A-Rod may 'never speak to Reggie Jackson again'

It looks like Reggie Jackson has struck out with Alex Rodriguez over the comments he made about the Yankee third baseman in a Sports Illustrated article last week.

A-Rod is still angry over Jackson's remark that Rodriguez's admitted use of steroids should keep him from joining the Yankee legend in the Hall of Fame.

A source told the New York Daily News that Rodriguez is livid and if he had his way, A-Rod "would never speak to Reggie Jackson again."

"Al's a very good friend," Jackson told the magazine.  "But I think there are real questions about his numbers.  As much as I like him, what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records."

The Yankee slugger passed Jackson on Major League Baseball's all-time home run list in 2009— ironically the same year he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.

Mr. October told Sports Illustrated that if any players linked to PEDs are voted into Cooperstown, "no Hall of Famer will attend."


"Jackson says he a good friend of A-Rod, but Alex is very, very angry," said the source.


Rodriguez was visibly disappointed after Jackson's remarks were published, the source said.  So let down, while surrounded by reporters before the July 6 game against the Red Sox in Boston, A-Rod was overheard saying, "With friends like that, who needs enemies?"


Jackson has reached out with an apology to Rodriguez, but the slumping clean-up hitter has kept the gist of that conversation under wraps.  Rodriguez told reporters last week, "We'll keep that very private."


Rodriguez and Jackson have been batting cage buddies since A-Rod joined the Yankees in 2004 but old Reggie better not stand too close to one of his swings for a while.


"In trying to convey my feelings about a few issues that I am passionate about, I made the mistake of naming some specific players," said Jackson— who is a special advisor to the team— in a statement after the article was published.  "This was inappropriate and unfair to those players, some of which are friends of mine."


A-Rod is trying to cut ties with Jackson, according to the insider.  "That doesn't mean he's not going to speak with him again, but he says he won't," he added.


Whether or not the comments are water under the bridge is anyone's guess.  Last week, after reporters asked A-Rod if the remarks and apology had any bearing on the pair's relationship, Rodriguez said,"Yeah ... Again, what we said is we're going to keep it private ... Anything that comes in the way of us winning games is white noise."


As for his relationship towards Jackson, A-Rod might be as quiet as his bat.