An upcoming book co-written by Joe Torre, which caused a stir in the New York media and elsewhere Sunday, describes how players referred to Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez as "A-Fraud" and delves into his relationship with teammate Derek Jeter.

"Back in 2004, at first Rodriguez did his best to try and fit into the Yankee culture -- his cloying, B Grade actor best," the book says, according to an excerpt obtained by 1050 ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand. "He slathered on the polish. People in the clubhouse, including teammates and support personnel were calling him 'A-Fraud' behind his back."

The excerpt continues: " 'He was phony,' said Mike Borzello, the former Yankees bullpen coach and one of Rodriguez' close friends, 'and he knew he was phony. But he didn't know how to be anything else at that time. Then he started to realize what it is all about and what people feed off of, and thought, 'Hey, I can really be
myself.' "

Seven pages later, in the same chapter, the book says, according to the excerpt obtained by Marchand: "In his own way, Rodriguez was fascinated with Jeter, as if trying to figure out what it was about Jeter that could have bought him so much goodwill. The inside joke in the clubhouse was that Rodriguez' pre-occupation with Jeter recalled the 1992 film, 'Single White Female,' in which a woman becomes obsessed with her roommate to the point of dressing like her." (Source: ESPN)