NEW YORK -- The Alex Rodriguez show finished without its star performer Thursday, as lawyers for both sides wrapped up their cases and sent the New York Yankees third baseman's fate for next season and beyond into the hands of arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, a source told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand.

A decision is not expected until late December or early January, the source said.

On Thursday, Rodriguez's attorneys signaled their lack of faith in the proceedings by vowing to "release all of the evidence" on Friday and preparing to take the case into federal court regardless of how Horowitz rules.

"We're going to open up everything," said Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Rodriguez. "We're going to show everything we have to the press so they can show it to the American public."

Presumably, that means transcripts of witness testimony, sworn affidavits and whatever information was supplied to the Rodriguez team by a "whistle-blower" who allegedly works for Major League Baseball but is said to be sympathetic to Rodriguez's side and objects to the way baseball conducted its investigation.

"There's very important stuff that has not been heard," Jim McCarroll, a Rodriguez lawyer, said on a radio show Wednesday.

A source with knowledge of the case told ESPNNewYork.com that the decision to go public with evidence that is supposed to be kept private under the confidentiality agreement in baseball's collective bargaining agreement is a sign that Rodriguez's side "doesn't give a damn what Horowitz rules. They're taking this to the next level. They're like, 'Go ahead, make your ruling, and we're going to move on.'"

Although Rodriguez's lead attorney, Joseph Tacopina, continued to maintain that his client would still testify if baseball commissioner Bud Selig did likewise, a spokesman for Rodriguez said he was "either back home in Miami, or on his way."

Rodriguez stormed out of Wednesday's hearing while Horowitz was in the midst of issuing his ruling that Selig need not testify in the case, and later vowed on a New York radio show that he would not return.