MY AROD DILEMMA

As things begin to unfold on our polarizing third baseman, I become more confused as to what I am to believe.  

Initially it sure looked to me like ARod was as guilty as anyone in the history of humankind has ever been when it came to meddling with PEDs.  It really appeared that he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

Lately though, some things that the media covering this whole train-wreck has published leaves me wondering if Alex hasn’t been the focus of a witch hunt designed only to disgrace the man because of who he is and how much he makes. This is clearly my opinion, and you are entitled to yours.

First, earlier this week, there was the Mike Francesa interview with New York Daily News writer Bill Madden.  In it, Madden firmly alleges that ARod and his lawyers were trying to “negotiate” with MLB in attempts to get a better deal with his suspension.  He also intimates that ARod’s insurance policy came into play as part of how the whole thing would fall out.  He went so far as to say that ARod’s crime against MLB was worse than Whitey Bulger’s (famously convicted Boston mobster) crimes. To hear what Madden was saying lent itself to the belief that Alex was only second to Adolf Hitler in terms of the damage he caused to civilization.

Francesa then followed his interview (HERE) with a call to Rodriguez’s lawyer who denied all that Madden accused them of, as well as saying that there were absolutely no negotiations with MLB over the reducing of Alex’s suspension.  He flat out said that Madden was lying.

Given Madden’s dramatic portrayal of ARod, I couldn’t help but somewhat side with Alex’s lawyer.

Today CBS’s highly acclaimed “60 Minutes” came out with an article titled “ARod implicated fellow players in doping investigation”.   After reading that headline I once again bounced back to thinking that Rodriguez had stooped so low as to point fingers at others to deflect focus on him.

Only, the article didn’t back up the headline (at least, to me it didn’t). BYB was sure to Tweet that earlier today as well:

There's a difference between @AROD snitching and @AROD's "inner circle" snitching . Don't read the headline today... Read a story with facts
— Bleeding Yankee Blue (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 16, 2013

Instead, the entire piece discusses how ARod’s “inner circle” leaked the names of Ryan Braun and Francisco Cervelli (as well as others) to MLB.  Nowhere does it say that Alex himself offered up his fellow players.  Instead, I am left wondering just who these “members of Rodriguez’s camp” are and how on earth did “60 Minutes” identify them?  Do they have membership cards?  Is there a physical encampment somewhere in the Florida wetlands that is heavily guarded and comprised of shady characters in dark sunglasses wearing Rodriguez jerseys?  If there is, I bet it’s a really nice place given the money Alex is making.  Or, did someone tell them “yeah, I’m part of ARod’s camp”?

When you make allegations with headlines like that, I’d expect the article to say it had evidence Alex offered up his fellow players as sacrificial lambs.  You better be careful when you use the “guilt by association” angle. 

Look, I really respect “60 Minutes” – always have, always will.  More often than not their reporting is thorough and spot on.  It just pisses me off that I was misled by the headline, and in my case it works against what I am sure the article was trying to get me to believe.

When I see something that alleges a person’s guilt by using generalized associations I immediately question its validity.  It’s just the way I am.  No doubt others will take it differently and those will probably comprise the group of people CBS was trying to influence.

So, what do I believe?   At this point I am reserving my judgment until Rodriguez’s appeal plays out and all the REAL evidence is presented by MLB.  Face it, what the media has reported is strictly speculation based on “credible sources”.  As in Madden’s case, much of it could be getting “spun” out of Major League Baseball’s “camp” (bet that’s a nice one too!).

I do know that I want to believe Alex is innocent – a victim of others’ jealous finger-pointing.  Realistically, I’ve always held that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” and that makes me sad.

In any case, I wish the media would use decaf in the morning and be a little more patient in sending ballplayers to the gallows. 

And please, if there really is a "camp", send me some brochures!

    
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

 

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