Man, I hate defending A-Rod. It's a pretty lonely pursuit, as el Duque pointed out the other day. I celebrated when A-Rod opted out of his contract, and kicked a dent in my trash can when Hank and Hal decided to re-sign him to that ridiculous contract that's the H&H boys are trying to void now.
Still, the shit that ESPN makes up is completely ridiculous. The latest Gammonite to take out her hatchet and ignore reality is Johnette Howard, who writes about the latest allegations against ARod in a column with the headline "Hey A-Rod, Just Shut Up Already". (He needs to shut up because, well, he's issued a denial ... through a spokesperson. How dare he!)
Howard lays out the proof that ARod is guilty:
A spokesperson for Rodriguez said on Friday that "the allegations are not true." But given Rodriguez's belated confession to his past PED use, and the spike his performance took in 2009 (when he was supposedly using again, according to Bosch's notes), Friday's story is damning stuff.
Yep, he's guilty ... the spike in his 2009 performance proves it!!
Why, let's look at that "spike his performance took" in 2009.
HRs: 30, his lowest total in 12 years!
RBIs: 100, his lowest total in 12 years!
Batting average: .286, tied for his lowest in nine years!
Slugging pct: .532, down for the second straight year and a full .113 below his 2007 mark!
OPS+: 138, down for the second straight year and 38 points below his 2007 total!
Yep, there's the proof for you.
Meanwhile, Howard references the "Outside the Lines" piece that "provides the sort of detail that sets off alarms about whether Rodriguez's latest denials can be believed."
Ah, yes, more details that prove Alex is guilty ... such as?
A source told "Outside the Lines" that Bosch would get text messages, usually late at night, to head to Rodriguez's waterfront mansion on Biscayne Bay, where he would inject him with performance-enhancing drugs every few weeks. One night last spring, a source said, Bosch told associates he had been kicked out of Rodriguez's home after he had trouble locating a vein and infuriated the Yankees' third baseman."
Shit, those ARE damning details, especially coming from someone as credible as "a source." Oh, by the way, there is also this little detail:
The sources did not explain to "Outside the Lines" why Bosch would have been tapping a vein since HGH and testosterone do not require intravenous injections.
Yes, the mastermind of the whole scheme doesn't know how the drugs work, and, apparently, neither does A-Rod despite a decade of use. But remember, the "source" is far more credible than ARod ... the spike in his 2009 performance proves it.
Is this the same ESPN that employs Curt Schilling to provide "fair and balanced" perspectives on MLB? I thought so. Curt's slanted viewpoint is complimented by the commentary of NoMore Garciaparra. And Buster Olney is slated to channel the voice and spirit of Ted Williams, speaking from the grace. Thank goodness they have John Kruk. He played in Philly and that's close to NYC! Fair and balanced, baby!
ReplyDeleteSorry: "speaking from the grave"- Williams is the only Red Sox player in history to possess even a modicum of grace, though.
ReplyDeleteDamn straight, Bern!
ReplyDeleteI am an A-Rod skeptic, for sure, but I have to say that BernBabyBern does a convincing job of debunking the conventional wisdom on the latest controversy. ESPN does seem to employ more than a few lightweights who can't seem to think their way out of a paper bag, especially when there is red meat over which an instantaneous provocativ e opinion must be sprinkled.
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeleteI'm an ARod skeptic, too, and if I had to bet a paycheck on guilty or innocent, I'd take guilty.
But to point out 2009's stats as a reason to think he's guilty is just mind-boggling to me.
Isn't being cryogenically frozen a potential performance enhancing procedure ? I mean, they could one day have the technology to thaw out the head, stick of on a composite frankenstiff, and have him playing again.
ReplyDeleteYou try freezin' Pay-Rod's Lay-Rod!
ReplyDeleteSomebody named Johnette wrote some dumb shit. What a surprise!
ReplyDelete