Derek Jeter didn't directly comment on a story in The Post yesterday that highlighted his relationship with Alex Rodriguez from the soon-to-be out book "The Captain."
Jeter did make it clear he wants to distance himself from the book, written by sportswriter Ian O'Connor, which will be published next month.
"Make sure everyone knows it's not mine," Jeter said. "I had nothing to do with that book."
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Frenemies Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have spent the past decade taking swings at each other, according to a new unauthorized Jeter biography that shows the splintered relationship was nastier than ever reported and that Bombers brass thought it threatened to fracture the team -- and even cost the Yankees money.
"The Captain," by sportswriter Ian O'Connor, out next month, chronicles the bond between the Yankee stars -- a soap-opera saga filled with power and betrayal -- from their days as rookies playing for different teams but as close as brothers, to their icy co-existence in The Bronx.
And when fans and rival players criticized A-Rod, Jeter deferred instead of defending his teammate.
General Manager Brian Cashman noticed this and asked Jeter to "fake it" with A-Rod.
"You've got to lead them all, the ones you like and the ones you don't," he told him. He asked him to appeal to Yankee fans on A-Rod's behalf.
"I can't tell the fans what to do," Jeter countered.
A-Rod's obsession with Jeter continued, the book says. He constantly asked players and team officials about Jeter -- down to which charity he was currently supporting.
It all came to a head during a Yankee loss in August 2006 to Baltimore.
An easy pop-up hung in the air between A-Rod and Jeter. Both players closed in and Jeter bumped into A-Rod, knocking the ball out of his glove. Jeter shot A-Rod a withering look.
The gesture did not go unnoticed. Cashman pulled Jeter aside and ordered him to knock it off.
"Listen, this has to stop," Cashman said. "Everybody in the press box, every team official, everyone watching, they saw you look at the ball on the ground and look at him with disgust like you were saying, 'That's your mess, you clean it up.' "
A-Rod also felt betrayed by manager Joe Torre, who players said added fuel to the fiery feud.
"He would never call Jeter on anything, but he'd have no problem doing it to Alex," one player told the author.
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