Arod damned if does, damned if he doesnt

[Paulypal]

Let me start by saying Roids are wrong and should not be used, but this whole situation is beyond ridiculous with Arod.

Saturday when the story first broke all you heard was that his only play is to come out and admit what he did. Arod was a low life but he still needed to admit it. Monday he admits his drug use, yes he was vague on some issue, but the bottom line is/was that he admitted and took 100% full responsibility for it. Unlike Andy Pettite who lied his a$$ off saying he took HGH twice, Arod admitted it fully.

Its still not good enough though is it? Every syllable is being critiqued by low life gargabe like Verducci, who is only interested in the tabloid stories about baseball not about the game itself.

During the first 5 minute snipit that we saw I was concerned that ARod was going to half admit it. That would have gotten him no where. When you see the full interview I think he took full responsibility in his admission. Which is really so much more than any other player has ever done.

Honestly, in my opinion, I just want to watch a baseball game and enjoy it.

[metfan13]

Let me start by saying Roids are wrong and should not be used, but this whole situation is beyond ridiculous with Arod.

Saturday when the story first broke all you heard was that his only play is to come out and admit what he did. Arod was a low life but he still needed to admit it. Monday he admits his drug use, yes he was vague on some issue, but the bottom line is/was that he admitted and took 100% full responsibility for it. Unlike Andy Pettite who lied his a$$ off saying he took HGH twice, Arod admitted it fully.

Its still not good enough though is it? Every syllable is being critiqued by low life gargabe like Verducci, who is only interested in the tabloid stories about baseball not about the game itself.

During the first 5 minute snipit that we saw I was concerned that ARod was going to half admit it. That would have gotten him no where. When you see the full interview I think he took full responsibility in his admission. Which is really so much more than any other player has ever done.

Honestly, in my opinion, I just want to watch a baseball game and enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to the games too. Still doesn't mean I don't like seeing a weasel like Arod squirm.

It's convenient for him to make his declaration now, after he's been caught. But why should I believe him that this is the only timeframe? Just like Pettitte, where it was just the one time, well except for the other times.

[Domenic]

I suppose there's no story for the journalistic community if they take Rodriguez entirely at his word. Besides, there is reason to doubt Rodriguez's credibility here, given his Couric interview and the fact that he did utilize steroids.

I, for one, believe Rodriguez. At the same time, he deserves to be criticized for making terrible decisions and lying about it. Coming clean is a good thing, and I admire his accountability - but it doesn't entirely exonerate Rodriguez.

On a side note, I cannot stand Tom Verducci.

[Avg_Hr_Rbi]

this is how society is today.....I mean we condemn people like Adam "PacMan" Jones for what he does...then on alot of message boards condemn people like Kurt Warner for his being a Christian and his always letting us know that.....and why then should we expect ESPN or whoever to be any different?...imho it's truly sad that this is even a 5 day story going on about 100 days before it ends

[KCGHOST]

Once your veracity is brought into question it is always under question. Once a guy lies to you you just never quite trust him again.

[gman5431]

Yeah, i mean even the admission was full of lies and holes. Like he only took steroids while in Texas? Thats VERY hard to believe. And he didnt really think he was lying last year when he said he had never took steroids? Or he really didnt think he would caught, which one is it A-Rod? I cant wait for the games either, things like this just make real fans sick. A-Rod is a fraud, was before this and will be after this. I cant wait to see the Yankees lose and for him to fail.

G Man

[Paulypal]

Yeah, i mean even the admission was full of lies and holes. Like he only took steroids while in Texas? Thats VERY hard to believe. And he didnt really think he was lying last year when he said he had never took steroids? Or he really didnt think he would caught, which one is it A-Rod? I cant wait for the games either, things like this just make real fans sick. A-Rod is a fraud, was before this and will be after this. I cant wait to see the Yankees lose and for him to fail.

G Man

Hate to tell you this but you may be in for a long season. Yankees will see post season and ARod will produce.

I agree his admission was vague at some points, and although I agree its possible HGH is still a possibility, I believe its your dislike for ARod that is making you unobjective on the subject. NOBODY is going to admit steroid use unless they are caught, even holier than thou Andy Pettite didnt admit until he was caught, then he insulted everyone's intelligence by saying he took it twice.

[gman5431]

Hate to tell you this but you may be in for a long season. Yankees will see post season and ARod will produce.

I agree his admission was vague at some points, and although I agree its possible HGH is still a possibility, I believe its your dislike for ARod that is making you unobjective on the subject. NOBODY is going to admit steroid use unless they are caught, even holier than thou Andy Pettite didnt admit until he was caught, then he insulted everyone's intelligence by saying he took it twice.

