The new issue of Details magazine features photos of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez kissing his own reflection. Vomit! As if that isn’t stomach turning enough, in the interview, the tarnished baseball star classifies his relationship with Madonna as a friendship and nothing more. Riiiight. The reporter added that A-Rod wore a red Kabbalah string bracelet, and when the interview was over, the slugger called the reporter and desperately asked that he not publish the name of A-Rod’s favorite Madonna song. Hmmm….

The night before his life changes forever, Alex Rodriguez calls from Miami with an urgent request. A-Rod is worried about something he said during our interview last night. I’ve been hearing mysterious warnings all afternoon: Alex needs to talk. Alex wants to clarify something. Can’t say what. Alex will call you from his car.

“Listen,” Rodriguez says. “I was thinking about one thing that I spoke about—it’s something that’s kind of trivial but will give me a hard time for no reason.” He pauses. “The song.”

Aha. Last night, he let slip his favorite Madonna song. The curious relationship between A-Rod and the pop icon makes for delicious gossip, of course. Is Rodriguez terrified that Madonna will resent the tongue-wagging? Or, better still, has he picked the wrong song as his favorite, and fears that an offended Madge might march her stilettos over his back? No: Rodriguez believes that revealing the song would lead to its being played every time he stepped to the plate during an away game. “The last thing I want to do is go to every stadium and have them play that song,” he says. Fine—to be honest, it’s not even a great Madonna song (if it had been something juicy like “Justify My Love,” forget it).

Looking back, his preoccupation seems surreal. Just the day before, Selena Roberts, a reporter from Sports Illustrated, had confronted Rodriguez at a Miami gym, asking for his reaction to evidence that he’d tested positive for illegal steroids in 2003. And now here he was, sweating a Madonna song. It’s like worrying about the in-flight movie as your plane is belly flopping on the Hudson River.

[From Details]

Keep in mind that this interview happened just hours before A-Rod was busted for testing positive for steroids during his time with the Texas Rangers, so at the time, the whole Madonna thing was the big scandal in his life. Turned out that rubbing up on Madge’s gristle was only the prelude to a much bigger scandal! Of course, A-Rod insisted that the two are just friends.

His relationship with the 50-year-old pop priestess has been a “Page Six” staple for months, though there’s been no confirmation of its exact nature. “Well, we’re friends,” Rodriguez says. “She’s an amazing entertainer. And it’s been amazing how she’s been able to stay on top for three decades. I have a lot of respect for her.” He says he’s enjoyed their conversations, and her counsel. “She’s very smart,” he says, “and she’s passionate about everything she does.” Rodriguez can’t name anything specific he’s asked Madonna for advice on, “but if there ever was any situation, she’s a great ear to have, you know?”

Their meeting was not, as some have speculated, arranged by Oseary, who represents them both. “I met her about 12 years ago in Miami, believe it or not,” he says. “That’s how we know each other. I was trying to buy her house, and I couldn’t afford it.”

This much is true: He’s single. Rodriguez is divorced from his wife, Cynthia, with whom he has two children. He says that he and Cynthia now have a “wonderful relationship” (indeed, Cynthia lends support a few days later, when Rodriguez confesses his sins to ESPN). “I’m happy the way that things are going,” he says. “But playing through all that was obviously challenging.”

He can’t name anything he’s ever asked Madonna’s advice on? How about getting his biceps to be as big as hers? Seriously though, this guy is so full of himself, I can’t think of a better match for Madge. They really do deserve each other, if you think about it. They’re both overrated and overhyped. Madonna relied on tits and ass to become a big star, and A-Rod shot his ass up with steroids to be a big star. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be, since Madonna has since moved on to greener- younger- pastures.

Here’s A-Rod at the Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami…curiously enough, he was spotted later that night at Madonna’s Miami concert. He was also spotted at her New York and LA concerts. But friends follow each other around the country all the time, right? Photo credits: WENN.