MLB Eyes A-Rod Role in Earthquake

Did you feel the earthquake yesterday? I did, as did Squawker Jon, although neither of us quite realized what it was at first. Then, we heard what it was, we both wondered if some bitter MLB writer would find a way to blame it on Alex Rodriugez. After all, A-Rod gets blamed for everything these days. So, given that he jammed his thumb this week, we figured the injury could be blamed on him shaking the earth to cause the quake! Thus, today's silly headline.

Speaking of A-Rod, the New York Post has written about the latest casino kerfuffle.Alex reportedly went to Ruth's Chris Steak House at Mohegan Sun, tipped $100 on a $260 meal, and still had some snarky waitress say Jeter was better. And he was also criticized for supposedly not wanting to pose for photos at the casino saddened somebody who watched it. Um, A-Rod not posing for a photo at Mohegan Sun that could end up being sold for five or six figures to the, um, New York Post is about the most sensible thing he's done all year!

Anyhow, the Post also wrote that A-Rod "was spotted last Monday in a high-stakes gaming room" for two hours. But here's the deal -- Bobby Soper, the CEO of Mohegan Sun, said that Rodriguez did not gamble:

“He did have dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House,” Bobby Soper said of Rodriguez. “He went straight there and straight back out. He did not gamble.”

According to TheDay.com, "Soper said the casino does not generally discuss what celebrities do at the casino but noted he wanted to set the record straight about Rodriguez’ visit." But even though the New York Post story was updated more than once, they somehow never got around to including that quote. Neither did most of the other breathless reports about A-Rod at a casino. Shocker, I know.

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In other news, Brian Cashman is at it again, defending A.J. Burnett's juvenile actions on the mound Saturday:

“I’ve got CC Sabathia cussing in his glove, I’ve got Paul O’Neill, who for a huge run here, was kicking water coolers. It’s not an issue. It’s just silliness. I’ve got other guys on our team doing the same stuff,” Cashman said. “I like seeing passion. I don’t want a guy walking off the mound singing ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ and having a skip to his step after a performance like that.”

Oh, please. Aside from the fact that Cashman has to bring down other players to A.J.'s level to prove his point, his argument is stupid. Nobody would be mad if Burnett was cursing at himself over his poor performance. But instead, he cursed at Joe Girardi, his manager, something The Powers that Be in Yankeeland don't want to acknowledge, and something that none of his other teammates have done for the world to see.

At any rate, plenty of times in the postgame Burnett was practically singing "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in interviews, not seeming the least bit upset. Of course, if some reporter were to point that out to Cashman, he'd find a way to defend that, too.

What do you think? Tell us about it!