NEW YORK — Joe Girardi's pregame news conference began Thursday with a barrage of questions about the latest allegations surrounding Alex Rodriguez and one question about swine flu.

Just your typical day around the Yankees.

For the record: A-Rod did not cause the swine flu outbreak; the question was about whether Girardi is concerned about the disease, given that the Yankees travel a lot. (He is, but the team is taking every precaution.)

Rodriguez was the subject of more speculation Thursday after the New York Daily News reported some details from the upcoming Selena Roberts book, "A-Rod."

And making it a totally A-Rod-centric early evening before the Yankees hosted the Angels was the baseball part of the story. Rodriguez played in his first extended spring training rehab game on Thursday as he recovers from hip surgery and appears on schedule to join the Yankees before the original estimate of May 15.

Rodriguez went 1-for-6 with a home run and two walks as the designated hitter and then spoke to reporters afterward in Tampa, Fla. He did not discuss the allegations from the book that were reported in the Daily News.

In the report, a high school teammate of A-Rod's told Roberts that Rodriguez was on steroids as a high school player and that his coach knew it — an allegation the coach, Rich Hofman, denied.

It also said an unnamed major-leaguer is quoted as saying A-Rod and former Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown were seen together with human growth hormone in 2004. The book, according to the report, also says that two anonymous Yankees said they believed A-Rod was using banned substances based on visual side effects, and that a clubhouse staffer said management had a suspicion that the third baseman may have been juicing.

According to the report, the book also accuses Rodriguez of tipping pitches to opponents during blowouts and that he expected those players to reciprocate when he needed a hit and it would not affect the outcome of games.

"I'm not going there," he said of the new steroid allegations. "I'm just so excited about being back on the field and playing baseball. My team has won two games (in a row) up there and hopefully I can come back and help them win some more."

Roberts' book is scheduled to be released Monday. She is one of the Sports Illustrated reporters who broke the story of A-Rod's failed drug test when he was a member of the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez later admitted to using a banned substance from 2001-03.

"I'm in a good place," Rodriguez said Thursday. "I think more importantly, physically I feel like I'm getting better every day. We've had a great week here. We've worked extremely hard, and I'm just very anxious to do what God put me on this Earth to do, to play baseball."

Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman would not comment on the specifics of the report.