After Alex Rodriguez brought his cousin -- Yuri Sucart -- into the public eye after he mentioned him in a press conference two weeks ago at George Ms. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.

However, the beleaguered slugger decided that his cousin was still good company to keep around. Sucart drove Rodriguez home in a SUV away from a game yesterday; alas, today, the Yankees are asking him to stay away -- from all ballparks.

I guess the-powers-that-be in the Yankees organization are trying to make the smoke go away.

Alex Rodriguez has been told by the New York Yankees to keep his cousin away from ballparks.

The message was given to the star third baseman on Thursday, said a person familiar with the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team did not make an announcement. The message applied both to spring training and the regular season, the person said.

Speaking at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., general manager Brian Cashman said only that matter of Rodriguez being picked up from his spring training opener Wednesday by his cousin "has been handled."

A day earlier in Dunedin, Rodriguez homered and walked twice before getting into a SUV driven by Yuri Sucart, who has been identified as the cousin who provided Rodriguez with performance-enhancing drugs obtained in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez admitted using them while playing for Texas from 2001-03.

Rodriguez acknowledged to the Yankees that having the cousin meet him at the ballpark in Dunedin was a mistake, the person who told The Associated Press about the situation said.

It's crazy. Just crazy.