Alex Rodriguez’s plight has at least been good for the economy, seeing how many crisis managers, public relations firms, private investigators and, especially, lawyers he has put on a payroll that is starting to rival that of the Tampa Bay Rays.
But when his latest attorney hire, Joseph Tacopina, opened his mouth over the weekend, it became apparent Rodriguez needed to open his wallet yet again — this time for baseball historian.
In speaking to The New York Times and trying to make a case the current Yankees management has acted nefariously in trying to ruin A-Rod’s career, Tacopina said: “The legacy of George Steinbrenner would be horrified. This is the New York Yankees. This isn’t some thug-culture club.”
Just for the record, Mr. Tacopina, no one did thug in baseball like Steinbrenner. Have one of those private investigators on the dole look into The Boss’ dealings with Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Bob Watson, Hideki Irabu, etc.
Steinbrenner’s second — yep, second — suspension from the majors dwarfed the pending 211-game ban on A-Rod and was for conspiring with a reputed gambler named Howie Spira to gather damning information on Yankee Dave Winfield.
Steinbrenner went after Winfield, to some large extent, because he believed Winfield was a big-game choker who failed to do enough to recreate dynasty years after receiving a 10-year, record-setting contract.
Sound familiar?
PHOTOS: POST COVERS A-ROD THROUGH THE YEARS
If anything, the current soap opera surrounding Rodriguez has rekindled the Steinbrenner legacy. The Bronx Zoo has not been open this way in years. The stakes are so high and the blows are so low — and the milieu is so bizarre.
Rodriguez is trying to win games for people he hates and the people he hates are rooting for him to do just that. But when the games are not going on — and sometimes even when they are — each side is trying to destroy the reputation of the other.
“I have never seen anything like this,” said general manager Brian Cashman, who has worked in the organization for more than a quarter of a century.
The weekend featured a back-and-forth between Tacopina and Yankees president Randy Levine in which each essentially accused the other of medical malfeasance.
Cashman, after portraying Rodriguez as a liar to reporters yesterday, said he has limited his conversations with his most-expensive player to hello and good-bye because: “I’m not comfortable talking to Alex on this stuff because I feel like we’re in a litigious environment.”
All of this is occurring against this backdrop — A-Rod has a pending suspension of 211 games, but continues to play. That has made many of his opponents furious.
And with all the nasty give-and-take to date, it feels as if we have hardly reached halftime in this destructive game.
For Tacopina went public to The Times with much of the ammunition Rodriguez’s backers have been claiming behind the scenes — namely the Yankees and MLB have been conspiring to ruin his career/void his contract, and that they have proof the Yankees have acted despicably when it came to A-Rod’s medical condition.
The A-Rod camp has centered much of its attacks on Levine, who has roared back saying, among other things, this is all an attempt to distract from the main event — Rodriguez answering whether he was a PED user the past few years or not.
Tacopina claimed the Yankees knew Rodriguez’s hips were compromised in the playoffs last year, but there is this quote from The Post last Oct. 6: “I feel healthy, as healthy and comfortable as I have all year.”
The speaker was A-Rod, so often his own worst enemy.
Tacopina asserted Levine told Rodriguez’s hip surgeon, Bryan Kelly, that he never wanted to see Rodriguez play again.
There should be no surprise if the Rodriguez group has an affidavit or a tape of Kelly making just that claim. But unless they have it directly from Levine, is it anything more than hearsay or open to interpretation — did he actually say it? Did he say it as a joke, etc.?”
The A-Rod camp also is certain to attack the credibility and capability of Yankees team doctor Chris Ahmad, and whether he did know or should have known about the tear in Rodriguez’s hip from an examination during last year’s playoffs.
The Yankees have insisted there is no such bad behavior. And Levine has said he is willing to open all medical records with A-Rod’s permission.
Also, remember the Yankees wanted Rodriguez to use Kelly rather than Rodriguez’s preferred choice, his first hip surgeon, Marc Philippon, because during his recovery from the first surgery, Rodriguez had seen now steroid disgraced Anthony Galea as part of his rehab, and the Yankees wanted to disassociate from that connection.
Now, Levine is demanding A-Rod release his medical records from his time seeing Galea, as well. And this is what Rodriguez still might not fully appreciate — that this will never be just his side on the attack. MLB and the Yankees will return fire, and all of that will continue to splash into and pollute the Yankees clubhouse.
Remember, A-Rod is calling his teammates his “brothers.” But “60 Minutes” reported Rodriguez sold out some of his brothers, including teammate Francisco Cervelli, by giving documents to Yahoo! Sports that showed ties to Biogenesis as a way to mitigate his own involvement.
Part of Rodriguez’s counter-attack to being depicted as a rat was to unleash Tacopina. Which unleashed Levine and Cashman. And just waiting in the wings are the Players Association and MLB officials ready to participate in this rumble of distrust and disgrace.
This is not besmirching Steinbrenner’s legacy. This is something that would all feel somewhat familiar to him. Uncomfortable and alluring all at once.
The Bronx Zoo is again open for business.