"A Canadian sports doctor (Dr. Anthony Galea) whose high-profile clients have included Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to bringing into the United States unapproved drugs, including human growth hormone, that were used to treat professional athletes (Boston Herald)."
I find it very odd that this story is getting no media attention. We ripped apary A-Rod for his steroid use, and yet Tiger Woods gets to walk away from this without really any notice. We were all wondering all those years how Tiger could drive so far, and be so good, could this be the answer? Could this be the reason he is having all these injuries now? I am starting to think so.
We always heard rumors that these two weren't the biggest fan of each other, but today we got a look into what it was really like...
O'Connor's book demonstrates other awkward Jeter-Cashman moments. When the relationship between Jeter and Alex Rodriguez was at its coldest in 2006, the two came together for a dropped pop-up in a blowout loss to the Orioles. After the ball fell harmlessly to the dirt, Jeter gave A-Rod a death stare in full view of everyone in the ballpark. Then-manager Joe Torre would scold the third baseman and shortstop for the drop, but Cashman asked his manager to do more. The GM asked Torre to talk to Jeter about improving his relationship with A-Rod. When Torre declined, Cashman confronted Jeter himself.
"Listen, this has to stop," the GM told the captain. "Everybody in the press box, every team official, everyone watching, they saw you look at the ball on the ground and look at him with disgust like you were saying, 'That's your mess, you clean it up.'"
"Show me the video," Jeter told Cashman in disbelief. "Show me the video."
The GM didn't bother, but advised Jeter to do a better job of embracing Rodriguez, if only for the sake of perception. One friend of Jeter's agreed with Cashman and told the shortstop to try to make A-Rod feel more welcome in the clubhouse.
"Now you're sounding like everyone else," Jeter told the friend, according to the book. "Don't you think I've tried? I try, and sometimes I've just got to walk away and come back and try again, but you know I've tried. And every time I try, he'll do something that pushes me away (ESPN)."
Very interesting, and you have to wonder what their relationship is like now. Usually I would blame the player for not being there for their teammate, but A-Rod is such a douche that I feel like it really would be hard to have him as a teammate. These things that "push Jeter away" are probably the same things baseball fans (outside of New York) hate him for, like tipping pitches for the other team, slapping at the ball, yelling "I got it" behind a guy catching the ball, and just his general way he goes about his life.
The story also doesn't paint a very good picture of Jeter though as it goes on to his negotiations this last offseason. Cashman, at the end of his rope, asked Jeter how much above his market value were they going to have to pay him, and Jeter stormed out of the room. To be fair to Jeter it does state that he was more upset that everything was made so public, which I could see, because usually he is a class act.
Anyways, just more drama for the Yankees, which just seems endless.
"A fan who ran onto the field at Yankee Stadium during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night apparently had a crush on movie star Cameron Diaz and wished harm upon Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who has dated Diaz. According to a New York Post story, Grim LeRogue, who legally changed his name from Joe Rogan, was carrying five pictures, including one of A-Rod with an X on his face and a gun pointed at his head (WEEI)."
Well if A Rod still doesn't know who Dallas Braden is, I'm sure last night got his attention. Yesterday Dallas threw a perfect game against the Rays, after more comments on A Rod going over the mound thing. Now, Braden is 1 pitch away from making it into my Hall of Fame and that pitch has A Rods helmet at the end of it.
Even Braden's grandma hates A Rod and said this after the game, "Let's forget it, uh huh -- and stick it, A-Rod"
I still don't think it's that big of a deal, but I love the fact Braden just won't let it go.
Ok, that might be going a big far, but I love that he really hates A-Rod (and that pic is great). I really don't get why he is so pissed about A-Rod running across the mound. I mean, I get that you really shouldn't, but it also shouldn't be this big an issue for this long, but in a typical Dueling Couches way he keeps the fire going...
"There's two ways that I can comment on that, and I'll give you both of them," Braden said to CSN Bay Area. "One, I was always told if you give a fool enough rope, he'll hang himself, and with those comments, he had all the rope he needed. No. 2, I didn't know there was a criteria in order to compete against A-Rod."
Rodriguez also is a selfish player, Braden added.
