Alex Rodriguez arrived in New York as one of the more image-conscious pro athletes, but he's spent much of his first two years in pinstripes putting out fires. And now, it's all-in for him, again.

A-Rod's latest flap regards sightings of him playing poker at illegal city clubs, which made the gossip pages, and then caught the ire of MLB officials.

Although it is not illegal to play poker at these clubs, running them is against the law if the house takes a profit, and police have raided several of them in recent months.

But baseball officials were not happy to see one of their biggest stars taking part, according to a person familiar with the situation, and have asked the Yankees to speak with Rodriguez about being more mindful of the situations he puts himself in.

Although the Yankees refused to comment, two people familiar with the situation said the team hasn't spoken to Rodriguez, partly because he did nothing wrong.

A spokesman for Rodriguez did not return a message.

But baseball officials, sensitive to any connection to the gambling scene thanks to Pete Rose, believe it's in everyone's best interest if Rodriguez stops these visits.

"It's not like he could be arrested for what he did," a person familiar with MLB's thinking said. "It's more about just knowing what kind of situation you're in, who the people you're surrounding yourself with, and how it all looks."

Rodriguez genuinely cares about how people perceive him, and wants to do the right thing, going to lengths in the past to alleviate these snafus. In April, hours after hearing criticisms that a company bearing his name was selling memorabilia to commemorate his three-home run game, he killed the company.

In spring training, after countless Red Sox players bombarded him with insults about not being a "true Yankee," he bit his lip, refusing to engage in a war of words.