Facing the threat of a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball for alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, Alex Rodriguez has decided to take his private battle with the New York Yankees public.

In a media blitz, Rodriguez's representatives, including a doctor who disputed the Yankees' interpretation of an MRI showing that Rodriguez had a quad strain, began supplying details to support Rodriguez's belief that the Yankees and MLB were conspiring to keep the $275 million third baseman off the field.

Dr. Michael Gross, an orthopedic surgeon with Hackensack University Medical Center, spoke with ESPN New York and other media outlets to assert that his reading of the MRI showed no damage to Rodriguez's quad that should keep him off the field.

Gross did say that he did not examine Rodriguez in person.

"In media reports, we have since learned that the doctor in question has acknowledged that he did not examine Mr. Rodriguez and that he was not retained to do a comprehensive medical examination of Mr. Rodriguez," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement released Wednesday.

In an interview with ESPN New York, Gross explained his involvement with Rodriguez, saying he's never actually met the Yankee in person.

"I spoke with Alex on the phone, and I asked him if he has any pain and he said, 'I don't,' " Gross said Wednesday. "I said, 'Do you have an injury?' And he said, 'I don't.' He said, 'Would you be willing to say I'm ready to play?' I said, 'No, I'm not willing to say that. I've never examined you. I've looked at your MRI.' But I asked him if you think you are ready to play and he said, 'Yes.' "

A source with ties to Rodriguez called several media outlets to reveal that Rodriguez had informed the Yankees he is ready to play and wants to be in the lineup Friday night when the team opens a three-game series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"He feels he has no choice," the source told ESPNNewYork.com. "He wants to play, and they won't let him play. Nobody knows Alex's body better than he does."

The Yankees were exploring the possibility that Rodriguez was in violation of baseball's collective bargaining agreement by seeking a second medical opinion without notifying the club first, a source said.