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Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez is already slated to miss most, if not all, of the 2013 with a second surgery on his hip. Did he really need news of his involvement in an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and Major League Baseball on top of that?
According to the New York Daily News, the investigation centers around Anthony Bosch, a man based in Miami that has advised Rodriguez on nutrition, dietary supplements, and training. Bosch and his father, Pedro Publio Bosch, are being investigated for possibly supplying illegal substances to ball players.
In 2009, Bosch's father was a central figure in the Manny Ramirez suspension after it became known that the subscription that Ramirez used to get the banned drug that resulted in his first breach of MLB's policy on performance enhancing substances.
Major League Baseball is interested in Bosch's possible roles in the the circulation of synthetic testosterone, HGH (Human Growth Hormone), and other drugs that have been making their ways into drug tests performed under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Players including Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Marlon Byrd, Yasmani Grandal, and Carlos Ruiz have all received suspensions in recent months for violating the agreement.
This is also not the first time Rodriguez has shown up on the radar of either the DEA or Major League Baseball. In 2010, Rodriguez was questioned for his ties to Anthony Galea, a Canadian sports medicine specialist. Galea plead guilty in 2011 to trafficking mis-branded drugs for treating professional athletes. As part of his guilty plea, Galea has agreed to supply the names of his clients and their treatments.
At the time of the Galea investigation, it was determined that Galea only supplied Rodriguez with anti-inflammatory medication and treated him with platelet rich plasma therapy. Rodriguez was questioned by Major League Baseball, but was never suspended.
On February 24, 2009, Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids and other performance enhancing substances during the period of 2001-2003.
All and all, it is not shocking to see Rodriguez still popping up on baseball's steroid radar. The sudden degeneration of his hip and his inability to perform at his previous pace are both signs of prolonged steroid usage and the long term after affects of using. Whether anything comes out of this current investigation remains to be seen, but one could imagine that the New York Yankees will look at this seriously and consider all options in regards to voiding A-Rod's albatross of a contract.
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“I never bet on baseball.”
That statement is one that we will be hearing a lot of in the next few weeks, only from a different source.
Major League Baseball is investigating Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his ties to illegal, underground high-stakes poker games. Rodriguez has publicly denied having played in the games, run by accused Ponzi schemer Brad Ruderman, but reports of his presence at the games have been rampant enough to make Major League Baseball concerned. In fact, Bud Selig’s office has warned Rodriguez about participating in such games before as they may involve connection to illegal gambling in relation to baseball.
And when there is gambling and baseball mentioned together anywhere, the conversation automatically turns to Pete Rose.
Rose, of course, is banned for life from the game of baseball, which also preempt his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, for betting on baseball games. He denied the facts for 15 years, hoping for reinstatement, but finally admitted to it during the spring of 2007 just before the release of a tell-all book.
That said Rodriguez is now faced with a similar scruple. His Hall of Fame chances already greatly diminished by his admitted steroid use, A-Rod now must decide what information he gives Major League Baseball during their investigation. Of course, if he’s innocent, he has nothing to hide. If MLB suspects that he’s had ties to other forms of illegal gambling, then he faces a lifetime suspension from the game. For someone who sits just 137 home runs shy of the all-time record, which could be pretty severe.
Of course if I’m Pete Rose, or the family of Shoeless Joe Jackson for that matter, I’m watching this shake out with my own special interest.
You see, Bud Selig also has an interesting rope to toe the line on as well. If he attempts to suspend Rodriguez, he would need to push that through arbitration with the player’s union, which won’t be an easy task. It would require a certain burden of proof that the commissioner’s office may not be able to present, let alone make stick. Any such investigation would likely take a year or two.
However, if he chooses to simply fine or not punish Rodriguez at all, then he opens the gates for arguments of double standards. There is no doubt that Rose would seek immediate reinstatement should Selig show Rodriguez any sort of leniency. And that doesn’t even speak to the thousands of bloggers and pundits who have been clambering for Rose’s reinstatement for years. Would Selig want to even open up that can of worms?
Finally you have the Yankee equation. Let’s face facts; this is a ball club that doesn’t need Rodriguez and is arguable better without him. They’ve looked down the path of voiding his contract when he admitted to steroid usage, so is it completely out of the question that Brian Cashman and the brothers Steinbrenner would want to rid themselves of this walking distraction? From steroids, to affairs on road trips, to bush-league play on the field, and finally a gambling investigation, this is one headache that the Yankees may ultimately decide to take care of.
Unfortunately, just two Excedrin won’t make it go away.
Sources:
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Over the weekend, Jayson Werth signed a double-popping eye-opening contract, first that he signed with the Washington Natinals, and then also that he got $126 million.
A $126 million for Jayson Werth, wow. I thought he'd get something in the $12 million a year range, however, Boras got him $18 million a year.
Say what you want about Scott Boras, but NOBODY can deny that he is great at what he does.
Here are some of the other WOW contracts that Boras has negotiated...
