Everyone Thinks A-Rod Could Use Performance-Enhancing

2009_02_arodfaces.jpg
Photos Courtesy AP/Gene Puskar
A day after Alex Rodriguez's uneven admissions of the "specifics" of his steroid usage during a half hour of answering questions, today he is being held to task by media outlets everywhere. None seem too satisfied with the version of events they got yesterday. Reporters don't seem particularly interested in figuring out the identity of A-Rod's unnamed cousin who allegedly provided and injected him with steroids, possibly because as one major leaguer put it, "I wonder if his cousin even existed. That was my first thought. Is his cousin made up? I don't know."

If Alex was hoping for backup from the teammates he was able to muster up tears for during his apology, he didn't get it once the press conference was over. None of the longtime Yanks in attendance (Jeter, Pettite, Rivera, Posada) spoke to the media after yesterday's affair. In fact, the News described A-Rod's former best friend Jeter during the press conference as "slouched in his seat, slowly twiddling his thumbs and looking out onto the freshly cut baseball diamond behind Rodriguez."

And while the Yankee company line has been support of A-Rod both before and after he spoke to reporters, GM Brian Cashman didn't sound incredibly convincing when asked about having regrets over last year's $300 million contract the Yankees outbidded themselves on to keep A-Rod around for another 10 seasons. Cashman said, "Well, we're not in a position to go backwards on this...We've invested in him as an asset. And because of that, this is an asset that is going through a crisis. So we'll do everything we can to protect that asset and support that asset and try to salvage that asset." He also added, "I don't think Alex is very good at communicating, to be quite honest."

Of all the A-Rod coverage, the Daily News more than anyone really made Rodriguez crawl through the paddy wagon this morning. Their full-frontal attack included:

  • A steroids expert telling the paper that A-Rod's actions "were not a youthful indiscretion....he has no credibility."
  • A body language analyst calling yesterday the most "controlled, contrived press conference ever in my life."
  • Mike Lupica saying that A-Rod needs a new acting coach and that he should "shut up now"
  • Media columnist Bob Raissman basically calling the whole ordeal a sham, in large part due to the provision that no follow-up questions be asked

    If anything productive came out of yesterday, Bill Madden thinks it's A-Rod shining the light on just how big of a role the Dominican Republic may have had in the steroids saga, something overlooked by the Mitchell Report and Congress. He points out that 57% of players who tested positive for steroids have been from that one nation.

    The only one of Rodriguez's teammates to speak to the press was Johnny Damon, the man who had a big hand as a former member of the Red Sox in ending the closest thing A-Rod has had to a playoff run with the Yankees. Damon tried to give some positive perspective to the mess that was yesterday's press conference saying, "He's a guy who definitely did not need it, and I definitely do not condone it....But there could be a lot worse things he could've been doing out there, (like) murdering someone."

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    Comments (9) [rss]

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    he admitted it. lets move on.

    no. 250 million plus 265 million plus this economy = never moving on until bitch fries. baseball is over.

    American culture as a whole is over, at least as we knew it. It's the chickens coming back home to roost. The culture of greed, arrogance, and exceptionalism is collapsing.

    Well, at least he didn't wink to the crowd like our 2008 Vice President candidates...

    1--I don't believe him.
    2--"Young and Stupid" isn't a legitimate excuse
    3--He is a cheater
    4--So are hundreds of other baseball players
    5--Whomever leaked ARod's name probably committed a crime
    6--This is professional sports, does this news surprise you?
    7--This is professional sports. It's fundamentally unimportant to the continuation of the universe whether or not a particular player used "PEDs"
    8--The government should not waste taxpayer money investigating this issue, having hearings, etc.
    9--The Yankees don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning this year. That's from a dedicated, passionate Yankee fan.

    Outbidded?

    Not a big vote of confidence when your GM calls you nothing more than an asset.

    cheats on his wife
    cheats on his fans
    cheats on ___________ fill in the blanks
    cheats on ___________ fill in the blanks
    cheats on ___________ fill in the blanks

    Screw A-Rod! OOPS, Madonna already did.

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