TAMPA – Alex Rodriguez, following in the past footsteps of teammates Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, kick-started the New York Yankees training camp with a press conference regarding steroid use.Last season, Pettitte stepped up to the mics and said, “I never did it (injections) to get an edge on anyone. I did it to get off the DL”.

This year, in a highly-publicized media session, A-Rod stepped up to the plate against a standing room only crowd of 150-200 media members who were hoping to get an opportunity to pitch a few questions at one of MLB’s biggest stars.

A-Rod started the session reading a written statement before taking questions. “Like everyone else, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life”, said Rodriguez. “The only way I can learn to handle them is to learn from them and move forward”.

After referring to the substance he had injected as an “energy booster”, the 2003 MVP went on to say, “My cousin would inject it in me. We consulted no one it was pretty evident we didn’t know what we were doing. I stopped taking it in 2003 and haven’t taken it since”.

It seemed like a lot of work, setting up additional satellite trucks and sophisticated equipment at Steinbrenner Field just to watch a guy read a statement then avoid a few reporter’s brush-back deliveries and foul off a few of the curveball questions.

Many people will want to elaborate on some of the vague responses he gave throughout the session and how his statements are changing over time. During his interview with Peter Gammons last week, A-Rod said he did not remember being injected but in today’s statement he mentions taking the syringe.

Today, Rodriguez said when he used the substance from 2001-03, he did not believe it was anything illegal and he thought it was an energy booster.

Many of the media and fans believe the player’s recent admissions are only occurring because he was out-ed and A-Rod fielded that exact question, “If your name was never revealed in the SI report, would you have come out on your own?” one reporter asked.

“I haven’t thought about it”, said A-Rod. “But I’m her to share my story and put it out there and hopefully I can put this behind me and my teammates don’t have to carry the burden of answering all the questions for me”.

Chances are, after fouling off a bunch of the questions and leaving the media wanting more, A-Rod and his Yankees should expect to field a lot more questions on the topic.

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