Report: A-Rod banned through 2014?

86spike

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EvilEmpire said:
I'm glad to see there are some things that Sox and Yankee fans can agree to be happy about.  The more outrageous and desperate ARod gets, the better chance some substantial part of that ban remains in place.  Good for Sox fans in that they can cheer the turmoil in the Bronx, good for Yankee fans if some of that contract goes away and they get a bit of cap relief. 
 
Everyone gets something to be thankful about.  Happy Thanksgiving!
 
I don't know about the rest of you, but this Sox fan is 100% rooting for A-Rod to get a vastly reduced suspension specifically to make sure the MFYs pay the absolute maximum dollars to this dick and tie up the cap space they brazenly gave him.
 
Why would any Sox fan root for an outcome that helps the MFYs?
 

glennhoffmania

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86spike said:
 
I don't know about the rest of you, but this Sox fan is 100% rooting for A-Rod to get a vastly reduced suspension specifically to make sure the MFYs pay the absolute maximum dollars to this dick and tie up the cap space they brazenly gave him.
 
Why would any Sox fan root for an outcome that helps the MFYs?
 
Honestly, I think I've gotten to the point where I hate ARod more than I fear the Yankees as a threat.  With or without ARod, I don't see NY challenging for the division in the near future unless they go on another spending spree like they did in 2009, and I don't see that happening right now.  To me, there is no bad outcome here.  Either ARod goes away for a while or NY has to keep paying him.  Either one is fine by me.
 

MDJ

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
 
I'm sure it's not a surprise. But I'm equally sure that ARod was confident that his team would find a way to "force" Bud to testify. Once it became clear that wasn't going to happen, Arod, much like my 3 year old does, flipped out completely.
 
Net net, it doesn't really matter one way or the other. But I do think the idea that every last little thing ARod does is carefully manufactured is overblown. Going on Mike, yes, that was a PR stunt. I don't believe storming out of the meeting angrily was.
 
 Sorry Joe, I have to disagree too.  I think that ARod may be legitimately angry, but everything about that whole situation, including the outburst, was staged.  The guy just does not react like normal people do.  He's got good PR and they came up with a good scheme. 
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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MDJ said:
 
 Sorry Joe, I have to disagree too.  I think that ARod may be legitimately angry, but everything about that whole situation, including the outburst, was staged.  The guy just does not react like normal people do.  He's got good PR and they came up with a good scheme. 
 
He clearly doesn't have good PR because no one's buying what he did as genuine and he's still as despised as ever.
 
I'm not going to belabor this point, of course, because we have no way of knowing what's really inside his head. Probably 4 pounds of Wildberry Skittles, given the way he's acted throughout this whole thing.
 

valentinscycle

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I don't think there has to be a contradiction between the pre-planned/manufactured nature of all of this (the outburst in front of the arbitrator, the I'm-close-to-tears display on Francesa's show) and the genuineness of the emotion displayed.  For me, that's what makes A-Rod such great theater-- here's someone who is at the same time completely calculated, manufactured, manipulative, *and* naively emotional. 
 
I think it's in the DSM-5.  It's under 'Centaur Effect.'
 

bankshot1

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I don't know about the rest of you, but this Sox fan is 100% rooting for A-Rod to get a vastly reduced suspension specifically to make sure the MFYs pay the absolute maximum dollars to this dick and tie up the cap space they brazenly gave him.
 
Why would any Sox fan root for an outcome that helps the MFYs?
Absolutely, I'm hoping this great theatre drags on and Arod is eventually vindicated. I want the MFY to have to pay him/ play him for his full contract amount, and MFY fans get the moral angst of rooting for a severely tainted though vindicated Arod.
 

glennhoffmania

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Montana Fan said:
Did the Tigers, Brewers and Rangers receive cap relief when Peralta, Braun and Cruz were suspended last season?
 
None of them were above the threshold so it shouldn't matter.  But if they were I'd assume that they would've gotten relief.
 

EvilEmpire

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86spike said:
Why would any Sox fan root for an outcome that helps the MFYs?
 
I'm sure folks have mixed feelings; I do too.   But I was reacting specifically to the latest arbitration shenanigans. Plenty of people posting are happy and/or amused by the latest spectacle, and I am as well.  ARod storming out of the hearing and possibly not testifying doesn't help his arbitration case.
 

yep

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Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
 
He clearly doesn't have good PR because no one's buying what he did as genuine and he's still as despised as ever.
 
I'm not going to belabor this point, of course, because we have no way of knowing what's really inside his head. Probably 4 pounds of Wildberry Skittles, given the way he's acted throughout this whole thing.
 
Apologies for the sidebar, but "no one's buying what he did as genuine" does not necessarily equal "He clearly doesn't have good PR".
 
