Well That Was Fun

Any hope of just getting through Spring Training without much distraction or hoop-la just left town. A-Rod tested positive for steroids in 2003. That's great. The one thing I've been looking forward to since September has just been tainted with the stench of scandal, sensationalism, and all the other fat, juicy, gossip-laced mass media-driven entertainment horseshit that sells papers, leads broadcasts, and stays in the public consciousness for eons.

Thanks, Alex. Thanks, Sports Illustrated. Thanks, MLB. Thanks, Players Union. Thanks, Federal Government.

What I want to know now is who else is on that list? There should be 103 more names to follow now that Alex Roidriguez (yeah, expect that and a ton of "A-Roid" chants this year) has been shoved into the spotlight. When are those 103 other shoes gonna fall?

Am I surprised? No. Once the Federal Government got involved I knew the sealed list of names would be opened. The Feds can't keep important military secrets concealed, keeping this collection of baseball cards out of the news would be impossible. Sports Illustrated is fighting for any sort of credibility in the world of new media and has no qualms with reporting a sensational story such as this despite any agreements in place between MLB and the Union. Major League Baseball knowingly allowed or blindly looked the other way for years as its players and marketable commodities bulked up and broke records. The Union made sure of it. And A-Rod averages like 120 and 40 hrs a season for his career as a SS, notoriously the least productive position the game has seen. This really shouldn't surprise anyone.

So what does this all amount to? More headaches for Yankee fans and more ammo for Yankee haters and little else. The players in the Yankee clubhouse have had to deal with such distractions before. They stood by Giambi's vague apology. They backed Pettite's admission. They're gonna have to embrace whatever A-Rod does too.

Third time's the charm?