Nothing like a little Led Zeppelin to provide some clarity though the upcoming chaos we're about to endure. Fool in the Rain is a fantastic song among many fantastic Led Zeppelin songs. Alex Rodriguez is a fantastic baseball player among many fantastic baseball players. Alex Rodriguez is apparently about to be, for lack of a better or less nerdier term, "Red Wedding'd" by MLB. Perhaps if Rob Stark took steroids -- you know what I'll just stop right there.
Two days ago, Ryan Braun agreed to a 65-game suspension from any and all baseball activities due to the ongoing Biogenesis scandal. Whether Braun is actually guilty or not has yet to be one hundred percent proven, but agreeing to this type of suspension doesn't win him any points in the innocence department. We've already discussed Braun's situation in length so there's no real need to go into it. It only served as the proverbial domino to what many Yankee fans all feared, or hoped in some cases, was coming; the Alex Rodriguez conundrum. What a conundrum it is.
A-Rod has his defenders and his detractors, his cheerleaders and his boobirds, and other such nouns and adjectives. The debates have raged on from "He only did steroids with the Rangers" to "Did steroids really improve his performance that much" and it has provided many a sports writer with ample fuel for the fire. Alex Rodriguez is the topic that keeps on giving. The Biogenesis debacle is yet another bottle of lighter fuel being sprayed on the charcoal. In two days, we've gone from Ryan Braun agreeing to a 65-game suspension to Alex Rodriguez could face lifetime ban. That's two days. Something could very easily come up between the time I finish writing this and wake up in the afternoon.
Braun agreeing to that suspension changed the game from Chutes & Ladders to Sorry! According to the article in that link, the evidence against A-Rod is "far beyond" what they had on Braun. Couple that with the fact that Rodriguez supposedly tried to buy the Biogenesis documents before MLB did and it is indeed a nice day for a Red Wedding. Bottom line is that things do not look good for our currently disabled third baseman. They never really did. Only time will tell what becomes of all this. Overall the most important question is, where does this leave the Yankees?
Let's get right down to the real juicy stuff. Barring a successful appeal, a lifetime ban would mean that the Yankees would be free and clear of the A-Rod contract that has him signed till 2017. Tanya, fellow Pinstripe Alley writer/boss/cannon mistress, put it best in another topic:
I don’t think it’s fair, but I care about the Yankees a hell of a lot more than I care about Alex Rodriguez. If Baseball let them off the hook for that deal, I’d be very thankful because I can’t delude myself into thinking that’s not absolutely best case scenario for the Yankees. It would suck for A-Rod, suck for precedent, suck for justice and all that. I don’t think it would happen anyway, but I can’t say I wouldn’t be a little relieved either.
That money could then be freed up to pay Robinson Cano, search for other missing pieces via trades, pay Cano, give them some more footing in the upcoming free agency market, and pay Cano. In addition to the monetary shackles being cast off it would also free up a roster spot, as well as less Jeter/A-Rod DH platooning. Don't get your hopes up on this one, though. No, seriously, do not get your hopes up on this at all!
Another big question is who we replacing him with? This year the Yankees have put Kevin Youkilis, Jayson Nix, David Adams, Chris Nelson, Luis Cruz, Alberto Gonzalez, Brent Lillibridge, Mister Softee, Thorin Oakenshield, Ron Weasely, Morpheus, Tickle Me Elmo, Lion-O, and Mary [expletive deleted] Poppins* at third base this year. Only pre-injured (or 2013'd) Youkilis provided any sort of offense value at that position this year. That was April. It's now July and Luis Cruz, our Plan E, has now been 2013'd and is possibly going on the DL. So the Yankees are now back to either giving David Adams a second chance or Ronnier Mustelier, let's call him Plan H, a first chance. Don't be too happy about the potential loss of A-Rod. It's not looking good at that position, both internally or on the free agent market.
We will hear more about this whole sordid affair as the week progresses. Or by the time I'm eating my bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. I ask you to wait and see before casting judgement, playing the blame game, or getting your hopes up. This whole situation, from top to bottom, is an absolute mess.. This whole story would make even The Asylum studios shake their heads at potentially making it into a movie.
The thoughts of a fool's kind of careless. I'm just a fool waiting on the wrong block.
*R.I.P. Dennis Farina
UPDATE: Remember how I said that we might be hearing more about this whole debacle by the time I'm eating my Honey Nut Cheerios? I was wrong. It was right after I got out of the shower, 10 minutes before this post is scheduled to go up.
Doctor Alex Rodriguez sought second opinion from says he found no quad injury on WFAN http://t.co/hGGwucQmtM
— The Pinstriped Bible (@pinstripebible) July 24, 2013