Just Go Away A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez 162-game ban hopefully ends latest chapter of baseball steroid era and leaves room for Yankees

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 13- There are so many questions that remain unanswered after an arbitrator ruled Alex Rodriguez has been suspended for the 2014 season of 162 games and the post season. Will a federal court take on an appeal process and with $25 million off the books will the New York Yankees spend and go off their $189 million salary threshold?

One thing is certain, this is the harshest suspension leveled at a player during the steroid era. And with this, baseball can move on and hopefully close the last chapter to cheaters and performing enhancing drugs. 

Rodriquez will not go down without a fight. He loves the game and we could have seen the last of him in Yankee pinstripes and maybe the last time as an active player. At 40 years of age, after the suspension is served, A-Rod could still be a designated hitter if someone wants to take the risk.

Or, he could just fade away, but the ego and love of the game, let alone A-Rod trying to preserve whatever legacy he has, will not keep him away from the playing field.

Major League Baseball gets a victory here with the suspension, but did they? They are also culprits of the steroid saga. And through all of this, with A-Rod being implicated with obstruction of their investigation, baseball implemented drug testing with players when performance enhancing drugs was out of hand.

Added to the fact, in one defense for Alex Rodriguez, he was never administered a drug test because of the Biogenesis situation. This may have been a word vs. word situation with A-Rod, the other players implicated and the name of Anthony Bosch who headed the Biogenesis clinic.

But one thing is certain. This was a message that was sent to  the players and Major League Baseball scored a major victory even though the game has been damaged. Just take a look at the recent vote for enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The supposed all-time home run leader, record holders and more have been denied their place up in Cooperstown because of their alleged involvement with steroids.

The following is a Alex Rodriguez Statement on the Decision of a 162-game ban and it explains something in his defense to continue his legacy: “The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. This is one man’s decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable. This injustice is MLB’s first step toward abolishing guaranteed contracts in the 2016 bargaining round, instituting lifetime bans for single violations of drug policy, and further insulating its corrupt investigative program from any variety defense by accused players, or any variety of objective review.

I have been clear that I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline, or violate the Basic Agreement or the Joint Drug Agreement in any manner, and in order to prove it I will take this fight to federal court. I am confident that when a Federal Judge reviews the entirety of the record, the hearsay testimony of a criminal whose own records demonstrate that he dealt drugs to minors, and the lack of credible evidence put forth by MLB, that the judge will find that the panel blatantly disregarded the law and facts, and will overturn the suspension. No player should have to go through what I have been dealing with, and I am exhausting all options to ensure not only that I get justice, but that players’ contracts and rights are protected through the next round of bargaining, and that the MLB investigation and arbitration process cannot be used against others in the future the way it is currently being used to unjustly punish me.

I will continue to work hard to get back on the field and help the Yankees achieve the ultimate goal of winning another championship. I want to sincerely thank my family, all of my friends, and of course the fans and many of my fellow MLB players for the incredible support I received throughout this entire ordeal."

This is a historic suspension. The Yankees have been in the middle of this throughout the entire process of the hearing. A-Rod, notice at the conclusion of his statement, makes reference to returning on the field and helping the Yankees win another championship.

The Yankees have washed their hands with the situation and released a brief statement: “The New York Yankees respect Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the arbitration process, as well as the decision released today by the arbitration panel.”

But, surely the Yankees are looking at this from another perspective. And, perhaps baseball is as well. A-Rod has put himself in jeopardy many times with his admission of using PED’s in the past. Then, he says he did not do what has hopefully closed the chapter with a suspension that was rendered Saturday.

The Yankees, without having to pay $25 million of an A-Rod contract, have more money to spend in their quest to get back to the World Series as they pursue the highly touted right-handed pitcher from Japan, Masahiro Tanaka. Baseball, now that a decision has been made, hopefully will move on. The game for now is clean from further PED issues even though the players association does not agree with the severity of the 162-game suspension. 

Players have been sent a message about the risk and ramifications, and they can thank Alex Rodriguez for that because this was a historic suspension and a legacy has been tarnished.

It leaves to more questions about the legacy of Alex Rodriguez and where he goes from here.

COMMENT: Rich Mancuso Ring786@aol.com  Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

Fans to A-Rod: You're a Bum

'He is a disgrace to the game of baseball' - player says

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- Fans at Yankee Stadium Friday night waited 52-minutes because of a rain delay before they could let Alex Rodriguez know how they felt. He was introduced as a part of the starting lineup. The reaction appeared to be mixed. Then the famed row call from the “Bleacher Creatures” was heard.

A-Rod heard his name, and the reaction was also mixed, though at one point it sounded like he was getting booed out of the building. A-Rod gave his wave to the creatures in the right field bleacher area.

It was the second part of the Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script that finally landed back in the Bronx. It ended with a successful Yankees win in 10-innings that made them feel a little better about themselves.

Some will say all of the attention Alex Rodriguez is receiving overshadows the problems his team is confronting. The Yankees, with 50-games left on the schedule, are as far away from playing October baseball as the Rodriguez decision on his appeal that is pending with Major League Baseball.

