The A-Rod Disaster

Sometimes in a relationship, things start to go sour, the magic seems to be gone and it might just be time to move on.

Well, I guess it would be time for Alex Rodriguez to gather up his CDs and leave New York. This relationship has more than run its course and is becoming unhealthy.

In the most recent post-season collapse of the Yankees, A-Rod had one hit. One lousy hit. This from the 2005 AL MVP, the man who many say could be the greatest player of his generation. One hit.

It’s now more obvious than it ever was (and it was pretty obvious after last season’s A-Rod break down) that Rodriguez can’t hack it in the Big Apple. Yeah, he’ll post a pretty batting average and hit home runs but most of them aren’t clutch. Alex Rodriguez and clutch go together as well as Kevin Federline and Mensa.

The concept of being a Yankee is one that Rodriguez still fails to grasp. It’s not about personal stats and awards – only the end result matters in the Bronx. Win or World Series or else it was all for notion. And so far, A-Rod has been all for nothing.

Maybe the deck is stacked against A-Rod. Derek Jeter, the captain, has been there his entire career and is the cornerstone of the Yankees. Or the keystone – whichever one makes more sense. Needless to say, you don’t go against Jeter. And most Yankees know that. Even Steinbrenner knows that. Despite being friends almost a decade ago, things changed between Rodriguez and Jeter and by the time the former Texas Ranger arrived, things were pretty cool between the two. A-Rod even had to surrender his lifelong spot at shortstop to Jeter just to be a Yankee.

Manager Joe Torre, another key to the success of the Yankees over the past ten years, doesn’t seem to be a big fan of A-Rod either. During the series against Detroit, he batted the future Hall of Famer in the lower positions of the line-up. Now that everyone knows that Torre will return for another season at the helm of the Yankees, it appears that Rodriguez lost this battle.

The Yankees have to move him. Unfortunately, the very fact that they are the Yankees will hurt the chances of getting fair trade value from other teams. No one is going to willingly help the Yanks solve their biggest problem. In a perfect world, the Yankees would get young pitching in return for a player still in his prime. Probably not going to happen. It doesn’t matter though. Almost any price will be worth it just to fix the chemistry problem that has brought the New York Yankees post-season success rate down to the level of the Atlanta Braves.

The Yanks won championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, with a collection of players who understood what mattered. The Scott Brosiuses, the Tino Martinezes – they knew what it meant to be a Yankee. I would take them any day over Alex Rodriguez.

A-Rod, your time is New York is over. Your welcome is worn out. Pack your bags, gather up your sunbathing lotion, and box up your collection of whine – it’s time to go.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 3; October 18, 2006)

The State of Journalism vs. Barry Bonds

The legal proceedings surrounding Barry Bonds, his alleged use of steroids and the participation by BALCO in our nation’s realm of sports has sent a few men to prison. Unfortunately, not a single one of them is Bonds.

One of the men behind bars is Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer who, according to several sources, supplied the slugger with illegal steroids. Anderson went to jail after refusing to testify whether or not Bonds committed perjury in a previous federal grand jury. Anyone with any bit of sense can understand what occurred here. Had Anderson been able to state under oath that Bonds had not committed perjury, Anderson would have had no reason to not testify. The very fact that he refused to further paints Bonds as guilty in the eyes of the public.

The two recent victims of the Bonds storm are Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada. Why are these two men going to prison? Did they work for the BALCO labs that created the steroids? Did they give the drugs to Bonds and his other cohorts? Did they refuse to implicate the cheaters in our legal system?

No.

They wrote a book exposing Bonds, Anderson, BALCO and a laundry list of other American athletes in terms of steroid use. Game of Shadows was released earlier this year and was based partly on the transcripts of the grand jury that investigated BALCO. These transcripts were leaked and the authors have refused to reveal to the courts the source of the leak. A judge has found the two to be in contempt and sentenced them to a maximum of 18 months in prison.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s happened here. The first joke of a hearing gave any baseball player that testified immunity from being charged with steroid use. Mark McGwire refused to talk about his possible steroid past, Sammy Sosa somehow conveniently forgot how to speak English, and Rafael Palmeiro waved his finger at those insinuating that he had ever touched steroids. A year later now, both Sosa and Palmeiro are out of the game with Palmeiro actually failing a steroid test.

None of these men went to jail. But two journalists, after researching and digging for the truth, are. Something is definitely wrong here. Disgustingly wrong.

I lay the blame for what has happened with several parties.

Baseball, instead of turning a blind eye to the steroid use devouring the game from inside and riding the wave of popularity that came with it, should have rooted out the cheaters and expelled them from the game. Not a suspension, not a slap on the wrist. Expulsion. Bud Selig, the commissioner, should have ordered every player tested. There is no infringement of rights here – why should athletes be excluded from the drug testing that goes on in any other job out there?

Sports, the commissioners of the leagues, the fans, the clean athletes being tainted by their cheating brothers – they all should’ve demanded action.

But unfortunately, that never happened. Steroids were allowed to have their way with the players, with the game. They chewed up and spat out careers, warped the record books, and forced the fans to look suspiciously on every accomplishment and every athlete.

Fans shouldn’t have to be the judge and jury on the steroid issue. There are real judges and juries to do that. Sadly though, they aren’t doing their jobs either. And that’s why two journalists who were just doing their jobs are now going to prison while Bonds and other cheaters continue to collect handsome paychecks.

I understand that the current system doesn’t allow for journalists to be afforded the right to withhold information from federal courts. But when the government isn’t doing its job, people Williams and Fainaru-Wada step in. That’s the beauty of a free press – it keeps everyone in check. In countries that have state-controlled newspapers, people will never receive truth or news that may offend those in power. There are those at every level who wish to censor the press since they don’t like what’s being said.

It’s a shame to see two honest, hard working men like Williams and Fainaru-Wada go to prison because of someone’s ego and arrogance.

- Originally published in the Cardinal Courier (Volume 6-Issue 2; October 4, 2006)