When we last left Alex Rodriguez…
We saw a fully remade Anthony Bosch, designer glasses and all, get welcomed into Major League Baseball headquarters. We witnessed a group called Hispanics Across America expand its brand considerably, carving out a section of Park Avenue for itself in front of 46th and 47th streets as it loudly supported A-Rod and ripped MLB and the Yankees. We learned A-Rod filed one lawsuit against MLB and Bud Selig and another against Yankees team physician Chris Ahmad and his hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
Yes, A-Rod set the bar quite high, as he often does. It’ll be hard to beat that mix of drama, wackiness and surprise when his appeal against MLB (for his 211-game suspension) resumes Wednesday, again at the league’s offices — but we should never underestimate A-Rod. The hearing will proceed through Friday, at which point it’s expected to take another hiatus until after the World Series.
Let’s catch up with eight questions and answers.
1. How far along are we in this hearing?
This will be Day 6. Days 1 through 5 occurred from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4 and were dominated by the testimony of Bosch, MLB’s star witness who is purported to have extensive evidence linking A-Rod to illegal PEDs from his days running the shuttered South Florida anti-aging clinic Biogenesis.
2. And how much longer is it expected to go?
Longer than this week, for sure. MLB is still presenting its case and might not finish until mid-day Friday, or could still be going upon the conclusion of Friday’s action. A-Rod’s attorneys, in conjunction with the Players Association, will then have their turn to contend why Rodriguez doesn’t deserve this penalty.
3. Why is it such a disjointed schedule, again?
There are multiple balls in the air that will almost certainly keep this hearing alive into November. First and foremost is the schedule of independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who is based in Southern California and wasn’t available last week. For the subsequent two weeks, however, MLB and union officials will be unavailable because of the importance of the World Series, where much business is transacted. A-Rod’s a big deal, yet not big enough to keep people away from the Fall Classic.
(Well, there is an initial conference on Oct. 24 — which Rodriguez has asked to be postponed until Nov. 7 or 8 — in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to discuss A-Rod’s lawsuit against MLB. While Selig can’t control actual court, he can control baseball court.)
4. How is the case going so far?
Well, it isn’t open to the public, and Horowitz a) decides A-Rod’s fate and b) gets paid for extreme discretion, so we’re all speculating. Even the people in the room are guessing to an extent. Both sides are professing confidence to friends regarding how the first week went.
5. Fair enough. How about the general tone of the hearing?
It’s even more of a circus than anyone anticipated (or hoped, for those of us who are pro-chaos). There’s tension every which way: MLB people and Team A-Rod don’t like each other, nor do Team A-Rod and the Players Association, and the union hasn’t been enamored with MLB during the entire Biogenesis experience. The Hispanics Across America members were so loud on the street they could be heard in the hearing room on the 29th floor, and HAA’s founder Fernando Mateo got involved in a skirmish with one of MLB’s security guards.
However, the Week 1 winner of the fierce competition for Worst Relationship would have to go to the former associates A-Rod and Bosch, whose attorneys Joseph Tacopina and Julio Ayala engaged in a heated conversation during Day 3 (Oct. 2). A source involved in the case confirmed the two had to be separated while exchanging insults, although there was no chance of actual fisticuffs occurring. Apologies were later exchanged.
6. What’s next?
MLB COO Rob Manfred will take the stand Thursday, which is standard operating procedure in these hearings. Manfred, who helped author baseball’s Basic Agreement and Joint Drug Agreement, will defend MLB’s thinking in issuing the record-breaking suspension to A-Rod.
MLB is expected to introduce additional witnesses this week that will support baseball’s allegation A-Rod tried to obstruct the Biogenesis investigation. If Team A-Rod has time to start its side of the argument, it will focus on its complaints about the alleged behavior of MLB’s investigative team as well as its own interpretations of baseball’s rules.
7. How will A-Rod’s other lawsuits factor into this hearing?
They won’t. They’re separate matters that could take years to resolve, unless they get dismissed or settled before then.
8. What about the protesters/supporters? Will they be back?
They insist they’ll be back, and will be launching a new initiative, alleging MLB has a double standard for Hispanic players. The scene wouldn’t be complete without them.