TRENTON, N.J. — Whoo, boy, we have got to find a way to keep Alex Rodriguez in the game.
Even if he has to take an extended break. Even if he can’t play anymore. Even if he just stops by for Old-Timers’ Day and Biogenesis Reunion Day.
Will we ever have a better villain? Somewhere, Barry Bonds is catching up on the latest A-Rod news, nodding approvingly and saying out loud, to no one, “Well played, Alex.”
With the clock ticking on his baseball freedom, the 38-year-old put on a show for the ages at Arm & Hammer Park, wowing a sellout crowd of 8,080 — most of whom booed his first at-bat — with a monster home run in the third inning and then captivating a packed news conference with veiled conspiracy theories that obviously were targeted against his two nemeses — the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball.
The man isn’t hunting small game.
“The one thing I’ve gotten from so many people, so many fans, some teammates, is ‘What is going on?’ ” Rodriguez said after the Yankees’ Double-A Trenton affiliate wrapped up a 6-2 victory over Reading. “There’s a lot of people that are confused, a lot of people that don’t understand the process. A lot of layers.
“I will say this: There’s more than one party that benefits from me not ever stepping back on the field. That’s not my teammates, and it’s not the Yankees fans.”
And with that, A-Rod served up publicly what he has felt privately for a long time: That both the Yankees and MLB want him to go away, the Yankees to get out from under the roughly $96 million they still owe him and MLB to blot out the image of a former legend turned baseball gangster.
MLB has informed A-Rod and his fellow players linked to Biogenesis they have until 6 p.m. Eastern Time tomorrow to agree to suspensions, with the announcements coming Monday. The other players involved all might accept punishments in the 50-games range, whereas A-Rod hasn’t been amenable to a banishment through next season — which is why commissioner Bud Selig has been at least contemplating a lifetime ban. He also is considering suspending Rodriguez via the Basic Agreement’s “best interests of the game” clause (for allegedly obstructing MLB’s investigation) as opposed to the Joint Drug Agreement (for purchasing illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Well, A-Rod is right that powerful people and organizations want him gone. Whether they’re conspiring to make that happen is nevertheless quite an accusation, and the facts don’t align to support such a contention. Most importantly, if Rodriguez truly felt the Yankees fabricated the Grade 1 left quadriceps strain that postponed his comeback by two weeks, it’s baffling that he didn’t simply file a grievance through his extremely powerful union.
But that’s what makes A-Rod, A-Rod. He could turn a game of Chutes and Ladders into a bloody battle — Phillies pitching prospect Jesse Biddle drilled Yankees prospect Slade Heathcott immediately after A-Rod admired his homer over the roughly 30-feet-high left-field wall — but by golly, you wouldn’t want to miss it.
Of course the stars are aligning so that A-Rod could fly to Chicago for Monday’s game, only to be yanked off the field by Selig. Of course the Yankees would dread seeing him arrive in their clubhouse and set off a media firestorm — and then they wouldn’t mind it as much if he hung around to contribute some homers.
Of course A-Rod, his back against the proverbial wall, couldn’t resist setting off a few verbal grenades to divert our attention.
“I think we all agree that we want to get rid of PEDs, that’s a must,” he said. “I think all the players, we all feel that way.
“But when all this stuff is going on in the background and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, I think that’s concerning for me, its concerning for the present and I think it should be concerning for future players, as well.”
He played the “Brothers in arms” card. Love it!
Of course, time will tell how ardently the Yankees try to void his contract and stuff like that. The immediate item on the agenda is MLB and the Biogenesis investigation.
If he settles on a penalty, or if he loses his appeal, then he should serve his time, which probably won’t be for life. Then? We need him back.
If baseball is beautiful because of its imperfections, who better personifies imperfection than A-Rod?