ARod~another premeditaded distraction

[mycroft]

The tabloid press lead by SI this time did it again and found a way to distract the Yankees, once again. This time by outing ARod on steroids. Up to this point the Yankees were having a great off season signing the three most coveted free agents on the market and setting up a run for #27. Well, the tabloid press couldn't have that. There have been rumors for years that ARod did roids but the results of the preliminary tests that were "leaked" to the press were supposed to be confidential. 104 names are on that list yet only ARod's name is "leaked". It is my opinion that this leak was no accident. This is a concerted effort by the tabloid press to destabilize the Yankees by, yet again, putting ARod in a position where he will be distracted and having to defend himself. To this end their plan is working and unfortunately for ARod and the rest of the Yankee organization they have him lying to, of all people, Katie Couric....So where does this leave us. Spring training is a couple days away and now there will be thousands of parasite "journalists" mobbing Tampa in hopes of a sound bite. No discussion, no question will revolve around baseball. This will be a huge distraction for everyone including ARod.

I think now that everyone from the fan to Obama himself has weighed in what I want is all 104 names, every single one. I do not care anymore about agreements, that ship has sailed. I want to see every single name on that list. I want to see how many red sux are on that list so we can discuss how they cheated when they won their two series. To single out one player and give the rest of the cheaters a free ride cannot be tolerated. If ARod and the Yankees are to deal with this then every single skeleton in every closet needs to be brought out into the open.

I guess no one cares about Torre's book anymore.

[SkooterPhil#10]

He is (was?) the best player in baseball....EVER.

Read that again.

OK now read this: It had nothing to do with the Yankees

You're reading into things too much. I also want to see the other names, but I seriously doubt this was motivated by a personal vendetta against the Yankees. That's pretty childish, and in the real world nobody really cares who's on what team. I never realized how intense the blind loyalty to the Yankees was around here...

[PinstripeDynasty]

If you want to go that route, a list of the 104 names isn't enough. Barry Bonds' sample originally tested negative, because he was using the "clear" which wasn't identifiable at that time. Other players were likely also using the same. So to get accurate results, you should re-test all 1198 samples with the latest technology.

In addition, all players on that list should submit blood samples for DNA testing to ensure validity that the samples were properly assigned to the correct names.

I'm not saying this should be done. But if you want to go 100% all out, this would be it.

[mycroft]

He is (was?) the best player in baseball....EVER.

Read that again.

OK now read this: It had nothing to do with the Yankees

You're reading into things too much. I also want to see the other names, but I seriously doubt this was motivated by a personal vendetta against the Yankees. That's pretty childish, and in the real world nobody really cares who's on what team. I never realized how intense the blind loyalty to the Yankees was around here...

Yes, it had nothing to do with the Yankees but it is the Yankees that have to deal with it. He is not a Ranger, if he was this would not be the media storm it has turned into. Is it childish to believe that this is a vendetta, maybe, but this is US against THEM, period. If you don't believe it then you are either uninformed or sux fan. This is not about blind loyalty, this is about fairness, real fairness, where agreements are kept and players are not singled out. Of all the names on this list explain to me why only ARod's name came out. How did it happen that no other name came out. Are we to believe the tabloid SI journalist who says it was because they were doing a story on ARod. Really. And how did that journalist get the list to begin with? Did this journalist see only ARod's name out of 104? How does that work? Too many questions unanswered. SHOW ME ALL 104, today thanks, then we will talk.

No, it is plainly obvious that this is an attempt to distract the Yankees and ARod just happened to be the way do do it, once again.

[CommerceComet]

The Yankees are the premier franchise in all of sports and ARod is the premier player on that team and arguably the best player in all of baseball. Because of that status and the fact that the Yankees reside in the media capital of the world, their every wart will get primetime discussion. It goes with the territory.

I don't think that it is a conspiracy.

[mycroft]

The Yankees are the premier franchise in all of sports and ARod is the premier player on that team and arguably the best player in all of baseball. Because of that status and the fact that the Yankees reside in the media capital of the world, their every wart will get primetime discussion. It goes with the territory.

