Today’s news is powered by the late, great voice of the Phillies, Mr. Harry Kalas:

• Tyler Kepner reports that Alex Rodriguez is now rehabilitating in Tampa:

Alex Rodriguez was back on a baseball field Monday, working out for 48 minutes at the Yankees’ minor league complex here. With the trainer Gene Monahan beside him, Rodriguez took 40 grounders at third base, made about 75 total swings (some off a tee, some on balls flipped from a coach) and did some light running.

• Is A-Rod turning over an old leaf?  Rodriguez claims he’s going to be more like the ’07 version upon his return:

Alex Rodriguez says his headline grabbing days of drama are over – and that during the time he spent in Colorado recovering from hip surgery he figured out that he needs to put his team first and “focus on things on the field with the Yankees.”

“I’m gonna go back to what I did in ’07,” Rodriguez, who won his third MVP Award that year, said after his workout at the Yankees’ minor league complex Monday. “Cut some of the fat out and really focus on playing baseball and focus on what I do best – and that’s playing baseball.”

[My take: If there was such a thing as “Publicity-seekers Anonymous”, I think Alex would be looking for a sponsor.]

• Potty-time at the new Stadium:

The new Yankee Stadium, with a capacity of 52,325, needed a minimum of 358 women’s toilets and 176 men’s fixtures, of which no more than half could be urinals, according to the city Department of Buildings.

Generally, once the minimum requirements are reached, the mix of toilets can be tailored to the building’s needs. Studies show that baseball crowds lean slightly male. Stadium builders tend to meet the requirements and add a bunch of urinals.

The Yankees and their architects, Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event, which also designed Citi Field), gave Yankee Stadium 369 women’s toilets, and 98 toilets and 298 urinals for men, according to the buildings department. Another 78 fixtures are in unisex bathrooms, designed for families or in luxury suites.

[My take: No truth to the rumor that those in the Legends seats can have someone go for them.]

• Will David Wells be the Charles Barkley of baseball?:

Opinionated former pitcher David Wells has signed a multiyear contract to serve as an analyst for TBS.

The network will make the official announcement Tuesday.

The 45-year-old Wells will work as a commentator for some Sunday regular-season games, forming a three-man booth with Chip Caray and either Ron Darling or Buck Martinez. He’ll also appear in the studio during TBS’s playoff coverage.

[My take: Couldn’t look any worse in a suit than John Kruk, I s’pose.]

• Long-time Philly resident Jayson Stark talks about Harry Kalas.  Mike Schmidt also offers his thoughts.
• Baseball Prospectus’ Christina Kahrl wrote on the passing of Kalas:

The voice of the Phillies for several generations of the team’s fans passed on today, a loss that I think any of us whose mental soundscapes of the game involves memories of one announcer or another can relate to, as something fundamental to fandom. Harry Kalas was one such man, one whose voice illustrated the action on the diamond in a way that only the greats have or can.

• Here is a radio interview with Kalas  interview with Kalas from 2003, courtesy of Baseball Prospectus.
• One-of-a-kind pitcher Mark Fidrych died yesterday in an apparent accident on his farm. He was 54.  Fidrych made a nationwide name for himself during a ABC Monday Night Baseball game against the Yanks on June 28, 1976.
• Kyle Farnsworth turns 33 today.  Odd fact: during Farnsworth’s last season with the Bombers, more than 1/4 of his hits allowed were homers (44.1 IP, 43 hits, 11 homers).
• David Justice turns 43 today.  Justice was a nice mid-season pick-up in 2000 (.305/.391/.585 in 78 games), before fading in 2001.
• On this date in 1910, in the season opener before 25,000 at New York’s Hilltop Park, Boston and New York play to a 4-4 tie called after 14 innings.
• On this date in 1955, Elston Howard becomes the first black player in Yankees history. The 26-year-old catcher/outfielder makes his debut against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, and has a single with one RBI in the Yankees’ 8 – 4 loss.
• On this date in 1967, Red Sox rookie pitcher Billy Rohr makes a memorable debut by no-hitting the Bombers for eight and two-thirds innings. Elston Howard spoils Rohr’s masterpiece with a single, but the Red Sox still win, 3-0.
• On this date in 2004, a day after teammate Mike Mussina earns his 200th career victory, Kevin Brown reaches the same plateau beating the Devil Rays, 5 – 1. It is the first time in major league history members of the same pitching staff have won their 200th career victory in consecutive starts.