Anabolic steroids, the performance drugs of the 1980s in football, track, weightlifting and some other sports, apparently have become the performance drugs of the '90s in major league baseball.

"We all know there's steroid use, and it's definitely become more prevalent," said Randy Smith, general manager of the San Diego Padres. "The ballplayers all know the dangers of it. We preach it every year.

"But because there's so much money to be made these days, guys are willing to pay the price now and will pay the piper later.

"I can understand it's a difficult choice for some players. They know it can take five years off their lives, but then they say, `OK, so I die when I'm 75 instead of 80.' "

Just how prevalent is steroid use?

"I think 10% to 20%," Smith said. "No one has any hard-core proof, but there's a lot of guys you suspect."

Said one American League general manager, "I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to 30%, although most people will say it's about 5% to 10%. We had one team in our league a few years ago that the entire lineup may have been on it.

"Come on, you just don't put on 50 pounds of muscle overnight, and hit balls out of stadiums. I'm seeing guys now who were washed up five years ago, and now they've got bat speed they've never had before. It's insane.

"You can usually pick them out, because eventually they start to get back problems."

There is no testing for steroid use in baseball. No baseball player has ever been suspended for steroid use, and even if a player were caught using steroids, baseball demands no penalty and offers no rehabilitation.

"I'd love to see testing myself," said Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas, one of baseball's big men at 6 feet 5 and 268 pounds. "If it can be done in every other sport, why not ours? At least it would get rid of the suspicions."

Added Thomas, who said he gained 35 pounds during the off-season, "I went in to see my doctor this winter, and he even asked me, `Hey, are you on steroids?' It's a question people are going to ask, especially (of) the big power hitters, unless something is done about it."

Said Padre all-star right fielder Tony Gwynn, "It's like the big secret we're not supposed to talk about, but believe me, we wonder just like the rest of people. I'm standing out there in the outfield when a guy comes up, and I'm thinking, `Hey, I wonder if this guy is on steroids.' I think we all have our suspicions who's on the stuff, but unless someone comes out and admits to it, who'll ever know for sure?"

Bud Selig, acting commissioner, said the topic was last addressed by owners in a private meeting a year or 18 months ago. The conclusion was that no one had any evidence that steroid use should be a concern.

"If baseball has a problem, I must say candidly that we were not aware of it," Selig said. "It certainly hasn't been talked about much. But should we concern ourselves as an industry? I don't know. Maybe it's time to bring it up again."

Said Kevin Malone, the Montreal Expos' general manager, "I'd like to see some measures taken. The game of baseball is supposed to be about purity and fairness, but if individuals are going around and getting an unfair advantage because of steroid use, we should do something about it.

"You hear the rumors that usage is way up, and it would be nice to know if those are accurate."

The Major League Players Assn., which prohibits random drug testing for any non-drug offender at the major league level, said steroid testing would violate individual rights. Without the consent of the players, there won't be steroid testing soon.

"We've got guys out there willing to risk their lives just for a piece of glory," Dodger relief pitcher Todd Worrell said. "But the problem is baseball's inability to set a policy and stand by the policy. If they set a policy, and stood up to it, it'd be different.

"But right now, there's no policy and nobody out there to enforce it.

"And until we do, we'll continue to have (steroid) problems, finger-pointing and controversy."

Joe Girardi's pregame news conference began Thursday with a barrage of questions about the latest allegations surrounding Alex Rodriguez and one question about swine flu.

Just your typical day around the Yankees.

For the record: A-Rod did not cause the swine flu outbreak; the question was about whether Girardi is concerned about the disease, given that the Yankees travel a lot. (He is, but the team is taking every precaution.)

Rodriguez was the subject of more speculation Thursday after published reports cited some details from the upcoming Selena Roberts book, "A-Rod."

And making it a totally A-Rod-centric early evening before the Yankees hosted the Angels was the baseball part of the story. Rodriguez played in his first extended spring training rehab game Thursday as he recovers from hip surgery and appears on schedule to join the Yankees before the original estimate of May 15.

Rodriguez went 1-for-6 with a home run and two walks as the designated hitter and then spoke to reporters afterward in Tampa, Fla. He did not discuss the allegations from the book that were reported on Thursday.

In the report, a high school teammate of A-Rod's told Roberts that Rodriguez was on steroids as a high school player and that his coach knew it - an allegation the coach, Rich Hofman, denied.

It also said an unnamed major-leaguer is quoted as saying A-Rod and former Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown were seen together with human growth hormone in 2004. The book, according to the report, also says that two anonymous Yankees said they believed A-Rod was using banned substances based on visual side effects, and that a clubhouse staffer said management had a suspicion that the third baseman may have been juicing.

According to the report, the book also accuses Rodriguez of tipping pitches to opponents during blowouts and that he expected those players to reciprocate when he needed a hit and it would not affect the outcome of games.

"I'm not going there,'' he said of the new steroid allegations. "I'm just so excited about being back on the field and playing baseball. My team has won two games [in a row] up there and hopefully I can come back and help them win some more.''

Roberts' book is scheduled to be released Monday. She is one of the Sports Illustrated reporters who broke the story of A-Rod's failed drug test when he was a member of the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez later admitted to using a banned substance from 2001-03.

"I'm in a good place," Rodriguez said Thursday. "I think more importantly, physically I feel like I'm getting better every day. We've had a great week here. We've worked extremely hard, and I'm just very anxious to do what God put me on this Earth to do, to play baseball.''

Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman would not comment on the specifics of the report.

Compiled from staff and wire reports. This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.