ON THE MARK.

A-ROD IS A FRAUD.

In the 1998 finale of "Seinfeld", Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is on the stand in the courtroom when suddenly George's father jumps up and yells "How could you pay 15 million dollars for Hideki Irabu?"   If "Seinfeld" aired today, the line would be "How could you pay 275 million dollars for Alex Rodriguez?"
Yes, leave it to A-Rod to upstage the biggest sports story of the year, the Super Bowl.   He craves the limelight, and now he's got it for all the wrong reasons.  He had stated, in 2009, that he took PEDs between 2001 and 2003, while with the Texas Rangers.  He basically got a pass from Major League Baseball.  No suspension, thanks to his explanation and promise not to do it again.   And while the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were all linked to steroids, A-Rod's image didn't take much of a hit at all.  In fact, he claimed, fraudulently, that he was going to be the all-time "clean" homerun champion.
   But one thing A-Rod failed to do was his due diligence.  If you're going to cheat, you need to make sure that the people who are helping you cheat can be trusted NOT to blow the whistle on you.  That means their private notes may no longer be private if they fail to pay their bills, or piss off employees who might have access to these notes.   And that's what happened in Miami, where, according to these notes, A-Rod was a regular visitor to the clinic that supplied PEDs which include HGH (Human Growth Hormone).   This year, Major League baseball will test for HGH.   Strangely enough, while PEDs may have contributed to A-Rods 647 career homeruns, they may have also accelerated the deterioration of his hips, of which one has already been surgically repaired, and the other is about to be.  Yes, decreased joint flexibility is one of the many side effects linked to steroids along with liver and kidney issues.  Obsession with body image is another.  Sounds like A-Rod could be the poster boy for what's wrong with PEDs.
     I first met Alex (as he was known then) in 1994 when he was an 18 year old rookie with the Seattle Mariners.  Even then, he had a swagger about him that would suggest that he KNEW he was a great ballplayer and future Hall of Famer.  He probably knew he was going to date Madonna, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson and a bevy of other beauties whose names I've forgotten (and he probably has too).   Rodriguez came off as arrogant, snarky and somewhat insecure.  When he signed an enormous contract with the Texas Rangers for $250 million, he became even worse.  In 2007, against the Bluejays, teammate Jorge Posada hit a pop up with two outs and Rodriguez at second.  As he rounded third, A-Rod yelled "Mine", at Jays third baseman Howie Clark, who let the ball go, thinking his teammate had called him off.   The Yankees ended up winning the game, but Jays manager John Gibbons called it a  "bush league move".  Nobody could recall ever seeing that stunt pulled at the Major League level.  Leave it to A-Rod to pull off a stunt that nobody had ever tried before.
      Now the question remains:  Should A-Rod go into the Hall of Fame?  In my mind, he got a pass from baseball when he "came clean" a few years ago.   But now, even though he never failed a drug test, A-Rod is tainted.   Just like the others from the steroid era, he's viewed as a cheater and a liar.   He said he's never had any association with the lab in Miami and he's never taken PEDs since 2003.   Mounting evidence suggests otherwise.  Major League baseball will investigate, and unless somebody spoils all the samples and the records get lost in a fire, they should have enough to permanently ruin his reputation and keep him out of the Hall of Fame, just like the others.