Inside A-Rod’s All-Star Bash

The strip clubs in New York must have been ghost towns last night, because a bevy of busty, barely dressed bleached blondes were at the nightclub 40/40, awaiting the arrival of Alex Rodriguez, who was hosting a pre-All Star Game party at the hotspot.

At around 11:15 PM, 75 minutes after the party began, Rodriguez was escorted into the club, along with his manager Guy Oseary and model/restaurateur Ingrid Casares, who were the ones who originally introduced the slugger to their close friend, Madonna.

The group joined other friends and Rodriguez family members, including the All-Star’s mom, in a roped off VIP area in the corner of the club.

Inside the party, Rodriguez didn’t pay attention to any of the women shaking their wares right outside the VIP section. In fact, for the first 15 minutes or so after entering 40/40, Rodriguez huddled closely just with Oseary (who also manages Madonna’s career) and along with the singer, turned the third baseman into a devotee of Kabbalah, the mystical branch of Judaism.

After spending some time with Oseary, A-Rod then turned his attention to Cesares, as the two sat and laughed for quite some time.

But the question on everyone’s lips was, “Is Madonna coming?”

While her close friends surrounded Rodriguez, Madonna was only at the club in spirit — and song. Throughout the evening, interspersed with mainly hip-hop music, were Madonna tunes, including one of her latest hits, “Four Minutes,” and such classics as “Holiday” and “Material Girl,” which even had A-Rod’s mom bopping to a little.

During the course of the evening, a slew of A-Rod associates stopped by, including Yankees legend Reggie Jackson, who also talked to Rodriguez for a long time.

Earlier in the night, Jackson told Access Hollywood that the star ball player, at the center of a headline grabbing divorce, is a strong man, who isn’t easily flappable.

And it clearly appeared that way. A-Rod paid no regard to the crush of the crowd nor did he flinch once or make any facial expressions when Madge’s music was played.

Interestingly, A-Rod’s former agent, Scott Boras, also dropped by the bash. Boras, who the major leaguer had fired during contract negotiations with the Yankees, reportedly has been very instrumental in trying to help with a settlement between Rodriguez and his estranged wife, Cynthia.

And as if things couldn’t get more bizarre, shortly after 1 AM, NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal lumbered into the club. After making his way through the throng of fans, he and A-Rod spent a brief time talking.

As it turns out, the two actually have a lot in common. Besides being superstars in their respective sports, they both also share high powered divorce attorney Ira Elegant.

About 15 minutes after his chat with A-Rod, O’Neal headed for the exit.

And Rodriguez was soon to follow, also making his exit just 15 minutes behind O’Neal.

Having spent more than two hours at his party, A-Rod, Casares and an entourage of about 15 others, left the club at 1:35 AM.

Just one minute later Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” pumped throughout the club.