A-Rod book lacking in substance

"I am complicated," Alex Rodriguez tells Selena Roberts on Page 3 of "A-Rod," the latter's book about the former, which hit stores Monday after the customary leaks and back-page headlines.

"Isn't that better than being simple?"

That mostly is a matter of personal preference, and Roberts makes a case over 249 crisply written pages that A-Rod prefers it that way -- as any insecure, narcissistic jumble of contradictions might.

As Roberts has insisted, a complete reading reveals a more nuanced picture of the man than do excerpts, portraying a socially awkward fellow who even when he means well often does or says the wrong thing -- unlike the sainted Yankee positioned to his immediate left. (The subtitle is "The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez.")

But we already knew that, right?

So beyond the peek into his family dynamics and amateur psychology -- "Baseball wasn't like his father. Baseball never left him." -- the news-making centerpieces here are steroids and a scandal about tipping pitches to opponents as a Ranger in the early 2000s.

(What about s-e-x? Despite rumors about what the book might include, it offers far fewer details about epic philandering than, for example, new books about Roger Clemens and Darryl Strawberry.)

The pitch-tipping charge is the most interesting revelation, especially for fans whose eyes now glaze over at the mere mention of performance-enhancing drugs.

It has a ring of truth, with details of how it worked and direct knowledge from teammates who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.

The sourcing for Roberts' PED charges is much fuzzier, though, full of circumstantial evidence, both regarding Rodriguez's alleged steroid use in high school and even more so his years with the Yankees beginning in 2004.

Roberts is a well-regarded journalist, but without making an airtight case for PED use after 2003, she writes, "Alex was no novice. He knew exactly what he was doing as a Ranger -- and then as a Yankee."

And she quotes a source saying it was "possible" notorious Dominican trainer Angel Presinal jump-started A-Rod's 2007 season with a low-dose cycle of steroids and HGH.

In describing a cheesy joint appearance with Barry Bonds in 2005, Roberts writes they were "pulling gawkers into the tent with their inflated numbers and their artificially inflated bodies. It was a circus, and they were the freaks."