Also, don’t believe that the entire membership of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association is in the corner of Alex Rodriguez. A prominent player with the Tigers said before the game, when asked if A-Rod was a fraud, “That’s being nice. He is a disgrace to the game of baseball.”

He added that that the sentiment of membership has to be tolerant with this sensitive issue. There does though, need to be a line drawn. “Take the suspension and go," he commented.

A-Rod, the 211-game suspension abusing, baseball’s anti doping policies continuedHollywood script. Nobody does it better, another reason why the Yankees had only their fourth sell-out this season. Perhaps the model athlete, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, spoiled the script with a two-out- ninth inning two-run home run off the great Mariano Rivera.

However, A-Rod was not around to see it. His night was over after going 0-for-4, striking out three times.

“It’s probably 50-50 tonight and maybe more cheers,” said the manager Joe Girardi about the crowd reaction in this latest script revolving around a ballplayer that knows how to write a perfect script for himself, that being Alex Rodriguez.

"It’ something he has to put out his mind,” added Girardi. “He’s had to deal with stuff before.” Indeed, A-Rod has dealt with this before, and like the legendary Frank Sinatra said, “I did it my way.”

That way, spring training, Tampa Florida in 2009. A-Rod said he would not disappoint fans and the game of baseball again. The script would continue with an MVP type performance of a post season, a fraud because it was done once again using performance enhancing drugs. All the evidence without a jury makes it look that way.

And with an Alex Rodriguez Hollywood script, that would be the first case scenario.

The start of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers, a team coming in with a 12-game winning streak was also put on the side because of more A-Rod theatre. The Yankees came back to the Bronx Friday night having lost four straight, at 57-56, and one game over .500.

Yes, Alex Rodriguez was more important as the Yankees try to find something to get back in the pennant race mix. The Yankees crowd saw the return of Curtis Granderson. He has not made much of an impact since returning from the disabled list last Friday night in San Diego.

But, he was also overshadowed because this was the return of Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx, a ballplayer who can write a script as good as they come in Hollywood.

There were some signs in the crowd. “Welcome back A-Rod” and “We are behind you 100 Percent.” That is expected, because Alex Rodriguez is that type of ballplayer who gathers that attention, whether you love or hate him.

This entire Biogenesis fiasco of a scandal has become Alex Rodriguez drama, as it always is. It has not centered on the other 12- players that were suspended and did not appeal. The drama continued with his first time back in the Bronx since being benched last October in the ALCS that the Yankees lost to the Tigers.

And surly the drama will continue. Because this is a script Alex Rodriguez has created that belongs in Hollywood when his farce of a career is finally over.

Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com/ Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

A-Rod Circus Comes to Bronx

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, AUGUST 10- After a disappointing road trip in which they lost six of eight games, the Yankees returned to the Bronx on Friday to begin a three game series with the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers.

Going into the series, The Yanks had won only six of their last 20 games, the Yanks are a season worst 11 games out of first place in the A.L. East and seven games behind the Texas Rangers for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. The Tigers brought a 12 game winning streak to Yankee Stadium and were winners of 16 of their last 17 contests.

Although Alex Rodriguez received a 211 game suspension from MLB that began last Thursday, his appeal will probably keep him in the Yankee lineup for the remainder of the season. The arbitrator’s ruling will most likely not be made until public until after the 2013 season concludes.

Rodriguez, as was expected, spoke enthusiastically of his return to his home ballpark, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day. I’m just privileged to come home on a Friday night against a tough opponent. I’m just really excited.”

When asked his expectations of the reaction of the home fans, he responded, “I haven’t thought about it. I’m not sure.” The decibel level in the stadium rose at each mention of his name on the public address system. The fans reacted strongly, both positively and negatively. Most observers in the park described the reaction as mixed.

According to Yankees skipper Joe Girardi, “I look at it as 50-50, maybe a little more cheers.” Asked if he believed Rodriguez would have too much difficulty dealing with the pressure, the manager responded in an understatement, “Alex has had to deal with stuff before.”

A-Rod did not contribute to any of the four runs scored by the Yanks. He struck out in the first with a runner on third. He again struck out with a runner on third in the third. He fanned a third time and flied to right in his final two trips to the plate.

Rodriguez was replaced by Jayson Nix in the ninth for defensive purposes. That may have been instrumental in the victory for the Yanks as Nix scored the winning tally in the 10th inning.

Nix walked to lead-off the 10th. He moved to second on a single by Curtis Granderson. He moved to third on wild pitch by the losing pitcher, Al Alburquerque. With two out, Brett Gardner singled to left to drive Nix across the plate for the 4-3 walk-off win.

Before the game, Gardner was presented with the MLB Players Association Heart and Hustle Award. The Yankees winner of this prestigious honor lived up to it during the game.

He walked and scored the first Yankee run in the first. He singled and scored the Yankees second run in the third. He singled again to lead-off the fifth. His third single of the contest drove in the winning run. Rather than taking personal credit, he remarked, “We feel like every game now is a must win.”

The win ended the four game losing streak of the Yanks and the 12 game winning streak of Detroit.

Phil Hughes (4-10) and Anibal Sanchez (9-7) will be the starters in the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon.