A-Rod update

Alex Rodriguez won't be activated here at St. Pete on Thursday night, and he's not going to play in the Subway Series this weekend. After his latest MRI, A-Rod's strained right quad "is still not where it needs to be,'' Joe Girardi said.

Since A-Rod won't play this week, according to Girardi, figure that his earliest return date is next Tuesday, against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees want to have A-Rod's latest MRI compared to his original MRI (from Apr. 30) to better view his progress.

Meanwhile, he'll continue to conduct baseball activity at Tampa. Today, our pal Mark Didtler of the Associated Press baked in the hot sun to watch A-Rod field exactly 34 grounders, and conduct eight minutes of outfield wind sprints, along with 87 swings. OPD reports that A-Rod homered to all fields, but he did not dispense any Hall-of-Fame quotes.

Basically, the leg is coming along, he doesn't know when he'll play, and he might be arriving here before tonight's game is over.

PS: It's Kennedy vs. Rays on Thursday, and Rasner will open the Subway Series on Friday.