Meanwhile, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News and other published reports, Alex Rodriguez is about to be suspended for...wait for it folks...multiple violations of MLB's PED policy involving the same incident. Madden explained on WFAN's Boomer and Carton Show how this may work:
“We are talking here (about) non-analytical violations, i.e. in absence of a positive drug test,” he said. “OK? Now, let’s just say for example, they have proof — good proof, legitimate proof, records, whatever — that Alex Rodriguez sought to buy drugs. That’s a violation. Now they have proof that Alex Rodriguez actually bought drugs. That’s a violation. Now they have proof that Alex Rodriguez was administered drugs. That’s a third violation.”So, again, let me get this straight. Melky Cabrera, who had a fake web site created to explain his PED usage, doesn't get any more punishment. Neither does Yasmani Grandal. And 2013 All-Star Bartolo Colon, who is 40 years old, 14-3 with a 2.54 ERA, and leading the league in complete games this season, has simply found the fountain of youth, and there is no reason to investigate him any further. It's just a miracle!
But A-Rod is allegedly guilty of multiple violations for something any person getting caught with steroids would have to do -- seek to buy PEDs, buy them, and take them. C'mon now. (I also have to laugh over the other idea floated recently regarding tougher suspensions for A-Rod -- that he "recruited" players for Biogenesis like some demented Amway salesman. I thought Alex had no friends in baseball, yet now he's the Pied Piper of PEDs?)
Madden also told Boomer and Carton: "Trust me on this, guys. This is no vendetta on Selig’s part."
Really? It sure sounds like one. Especially given the MLB leaks that Selig plans to 1) ban A-Rod from ever playing baseball again, and 2) wants to punish A-Rod much more harshly than anybody else out there, with an unprecedented use of his powers.
Something I noticed regarding MLB's reported plans to punish Rodriguez via the Commissioner's powers via this clause:
Article XII(B) of the Basic Agreement says: “Players may be disciplined for just cause for conduct that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of baseball including, but not limited to, engaging in conduct in violation of federal, state or local law.”If Bud Selig is going to use this to punish Rodriguez, then why hasn't he used that to go after MLB players who drive drunk, beat their wives, or break the law in some other ways? And why didn't he use that against players named in the BALCO scandal?
The New York Times says that historically, the clause has only been used for gambling-related offenses, and that the players' union is not happy about the idea of if being used here. In fact, Michael Weiner tells the Times that they have received assurances in the past from Bud Selig that it would not be used in other cases.He also says that “I do not expect" Article XII(B) "to be invoked" in this case.
In addition, there is this tidbit buried in today's anti-A-Rod story in the Daily News:
By using Article XI, Selig would risk a federal court case or a reopening of the collective bargaining agreement. If the Players’ Association decides to reopen the CBA to negotiation, the union would still find it difficult to defend Rodriguez because many of its players have abandoned support for the Yankees’ disgraced third baseman.
I think Rodriguez's lawyers would relish the chance to put Selig et al under oath. Get your popcorn ready!
"Trust me on this one, guys." -- Bill Madden.
ReplyDeleteIf there's one thing I learned from watching "Dallas," it's Never trust a smiling man who says, "Trust me."
Madden is turning into Ernest Hemingway: It's beginning to not matter how well he writes, he's becoming impossible to deal with. I just hope for his wife's sake (if he's married) that the transformation into Hemingway is not total.
But MLB is treating A-Rod the same way Ken Starr treated Bill Clinton. And, as Bill Maher put it, and it applies to A-Rod too, even if there IS a lot more evidence on him, "They went after him like he was Al Capone. They decided, 'We're gonna get him, we just have to figure out HOW we're gonna get him.' And he WASN'T Al Capone."
I'm not A-Rod's biggest fan, as I've made clear. And, one way or another, I want this thing settled, so that the Yankees know what they're dealing with. If he can play for them again, and he CAN still play, great. If not, it's best to get rid of him sooner rather than later, one way or the other.
But even the guilty deserve a vigorous defense, includin the right to face their accusers and call their tactics unfair and their evidence bull (or, at the least, inadmissible). They're treating A-Rod almost as if he's a party leader gone slightly wrong in 1938 Russia. At least they won't take him out and shoot him right after their summary show trial with a preselected verdict, right?
Right?