"He's an individualistic player," Braden told CSN Bay Area. "He plays for the name on the back of the jersey, not the front. I don't know if he's noticed, but he doesn't have a name on the back over there so he should play for the name on the front (ESPN)."
HAHAHA. A-Rod is such a queer, and I am glad this Braden for no real reason just hates this guy. I hope this start a serious trend, because no one should like this purple lip, Madonna banging, steroid using, overpaid douchebag.
Why not doctor up a picture of ARod and Jeter? Well, I did. I found this awkward photo on awkwardfamilyphoto.com, which if you're bored at work is definitely a hysterical waste of time. I decided that I am unhappy with the Red Sox play, and since I just don't think they have a good team this year I will revert to the old days of just making fun of Jeter and ARod. It's really a no-lose situation. So here it is. Enjoy it. *I am not expert in photoshop, nor do I care to learn. I just use the ol' copy and paste method. So yes, it is rudimentary, but still funny.
Well it's that time of the year. Spring training is about to begin and A Rod is in the news for something not dealing with baseball. This years controversy revolves around Dr. Anthony Galea. Galea is facing four charges in his country related to the drug known as Actovegin, which is extracted from calf's blood and used for healing. His assistant also has been charged in the U.S. for having HGH and another drug while crossing the border in September. He has been contacted by federal investigators regarding a Canadian doctor accused of selling an unapproved drug.
I don't think this a big deal at all. He is working with the feds so it should be a non issue. It's just the fact it's A Rod it's getting publicity. Jose Reyes was called by the Feds too and hardly anyone knows it. Whatever, can't baseball just start.
Never really had a reason to hate Cameron Diaz (other then maybe the Charlie Angels movies), but now there are rumors all around the internet that her and A-Rod were hooking up all weekend. According to one source the two spent the whole night all over each other with Diaz even doing a special dance where she propelled herself onto A-Rod.
Excuse me I just got sick.
Man this crushes me. Diaz was great back in the days of "Something About Mary", and "The Mask". Now she will just be another girl I can't look at since she hooked up with that purple lipped freak.
Yea that is the Red Sox record against the Yankees this year. The Sox have beat them in every conceivable way. They have blown them out, hung on, out pitched, out hit, and just play smarter baseball then the Yankees.
Last night the Sox 5th starter beat the Yankees #1, who was supposed to turn around this franchise. Penny gave the Sox 6 scoreless innings. It was the first time we really got to see what Penny can do. He left it all on the field, and threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Yankees. In prior games Penny was all about pounding the strike zone with his fast ball. Last night he threw everything he had and worked the counts to keep the Yankees off balance. If this is one of the last starts for Penny in a Red Sox uniform he gave one hell of an audition for the rest of the league. He was even touching 97 MPH on the radar gun. I really can't say enough about how well he pitched.
CC Sabathia also had a solid game. He gave the Yankees 7 innings, which was big for them since none of their starters had lasted more then 2 2/3 innings in the other 2 games against the Sox. Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Ortiz hit a solo shot over the Green Monster. Big Papi really looked like the Ortiz from the glory days when he used to be able to hit whatever he wanted to opposite field. The Yankees took the lead in the 7th. It really looked the wheels were coming off for the Sox after Penny left the game. Delcarmen let up 3 runs on 3 hits in the 7th. After a Cervelli RBI doubled to left field, A-Rod followed with an double to center that scored Cervelli and Damon to make the score 3-1. It looked as if A-Rod was finally going to be a hero, but at this point we should all know better.
Boston came up in the 8th and ripped apart the Yankees. Drew, Bay, and Lowell each got an RBI in the inning and the Sox went back on top 4-3. All that was left was Papelbon to close out the 9th inning and the Sox had swept the series and made it 9 in a row (if you go back to September of last season). He got it done in only 9 pitches, and the Sox are now 2 games up on the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.
There are so many great things about this game. Obviously the fact of winning all 8 games against the Yankees is awesome, but it gets better. Having the Sox 5th starter beat the Yankees star offseason pickup was amazing, then on top of that have their other big acquisition (Teixeira) go 0-5 just makes me want to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. Anyways, this was probably the most exciting game of the year. Hope you all watched it....
