Updated – Sept 1st, 2010 – Just went back and re-read this post, and I can’t believe I was so fired up about this. I must’ve been PMSing. 
Or maybe Steriod use in baseball is becoming so nonchalant that I am now numb to it and don’t care. That’s kinda sad…
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I never was an Alex Rodriguez fan. This doesn’t mean I don’t think the man is talented. I’ve always thought he was an excellent baseball player. I just always thought he was over paid and all about the money. Who am I to say that someone is over paid right? People should get paid what their worth. And as we speak I’m actually in the middle of trying to convince someone I’m worth more than what was offered to me…that’s another story though. But with that said, I tend to think (in Baseball) if one person’s salary is more than a entire freaking ball club’s team salary… THAT’S getting a bit excessive. I guess if Texas and New York wanted to pay all that then that’s certainly their prerogative. But when those bidding wars start, it just seems like it’s less about the love of the game and more about greed.
I can remember a long time ago when Craig Biggio first became a free agent. He started getting offers all over… Colorado ended up being the highest bidder (I think?). But Bidge decided to stay in Houston even though he could have made A LOT more with the Rockies. That’s one of the greatest stories I remember reading about Houston sports. It just showed that there are players out there that aren’t all about the paycheck and more about loyalty to fans and baseball itself.
Even though I never was a fan of A-Rod, I still followed his stats and record breaking achievements. I thought it was great to see someone out there that could accomplish such feats w/o using any drugs. When the Mitchell Report came out last year and all those players were named, I hoped that Alex would not be included in the report or in any other steroid scandal. I just wanted ONE person … ONE … that could stand above all others and show that greatness could be achieved with hard work and God given talent. I wanted to believe that a true baseball hero could exist. Now unfortunately Alex has been wiped from that list. Props to him for admitting it… but how much of it is the truth? Only he knows and we may never know… but now in my mind his numbers are tainted. It can be said, however, that his Stats could not merely have been achieved by drugs alone. The talent HAS to be there too. I agree with this… but we will never know if his great stats could have been achieved without the drugs. How many games has A-Rod single handily won for his team by driving in a game winning RBI? Of those, how many were legitimate RBI’s achieved by pure talent alone? There’s no way to know… no way to tell how many games he’s cheated other teams out of.
Baseball season is starting up again and he’s at it again. I read today that he hit a 2 run homer. I also read that he was greeted by a lot boos and jeers in addition to a few positive cheers above the visitor’s (Yankees) dugout. I have no doubt that he used the negative energy directed at him to hit that homer. He even made a statement that he would like to invite all those fans out to Fenway to help him in the rivalry series. He does not hide the fact that the boos actually help to fire him up. What another slap in the face to all the fans out there. Fans have the right to be upset. Maybe they don’t play the game, but they also feel cheated and betrayed. So they have the right to display their displeasure regarding the situation (as long as it is not in poor taste). But for A-Rod to just throw it back in their face like that… it’s not right. That’s not taking responsibility and owning up to what he did wrong. He needs to realize that fans are going to be upset with him and that they will need time to heal from all this. They need time to accept him back as a respectable ballplayer. Alex apologized for his “past” actions and wants to move forward. We all do Alex … but we can’t just flip a switch and make it all go away. <<snip>> Baseball fans just need time to forget about it. So stop acting like you’re too good to be boo-ed and start acting sincere about your apology. Maybe one day your adoring fans will start trickling back to you.
I think Alex should feel lucky that he still has a job and gets to play the game. If I ever failed a drug test at my workplace, I would no doubt be fired right there on the spot. (Apology or not)