Are you kidding me? Seeing A-Rod get to play *after* he has been suspended -- and after the Bill Maddens of the world said that he was trying to collect on his contract via insurance and never play again, and after the Yankees tried to get him run out of town on a rail, and after MLB threatened to ban him from the game forever -- is going to be hilarious. Not to mention that A-Rod's return will increase the Yankees' ratings -- and ticket sales when the team returns to the Bronx. As much as they hate him, and want to get his contract off the books, he is great for their business!
The media made a point of saying that Rodriguez was "delusional" for thinking that he would be back with the team, playing on Monday night in Chicago. Well, barring some unforeseen shenanigans, it looks like they were wrong.
And it couldn't have come at a more miserable time for the team. The Yanks can't score runs, they can't pitch well, they have fallen behind Kansas City (!) in the wild card race, and Derek Jeter is miserable and hurt. Look at what he said yesterday after the game. “It’s been terrible,” Jeter said. “It’s been like a nightmare. The whole season has been a nightmare. I really don’t know what to tell you.” Poor Jeter -- when he's depressed and not his usual "I'm fine," you know things are bad!
Meanwhile, the Yanks have wasted the summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets, like Bruce Springsteen sings, and they now have A-Rod back. Heh!
The thing is, though, is that MLB has shot themselves in the foot repeatedly here, so it is their own fault that all things A-Rod have taken over the media coverage (if Alex invites Johnny Manziel to see him at the game tonight, I think Twitter will explode!)
Their own rules and policies were that PED cases were supposed to be kept confidential until the suspension comes down, and the person either agrees to take the suspension, or loses the appeal. Instead, baseball thought that it was a smart idea to conduct this whole thing through their minions in the media. If they hadn't done so, we would have no idea with A-Rod's return tonight that he would be appealing a suspension.
Anyhow, Squawker Jon and I noticed that MLB's time to announce the Biogenesis suspensions got pushed back -- yet again -- and is now at 3 p.m. today. Are they still trying to coax a settlement out of Rodriguez? I hope doesn't cave. He needs to keep the heel turn, and fight this every step of the way. Do you think he's licking his chops, visualizing hitting a home run in his first at bat? Do you think he wants to tell Brian Cashman and Bud Selig to shut the bleep up? I think so!
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