Alex RodriguezWe’re Met fans.  We don’t really care if Alex Rodriguez plays in 2014 or beyond.  Most of us would still love it if the Yankees to be forced to pay him, but we don’t care if he’s wearing pinstripes in the majors ever again.  60 Minutes did a report that troubled me, a Met fan, for reasons having nothing to do with A-Rod.

Major League Baseball is broken, the Hall of Fame is a joke and Bud Selig is a hypocrite.  Did Rodriguez cheat?  Probably.  Did he fail a test?  Nope.  Were the proceedings “fair?” Who’s to say?  The past week was a dark time for the MLB, whether they admit it or not.

Let’s start with the Hall of Fame.  I will continue to promote the heck of this wonderful piece from ESPN where they ask if the Hall should be a museum or some type of holy shrine to baseball excellence.

The voting process is a total joke at this point and it has made induction into the Hall an equivalent joke in the eyes of the fans.  Why didn’t Mike Piazza or Craig Biggio or Barry Bonds make the list?  Because writers don’t like them?  Or, perhaps because, writers feel like there is a taint on every player who played baseball in the steroid era.  Either way, the Hall of Fame is becoming as much of a joke as the MLB All Star Game.  Maybe they should make up some playoff implications based on Hall of Fame selection.

Looking at Rodriguez and his suspension the MLB can probably credit Anthony Bosch.  Who is Anthony Bosch?  He’s a criminal who sold and administered steroids to baseball players for money and then sold those same players out to Major League Baseball for more money.  Why do I call him a criminal?  I’d be willing to bet that before Bosch sold the players out to Selig he extorted Rodriguez to keep the secret.  (The reason that isn’t being shouted from the rooftops is that Rodriguez would basically have to admit his guilt to make that claim.)  Is it me or has Bud Selig’s war on steroids become a little Joseph McCarthy-esque?

“He cheated!”

“No he didn’t!”

“That man sold him steroids!”

“I’ve never seen that man before in my life!”

“You’re a member of the communist party and you’re in cahoots with Joseph Stalin!”

“Isn’t Stalin dead?”

“Arrest that man!”

Dear Bud Selig,

I don’t care who used steroids and why or when.  I want to watch baseball.  You can try to make things fair by testing players but these witch hunts are tiresome.  Please stop.

Yer pal, Dave

28 comments on “The Alex Rodriguez situation: Nobody wins!

  • Patrick Albanesius

    Perfect dialogue! I know this is a sore subject, but I think the writers are doing the best they can when voting. Some morons only vote for 3 guys, or leave Greg Maddux off their ballot because he looked at them funny one time. However, I think the vast majority of writers are trying to sort out the clean from the unclean. If Piazza has to wait a few years to get in, so be it. Biggio should be in already, but on just about every other player, if they are truly worthy and aren’t in danger of getting kicked off the ballot, what difference does it make if they get in now or later? Maybe more evidence will come out in the meantime that helps make it easier for the right guys to get in, or maybe somebody we swore was clean turned out wasn’t. There’s no rush. But that’s just my humble opinion.

    • David Groveman

      I favor the Hall of Fame being a museum and the best players of each era belong inside. Steroid use or no.

  • Name

    I usually don’t enjoy ESPN stories, but i rather liked that piece written by Jayson Stark. It perfectly sums up the situation that we are in. Personally, I’m on the side of wanting the Hall to be more of a shrine rather than a museum.
    Currently, we have one entity: The National Hall of Fame AND museum. Why not separate the two? Have a Baseball Hall of Fame, and a Baseball Museum. Recognize that guys like Bonds, Clemens, A-rod existed by exhibiting them in the museum, but don’t enshrine (def: To Cherish as Sacred) them in the Hall.

    • David Groveman

      So, I disagree with you but totally respect your point. I don’t consider the Hall of Fame to currently be a shrine. Too many names are there that should not be “enshrined”

      • Name

        I don’t think it is currently a shrine either, but in the process of separating the two entities, all players should must reconsidered through some new (fair) process.

