On Friday night, the Yankees won a back-and-forth, see-saw affair against the Anaheim Angels, scoring the game’s final five runs to take a 14-9 victory. The highlight of the game was a 3-for-4 night for A-Rod that included his 29th homer of the season just a day after sitting out with a strained hamstring. But apparently that’s not the way A-Rod saw it. Via Mark Feinsand’s blog for the Daily News:

Asked about the Yankees’ huge 14-9 win, A-Rod replied, “It just tells you how tough and competitive a team those guys are over there; that’s a tribute to Mike Scioscia. They never stop.”

Neither does Alex.

It is a common belief among most in the industry that A-Rod will opt out of his contract after the season, looking for another huge payday. There is also a widespread perception that the Angels are the frontrunner to land his services. A-Rod’s constant compliments toward Scioscia don’t do much to squash the theory.

According to Feinsand, A-Rod also peppered the Angels’ manager with praise immediately following the game in his on-field interview with the YES Network’s Kim Jones. Feinsand concludes:

By showering Scioscia with praise after this kind of game, all A-Rod is doing is fueling the speculation. Maybe he knows that, and maybe he wants that. But the next time someone asks him a question about opting out and he throws out his “I want to stay in New York” line, I’ll think back to last night and it will be hard to believe it.