Well this A-Rod stuff keeps getting better. The reporter Selena Roberts came out with a book about Alex Rodriguez, his steroid use during high school and his personal life. If anything, I would love this, however, she uses words like "he may", "he strongly suggests", etc. I have to give A-Rod the benefit of the doubt because I cannot conclusively say this is true. If we trust "may haves", "suspected of" this blog would be just as big as ESPN. Either way, I hope the actual book is worded differently, if not,it will be just white noise.
"Alex Rodriguez will report Monday to the Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., to continue his rehabilitation from right hip surgery. Rodriguez had surgery March 9 in Vail, Colo., to remove an impingement in the joint and drain a cyst in the hip. "I'm very encouraged," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Sunday's game against the Royals. "To have a labrum surgery and be doing what he is doing already is very encouraging." He said Rodriguez would stretch, do agility work, light jogging, take some grounders, hit off a tee and take soft toss swings Monday. "He has long days," Girardi said. "It is not like normal spring training where you show up for a couple of hours and you go home." With the Yankees opening a series Monday night at Tampa Bay, Girardi said he expects Rodriguez to be at the game (Sportsline)."
With Teixeira hurting the Yankees need their big slugger back. Even off the juice this guy is still the most important part of the Yankees lineup. Swisher is hitting the cover off the ball, but that won't last. If the Yankees are going to try to take back this division they are going to need a healthy A-Rod. I personally hope that his first game back his hip explodes, and he dies, but I know fantasy owners/Yankees fan will be watching A-Rod's progress over the next couple of weeks.
"Alex Rodriguez is making progress in rehab after hip surgery and within two weeks could move his workouts from Colorado to the Yankees' spring training complex. GM Brian Cashman said Tuesday a firm date for the switch to Tampa, Fla., is not set. But he said the latest it would be is April 13 (Sportsline)."
Right now the projection is that A-Rod will return May 15th. Once he is back in Florida participating in baseball activities and appearing in extended spring training games, it might be only a couple of weeks before he is ready to be activated. The worry is that he may still need another surgery after this year, but will he last that long. The hip injury (which is why I am worried about Lowell) can be very hard to come back from. It will be really interesting to see if A-Rod, who will have to deal with a media storm via steroids, will be able to handle the pressure, and get back physically. He never did well dealing with the pressure of the playoffs, so maybe this is going to be the beginning of the end for his dominance.
When news came out this morning of Brad Penny's issues last season with his arm angle due to elbow problems, it made me think of Mark Prior and how doing just that ruined his career.
I'm obviously hoping Penny is back at full strength this season but after seeing what has happened to Prior and others when they toy with their delivery I'm wondering how this was allowed to transpire. Isn't it the job of a pitching coach to watch the delivery of his pitchers and see even the slightest variation in their motion? Messing around with a windup is something that should be detected early on and corrected.
-I really am surprised the Yankees aren't going to be more cautious with Arod. If they've miscalculated his ability to come back from this hip injury with the same agility at third base the Bombers might have a $25 million DH on their hands.
-Trent Edwards had difficulty getting the ball to Lee Evans last year so are there any bets as to how long until T.O. complains Edwards can't throw a fade route? I hope the quarterback comes back with a funny one-liner about T.O. dropping balls. This should prove to be an interesting season in Buffalo, which is more than the Bills can say in recent years.
side note: Isn't it funny how T.O. is getting all of this attention when Marvin Harrison is a free agent and Torry Holt is available for trade? Harrison and Holt have both been better and more consistent than Owens for the past 10 years (look at the stats) but because they kept their mouths shut the spot light isn't focused on them.
-Celtics are the walking wounded but even if the Cavs end up with the top seed, Friday's win gives me hope they can take on the mantra of the Lakers of the early 2000s and go into the playoffs healthy with their championship experience. Yesterday's loss to Orlando hurt but the way the Celtics were able to win a game they were clearly expected to lose showed me a lot about the character of this team. If this team hadn't gone through the adversity of the pair of game 7's last year I would be more concerned about this year's postseason.
-I Hope Shawn Springs is closer to Ty poole than Duane Starks. He doesn't need to be the Shawn Springs of '98 or even '04 (5 picks, 6 sacks) but if he can adapt to the Pats' zone he can be a huge asset to this team. I feel much more confident in him communicating with the safeties on obvious passing plays than Deltha O'Neal.