        • Mike Koehler

          I’m 100 percent with you. The Hall of Fame should be a shrine to the best players, not those who made their mark on baseball. Ideally it should be filled with players who never touched a roids, greenies or anything, but at the very least bar anyone who broke the rules about it.

          Creating a separate museum may also make acknowledging Pete Rose – once he dies – with an admission into something.

          • David Groveman

            Pete Rose who never cheated as a player but gambled as a coach?

            Why should he not be in as a player?

            Are we arbitrarily making rules?

            • NormE

              David,
              The problem with the Pete Rose situation is that gambling has always been MLB’s most important no-no.
              Professional players have had the no-gambling mantra drummed into their heads. The hardline MLB and
              the HOF have taken in the Rose situation is historically consistent since the Black Sox scandal. Rose, at
              first, lied and then confessed, but can we be totally convinced about his betting habits as a manager?
              Pete Rose crossed the sacrosanct line and that message should never be diluted.
              He should certainly recognized in a baseball museum (as should Bonds, Clemens, etc.) but not in a HOF.
              I guess that agrees with Name’s earlier post.

              • Brian Joura

                I disagree. I think Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame and his plaque should explicitly say that he is banned from ever wearing a uniform again due to the fact that he bet on baseball.

                The punishment should be a ban from MLB not the Hall of Fame.

                However, I wonder if Rose is more popular and well-known amongst those who never saw him play precisely because of all of the attention he gets from not being in Cooperstown.

            • Name

              If the museum and Hall are split, the first thing i would make clear is that the Hall is for players only and so i would cut out all the managers/execs and relocate to the museum. They impacted the game, but didn’t have any true achievements themselves.
              Pete Rose should be in as a player.

      • Name

        should *be*

  • pete

    The other 12 players accepting their suspensions from the Biogenesis scandal without a fight gives Bosch all the credibility he needs. Is there gray area for doubt? Yes. You have to wonder why A-Rod has Bosch’s cell phone and work numbers. And makes you wonder how smart is A-Rod when you send text messages and send for Bosch during the playoffs to administer an injection for you.

    • David Groveman

      The fact they used steroids is not in doubt to me. I question the MLBs willingness to pay a crook to buy their evidence. They have sold their souls, credibility and moral high ground.

      • pete

        I know 2 wrongs don’t make it right but how else was MLB going to get the list and find out who was a client? I do find strange that the players union did not come to the defense of these players and their right to confront MLB’S only witness. I guess Bosch was right when he said only the stupid ones get caught. Out of how many clients only Colon and Cabrera got caught.

        • David Groveman

          I lost a lot of respect for the MLB’s front office and all respect for their war on steroids when they paid for testimony. It is a very shady situation.

          I consider using steroids less of a crime.

          • Chris F

            Regardless of your or anyone else’s feelings, one is illegal (doping, obstruction)and the other is not. Testosterone (just to begin with) is a Schedule III controlled substance. Bosch’s dispensing without a prescription, and Arods possession are both almost certainly legal crimes (outside MLB jurisdiction). On top of that, the CBA has a Joint Drug Agreement on which players are obligated to adhere to or face punishment. Again, this is a rule that for practical purposes is a law. A-roid flaunted his power and has attempted to use it to obstruct an investigation, whose basis was empowered through the Mitchell report:

            “The Commissioner should create a Department of Investigations, led by a senior
            executive who reports directly to the president of Major League Baseball. Ideally, this senior executive should have experience as a senior leader in law enforcement, with the highest credibility among state and federal law enforcement officials; the success of this department will depend in part upon how well it interacts with law enforcement authorities. The senior executive should have sole authority over all investigations of alleged performance enhancing substance violations and other threats to the integrity of the game, and should receive the resources and other support needed to make the office effective.

            The Commissioner’s Office should establish policies to ensure the integrity and
            independence of the department’s investigations, including the adoption of procedures analogous to those employed by internal affairs departments of law enforcement agencies. The adoption of and adherence to these policies can serve to ensure public confidence that the Commissioner’s Office is responding vigorously to all serious allegations of performance enhancing substance violations.”

