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Sitting out 2014 could do me a FAVOUR: Shamed New York Yankees steroid cheat Alex Rodriguez brushes off year-long ban

Third baseman says the break will allow him to rest mentally and physically
'I've played 20 years without a timeout. 2014 will be new chapter in may life'
Slugger spoke for first time since ban, which will cost him $25m in salary
Yankees captain Derek Jeter 'saddened' by ban which he brands 'messy'

PUBLISHED: 06:01 EST, 16 January 2014 | UPDATED: 07:58 EST, 16 January 2014

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Yankees drugs cheat Alex Rodriguez has broken his silence over his season-long ban to declare that the break could actually benefit his career.

The slugger, who is suing Major League Baseball and the player's union over the suspension, refused to address his legal battle but said he was looking forward to returning to the game fresh next year.

He said: 'I think that in the year 2014, the league could have done me a favour because I've played 20 years without a timeout.

'I think 2014 will be a year to rest, mentally, physically prepare myself for the future and begin a new chapter of my life.'

Breaking his silence: Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez told a press conference in Mexico that his season-long drugs ban could benefit his career by giving him a chance to rest mentally and physically

YANKEES CAPTAIN 'SAD' ABOUT BAN

Yankees captain Derek Jeter says he has been left 'saddened' by Alex Rodriguez's ban.

The shortstop, who has played with Rodriguez for ten years, said the affair has been 'kind of messy'.

He said there had been 'communication' with his disgraced teammate, adding: 'He's human. I'm sure it's a rough situation.'

'Other than that, it is what it is,' Jeter told the New York Daily News.

He was speaking to media at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino during the launch party for his celebrity golf tournament.

Rodriguez spoke in Spanish at a press conference in Mexico City to announce the opening of a gym he is affiliated with, but did not take questions.

Video of his appearance was aired on ESPN early this morning.

The third baseman thanked his well-wishers who included not just his Yankees teammates, but also 'players from other teams, retired players, Hall of Fame players' as well as 'lots of good people, owners of other teams.'

He said he intended to see out the three years he will have left on his contract from next year and wants 'to finish his career in New York'.

He plans to take part in spring training which he is entitled to do.

His ban, which was reduced from 211 games last weekend, is the longest ever in baseball for the use of performance-enhancing drugs and will cost Rodriguez $25 million in salary.

He filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court against both Major League Baseball and the player’s union seeking to overturn his banishing for the 2014 season.

The lawsuit also made public the entire 33-page decision made by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz after a series of contentious hearings between A-Rod, the league, the player’s union and Tony Bosch.

A man of his word: Alex Rodriguez vowed Saturday in a statement to take the fight to federal court

‘We recognize the standard to overturn an arbitration is a high one,’ attorney Jordan Siev, part of A-Rod’s legal team, told ESPN. '

But we think this proceeding was so flawed from beginning to end'.

The suit comes only one day after 60 Minutes aired a shocking interview during which Mr Bosch admitted to personally injected steroids into Mr Rodriguez, directing his doping regimen and even drawing blood from him in a Miami nightclub bathroom stall.

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‘Given the intense public interest in this matter and Commissioner Selig's disclosures last night on 60 Minutes, it's difficult to imagine that any portion of this proceeding should be under seal,’ U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said during the hearing.

‘Mr Rodriguez is directed to file his unredacted complaint with the attached exhibits,’ he added.

The third baseman’s legal team had originally brought a redacted lawsuit ‘in an abundance of caution,’ according to Mr Siev, who said Mr Rodriguez and his lawyers were afraid of running afoul of the collective bargaining agreement between the players union and the league.

Out in the open: The lawsuit comes only one day after Tony Bosch spilled the beans to '60 Minutes'

‘We're perfectly content to unredact and file the entire complaint,’ Mr Siev continued.

Players Association lawyer Dave Prouty unsuccessfully argued in favour of the redacted complaint, saying ‘the [union] believes that those matters should stay confidential, that is, the decision and the underlying proceedings.’

‘We're thrilled,’ said Mr Siev. ‘We want the entire record to be public. We want everyone to be able to see exactly what Bosch said.’

A-Rod legal team frontman Joe Tacopina had to participate in the hearing via telephone, ESPN noted, but Mr Siev picked up right where his co-defense council left off last night on ’60 Minutes.’

‘The introduction of triple, quadruple hearsay, inauthentic documents, documents that were stolen not once, but twice that were presented out of order, that were presented in incomplete fashion that Bosch couldn't even identify - all of this was relied on without question by (Horowitz),’ Mr Siev griped.

Mr Rodriguez’s team was denied access to the actual Blackberries.

‘MLB had two experts that were allowed to examine those Blackberries with unfettered access. We didn't get one,’ Mr Siev continued.

No refuting: MLB COO Rob Manfred told '60 Minutes' that A-Rod never tried to defend himself against Mr Bosch's allegations during the arbitration hearings that resulted in the 162-game ban

The lawyer then bashed MLB Commissioner Bud Selig for talking to ’60 Minutes’ but not testifying during the hearing, which famously caused Mr Rodriguez to storm out in a fit.

‘One thing that was very interesting was whenever we had discussions on ways to resolve this, MLB was adamant that they wanted 162 games,’ said Mr Siev. ‘Lo and behold, where did this decision come out? It is all in the complaint.’

MLB chief operating officer Rob Manfred was quick to point out that the 14-time all-star never testified during the arbitration hearings in his own defense, he never tried to refute Mr Bosch’s claims.

The ballplayer claimed in a statement issued shortly after the suspension was announced that the arbitration process was unfair and that the deck was stacked against him.

Running out of options: A-Rod has no where else to turn should this lawsuit not go his way

'This is one man's decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test,' the former MVP said.

The league will almost certainly call him to the stand during the upcoming civil trial – and he can be asked about anything, including steroids, human growth hormone and whatever else he may have ingested.

The only way Mr Rodriguez is likely to get his suspension overturned is by testifying under oath or submitting a sworn document he didn’t take the drugs he is accused of taking, a New York Daily News legal analyst said.

Should he go that route and be found guilty of taking the banned substances, the next chapter in this saga would be a criminal trial.

The player fans deride as A-Roid will finally have his day in court either way, but the truth may set him free or see him locked up.