THE ALEX RODRIGUEZ PILE-ON IS NOW RELENTLESS

If I'm Alex Rodriguez, I retire from baseball at the end of 2012, I take my daughters and just hang out on my compound in Florida. It will be quiet, calm and I would shut everyone out. Why? Well, it's not that I dislike Alex. I like him and I appreciate all he's done in the game of baseball. I also appreciate the Yankees run in 2009 with him leading the charge. No, my opinion has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the pressure... the pounding that Alex is unfairly getting regularly by the press, ALL press. The past 48 hours, it's come to a head. It is so overwhelming, so relentless that, I have to say, it's just not fair for anyone to be bashed as bad as this man has been. Sure, ARod has been a whipping boy since he went to the Texas Rangers and commanded a gazillion dollars there, way before New York, but he's also a human being. What the hell ever happened to human kindness? It's not like Alex walks around bashing people or purposely acting like an ego maniac or gigantic moron or something. Sure, the biggest critique of him is the dude has a huge ego and doesn't have social skills. OK, that may be true, but last time I checked, that's not a crime.

I can't believe I have to sit here and remind people that the world of sports brings contracts built on years and big dollars and if you are good enough or talented enough to command a huge salary, and teams are willing to pay it, why does that allow everyone to suddenly label players and blast them? Is it jealousy? I though the whole idea of America was to work toward a goal and climb the ladder to the top of your profession?  Sure, when you're paid trillions of dollars, you HAVE to deliver, I get that, and when Alex doesn't, I get on him too, but not every single day. I mean seriously. At the end of the day, Alex is a person just like you and me. I don't get the viciousness, my Goodness.

The past 2 weeks started out critical and the past 48 hours have become just plain cruel.  If you read the first 5 selections searching ARod in Google, this is what pops up:

 AP: Time to put A-Rod on auction block
CBS Sports:  Believe what you want, but A-Rod says he loves the Yankees -- and was ready to hit
USA Today:  A-Rod: 'I'll always believe lineup is better with me'
ESPN:  A-Rod benched again; Is it personal?
Detroit Free Press:  A-Rod likely a Bronx goner

Those headlines are to sell papers and get clicks. I mean, are you kidding me? Even this dude from ESPN Radio in LA, someone named Beto Duran wrote about Kobe Bryant commenting on Alex and suggested Alex had "mental problems." Here's that ridiculous tweet:

Wow. This is supposed to be a journalist, how irresponsible is that? Mental Problems?

Look, Alex doesn't deserve this much abuse. No human being does. Now it's my feeling that Brian Cashman is a GM god, and if he wants to be creative and figure out a way to eat some of ARod's contract and ship him off to the Miami Marlins or Pittsburgh Pirates or San Diego Padres, he'll do it. But Alex Rodriguez has a full no-trade clause and there are plenty of hurdles to get over.  If it were to happen, the pressure would be off ARod, OR, I like my idea... and I hope Alex is reading this... Retire. Retire for you're own safety, for your own health and your own personal stability,  because I have to tell you, I understand the anxiety of this mess, it's too much.  Even for a guy like me looking at Alex from the outside looking in, I can't fathom what he's dealing with. My head would be spinning and I'd want to disappear. I can't imagine being Alex.

People will read this and call me an ARod apologist. This has nothing to do with Alex and PEDs and his lack of performance. This has to do with human dignity and respect. Sometimes to pressure just snowballs into the biggest non-story ever.

Well... It's snowballed big time and all I'm asking is, when is enough enough?

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