Alex Rodriguez's spring training saga took another surprising turn: He's headed for hip surgery Monday that will sideline him for six to nine weeks -- and that's not all.
The New York Yankees slugger will need a second operation after the season, assuming he can play all the way through. Dr. Marc Philippon, who will perform the operation in Colorado, said he's confident Rodriguez will be able to do that after he recovers from surgery. ESPN
Alex Rodriguez is a shithead. He probably felt sore this whole offseason but he know chooses to get surgery, 1 month until the season starts. After all of the nonsense surrounding him daily, it sucks for him and the Yankees organization that he will bring yet more Media Attention to himself and to the team. Coming from a fantasy standpoint I wonder how far his stock will drop with this news. One one hand, he will probably have stellar stats again, but on the other, if the surgery doesn't fully do the trick he could wear down by the end of the season. Just a thought.
A-Rod has been through a lot of shit and the season hasn't even started. I kind of felt bad for him, but today I realized he is actually a fucking retard. After coming clean about steroids A-Rod went on to tell the world that he got the steroids from his cousin. Not even 2 weeks later A-Rod is getting picked up from the ballpark FROM THE SAME FUCKING COUSIN. Listen I am all about sticking by your family/friends, but that doesn't mean you need to get picked up from the ballpark by the guy. The media is going crazy over this, and more and more reports keep flooding in about "other times" A-Rod used steroids (outside of what he admitted). Sorry, but you have to be retarded to think that no one would notice (or care).
Alex Rodriguez has been told by the New York Yankees to keep his cousin away from ballparks...really? Did they really need to tell you that?
The other day I was watching Randy Johnson's 19-strikeout game on MLB Network and the timing of the game was interesting. During the commercial breaks Bob Costas and others on the network were analyzing the Alex Rodriguez situation. While Arod didn't play in this game, he was a key component to that 1997 Mariners' parade of sluggers. As the game's greatest player is being ridiculed and lambasted on every radio and TV show as well as every type of periodical, the idea that we don't know whether Ken Griffey Jr. took steroids started to creep into our minds.
This one really hit me hard because I was a certified Griffey die-hard in the '90s (who wasn't?). There is every indication that he and other superstars were clean but we can't really be sure because of the information flow that is surging in from players. After learning Arod was on steroids we shouldn't be shocked to hear which of the other 103 players that will be named.
I don't think we can form a complete opinion on the steroids issue as a whole because we simply don't have the facts needed. Do we know definitively how long they have been around? Which players were tipped off before taking a urine sample test? What are the specific effects for each kind of drug taken?
For example, Barry Bonds was a great, Hall of Fame player prior to steroid use. Brady Anderson was a 10-15 home run lead-off hitter before his 1996 50-homer season that we all know was steroid induced. How can we quantify which steroids turned good players into great ones and decent players into all-stars?
I've had over a week since the Sports Illustrated article came out to read up on the information Arod has given us as well as look over some of the names from the Mitchell report from over a year ago. There are no consistencies when comparing the names and the eras in which players used these drugs. We know Jose Canseco was taking steroids in his MVP season of 1988, that Lenny Dykstra was taking them with the Phillies in the early 1990s, Jason Grimsley was juicing in the late '90s and a scrub like Manny Alexander somehow still batted .200 while pumping his butt full of steroids in the early 2000s. MANNY FREAKIN ALEXANDER. You know, the guy whose acne was one of the best jokes to make back in 2000.
Those names give us the full spectrum of players who have taken steroids. From an MVP to a player who was the butt of jokes in Boston for a summer. The more information that comes out, the more we should start to realize it's going to be a while before we really can define the "steroid era" and exactly who was involved.
I suppose the current question is "what now?". While we do know the game has been tarnished, it's not as if we'll stop watching. Just like my argument against the BCS, start at the top. I could go on and on about conspiracy theories that link former Brewers owner Selig and the current owners regarding who kept a blind eye toward steroids but I'll just choose to say this: fire Bud Selig.