I don't think that it is a conspiracy.

No? well let's see if the rest of the names are released. If not then you have the answer. 104 names today please.

[Mr Coffee]

Better it comes out in the off-season than in September.

I think he handled it as best he could, and it seems like the team, brass, and the majority of fans are all behind him (for probably the first time since he's been here). Who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a good thing for his psyche. If anything, he has to feel at least some relief that the issue isn't hanging over his head anymore.

[SkooterPhil#10]

My hunch is Selena Roberts paid someone for the biggest name on the list, and A-Rod was it. A less likely scenario is that they had an axe to grind regarding A-Rod, or steroid use in baseball in general. It does suck that he's bearing the brunt of this and 103 others will get off much more easily when they are released.

[mycroft]

My hunch is Selena Roberts paid someone for the biggest name on the list, and A-Rod was it. A less likely scenario is that they had an axe to grind regarding A-Rod, or steroid use in baseball in general. It does suck that he's bearing the brunt of this and 103 others will get off much more easily when they are released.

We can't let these cheaters off the hook. If ARod goes down they all need to go down. We need to go on the offensive and put this on the tabloid scum and the disingenuous
major league baseball (big bud) who were enablers until it became politically correct to ban steroids. If ARod was a Ranger this would be nothing.

[JfromJersey]

I don't think it was a premeditated attempt to distract the Yankees, but it is very disturbing that only 1 player and team has to suffer, that a murky cloud continues to hang over the whole league, and that the idea of taking a PED is worse than the idea of leaking confidential information (including a sealed Grand Jury testimony). That's the kind of world we live in.

[jpao89]

The Yankees are the premier franchise in all of sports and ARod is the premier player on that team and arguably the best player in all of baseball. Because of that status and the fact that the Yankees reside in the media capital of the world, their every wart will get primetime discussion. It goes with the territory.

I don't think that it is a conspiracy.

I am not a conspiracy type person but I do find it odd that despite the acknowledged wide spread use of steroids in MLB, the problem seems to have found a home with the Yankees and only the Yankees. If you awoke from a coma today and were just learning about this story from watching highlights on TV, you would think that it is primarily the Yankees that have players on their team who have taken steroids, for example, A-Rod, Clemens, Pettite, Sheffield. The other teams you ask, cough Red Sox, they are just as pure as the wind driven snow. Yankees=cheaters. I suppose that this is the Yankee organizations reward for cooperating with the Mitchell report.

[djeter220]

I find this to be more Selena Roberts and whatever issues she is dealing with that cause her to do this. I understand that ultimately this whole storm is A-Rod's fault but it is killing me that the reason this all came out is cuz of this psycho and her personal vendetta against him. I don't know why she did it, but I just attach no integrity to her name.

[BornAYankeesFan]

BUT, did she pay cash, or services rendered??

My hunch is Selena Roberts paid someone for the biggest name on the list, and A-Rod was it. A less likely scenario is that they had an axe to grind regarding A-Rod, or steroid use in baseball in general. It does suck that he's bearing the brunt of this and 103 others will get off much more easily when they are released.

[CommerceComet]

I am not a conspiracy type person but I do find it odd that despite the acknowledged wide spread use of steroids in MLB, the problem seems to have found a home with the Yankees and only the Yankees. If you awoke from a coma today and were just learning about this story from watching highlights on TV, you would think that it is primarily the Yankees that have players on their team who have taken steroids, for example, A-Rod, Clemens, Pettite, Sheffield. The other teams you ask, cough Red Sox, they are just as pure as the wind driven snow. Yankees=cheaters. I suppose that this is the Yankee organizations reward for cooperating with the Mitchell report.

I think that two factors figure into this. First, since the Yankees are in NY, every move is under the microscope. The NY media will keep a Yankee-related story alive long after it would have died on the national scene. Second, all those Yankees listed except Pettitte were obtained after they reached stardom. If PEDs leads to superior performance and the Yankees keep going after the stars, they are likely to attract a larger percentage of steroid users.

[CommerceComet]

No? well let's see if the rest of the names are released. If not then you have the answer. 104 names today please.

