Girardi: A-Rod’s been playing with an injured shoulder

Via Wally Matthews, Alex Rodriguez has been playing a left shoulder injury for the past few weeks. “It’s just a small issue that only bothers him when he dives for a ball,” said Joe Girardi, though another source called it a strain and said he’s “managing it as best as he can.” Remember, Alex did serve as the designated hitter on Wednesday before sitting completely on Thursday, which if nothing else seemed a bit odd. Also, it’s his left shoulder, so throws aren’t a problem. Anyway, A-Rod is hitting .325/.397/.556 over his last 30 games, so it’s not like the injury is dragging him down at the plate.