Greg Maddux, 5 years for $58 million (in 1997)
Kevin Brown, 7 years for $105 million
Bernie Williams, 7 years for $87.5 million
Alex Rodriguez, 10 years for $252 million
Barry Bonds, 5 years for $90 million (at age 37)
Adrian Beltre, 5 years for $64 million
Jason Varitek, 4 years for $40 million
Carlos Beltran, 7 years for $119 million
Magglio Ordonez, 7 years for $105 million
Kevin Millwood, 5 years for $60 million (really?)
JD Drew, 5 years for $70 million
Daisuke Matsuzaka, 6 years for $52 million, plus another $51 mil
Barry Zito, 7 years for $126 million
Alex Rodriguez, 10 years for $305 million
Andruw Jones, 2 years for $36 million (after hitting .222)
Mark Teixeira, 8 years for $180 million
Derek Lowe, 4 years for $60 million
Oliver Perez, 3 years for $36 million
Manny Ramirez, 2 years for $45 million (at age 38)
Stephen Strasburg, $15 million for the #1 pick (record for pitcher)
Matt Holliday, 7 years for $120 million
Bryce Harper, $10 million for the #1 pick (record for non-pitcher)
Jayson Werth, 7 years for $126 million
some of his other clients include...
Prince Fielder
Carlos Gonzalez
Johnny Damon
Jacoby Elsbury
Carlos Pena
Shin-Soo Choo
Jair Jurrjens
Jered Weaver
Matt Weiters
and he routinely has at least three of the top picks in each years amateur draft.
Boras is fucking great at what he does.
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There has been a lot of debate over the last week in the baseball world revolving around Derek Jeter and his Oscar-winning performace last Wednesday, when he faked getting hit by a pitch that replay later showed hit the knob of the bat. Jeter would later score on a home run by Curtis Granderson.
Jeter, for his part, admitted after the game that he wasn't hit by the pitch, which will not likely help his cause on future incidents when being hit by a pitch. Meanwhile, Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was ejected from the game for arguing the call, said that he couldn't fault Jeter, because if one of his players put up the same performance, saying "If our guys did it, I would have applauded that, too."
But is Derek Jeter getting a free pass on this incident because of his sparkling image as the captain of the New York Yankees?
Let's put this into a different perspective, which we can call "The A-Rod Angle." Would Alex Rodriguez have gotten the same treatment or would he have been called out as "bush league" for these actions? Comparatively, Rodriguez has three similar incidents in his past as a Yankee that have been construed in a completely different light:
Incident #1 - The ALCS Ball Slap
During the 8th inning of the pivotal game six of the 2004 ALCS, Alex Rodriguez hit a weak ground ball up the first base line, which was fielded by pitcher Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo attempted to tag Rodriguez for the out, but Rodriguez swatted at the Arroyo's glove, forcing the ball out and allowing Jeter to score from first. After review by the umpires, Rodriguez was ruled out on interference and Jeter was forced to return to first base. Boston went on to win the game on the way to coming back to win the series from a 0-3 deficit.
The incident sparked quite a bit of debate, mostly due to the timing of the action. It differs from the Jeter performance in that it was ruled a clear act of cheating at the time of the incident. However, it also goes to set the mindset in which many people perceive Rodriguez as well.
Incident #2 - The Toronto "Mine" Flap
In the top of the 9th inning of an eventual 10-5 win by the Yankees on Wednesday May 30, 2007, Jorge Posada skied a pop-up on the third base side of the diamond. Rodriguez, as the runner on second with two outs, ran on contact. As he passed third baseman Howie Clark, Rodriguez yelled what the Blue Jays labeled as "Mine" or "I got it." Clark, thinking he was being called off by shortstop John McDonald, backed off of the ball, which eventually fell in for a single. There is no written rule in baseball that prevents players from verbally distracting opposing fielders, but Toronto nevertheless felt that Rodriguez had crossed the line of sportsmanship.
Comparatively, this incident is quite close to the Jeter acting class, as they both involve players working within the rules, but doing something that is questionably cheating. The difference of course being that A-Rod was labeled as being a "bush leaguer" while Jeter played it off as "gamesmanship."
Incident #3 - The Great Oakland Mound Crossing
The final incident involves another unwritten rule of the game. On April 21st of this year, Rodrigues went from first to third on what was eventually a foul ball by Robinson Cano. On his route back to first base, A-Rod crossed over the pitcher's mound, something that Braden took exception to, to the point of yelling at Rodriguez to get off his mound. Rodriguez brushed off the incident, basically insinuating that a pitcher with Braden's experience and success did not have the status to push an issue like that. Braden on the other hand, went as far as to say that Rodriguez should"take a note from his captain", alluding to Jeter, in regards to sportsmanship.
This particular incident is more of a mind-game thing, something that Rodriguez seems to feel comfortable with playing. Jeter doesn't normally succumb to such stunts, but to put on a full blown acting job in order to be awarded first base and inevitably causing a delay in the game because of it doesn't seem that far off.
The final question comes down to why Jeter is granted amnesty while Alex Rodriguez becomes the easy target.
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