If the list were released and it is learned that Soriano, Rivera, Posada, and Jeter were on the list, would you still insist that the ARod release was a conspiracy to distract the Yankees? If anything, I think the release of the ARod's name is a conspiracy against ARod and not targeting the Yankees specifically.

As much as I would like everyone to get off of ARod's back about this, I am opposed to releasing the other names. Just because one person's trust was betrayed is not a reason to betray the others.

[Abe Frohman]

I am opposed to releasing the other names. Just because one person's trust was betrayed is not a reason to betray the others.

Whoa, Whoa ... i want those names. Like last offseason. Just one prominent Sox name, preferably that had to do with their 2 championships, would be amazing. Like a Manny, Ortiz, Pedroia, Beckett, Youkilis. Im sick of the Steroid thing being a Yankee thing. I have Mutts fans around my way demanding we give them back the 2000 WS trophy because our entire team was juiced ... lol. I need some help here.

[DaBliz]

As much as I would like everyone to get off of ARod's back about this, I am opposed to releasing the other names. Just because one person's trust was betrayed is not a reason to betray the others.

I tend to agree with this. I feel horrible for A-Rod, he really shouldn't be the only one to be hit by this ................storm but, at the same time, his name shouldn't of been released in the first place and the others shouldn't be released, either.

Maybe they'll cut a deal and release two Sox names for the price of our one Yankee.

[Meecham4ever]

Whoa, Whoa ... i want those names. Like last offseason. Just one prominent Sox name, preferably that had to do with their 2 championships, would be amazing. Like a Manny, Ortiz, Pedroia, Beckett, Youkilis. Im sick of the Steroid thing being a Yankee thing. I have Mutts fans around my way demanding we give them back the 2000 WS trophy because our entire team was juiced ... lol. I need some help here.

But,,,,no one is going to give back a trophy...no team from any year...none are tainted unless all are tainted....and any player named, from any team, is going to be more popular with the home fans than they were before.
We live in interesting times.

[CaptainCargo]

The Yankees are the premier franchise in all of sports and ARod is the premier player on that team and arguably the best player in all of baseball. Because of that status and the fact that the Yankees reside in the media capital of the world, their every wart will get primetime discussion. It goes with the territory.

I don't think that it is a conspiracy.

Agreed. It's just the price of doing business in New York as always.

[CaptainCargo]

I am not a conspiracy type person but I do find it odd that despite the acknowledged wide spread use of steroids in MLB, the problem seems to have found a home with the Yankees and only the Yankees. If you awoke from a coma today and were just learning about this story from watching highlights on TV, you would think that it is primarily the Yankees that have players on their team who have taken steroids, for example, A-Rod, Clemens, Pettite, Sheffield. The other teams you ask, cough Red Sox, they are just as pure as the wind driven snow. Yankees=cheaters. I suppose that this is the Yankee organizations reward for cooperating with the Mitchell report.

There are a few other names out there. Tejada, Palmero are a couple.

[jpao89]

There are a few other names out there. Tejada, Palmero are a couple.

I agree, but it seems the focus is still on the Yankees. The Tejada story was yesterday and when I turned on ESPN today, not much mention of it. A-Rod, that will hang around for the rest of the season. Granted, he is the best player in baseball, but at some point the story becomes old, unless. . .

[mycroft]

So now Big Bud is pondering a suspension of ARod...under what grounds, legal or otherwise does this guy think he has to suspend ARod? Steroids were not banned until 2004 and he has tested clean ever since. What is really pathetic is that everyone outside the Yankees will cheer if this does happen. Unbelieveable. And you tell me there is no conspiracy, no vendetta.

104 names, all of them. If ARod goes down they all go down.

[CaptainCargo]

I agree, but it seems the focus is still on the Yankees. The Tejada story was yesterday and when I turned on ESPN today, not much mention of it. A-Rod, that will hang around for the rest of the season. Granted, he is the best player in baseball, but at some point the story becomes old, unless. . .

