A-Rod Speaks

So Alex Rodriguez sat in front of a ward of media today in Tampa and finally gave the speech everyone wanted to hear. Well, while he said might not have been the most believable thing, he did say what he wanted to and now reporters and fans can all take this entire issue, put it in the rear-view mirror, and worry about baseball in 2009.

There will surely be talk over the next few days regarding some of the things Alex said. He noted that his cousin introduced him to the stuff and that he did not know what he was injecting. I can buy that someone like his cousin got it from the Dominican Republic, but I am still skeptical on him not knowing what he put in. He had to have had some inkling, and definitely did by saying "We knew we weren't taking tic-tacs." The extent of knowledge he had on the steroids will only be known by him, so everyone else should just forget about finding it out.

It's also hard to believe him when he says he was "young and foolish." At that point in his career, he was no longer young. Foolish? Probably. But he knew better. The problem with all of his bashers is that they don't realize how baseball was all about steroids at this point. Most players probably didn't take any, but there was no doubt a good portion who did. In a society where everyone wants to be better at what they do, people will do whatever they can to get to that level. Ballplayers were willing to take the risk of health problems to get that extra edge. A-Rod wanted to prove he was worth all that money Texas threw at him, and did whatever he felt was necessary.

Rodriguez made a mistake, and now it is time to move on. Is he wrong for taking steroids? Yes. Has he placed another black mark on the game? Probably. Should he be punished, criticized, and have this hanging over his head the entire season? No. The guy screwed up, he apologized, and he admitted to the mistake. People need to focus on what this guy is going to do on the field this upcoming season rather than worrying about what happened back from 2001-2003. It's over, it's done with, it's time to move on!

A-Rod Admits Taking Steroids

Well, I think it's safe to say that I'm more surprised Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs just days after the story broke than I was about the report that he had a positive test. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I really was not shocked to hear he had tested positive for PEDs. In this generation with many big-time athletes getting caught for steroid use, I could never say I felt he was clean.

To see him go out there and tell Peter Gammons straight up that he took them, and for three years as well, was shocking to me. We look at guys like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire deny steroid use time and time again when it is so clear that they have and evidence is pointing against them. To me, A-Rod seemed like the type of person who would try and deny it and not go right out and admit his use and apologize.

Him doing that was clearly the right thing to do. It hasn't helped Clemens, Bonds, or McGwire that they refuse to admit it. A-Rod is following what Giambi and Pettitte did and getting it out of the way now. All of them recognized their mistake and how it was part of the culture back then, apologized for it, realized how foolish they were, and moved on. That was the best possible way to handle the situation.

Now, it doesn't help that he'll still face scrutiny and questions all through spring training and the season, especially if he performs poorly. He lied on CBS in the past when he said he never took any PEDs. However, he told the truth to Peter Gammons and will do his best to move on. Him coming clean gained back a little bit of respect I had lost.

At this point, telling the truth was all he really could do. When it comes time to play ball, he better bring his best game. If he doesn't, the NY fans will surely boo him...Loudly!

A-Rod is A-Idiot

I never could've imagined writing this blog entry, expressing my opinions over a report that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroid use in 2003. However, here I sit, on a warm Saturday night, trying to comprehend how a player as talented as A-Rod doing something so stupid. But now, once again, a big-time Yankee is confronted with yet another steroid controversy and baseball turns again toward A-Rod and the Bronx.

First and foremost, I personally don't care that much. I've been bombarded all day by Red Sox fans telling me that A-Rod is a cheat and that this will get to his head, he's going to suck, and it's going to destroy the Yankees season. Give it a rest everyone! Is Rodriguez a cheat? Yes. Did he destroy his career? Yes. But come on, barely anyone's reported for Spring Training yet. The story's less than 24 hours old. How about we wait a few weeks when teams are getting ready to start the season or even wait until the season starts before saying A-Rod and the Yankees are done for.

Why don't I care? I've never been a fan of him. While he's a tremendous all-around athlete and one of the best ballplayers of all-time, he has failed time and time again in the clutch. That's one of my biggest factors in determining my appreciation and identification with an athlete. A-Rod, since coming to the Yankees, has done poorly with runners in scoring position and in the playoffs and has yet to obtain the respect of Yankees fans.

Now, it's hard to write a lot and give a firm opinion on everything since there haven't been many details released. I want to wait and see everything related to the situation and how nothing was said until now almost 6 years later. A-Rod has damaged his career, and honestly, probably doesn't have any reason to play if this is all true. I highly doubt he'll be voted to the Hall-of-Fame if he was in fact a steroid user. Whatever happens, he's damaged his career and brought unnecessary attention to the Yankees.