Loosey-goosey cannon: A-Rod's most ridiculous quotes

Alex Rodriguez will be remembered just as fondly for his once stellar play as his penchant for making ridiculous statements.

The former New York Yankees slugger has repeatedly found himself embroiled in controversy over the years, and in response, said some things that didn't sound so hot in hindsight.

In honor of his final game as a Yankee - and perhaps of his career - here are some of A-Rod's most outlandish quotes over the years:

Struggling to find a soulmate

Back in 1998, a 22-year-old Rodriguez was quickly climbing the MLB ranks after a third All-Star selection with the Seattle Mariners. But apparently, being a good, young baseball player with millions of dollars in your early 20s doesn't necessarily translate to a lively social life. From ESPN's Dan Patrick:

I'm having a hard time finding a date. I don't trust any women I meet.

Thank goodness he developed an impenetrable sense of trust over the years then, as his celebrity dating list reportedly grew to consist of Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, and Madonna, to name a few.

Erroneously predicting Texas future

Following the third season of a 10-year, $252-million contract with the Texas Rangers in 2004, Rodriguez was asked about his future with the club after finishing last in the American League West for the third straight year, despite a stellar campaign where he won his first MVP award. From The Associated Press:

I definitely think I'm going to be here for a long time. I'm probably pretty sure it will work out for the best.

In true A-Rod fashion, he was traded to the Yankees 21 days later.

Not steroids, but God-given ability

Rodriguez once made it his goal to tell everyone and anyone who would listen that the blueprint for his baseball dominance resided in natural talent rather than an artificial boost. Rodriguez's most adamant denial of PED use came in 2007, when the reigning MVP took to "60 Minutes" to state his case:

Getting big and being stronger was never my problem, I have never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been in a very strong dominant position. And I felt if I did my work since I've done since I was a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. ... I'm just trying to be the best I can with the ability that God gave me.

Of course, as everyone discovered later, that was a bold-faced lie.

No more sleepovers with Mr. November

Following rampant speculation of a clubhouse rift with Derek Jeter, A-Rod eventually revealed to reporters in early 2009 that his once-fraternal relationship with his Yankees teammate had grown embarrassingly strained over the seasons. From Tyler Kepner of the New York Times:

You go from sleeping over at somebody's house five days a week and now you don't sleep over. It's not that big of a deal.

Sleeping over for a weekend isn't a big deal, but five days may be a little much.

Blaming the era in PED admission

A-Rod finally came clean in 2009 when he admitted that his years with the Texas Rangers were tainted with PED use. But what should have been a simple admission of guilt quickly turned into the blame game, as Rodriguez hilariously pointed the finger at an immorally free-flowing time in baseball. From his interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons:

Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era. I'm guilty for a lot of things. I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.

Negligence and naivete proved to be a common theme for the rest of Rodriguez's career.

Those meddling, conspiring Yankees

Staring down a possible suspension for PED use in 2013, the Yankees slugger was insistent his troubles were headed by his own team trying to get out of his bloated contract. While he didn't directly name the Yankees' front-office brass in his tirade, it wasn't too difficult to figure out. From David Simpson of CNN.com:

There is more than one party that benefits from me not ever stepping back on the field, and that's not my teammates and it's not the Yankee fans ... When all this stuff is going on in the background and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, I think that's concerning for me.

MLB would end up suspending Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season.

Sleeping in after refreshments

In a surprise news conference last Sunday, Rodriguez announced Aug. 12 would be his final game with the Yankees - the first of a three-game home series against the Tampa Bay Rays. On the day of, however, reporters jumped ahead and asked if he would watch the club's 1 p.m. ET start the next day. From Ryan Hatch of NJ.com:

If I wake up on time tomorrow, I would watch tomorrow's game. But I may have a couple of cocktails tonight, so I may not wake up by game time tomorrow. But I'll definitely watch Sunday's game.

At least he was finally being honest.