MIAMI — The Alex Rodriguez saga grew more peculiar on a balmy baseball night in his hometown.

There is never a dull moment with Rodriguez, nor an uncomplicated one.
We know him as A-Rod or A-Fraud or A-Bod or A-Wad, depending on the circumstance.
For the first game of the New York Yankees three-day series against the Marlins, he was MIA-Rod.
Rodriguez did not take his customary spot at third base or as cleanup hitter in the Yankees’ 5-1 victory Friday night. He did not take the field at all. Instead, the home-grown superstar who was on the verge of playing a regular-season game in Miami for the first time in his major-league career took the night off. And he is supposed to sit on Saturday, too. He was removed from the lineup because of fatigue.
Rodriguez, who is mired in a June swoon with a .145 batting average and only two home runs this month, and manager Joe Girardi said the decision was mutual. But there were rumors that the two spoke sharply to each other behind closed clubhouse doors a few hours before game time.
In fact, there were all sorts of rumors and conspiracy theories floating around LandShark Stadium. It seemed inexplicable that Rodriguez would miss the homecoming opportunity he said he has been anticipating for “five to seven years,” especially when he planned to have about 100 friends and relatives in the stands, including his mother, daughter and coaches from the Boys’ Club and Westminster Christian High School.
’RUNNING ON EMPTY’
“When you’re running on empty, you’re not being yourself out there,” Rodriguez said before the game. “I’ll call my mom and tell her to save the gas money.”
Tired? For this series? Rodriguez is making $33 million this season — the same amount as the entire Marlins’ payroll. Couldn’t he have waited until Monday, when the Yankees are off, or paired Monday and Tuesday, when the Yankees play in Atlanta? Strange. But, then again, this is a guy who ruined his image by using steroids, escorting strippers, denigrating Derek Jeter, befriending Madonna, joining the Kaballah movement and consulting his “life coach” guru before each game. Another day in the life of A-Odd.
The whole thing smelled fishy, the same way it smelled when Girardi was fired by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in 2006, shortly before he was named Manager of the Year.
Which brings us back to another theory regarding the benching of Rodriguez. Was Girardi sticking it to Loria, getting some revenge by hurting Marlins ticket sales? Girardi tried to squelch the idea by saying he and Loria spoke amiably for 20 minutes Friday afternoon and have “a good relationship.”
“I think it’s because Girardi is still mad at the Marlins,” said Larry Glass of Boca Raton, one of many disappointed fans. “A-Rod is too tired to play against the Marlins but not too tired to play against the Nationals? Maybe he needs some extra time in Miami to visit his cousin, who is also his pharmaceutical rep.”
THE RUMORS SWIRL
Because he is A-Roid, there was talk of some sort of drug issue. Because he is Stray-Rod, there was talk of breaking curfew on South Beach.
Did Rodriguez stay in the dugout because he feared getting booed here? Doubtful. He gets booed everywhere. Red Sox fans are particularly merciless.
Is the surgically repaired hip that delayed the start of his season giving him problems? Rodriguez said no.
“Listen, I was on crutches two months ago,” he said. “There’s no panic. If it was September, I’d be playing... . The original plan was to take five to seven days off in the first 45 games.”
Hitting coach Kevin Long said Rodriguez has been reaching on his swings.
“Maybe it’s fatigue, maybe not trusting yourself,” Young said. “The lower half of his body was more explosive early on than now which could be fatigue.”
Rodriguez blames a lack of energy for his slump “but that’s not an excuse.” Maybe he desperately needs a break and Girardi demanded that he take it now.
Once again, we would like to believe A-Rod, who tries so hard to be believable. He strains to be genuine the same way he is straining for pitches. That’s evident in his scrunched-up facial expressions. But he has lost so much credibility.
You can never quite get to the truth with Rodriguez, whether it’s what he is saying or who he is. On Friday, fans came to see him, but he was as elusive as ever.