            So what you call a witch hunt by the MLB is in reality them doing exactly what is expected by weeding out dopers from the sport. A-rod is not a modern day Robin Hood. He is a serial cheater, whose actions lie clearly far outside the bounds of the JDA which is approved by the MLBPA. Whether or anyone “likes” it or not, those are the rules, just like like 3 strikes and 4 balls, except in A-rods case where apparently he could have 5 or more strikes before making an out.

            The American jurisprudence system is absolutely filled with examples of bad people getting breaks to catch even badder people. Bosch is a turd. Watching his interview on 60 minutes made me sick. The reason MLB had to make a deal with this scum bag is because Arod chose him to conduct his cheating. No one wants to make deals with criminals like this guy, but this is part of how the legal system works, not just the investigation arm of MLB. Again, you might not like it, but “liking” it is not up for discussion.

            • David Groveman

              You seem to misinterpret my feelings that the MLB has done something worse as saying what A-Rod did was right. If he did some illegal, he should go to jail. If the MLB caught him on one of their tests, he should serve the penalty. The MLB should not be paying for evidence with the goal of implicating players. I continue not to care about steroids.

              • Chris F

                I know you dont, but paying for evidence and witness protection are commonplace in the legal system. That you dont like he was paid for testimony is irrelevant. That is acceptable practice and occurs all day every day in criminal courts across this land.

                What Arod did falls outside the JDA in the CBA. Consequently he deserves to be punished. The actions of the MLB fall squarely within the parameters dictated by the Mitchell Report.

  • Peter Hyatt

    If you listen to the words used by the players that have been accused of steroids, and listen carefully, you’ll know who used.

    I don’t want those who used an unfair advantage to get into the Hall of Fame. Saying one has never failed a drug test is like a bank robber saying how many times he wasn’t caught.

    There is enough proof to say, reasonably, that Barry Bonds used steroids. Roger Clemens’ own words show he used steroids.

    Aaron remains the home run king.

    • David Groveman

      Bonds likely used steroids, sure. So? He likely makes the Hall’s standard of statistics based on his pre-steroid career. More importantly, he was one of the BEST players to ever play the game. People need to get off thei soap boxes on the steroid issue. I am bored with their calls back to the golden era where players had different methods of cheating.

      • Mike Koehler

        Problem with that argument is that you don’t know how long he would have sustained that production. He looked legit, but ended up sacrificing integrity for extra home runs and his temper.

        • David Groveman

          Ignoring that I don’t care how much of his performance pre his obvious biological changes were enhanced. We equally don’t know what Babe Ruth did to sustain his career. Maybe Ruth practiced voodoo and ate babies? Maybe he corked his bat?

          Does the use of steroids make their accomplishments less impressive? Could I hit that many home runs by taking steroids?

          Drug testing is good.

          Suspensions for positive tests are good.

          Witch hunts are bad!

          Come on America. I thought we’d gotten over Salem.

  • Nebba

    Somebody wins.

    The owners (aka megabucks) pretend they don’t know what’s going on and rake in the profits in the PEDs era. Then the sh-t hits the fan and the owners “crack down” on cheaters – the result – they line their own pockets with unpayed millions. Wall St wins, always. We live in a cynical world of greed and opportunism. I highly recommend a really excellent piece by Mike Cameron ever at Fangraphs where he examines this “moral hazard”.

    But, I’m still a baseball fan when all is said and done.

    Lets Go Mets!

  • Chris F

    Winner: MLB
    Winner: Investigation Division of MLB
    Winner: Fans of the sport
    Winner: MLBPA
    Winner: Clean athletes
    Loser: Rodriguez
    Loser: His insane defense team

    • David Groveman

      There are clean players?

      • Chris F

        Absolutely. Doping and cheating are a dying way to get ahead.

  • Chris F

    Oh yeah, I forgot:

    Mets WIN! The straw that finally broke the back of Valdespin and got him shipped to pasture courtesy of the MLB investigation!!

  • […] The Alex Rodriguez situation: Nobody wins! – David Groveman, […]

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