Also since Bonds is pretty much so much grilled fillet, all but waiting for the house steak sauce by now, the "cooks" need a new slab of meat to throw on the barby. Naturally they are going to take the next choice cut first. Hence ARod.

I've no doubt that all of the names are at some point going to be revealed at some point in time whether officially or clandestinely. By that I mean somewhere, someone, has probably got a pirated copy of the entire list if you get my drift. So there will probably be other "top names" to come. Papi? Thome? Piazza? If not them then there are probably plenty of others I'm sure.

But to-date IMO the real teflon Dons of the media here are Selig and the owners. How they get to sit around acting like their schlit doesn't stink is beyond me. In fact if Selig wasn't a total piece of schlit he'd have absolutely no personality at all.

[HerbieLee20]

Bug can't do anything to ARod, or anyone else who's name would be released. That was part of the agreement -- in writing.

This slug is just blowing smoke to defect things and showing just how desperate he is. Utterly pathetic. I almost feel sorry for him.

I hope ARod (as well as all those other players already) are consulting their lawyers.

Leave it to the cretins of MLB -- never thought I'd see the day I'd be hoping guys who juiced are consulting their lawyers to sock it to 'em!

[mycroft]

Bug can't do anything to ARod, or anyone else who's name would be released. That was part of the agreement -- in writing.

This slug is just blowing smoke to defect things and showing just how desperate he is. Utterly pathetic. I almost feel sorry for him.

I hope ARod (as well as all those other players already) are consulting their lawyers.

Leave it to the cretins of MLB -- never thought I'd see the day I'd be hoping guys who juiced are consulting their lawyers to sock it to 'em!

Exactly, and just remember, not one snow white red sux anywhere. Just imagine if Poopy or leetle mannie are on that list. Would big bud strip the sux of the championships, would he be as appalled, as disapointed? Why isn't he suspending Tejada? What a worm.

104 names NOW

[JfromJersey]

Talking about distractions, what's the one obvious question every Yankee player will get from the media?

Is your name on that list?

[stephsamps]

Talking about distractions, what's the one obvious question every Yankee player will get from the media?

Is your name on that list?

It's not just Yankees. It's every baseball player, which is why the list needs to come out because everyone is under suspicion.

[JfromJersey]

It's not just Yankees. It's every baseball player, which is why the list needs to come out because everyone is under suspicion.

I agree but would be shocked if they released it. The secrecy of the results was guaranteed and the legal issues would be formidable. What surprised me was the Union agreeing to attach names to the samples. What's the point of making it anonymous then?
There actually might be a positive to this A-Rod inquisition if nobody else is outed. He could actually become a sympathetic figure if forced to stand alone. Also, the big Yankee FA signings will operate under less pressure while the A-Rod storm continues to rage. They will fly under the radar for a while at least.

[susan mullen]

The idea that this treatment is part of doing business in NY is not true, but who in Yankee management is enough of a leader to say this? It's not that difficult, but there are no leaders in the front office. From hearing Brian Cashman speaking at various times, he falls for it. If the general manager espouses just sitting there like a punching ball, the gossips will run rings around the players. Randy Levine will do nothing--he's only into photo ops with Bud Selig. The Steinbrenner brothers have no gravitas in this area. No one deserves to be treated in this degenerate "Lord of the Flies" environment. The word respect should never be connected to a baseball writer's name--they are all after gossip. Which is fine, just don't pretend you're something else.

[bucky]

Selena's book is to be release the second week of April (up 1 month). This is premediated because of the SI story and his admission. I just hope it's honest, gives credit where due, not all negative and hear say. A Rod is not a saint one great baseball player. I really don't care that much about his personal life.

It's all about selling the book making money.

Bucky

[ajra21]

So now Big Bud is pondering a suspension of ARod...under what grounds, legal or otherwise does this guy think he has to suspend ARod? Steroids were not banned until 2004 and he has tested clean ever since. What is really pathetic is that everyone outside the Yankees will cheer if this does happen. Unbelieveable. And you tell me there is no conspiracy, no vendetta.

104 names, all of them. If ARod goes down they all go down.

what happens if AJ and/or CC and/or jorge and/or any other current yankee are on that list?