As I was contemplating my next post, I was
considering writing about how I became a Yankee fan. However this morning as the latest steroid
news out of Miami was being discussed on the Boomer and
Carton Show, they posed the question “Do Yankee fans want to see Alex
Rodriguez play another game in pinstripes?” I figured I would put in my $.02
The fact is I have never been a fan of Alex Rodriguez. I have written all the way back to his signing with the Texas Rangers in 2001 that he was a money grubbing bastard, even though he claimed that he signed with Texas because of the talent around him and the opportunity that existed to win there, in spite of the fact that his contract prohibited them from signing anyone other than Chan Ho Park. This was the first of many cases where A-Rod, appears to be much less sincere about the words he was saying versus the actions we were witnessing. I was against the ARod being traded to the Red Sox for Manny Ramirez in the winter of 2003, since I believed (and wished) that he would continue to have suffer on a mediocre team under a greedy contract, as he was then 2 years into a 10 year contract, already complaining about playing for a crappy Rangers club that could not compete on what they agreed to pay him. I was also against the Yankees trading Alfonso Soriano for him in February 2004 for the same reasons. Look how well the Rangers have done since they traded him away.
Finally, there was absolutely no reason for the Yankees to extend his contract for another 10 years in 2007, taking him through the 2017 season when he will be 41. Yes I am sure the Steinbrenner family believed ARod would put fannies in the seats as he approached 713, 755 and 762(*) and this contract would ultimately provide a decent ROI, but they did not count on an admission of prior steroid usage in 2009 nor an utter disregard for the game of baseball that has pretty much alienated not only Yankee fans, but most baseball fans too. Any goodwill that ARod had was pretty much destroyed last season when he checked out during the playoffs when he couldn’t hit, then decided to hit on chicks in the stands during a game, and finally he shows up on Opening Day in 2013, only to sit in the dugout, opting out of the player introduction since he is afraid of being booed. So needless to say, I am not a fan.
None of that history answers the question of “should Alex Rodriguez play another game as a NY Yankee”? For this I take a more practical and realistic approach.
First let me state again that I am fundamentally against steroids in the sport, but the fact remains that players are going to continue to do whatever they can to gain an advantage over the competition. If they believe doing steroids, or HGH or something else in the future that will allow them to produce more on the field or in their checkbook, they are going to do just that. I believe the Yankees and Mets have been singled out because the sources of the Mitchell report were New York based clubhouse guys. Had they found someone to sing in another clubhouse, would that team been singled out instead? It would seem that a 50 or 100 game penalties is worth the risk, since players continue to be rewarded with new contracts even with a steroid past, see Melky Cabrera 2013 contract as Exhibit A. So, I have come to accept that performance enhancing drugs (PED) are simply a part of the game. It is becoming a cat-and-mouse game, where MLB is policing and the players are doing what they need to do in public or in private to gain that advantage. We can kick and scream, be outraged, etc but it is not going to the change the fact that this is the state of the game today
Now, finally my answer to the question at hand is based upon a few concrete facts:
• Very simply can he still play?
• Will he recover from the hip surgery sufficiently to swing a bat or field?
• Is he a better option at 3b or DH than anyone else on the roster?
My feelings about him as a player, as a person or whether he has done, is doing, or will continue to steroids in the future is largely irrelevant. Is he going to help make my team better? Is he going to help us win more games, make the playoffs and put the Yankees in a position to win the World Series? All Yankee fans knew that at some point he would not be worth his contract (yes, this applies to Derek Jeter too, but that is whole other story), and that time may be now, or it might not.
Either way, if he is better than the alternative then yes he should play. To punish him by eating the contract then trading him to another team or sending him to the minors so he never plays for us again is just ridiculous. No other team would ever make the decision, and neither should the Yankees. Now, if the clubhouse rebelled against him, like the NY (hockey) Rangers did against their former coach, John Tortorella, then they might have a case for making him go away, but I doubt any player will come out and publicly say anything negative about him.
The real question here is if he cannot recover from his injuries and become a productive player, will he do the right thing and retire, or will he pull a Mo Vaughn and remain the disabled list for 3 years, just to collect every last dime from his contract? Time will tell.
This was written exclusively for www.baseballmemories.com
Finally, there was absolutely no reason for the Yankees to extend his contract for another 10 years in 2007, taking him through the 2017 season when he will be 41. Yes I am sure the Steinbrenner family believed ARod would put fannies in the seats as he approached 713, 755 and 762(*) and this contract would ultimately provide a decent ROI, but they did not count on an admission of prior steroid usage in 2009 nor an utter disregard for the game of baseball that has pretty much alienated not only Yankee fans, but most baseball fans too. Any goodwill that ARod had was pretty much destroyed last season when he checked out during the playoffs when he couldn’t hit, then decided to hit on chicks in the stands during a game, and finally he shows up on Opening Day in 2013, only to sit in the dugout, opting out of the player introduction since he is afraid of being booed. So needless to say, I am not a fan.
None of that history answers the question of “should Alex Rodriguez play another game as a NY Yankee”? For this I take a more practical and realistic approach.
First let me state again that I am fundamentally against steroids in the sport, but the fact remains that players are going to continue to do whatever they can to gain an advantage over the competition. If they believe doing steroids, or HGH or something else in the future that will allow them to produce more on the field or in their checkbook, they are going to do just that. I believe the Yankees and Mets have been singled out because the sources of the Mitchell report were New York based clubhouse guys. Had they found someone to sing in another clubhouse, would that team been singled out instead? It would seem that a 50 or 100 game penalties is worth the risk, since players continue to be rewarded with new contracts even with a steroid past, see Melky Cabrera 2013 contract as Exhibit A. So, I have come to accept that performance enhancing drugs (PED) are simply a part of the game. It is becoming a cat-and-mouse game, where MLB is policing and the players are doing what they need to do in public or in private to gain that advantage. We can kick and scream, be outraged, etc but it is not going to the change the fact that this is the state of the game today
Now, finally my answer to the question at hand is based upon a few concrete facts:
• Very simply can he still play?
• Will he recover from the hip surgery sufficiently to swing a bat or field?
• Is he a better option at 3b or DH than anyone else on the roster?
My feelings about him as a player, as a person or whether he has done, is doing, or will continue to steroids in the future is largely irrelevant. Is he going to help make my team better? Is he going to help us win more games, make the playoffs and put the Yankees in a position to win the World Series? All Yankee fans knew that at some point he would not be worth his contract (yes, this applies to Derek Jeter too, but that is whole other story), and that time may be now, or it might not.
Either way, if he is better than the alternative then yes he should play. To punish him by eating the contract then trading him to another team or sending him to the minors so he never plays for us again is just ridiculous. No other team would ever make the decision, and neither should the Yankees. Now, if the clubhouse rebelled against him, like the NY (hockey) Rangers did against their former coach, John Tortorella, then they might have a case for making him go away, but I doubt any player will come out and publicly say anything negative about him.
The real question here is if he cannot recover from his injuries and become a productive player, will he do the right thing and retire, or will he pull a Mo Vaughn and remain the disabled list for 3 years, just to collect every last dime from his contract? Time will tell.
This was written exclusively for www.baseballmemories.com
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