Source: ESPN.com

TAMPA, Fla. -- Alex Rodriguez tried to leave no doubt: He wants to finish his career with the New York Yankees.

Then he left it all up to the fans.

"It's a do or die situation," he said on WFAN-AM's "Mike and the Mad Dog" show. "Either New York is going to kick me out of New York this year, say 'I've had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here,' and we have an option. Or New York is going to say, 'Hey, we won a world championship, you had a big year, you were a part of it and we want you back.'"

Later, Rodriguez said the rapid-fire nature of the interview -- he described it as "an absolute dogfight for 15 minutes" -- led to those comments.

"You're asking me what my sincere feeling is. I want to 100 percent stay in New York. Period. That's it. I don't know how many ways I can say it," he said on the show.

Rodriguez told hosts Mike Francessa and Chris Russo that in his MVP year of 2005, the fans at Yankee Stadium were incredibly supportive.

"In 2005, riding the wave of the fans was an unbelievable experience," he said, according to the New York Daily News. "Sometimes, you come out a little tired, but the fans get behind you, chanting 'MVP!' and before you know it, you have two home runs and five RBIs."

That wasn't the same in 2006, when he was booed at Yankee Stadium and by his own admission, tried to do too much to turn the boos into cheers.

"When you try to fight that wave of the fans being negative, expecting you to do things and you're playing pretty lousy on top of it," Rodriguez told Mike and the Mad Dog, "then you try to do a little more than you have to."

Rodriguez told the pair there were probably five or six teams interested in acquiring him this offseason, but he had no interest.

"The next time we're going to talk about this is hopefully in very late October," Rodriguez said. "I want to be here. I want to stay here."

The two-time MVP is entering the seventh season of his $252 million, 10-year contract, a deal he signed with the Texas Rangers. He can opt out of the agreement after the season, forfeit the $72 million owed in the final three years and become a free agent.

"You never want to feel that you're holding a team hostage," Rodriguez said. "I want to be in New York. This is the place I want to finish my career. That's it.

"We had options and we all know that, but I want to be in New York. That's it."