A week before Spring Training starts we have one of the biggest scandals to ever hit baseball. Yea, it's that serious. Just as things looked to be getting away from the whole steroid talk Sports Illustrated comes out with an article on Saturday morning telling us that
Alex Rodriguez 
tested positive for steroids in 2003. On top of that, the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association
Gene Orza tipped A-Rod as well as other players on when their drug tests were going to take place. This is a
HUGE mess and puts MLB in a fragile state just days before the 2009 season is to begin.
I was shocked to hear Alex tested positive. Yes, shocked. Why? Because Alex has always been a consistent .300 35-40 HR 100 RBI guy. Steroids or not, he's one of the most gifted players to ever play the game. Now with the steroid allegations all of a sudden he's a big cheat and he's not worthy of the Hall of Fame? Give me a break! This is a big story only because of the name attached to it and the team he plays for. If the name was
Endy Chavez, then would we be making such a big deal? No! That's because people find this a story, A-Rod cheated. Ok, so he "cheated", my guess is he was trying to keep up with the rest of baseball but I could be wrong. It was no secret that most of baseball was on something and no one did anything about it. MLB knew guys were taking steroids but didn't care because they were cashing in, now it's come to bite them in their rear. MLB should find a way to get behind A-Rod in this because in essence his rights were violated. Those results should've never been released. Nonetheless, Alex will prove in the next 8 or 9 years how great he is by still performing at a high level.
We are all human beings and we all make mistakes. Alex is no different. I know many people think he's a machine and isn't allowed to sun bathe in Central Park or hang out with a female while on a road trip but come on, seriously, get over it.
Andy Pettitte admitted last year to using HGH a few years ago to heal from an injury. He admitted to being wrong and making a mistake in judgement and all was forgiven. Why? Because he won all those championships for the Yankees. Is that fair? No.
Listen, I'm a big fan of Andy's but you can't have a double standard here. If A-Rod didn't make the most money in the game's history would this still be a big story?
Maybe A-Rod tried the steroids once. Don't tell me that you haven't tried some type of drug at least once? Personally I can say I haven't but unfortunately I fall in the minority on that. But does that make the people that have tried certain substances any less of a person, any less of a worker? No. This is America, let the guy do whatever he wants. You pay money to watch him entertain you right? So now because he might've taken steroids, he's a phony and you want answers. Well here's a news flash, we live in a corrupt world. A-Rod taking steroids is the
LEAST of our problems. The country is in a finanical crisis and you're worried about A-Rod 24/7. At some point you have to leave the guy alone. We all know how fragile his state of mind can be at times and this could very well get him over the edge. Hoepfull it isn't. Some people will not be satisfied until the man is in a mental institute and out of baseball. Well to those people who are anti-Alex because of this, shame on you. He was the man that represented everything that was good in baseball, now that changes because of a leaked test that was suppose to remain anonimous.
Another point I want to get across is, how in the world is Alex's name the
ONLY name leaked to the public? There were
104 names in the paperwork the government got their hands on,
104! And
ONLY Alex's name is leaked. Give me a friggin break! Four sources confirmed that A-Rod's name was indeed among the names that tested positive in '03. Ok, great but where are the other 103 names? Somewhere in here there's a lie and someone had it in for Alex. The way Alex's name was obtained was just as wrong as him taking the steroids.
The documents of the 2003 tests were suppose to be destroyed. I want to know why they weren't and why the government got their hands on it. Someone in the MLBPA didn't do their job and made sure those documents were destroyed. The MLB Union is not helping A-Rod in this matter, that's a shame. MLB themselves want nothing to do with this either. So basically A-Rod is on his own here. I think Yankee fans should stand behind the man that will be the face of the franchise after
Derek Jeter calls it a career. Remember there was no penalty for using performance enhancing drugs back in '03 so A-Rod if he did take steroids, was not breaking any rules. It is also vaguely mentioned that Alex has
NOT failed a drug test since. And guess what, he's still producing amazing numbers. You can't tell me they didn't test him in 2007 when he had one of the greatest season known to man with 54 HR and 150 RBI. He didn't test positive then. That means yes, he
IS that good and will continue to be.
Alex's next move is huge in terms on how we view the Yankees' Third Baseman. His legacy is tainted whether the SI.com story is true or not. It's a shame that this has happened. As if Alex didn't already have the weight of the world on his shoulders, now this. I'm not excusing his "cheating" but I certainly am going after the hypocrits that are bashing him. One person I have seen that should find a new hobby is the Daily News
Bill Madden. He is all over A-Rod and how he should not make the Hall of Fame because of the allegations. Madden also compares A-Rod to
Mark McGwire, that's horrid. McGwire is a one dimensional player, Alex is a five tool player, don't insult my intelligence Bill. It's funny how people are quick to switch sides. That's not good journalism. If you switch sides so quick how am I suppose to read your work and see any credibility? It just looks to be that Madden needs to jump on the "A-Fraud" bandwagon. I bet Madden came up with the "A-Fraud" thing too.
A lot of people have jumped to conclusions before we even hear from A-Rod. This story is far from being over so let's see how this pans out ore we place judgement on the legacy of Alex Rodriguez.