Someone who is a douchebag, a cheater, and a bad liar can hire good PR people, and damage-control may be all that is possible. If Arod is innocent of all this, then clearly he does have very bad PR, because nobody believes him. But if Arod is as guilty as the biggest meanies think he is, then his PR team may actually be doing a great job by spinning this situation to salvage at least some faint shred of something sympathetic, or something that makes MLB look like the real bad guys, or something that leaves room for some fans to doubt his guilt...
 
If the client is an unlikable, impulsive loudmouth who is guilty as sin, sometimes "great PR" is just keeping him from being banned at restaurants. PR does not launder OJ and have him coming out looking like Pat Tillman. There is an implied judgement about the underlying reality when we, as members of the public, debate how well someone's PR team is relating to us. If the reality is worse than public perception, Arod's PR is good. If public perception is worse than the reality, his PR team is bad. 
 
PS-- thanks to Sprowl for the sig!
 

ItOnceWasMyLife

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I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd
When the gun in the first act goes off in the third
'Cause it's rare that you ever know what to expect
From a guy made of corpses with bolts in his neck

If the creature is limping the parts are in place
With a mind of its own and a fist for a face
Say hello to your new creation
Now it's better than real
It's a real imitation
 
 
There has never been anything genuine about Alex Rodriguez.  Never.
 

terrisus

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Did the Tigers, Brewers and Rangers receive cap relief when Peralta, Braun and Cruz were suspended last season?
 
As far as my understanding - when a player is suspended, the team does not pay him. So, they save not only cap, but the money as well.
 
That is, if a team with a $200 million payroll has a $25 million player suspended for a year, they are now only paying out $175 million in salary for the year - both in terms of cap, and in terms of actual money paid out.
Which is why it sucks so much from our end, and why the Yankees want it so much from their end.
 
My feeling is that the team should put the $25 million toward some sort of anti-drug program, and have it counted against their cap, so that they're still paying out all the money, as opposed to getting a "get out of jail free" card. 
 

mauidano

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ItOnceWasMyLife said:
I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd
When the gun in the first act goes off in the third
'Cause it's rare that you ever know what to expect
From a guy made of corpses with bolts in his neck

If the creature is limping the parts are in place
With a mind of its own and a fist for a face
Say hello to your new creation
Now it's better than real
It's a real imitation
 
 
There has never been anything genuine about Alex Rodriguez.  Never.
Well done.  True to the point.
 

Reverend

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valentinscycle said:
I don't think there has to be a contradiction between the pre-planned/manufactured nature of all of this (the outburst in front of the arbitrator, the I'm-close-to-tears display on Francesa's show) and the genuineness of the emotion displayed.  For me, that's what makes A-Rod such great theater-- here's someone who is at the same time completely calculated, manufactured, manipulative, *and* naively emotional. 
 
I think it's in the DSM-5.  It's under 'Centaur Effect.'
 
This is where I am too: a "both" synthesis between SJH and AverageReds. I think it was calculated and coached. But it may also well be genuine. I mean, the slap on Arroyo in the ALCS was perhaps the action of a ballplayer most indicative of an outrageous sense of entitlement I think I have ever seen--a feeling bolstered by what Arroyo had to say about playing against him when he was a teenager. He's probably shocked that something isn't going his way.
 
This, then, would make his reaction in certain regards, authentic, but at the same time, emblematic of A-Rod being a huge douche bag. To me, that sounds right. A-Rod: authentic douche bag.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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A couple of minor legal matters, for what they are worth.
 
 
nattysez said:
 
I expect MLB would ignore the appeal to the federal courts and proceed with the suspension UNLESS Slappy's attorneys can get a preliminary injunction against the league preventing the enforcement of the suspension.  A preliminary injunction requires evidence that if whatever's happening is not stopped, the injured party will suffer damages that are not compensable with money.  So Slappy would have to argue that if he is wrongfully suspended, his inability to play and therefore keep moving toward some all-time records would create a harm not compensable by money.  He'd also, of course, have to demonstrate a likelihood of winning his suit on the merits.  I'd give that about a 10% chance of happening.  So long story short, his federal court appeal will likely result in nothing and MLB will enforce the suspension as soon as the arbitrator rules.
 
