A-Rod Is A Bottom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FTczZHcoN4
Does that mean he qualifies as a Catcher in my fantasy league next year? If so, I've got a Ramon Hernandez on the block, any takers?

Okay, that part was just too easy. I'll also pass on making fun of Rodriguez's tangerine-tinted skin and his DSLs (for now). This isn't amateur hour, and the man's delicate, doll-like features.

What I am concerned about, is the long-term, and long-range, effect Rodriguez' "admission of guilt" will have on baseball. I finally watched the interview with Peter Gammons' last night after 48 hours of trying desperately to avoid anything and everything steroid-related. Now, was it just me...or did Baseball's Savior somehow manage to spin doctor himself into some sort of sympathetic martyr-type figure?

First and foremost, Alex Rodriguez is not sorry he stuck a needle in his ass. Let's be clear, he's sorry that he got caught. If he were truly remorseful about using PEDs, then he would have a.) admitted to it before he had been caught and b.) not lied about it the first time. Additionally, I can't get over his, ahem, justification for why he used in the first place:

I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose...

And I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. And I did take a banned substance. You know, for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful...

The culture back then, and Major League Baseball overall, was very -- I just feel that, you know, I'm just sorry.

So kids, what did we learn? (Other than A-Rod felt a lot of pressure on the prostrate, had something very heavy on top of him, had trouble performing, despite being very loose). The blame is on Major League Baseball (which we knew), the Texas Rangers for giving him such a ridiculous (at the time) contract, and the inventors of the syringe (for making it feel so damn good when it pricks you in the ass); all of which Rodriguez groups together in the word "culture." Someone give his handlers the decency of a reach-around. What a great, nondescript, abstract place to mark as a scapegoat for what he did. He cheated, and he lied. And nobody and nothing made the decision to do that but him. Yet, A-Rod has the nuts to play the victim here? MLB is the evil overlord, demanding production, performance and statistics at any cost, eh?

What blew me right out of the water though, was the lack of...moral contempt by Peter Gammons, a true baseball purist. Gammons loves baseball like Le Ginge loves an evening game of butt darts outside the local grammar school. Maybe it was because I couldn't see Gammons' eyes (The nuclear radiation of A-Rod's skin must have triggered Gammons' sunlight-only-shades), but it seemed like he genuinely empathized with him, and understood his plight. He didn't go after him like I expect Peter Gammons to do. He treated him the same way the media has always treated Rodriguez; with kid gloves and an attitude that he is bigger than the game, bigger than the sport. Gammons didn't demand answers, he simply solicited Rodriguez' canned, prepared statements.

Is this indicative of a growing mentality amongst baseball insiders, players and fans that the "Steroid Era", instead of being a black-eye on the sports, is just that; an era of the game unique to all other times? When/if those other 103 names are released, what happens if a lot of the names are those of players formerly considered "clean", or "saviors"? How does Bud Selig and the sport of baseball repair itself if names like Griffey, Biggio, Thomas, Maddux and Schilling appear on that list?

If recent events, and A-Rod's interview with Gammons are any indication, there won't be any repairs to make. The notion that these players boldly and knowingly cheated will slowly dissipate; to be replaced by what will be considered the status quo of that time. Players will be exonerated and praised for their honesty and contrition, for their johnny-come-lately attempts to "fix" the game and save the children, when truly their goal is to protect their own legacy.

Maybe this was a witch hunt against A-Rod. It's irrelevant. He cheated, and knew it. And he lied, and knew it. Just like many others. The fact that he was a guaranteed Hall of Famer, media darling and a man dubbed to save the sport should not result in any special treatment, in any favors, in any lax attitude to what he did. Baseball is at a crossroads, driven there by the combined efforts of the Giambis', Clemens', McGwire's and Rodriguez' of the world.
The league must either reveal all its dirty skeletons, and rebuild from the ground up, OR consider the following question and continue to make excuses to justify what it allowed to happen: "If EVERYONE was cheating, did ANYONE really have an advantage? "

Major League Baseball, the gauntlet has been laid. Alex Rodriguez would like the world to believe he is nothing more than a victim of your abusive parenting, that he felt compelled to cheat. I'm more inclined to think he got caught at the back end (not the first time) of a drug epidemic in your sport; one you didn't initiate, but were certainly willing to ignore because of the results.

Now is your chance to clear the air, to make a statement, to become America's past time again, and to convince your greatest player to stop wearing blush. Do it.