Shocker! Sounds like MLB has a double standard when it comes to A-Rod, other players in Biogenesis scandal

Let me get this straight. According to published reports in Yahoo! Sports and elsewhere, Bartolo Colon, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal will NOT get suspended for their involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, because all already were previously punished by MLB for the positive PED tests they had related to their connections to Biogenesis. (They are apparently considered the same incident.)

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!

My thoughts on the George Steinbrenner monument and tribute

I thought the Yankees did Monday's George Steinbrenner ceremony right Monday night. Things got a little dusty in this Squawker household, to use a Bill Simmonsism. Here are a few thoughts on the evening:

* I've decided that if there is anybody I want to meet in the Steinbrenner family, it's Hank. He seems to be the child with most of his father's personality.

* I don't ever remember seeing Joan Steinbrenner before -- she's definitely been out of the public eye forever. The funny thing was, though, when I saw some addled-looking man escorting her, I wondered to myself at first, "Gee, that guy's in bad shape." Then I realized that the befuddled-looking person was Bud Selig!

* Don Mattingly looks so young! Younger than when he was a coach with the Yankees. He still needs to bring the mustache back, though. It was nice to see him. Mattingly was truly a class act in the way he left the Yankees, which is why no fence-mending was needed on his part.

* Good to see David Wells at the event. He was one of Steinbrenner's faves. But, unless I missed it, where was Paul (The Warrior) O'Neill?

* Smartest thing the Yankees did -- and I am sure it was deliberate -- was to not introduce any of the VIPs. While fans cheered for Mattingly and Joe Torre, them being there didn't overshadow the ceremony itself. On the other hand, the media is all about Torre today in the stories. Well, that, and one other thing...

* ...That monument is, um, monumental! I'm wondering if Yankee players in the batters' box will be able to see The Boss' image looking at them, the way the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleberg gazed upon the characters in "The Great Gatsby."

* I'm also glad the Yankees won. There wouldn't have been anything sort of Grandish if they were to lose on the night of the Steinbrenner tribute!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

More thoughts on why Bud Selig is a clown

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, who pondered the other day whether to suspend Alex Rodriguez for failing a confidential steroid test in 2003, spoke out against Alex yesterday:

"On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am saddened by the revelations concerning Alex Rodriguez's use of performance-enhancing substances," Selig said. "While Alex deserves credit for publicly confronting the issue, there is no valid excuse for using such substances and those who use them have shamed the game.

"What Alex did was wrong and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and reputation."

Meanwhile, former MVP Miguel Tejada, who admitted buying human growth hormone, although he claimed he never used it, also made the news recently. He pleaded guilty to making misleading statements to Congressional investigators during the Mitchell Report investigation; Tejada denied knowing that other teammates were using steroids. So it sounds like Tejada got prosecuted for obeying baseball's code. Now is he not only facing possible jail time, but he might even be deported.

So what does Bud Selig say about that? Nothing. Shocker.

It's convenient for Selig to make this issue all about A-Rod, instead of taking responsibility for his own lack of action on the steroid era. Heck, he couldn't even feign outrage over the allegations that MLB player rep Gene Orza was tipping off players on steroid tests. Not to mention the lack of concern that a confidential test was exposed. Good thing MLB is paying Bud $18 million a year. Sheesh.

At least spring training is starting. Hooray!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Just say no to suspending A-Rod for steroid use

It's scandalous. Everybody is talking about it. Purists are in a tizzy. A-Rod taking steroids? No, Westminster Kennel Club winner Stump the Sussex spaniel snubbing Sardi's restaurant!

At least there's no evidence that the 10-year-old dog (70 in human years) won the dog show by using PEDs (Pooch-Enhancing-Drugs)!

Seriously, the big story of today is about how MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is considering suspending Alex Rodriguez for admitting to steroid use in 2001-2003. In a USA Today column, Christine Brennan suggests that A-Rod should be suspended under the "best interests of the game" clause. When Brennan asked Selig if he would do that, he replied:

"It was against the law, so I would have to think about that," Selig said of possible action against Rodriguez. "It's very hard. I've got to think about all that kind of stuff."

Let me get this straight. A-Rod needs to get punished - for what, exactly? It took until 2004, over a decade into Selig's tenure, to even get a specific steroids ban in baseball. So what A-Rod took may have been illegal, but it wasn't banned by MLB at the time. Not to mention that the test A-Rod failed was 1) A survey test that was supposed to be destroyed, and 2) Was never supposed to be used to punish individual players.

True, baseball's steroid policy was shameful, but Selig had a heck of a lot to do with that. Maybe Bud can retroactively punish himself.

Oh, and while Selig may be thinking about suspending A-Rod, he doesn't appear to have given any thought to thinking about finding out the names and punishing the other 103 players who also failed the test. Or finding out why a confidential survey test was leaked to reporters.

And as for that illegality issue, Joba Chamberlain has been accused of driving drunk, but I guess I missed any worries of him being suspended from baseball if he is convicted.

So I'm just wondering - has Selig ever been on the right side of anything?

He has been MLB Commissioner since 1992, and was in charge of the game during virtually the entire Steroid Era. He looked the other way when players were puffed up to the size of bodybuilders. He didn't do anything to Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, or Roger Clemens. He didn't really push for banning steroids until over a decade into his tenure.

But now he's thinking about suspending A-Rod - for what, exactly? For being the only one of the 104 positive tests to be exposed? For actually telling the truth a little? Unreal.

You know, we all complained about PED-using players not admitting to much of anything. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are all about denial. Mark McGwire didn't want to talk about the past. Jason Giambi apologizing for taking "stuff", but wouldn't say what the "stuff" was.

And now here's Alex Rodriguez, who not only admitted to what he was accused of, but who tried to explain about the clubhouse culture at the time. Was he telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? No. But he did tell more than anybody short of Jose Canseco.

Making an example of A-Rod here will make him a martyr. Is that what Selig wants?

If MLB does dole out some sort of punishment to Alex, don't expect any player to ever confess to anything on this steroid issue ever again. Thanks for nothing, Bud.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!