We've been down this road before. We have a good plan. We have a good team in place.''

The Yankees have pursued former Boston third baseman Kevin Youkilis in recent days, and Rodriguez gave the longtime New York foe a glowing recommendation when asked about him on Saturday.

''Youk has always been a tough out,'' Rodriguez said. ''He's a tough player, a winning player. Whatever the franchise wants to do, I think that'll be a good move for us.''

Several times on Saturday, he drew the parallel back to 2009, when he started the season rehabbing from hip surgery and the Yankees wound up winning a championship. He can envision a similar script in 2013.

''Don't count us out,'' Rodriguez said. ''We are the New York Yankees.''