Not only is he the worst commissioner in professional sports, he embodies everything that is wrong with baseball. Other than bringing in the wild card in 1995 he has done nothing to inspire confidence among baseball fans. Instead of declaring that the player whom he knew was taking steroids disgraced the game of baseball, Bud should have stepped down. We're going to find out how much he had to do with ushering in this now-tarnished era and he will have to pay for his decisions sooner rather than later. It will be difficult because he has the support of the owners but there will be a time where the evidence and public outcry against him are strong enough to get him out of office.
What a joke Alex Rodriguez has become, and truly has always been. The one thing he had going for him was his numbers. Many believed that one day he'd surpass Ruth, then Aaron, then Bonds. And legitimately so. 100 years from now, people wouldn't remember how much of a choker he was in the playoffs, or all the drama he carried with him like a purse.
And now even that's out the window.
Just how funny is A-Rod's career?
Remember this from the 2004 ALCS?
Then there's his .279 career postseason average.
There was his muscle-bound stripper mistress, who, in retrospect, probably did roids along with Rodriguez, then beat the crap out of him.
Then he won a prize for being Madonna's 10,000th "customer," but got dumped by the 50 year old. That's right, she's 50. And he got dumped.
Then there was Joe Torre outing A-Rod as a figure of amusement in the Yankee clubhouse, nicknamed A-Fraud behind his back. Torre also discussed his obsession with teammate Derek Jeter.
And now he's been exposed as a cheater.
This video clip from 60 Minutes a few years ago is priceless...
Watch it again and notice how he half-nods while saying he's never done steroids or HGH.
This is all just too funny. But it's also sad. Because of cheaters like Rodriguez, Clemens, and Bonds; clean players from this generation will have their numbers overly scrutinized forever. Instead of being honored for succeeding in an environment swarming with cheats, they'll be lowered to their level. And that's the tragedy of all this.
Who is responsible for this tragedy? Selig and Major League Baseball share a piece of the blame cake. The owners knew what was happening, and didn't care until it became public. Looking back at the 1998 Home Run race, us fans were pretty naive to not notice that Sammy Sosa became Babe Ruth overnight, and Mark McGwire was an Irish version of the Incredible Hulk.
But hey, here's a thought; LET'S BLAME THE PLAYERS WHO ACTUALLY DID IT!!!
Nobody put a gun to A-Fraud's head and made him juice up. Nobody threatened Barry Bonds to down some HGH. And these guys were hardly scrapping minor leaguers. These were established MLB stars, multi-millionaires, who's greed for glory exceeded their respect for the game.
"Baseball was still trying to decide Wednesday if it will discipline Alex Rodriguez for his admitted use of banned substances while playing for the Texas Rangers. Commissioner Bud Selig is considering his options (ESPN)."
There is no way he can suspend A-Rod for testing positive, because it was before the MLB had a drug testing policy. The only way I could see him going after A-Rod is if the MLB is going to start stepping in for "off the field issues" like the NFL does. Surprisingly, I think they should leave A-Rod alone, he is going to go through hell because of his admission, and most likely will not make it into the Hall of Fame. To me that is punishment enough for a guy who could have been known as the best player to ever pick up a bat.
Check out what Roy Oswalt said about all the A-rod steroid shit.
"A-Rod's numbers shouldn't count for anything," Oswalt said in a phone interview with MLB.com. "I feel like he cheated me out of the game." "The ones that have come out and admitted it, and are proven guilty, [their numbers] should not count. I've been cheated out of the game. This is my ninth year, and I've done nothing to enhance my performance, other than work my butt off to get guys out. These guys [who took PEDs] have all the talent in the world. All-Star talent. And they put times two on it..." "The few times we played them, when he got hits, it could have cost me a game. It could have cost me money in my contract. He cheated me out of the game and I take it personally, because I've never done [PEDs], haven't done it, and they're cheating me out of the game." (Fanhouse.com)
Ya gotta love this kinda honesty coming from other players. All the Yankee bullshit makes me sick, all the 'we support him through this' and 'hes our friend and we admire his courage in coming out and admitting it.' Shut the fuck up, he came out only after he was already caught...congradulations.
Big ups to Roy. DC loves candid athletes, especially when they have sexy wives.