Right, and he admitted to only what he had to - the Texas years when most realistic observers know that is far fetched to think he would only begin using steroids at that junkure of his career. Anyways, its all in the past. Sure the Yankees SHOULD make the playoffs. Afterall, they got the top 3 FAs to a team that won 90+ games last year even with some big injuries. But i'll still be rooting like hell that they dont and then hoping for an early exit in the playoffs if that doesnt pan out.

G Man

[timmyj51]

"Honestly, in my opinion, I just want to watch a baseball game and enjoy it"



But the fan will now never know if that's what he's getting. Is that
a real, honest-to-goodness, ballplayer at the plate, on the mound, who got there by skill, talent, and training? Or is it a juiced up lab monkey that hits a ball farther, throws it harder, than any normal human could?

Texas fans outta sue A-Roid for fraud. "Hey, looky how far that
juiced up lab monkey hit that thar basyball, Billie! Geewillikers, If only an honest-to-goodness human bean could do that!"

[mwiggins]

He doesn't deserve any brownie points or absolution for simply admitting that he got caught. He did the bare minimum of what he should have done, which is more that most, but that's faint praise. It doesn't change what he did. Giambi "confessed", but that didn't change the fact that his great peak years were somewhat bogus.

Nothing A-Rod can do now will take the taint off of his Texas years. The only two things I think that will help him is if the rest of those names come out and virtually every top hitter in on there. If it comes out that Thome, Manny, Ortiz, Pujols, Delgado, Vlad, Sosa, Berkman, Kent and basically every top power hitter from those years failed tests in 2003, then that will make him look a lot better.

The other is thing is if no evidence ever surfaces that he did them in Seatle or NY. If that happens, I think in 10-15 years people will look back and say "he wasn't really much better in Texas than he was before and after he was juicing, so they must not have inflated his numbers that much." If he ends up passing Bonds, I think people will see his record as much more legit - as long as it doesn't come out that he's been juicing all along.

[abolishthedh]

You're correct, Paulypal, and hopefully his experience will be a lesson for younger players faced with these choices of using steroids or not doing so.

Am I naive enough that the lesson will actually be taken to heart by younger players? No, not by the masses of high school players and college players, minor league players and overseas youngsters who love to play the game. Temptation will get the better of a great many talented players and modest players alike.

But, maybe one player will be influenced. It is something to hold onto.

I give ARod an iota of respect, over and above Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Clemens and so many other players who have tested positive and made the headlines. He has a thin layer of added respect over the rest.

Now he has to walk the walk, to back up his apology.

[spark240]

I give ARod an iota of respect, over and above Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Clemens
...
He has a thin layer of added respect over the rest.

I don't think it puts a correct spin to say he "added" anything by his admission. I would say he simply managed to retain a whisker of respect or dignity, which the others lost entirely. It's not much, but it's something.

Its still not good enough though is it?

Good enough for what? For everyone to forget all about it? How could that be possible? How could that be desirable, if we don't want to see it happening all over again...and again, and again?

No, the only "good enough" course is to never do the crime in the first place. As the President said, there are a lot of ball players who played it straight. We do a disservice to them and the game if we let transgressors get by simply because they confess when caught.

[TonyStarks]

I wanted ARod to admit that he took the PEDs and come clean about it.

But then I also knew that even though he admitted to the PED use, for some people that still wouldn't be good enough. Nope. For people like Verducci, Lupica, ESPN that just wouldn't do. They want a pound of flesh. They won't be happy until ARod puts one in his head. Then they can talk about what went wrong and why did do we think he did it?!?

Not to excuse ARod completely but, SI broke the law and so did whoever confirmed the story for the reporter. These were supposed to be sealed documents. Will no one be held accountable?? I'm all for "protecting your source" but should it apply when the law is being broken??

We live in a world where journalists have one goal. Be the first to break the story.
Don't worry about the facts, if they're even correct. Don't worry about any substance. The What, Where or Why. Just get the Who and print the story.

[spark240]

We live in a world where journalists have one goal. Be the first to break the story.
Don't worry about the facts, if they're even correct. Don't worry about any substance. The What, Where or Why. Just get the Who and print the story.

Is there any reason to think that the facts of the SI story are not correct? My understanding is that they had multiple credible sources. Rodriguez himself was given the opportunity to respond before the story came out. The ethics and legality of the leak is an issue, but given that the leak has occurred, what would you have liked SI to do differently?