Okay, we have now seen Alex Rodriguez come out and admit that he used performance enhancing drugs while a member of the Texas Rangers from 2001-2003. He went on ESPN and talked very candidly about his use of PEDs to Peter Gammons (UNC grad).
Now we all get to digest this and spit out what we believe it to mean.
I don't see this as all the truth or all a lie. There is a nice mixture instead. As Gammons said in a later interview, he was surprised by how much A-Rod admitted in the interview. He voluntarily gave the timeline of 2001-2003 and seemed sincerly sorry that this happened. Also, I liked the fact that he came out and admitted to this instead of doing the ol' "I didn't know that was wrong" or the Roger Clemens "you're a liar" tact.
Of course as Jim Rome asked, is he sorry he did this or sorry that he was caught? Obviously it is the latter. If A-Rod was truly sorry for using PEDs, why would he wait until a day or two after he was exposed to pubically be sorry? Why would you go on CBS 14 months ago and tell (err ... lie to) Katie Couric that you've never used PEDs?
All that lends to the fact that you cannot possibly believe everything he said in his interview with Gammons. How can you? He has lied before when his back wasn't against the wall. It wasn't as bad as Rafael Palmerio's statement in a Congressional hearing, but it looks pretty bad. Due to this, most of us will assume that he was using PEDs outside of his 2001-2003 timeline, despite what he may say.
Of course, the real damage will be done to baseball. Sort of.
The games will still march on, A-Rod will be eventually welcomed back to his role as a Yankee slugger, and attendance will still be rolling. There will be a cloud hanging over A-Rod but he really won't have to deal with it while he is still playing (other than some opposing fans giving him some lip ... but it isn't like he hasn't been dealing with that already).
A-Rod will have to answer this as he approaches Barry Bonds home run record. He will have to answer this when he retires and the Baseball Writers debate about his Hall Of Fame status. This also puts a huge bucket of sludge on top of the mess that Bonds, Clemens, Palmerio and Mark McGwire have already made. It makes the Steroid Era that much more significant and places more doubt in minds of the fans. If A-Rod was doing it, then who else?
Will those fans leave? No. They haven't yet. The game has been threw betting scandals, drug scandals and a cancelled World Series. Steroids won't bring the game down. They will just put some rust on top of that sludge.
Now we all get to digest this and spit out what we believe it to mean.
I don't see this as all the truth or all a lie. There is a nice mixture instead. As Gammons said in a later interview, he was surprised by how much A-Rod admitted in the interview. He voluntarily gave the timeline of 2001-2003 and seemed sincerly sorry that this happened. Also, I liked the fact that he came out and admitted to this instead of doing the ol' "I didn't know that was wrong" or the Roger Clemens "you're a liar" tact.
Of course as Jim Rome asked, is he sorry he did this or sorry that he was caught? Obviously it is the latter. If A-Rod was truly sorry for using PEDs, why would he wait until a day or two after he was exposed to pubically be sorry? Why would you go on CBS 14 months ago and tell (err ... lie to) Katie Couric that you've never used PEDs?
All that lends to the fact that you cannot possibly believe everything he said in his interview with Gammons. How can you? He has lied before when his back wasn't against the wall. It wasn't as bad as Rafael Palmerio's statement in a Congressional hearing, but it looks pretty bad. Due to this, most of us will assume that he was using PEDs outside of his 2001-2003 timeline, despite what he may say.
Of course, the real damage will be done to baseball. Sort of.
The games will still march on, A-Rod will be eventually welcomed back to his role as a Yankee slugger, and attendance will still be rolling. There will be a cloud hanging over A-Rod but he really won't have to deal with it while he is still playing (other than some opposing fans giving him some lip ... but it isn't like he hasn't been dealing with that already).
A-Rod will have to answer this as he approaches Barry Bonds home run record. He will have to answer this when he retires and the Baseball Writers debate about his Hall Of Fame status. This also puts a huge bucket of sludge on top of the mess that Bonds, Clemens, Palmerio and Mark McGwire have already made. It makes the Steroid Era that much more significant and places more doubt in minds of the fans. If A-Rod was doing it, then who else?
Will those fans leave? No. They haven't yet. The game has been threw betting scandals, drug scandals and a cancelled World Series. Steroids won't bring the game down. They will just put some rust on top of that sludge.
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