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February 17, 2009
A-Rod and Billy Mumphrey?
If you thought A-Rod's first attempt to clear the air was a farce, today's performance in Tampa, Fla. was only richer.
Once again baseball's highest paid player danced around his use of performance enhancing drugs and whether they even worked, blaming the whole thing on youthful indiscretions and some wild idea he cooked up with an unnamed cousin, maybe named Vinnie?
“I knew we weren’t taking Tic Tacs,” said Rodriguez, who was joined at the head table by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi.
The explanation from A-Rod reminds me of an episode of Seinfeld when Elaine was supposed to read an unpublished manuscript - with the main character being Billy Mumphrey - before an interview with Viking Press. Instead, Kramer read it and then had to break it down for Elaine after losing the script in Jerry's fumigated apartment.
“You see Elaine, Billy was a simple country boy. You might say a cockeyed optimist, who got himself mixed up in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.” — Kramer
Sounds like A-Rod to me.
Poor, young Alex - who was ONLY 24 when he arrived in Texas and feeling pressure to live up to a monster $252-million contract. Somehow, he got caught up in baseball's "Juiced Era" while just messing around with a cousin one day and deciding it would be fun to try steroids to see what they did. Basically, two schmucks and a syringe.
"We consulted no one. It was pretty evident that we didn't know what we were doing," Rodriguez said at the press conference.
Despite saying he was uncertain what the drugs did for him or how to use them properly, A-Rod still continued to do it for another two years.
Sounds like a legit thing to do to me - who wouldn't take something for three years without knowing what it did?
Probably the same guy who tested positive for some substance in 2003 and found out about it in 2004, but never bothered to follow up on it with anyone.
A-Rod might have felt a whole lot better after "coming clean" with his performance today, but really it just dug him a bigger ditch. Now the hunt is on to find his "Cousin Vinnie" and a host of new questions are now left unanswered.
About the only truthful moment in the whole press conference came at the end when A-Rod said it's been a tough 15 months with his divorce, constant tabloid presence and the positive test for a banned substance.
It sure has, A-Rod.
But it could be a lot easier if you would just tell the truth instead of creating more TV fiction.
Posted by Bill on 2:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 9, 2009
Comments from A-Rod from ESPN interview
A-Rod on testing positive for steroids in 2003, as reported by Sports Illustrated this past weekend:
"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I all the weight of the world on top of me and that I needed to perform and perform at a high level every day. Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth in being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance, and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful.
"And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very ... I just feel that ... I am just sorry. I am sorry to my fans. I'm sorry to my fans from Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about a substance of any kind. And since then I've proven to myself and everyone that I don't need any of that."
When Peter Gammons asked A-Rod if 2001-2003 was the time frame he is talking about when it came to using performance-enhancing drugs, A-Rod said that was "pretty accurate," but declined to say exactly what he took.
During his time in Texas, A-Rod had the most productive offensive season of his career with 57 home runs and 142 RBIs in 2002. In three years with the Rangers, he hit 156 home runs with 395 RBIs.
Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone, according to the Sports Illustrated report.
"I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking the right questions. To be quite honest I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using," A-Rod told Gammons.
The full interview will be played at 6 tonight by ESPN, which did not break the story but landed the first interview with A-Rod.
Posted by Bill on 2:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A-Rod: I did it!!!
In a small portion of A-Rod's interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons today, he admitted to using something from 2001-03 with the Texas Rangers.
A-Rod said he felt pressure to live up to expectations after signing his 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers.
More coming soon ...ESPN to show full interview at 6 p.m.
Posted by Bill on 2:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
