Report: Yankees unhappy with Alex Rodriguez reporting early

It doesn’t matter what he does at this point, lightning rod extraordinaire Alex Rodriguez will always find himself on the receiving end of some sort of criticism.

The A-Rod news of the day Monday was that the 39-year-old arrived at the New York Yankees’ facility in Tampa Bay a few days early. It would seem like a good idea for a player that didn’t play at all last season and doesn’t have a guaranteed role within his team to get some work in before everyone else shows up, but it’s A-Rod so someone isn’t happy.

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Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes that Yankees officials did not expect to see Rodriguez at camp so soon and weren’t pleased they didn’t get a heads-up he was coming:

A-Rod’s early arrival was a bit of a surprise, as many had pegged him for a Wednesday appearance when position players are slated to report to Steinbrenner Field.

Roughly 20 reporters and a handful of cameras were on hand at the minor-league complex to greet A-Rod, a fraction of what had been expected for his arrival.

The Yankees had no issues with A-Rod arriving on Monday, but team officials were fuming that he hadn’t alerted them to his plans.

“He’s learned nothing,” said one baseball executive. “He’s the same old guy. He just did what he wanted to do.”

On the A-Rod offenses scale this one barely registers. This report just highlights the fact that Rodriguez and the Yankees aren’t on the same page, which isn’t exactly breaking news.

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As our Jeff Passan wrote in his column from Monday’s scene: “There will be more, so much more, because one thing Rodriguez can’t do is stay quiet for long. The next show is later in the week, when Rodriguez’s teammates opine on his return. For now, obligations satisfied, he gets back into his truck and takes a right on Himes Avenue and a left on Columbus Drive, past Ballers Barber Shop and the 7-Eleven, off into the afternoon, his first dance complete, too many more to come.”

The lightning rod extraordinaire will strike again soon.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr