Alex Rodriguez's lawyer takes aim at Yankees with new accusations of career sabotage

(CBS News) The Yankees triumphed 9-6 over the Boston Red Sox Sunday night, several innings after an on-the-field brawl nearly broke out when embattled Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was hit by a pitch in his first time at bat. 

But bitter infighting between A-Rod's legal team and the Yankees' front office overshadowed this storied rivalry over the weekend, as attorney Joe Tacopina took aim at the Yankees and Major League Baseball for allegedly attempting to cut short A-Rod's career by knowingly misleading the batter about the extent of his injury.

Tacopina accused Yankees management of covering up the severity of Rodriguez's hip injury during the 2012 playoffs and intentionally playing him when he was too injured to take the field. 

Joe Tacopina told The New York Times, "They rolled him out there like an invalid and made him look like he was finished as a ballplayer." Tacopina alleged that Yankees president Randy Levine told Rodriguez's surgeon, "I don't want to to see him on the field again."

MLB Network radio and Siruis XM radio host Casey Stern told "CBS This Morning," that Tacopina's claims are likely overblown and intended to distract from Rodriguez's use of banned substances. 

"Do I think [Yankees president, Randy Levine] told the surgeon, 'I don't want Alex on the field...' with the intent of, 'Make sure to put a hole in his leg, make sure to mess up his hip, tweak a couple of things in here'...I don't think that."

Yankees management did not returns CBS News' Don Dahler's request for comments, but Levine told ESPN he strongly disagreed with Tacopina's claims and added that he would be willing to release phone call transcripts and medical records, if Rodriguez agreed to it.

"Alex should put up or shut up," Levine told ESPN.

In a telephone interview with The New York Times, Levine called the allegations "specious and completely false" and added, "It is pretty sad that any lawyer would make such ridiculous statements."

The spat is the latest development in the ongoing doping drama surrounding A-Rod, who continues to dispute a "60 Minutes" report that his inner circle leaked documents in February, implicating his own teammate and other MLB players in the league's doping investigation.

The Yankees slugger has remained relatively quiet in recent days -- telling reporters on Friday, "When I have the right platform, at the right time ... which is not now, I will tell my full story."

But on Saturday, Tacopina continued to push the narrative that Yankees management and Major League Baseball engaged in a yearlong campaign to push the 14-time All Star out of the game for good.

Stern said the move is clearly a tactic to distract from the leak allegations and recoup the money Rodriguez will lose as a result of his 211-game suspension, which was handed down after investigators determined that he had used banned, performance-enhancing substances.

"Clearly they are going to try and now use this to file a grievance and go after the money that they will lose because of suspension," Stern said.

A Major League Baseball official told "CBS This Morning" that Rodriguez's contract did not factor into their decision to suspend him. He added that Tacopina's accusations were "hot air" meant to draw attention away from the PED doping scandal.

The Yankees, Tacopina, and Rodriguez's surgeoun decline to comment or did not respond to interview requests made by CBS News.