"That's the first I've heard of something like that," said Mark Teixeira, who played with Rodriguez on the 2003 Rangers.

Around the Yankees clubhouse, response was mostly muted concerning the latest A-Rod allegations.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Johnny Damon said. "Stories swirl all the time. That's something he is going to have to deal with. He fessed up. It's over with as far as we're concerned."

GM Brian Cashman had no comment on the situation, and manager Joe Girardi danced around the matter.

"To me, it seems like a lot of he-said, she-said kind of stuff," Girardi said. "We've been down this road. We're going to move on, and Alex has talked about how he's going to move on."

Roberts' book alleges that Rodriguez and Kevin Brown were seen together with HGH in 2004. Brown was previously named in the Mitchell Report for using HGH. It got to the point, according to the allegations, that teammates began teasing Rodriguez about the increased size of his pectoral region.

In an interview on SI.com yesterday, Roberts said the pitch-tipping in Texas occurred over 2-3 years.

"This was all part of a quid pro quo," Roberts said. "Alex would tip his middle infielder buddy on the other team and the player on the other team would in turn tip Alex."

Girardi was asked if his team can handle the distractions that will tail Rodriguez in his return to the Yankees, perhaps as soon as late next week.

"The one thing about maybe having to deal with a few more situations as a manager is you know you've got a great player," Girardi said. "Because (otherwise) people wouldn't care. I'll take the great player."

Texas Rangers News News » A-Rod not talking about new allegations
A-Rod not talking about new allegations
So much for Alex Rodriguez savoring his first game action since undergoing March hip surgery. On the same day Rodriguez was hitting a home run in an intra-squad game in Tampa, the All-Star third baseman once again had to confront allegations about his cheating past. The latest revelations include suspicions that Rodriguez used human growth hormone with the Yankees in 2004, an allegation that if true makes Rodriguez a liar after stating in February his only dalliance with performance enhancing drugs came while previously playing for the Rangers. Rodriguez ducked the issue in Tampa yesterday. "I'm not going there," Rodriguez told reporters. Among the other tidbits in Selena Roberts' book on Rodriguez, which is slated to be released later this month, is an allegation that A-Rod began using steroids while in high school, and as a member of the Rangers he tipped off opposing hitters about what pitches were coming -- allowing certain individuals to pad their stats -- in lopsided games. In return, Rodriguez received the same information from certain opponents during blowouts. More from the New York Post Vaccaro: Even his good days go bad Ex-exec doubts A-Rod tipped pitches Vecsey: It's Mixed Martial Hoops now More from The New York Post