Alex Rodriguez could not be more serious about his war with Major League Baseball.
The Yankees third baseman has enlisted the help of the same private-investigation firm Dominique Strass-Kahn did to successfully contest a 2011 rape allegation, according to New York Magazine.
Earlier this summer, Rodriguez hired Guidepost Solutions, a New York firm run by former federal prosecutor Bart Schwartz, a source told the publication, and the sleuths there have been working closely with Rodriguez’s lawyers.
Rodriguez was suspended Monday by MLB for 211 games for his ties with anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, which allegedly distributed performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes in multiple sports. While 12 other players accepted 50-game suspensions, and fellow high-profile player Ryan Braun received a 65-game suspension, Rodriguez could not reach a deal and MLB and commissioner Bud Selig hit him with a suspension that would go through the 2014 season.
A-Rod decided to appeal the penalty and he’ll be able to play until that process is over — likely not until November or December when an arbitrator finishes with the case.
Cuban blasts Selig
Mark Cuban has racked up millions of dollars in fines from NBA commissioner David Stern. Selig probably wishes he had the same authority.
The Mavericks owner went on a blistering tirade of the MLB commissioner Thursday night for the treatment Rodriguez has received from baseball.
“Horrible,” Cuban said on “The Tonight Show,” when asked by host Jay Leno for his thoughts on the 211-game suspension Selig stuck A-Rod with on Monday.
“It’s disgraceful what Major League Baseball is trying to do to him. Look, it’s not that he doesn’t deserve to be suspended. He does. They have policies in place: A first-time offender is 50 games, and a second time is 100. [Two hundred and eleven games], that’s personal.”
Longoria: Not fair that Rodriguez is playing
The Yankees’ playoff hopes are dwindling, but Rays star Evan Longoria does not think Rodriguez should be given the chance to revive them.
In a Sports Illustrated podcast, Longoria said it’s not “fair that we can’t have an arbitrator hear the case sooner.”
“He can affect the game in a tremendous way,” he said, “which is being in the lineup.”