The NYT has great coverage of the press conference by Alex Rodriguez on his use of steroids in the first part of this millennium. But who doesn’t. It has been the sole topic on sports radio for over a week. For Canadians needing a hockey analogy, it is tantamount to Wayne Gretzky admitting he was on the juice. A-Rod is touted as the greatest player of this era and he has told us all that he stuck needles in his butt 36 times in the sixth seventh and eighth years of his career. Apparently not everyone is amused with the situation:
Because Rodriguez’s words and actions are often choreographed, there was some speculation among members of the news media about the legitimacy of his emotional display toward his teammates. Several minutes after Rodriguez’s silence, he told his teammates he loved them and looked forward to an “amazing season.” The players offered no visible head nods or thumbs up to Rodriguez. Posada bolted about halfway through Rodriguez’s session. The Yankees were unsure why he left. None of the Yankees hung around to do interviews. Jeter, the Yankees’ captain, was emotionless and sat slumped in his chair. He will discuss Rodriguez on Wednesday, at which point he may still be emotionless.
I’d slump, too, if this was my team. The story makes no sense. Likes like “I was a young guy” and “I was immature and I was stupid” fails to take into account how deep it occurred into his career. It also fails to take into account he has admitted that took another later banned substance from 1994 to 2000. He says “I’m not sure what the benefit was” but the Texas years 2001-2003 were among the best in his career.
It almost makes you feel sorry for the Yankees. Almost.
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