So, when deciding whether there's irreparable injury for purposes of deciding whether to issue a stay, you assume that the plaintiff has a good case.  In other words, you ask, "if plaintiff proves his case, would the injury alleged be irreparable."  If I were a judge, I would find irreparable injury here.  It's more than about records -- it's a unique career that is limited in duration in a way that I do not think is compensable with money.  Also, I would be mindful of the fact that it's hard for MLB to claim it is suffering irreparable injury on the other end -- the suspension can be served in the future and MLB's own rules permit players who have been suspended to play so they can't really make a very strong argument that it harms baseball for suspended players to be allowed to play.  All that said, based on what I know now, it seems likelihood of success on the merits is pretty weak, so I still think an injunction or stay is a tough sell.
 
 
glennhoffmania said:
What are the consequences if he violates the confidentiality agreement and releases all of the evidence?
 
I continue to enjoy this show immensely.  Don't give up the good fight, Alex.
 
If it's just an agreement between the two sides, then breach of the agreement is a breach of a contract.  He would likely be subject to damages, though proving them might be tough.  If KFC was involved in litigation and produced the seven secret spices pursuant to a confidentiality agreement, I would expect the damages for a breach would be considerable.  It's not as clear here, without knowing what the documents are.  Sometimes, confidentiality agreements are not merely agreed upon by the parties, but also approved by the tribunal (here, the arbitrator) and turned into "orders."  In court, this would mean that a deliberate violation of the confidentiality order would mean sanctions and contempt.  Arbitrators, though, don't usually have contempt power or a means to enforce it.  If you refuse a judge's order, the judge can have a bench warrant issued and have you thrown in the pokey.  Arbitrators can't do that.  They can, though, in some circumstances take a deliberate violation of a court order into account in making their decision on the merits.  I don't think that would happen here.  Gives A-Rod an issue to argue about in federal court that he might not otherwise have.  One other consequence of violating a confidentiality agreement or order, is that it probably frees the other side up to do the same -- in other words, if A-Rod produced confidential documents as part of the same or a related agreement, if he violates it, MLB could reasonably reveal his documents to counter any negative consequences of A-Rod's disclosure.
 
The legal team's strategy here is interesting.  The seem to be almost daring MLB to sue them.  The really seem to think that the threat of depositions will bring MLB to the table or give A-Rod a face-saving way out of this.  I think they realize that litigation over a challenge to the arbitrator's award is not likely to get that far -- it probably will be resolved on the papers before there is any testimony.  But if they can induce MLB to sue, they are going to get a shot at them most likely.  Between alleging 150k payouts for witness testimony and threatening a blatant violation of a confidentiality order, A-Rod's team at least is posturing this as if to say, "we know you're too scared of your dirty laundry to bring a claim."  I really can't believe this is where they want to go.  I think their client has a whole lot more to fear by being put under oath than MLB does.  I think they are playing a game of chicken and will have to swerve if MLB doesn't do so first.
 

Sampo Gida

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Average Reds said:
 
It was obvious hyperbole.  Still, the point stands:  Francesa did not ask a single difficult question.
 
Here's an example of what I mean.  Let's say you are Mike Francesa and you have been bloviating on this issue for months.  A-Rod just strolls into your studio out of the blue and issues a flat denial of PED use in connection with Anthony Bosch 
 
That sort of assertion is simply screaming for follow up questions, and off the top of my head I can think of a bunch of good ones:
  • Are you aware that Bosch has admitted that he provided PEDs to MLB players? 
  • Are you aware that a dozen players have admitted that they received PEDs from Bosch?
  • Are you arguing that the only players who received supplements from Bosch but no PEDs are you and Gio Gonzalez?
  • If you have done nothing and there's no evidence that you have taken PEDs from Bosch, how do you explain that MLB has cleared Gonzalez but won't do the same for you?
  • If there's no evidence, why are you not confident that the arbitration process will clear you? 
  • Why do you want Selig to testify?  What role did he play in uncovering evidence against you?  What is the relevance of his testimony at the arbitration hearing?  Why did the arbitrator rule that he did not have to testify?
And to be clear, I'm not really faulting Francesa here - he is who he is.  But let's not pretend that this was A-Rod on 60 Minutes.  This was a cheap PR stunt that proves exactly nothing. 
 
Bosch's coerced testimony was bought. He is also looking at Federal and state charges that MLB has promised to help him with.  Some might find him less than credible.
 
The players who admitted taking steroids did so under the threat of longer suspensions, and were not as financially independent as Arod to fight this. 
 
Cervelli also claimed to have only taken supplements but could not fight for the reason above.  The fact MLB accepted Gonzalez claim is because he was not costing the Yankees 27.5 million AAV for the next 4 years .  This is as much about getting the Yankees financial relief as anything.  The Nats don't need the relief, they needed Gonzalez.  Bud does work for the owners.
 
Why would he believe the arbitration process would clear him when the last arbitrator who cleared a player was fired for doing so?.
 
He wanted Selig to testify because Selig decided on the 211 game suspension, an unprecedented suspension given the 65 games Braun got and 50 games Melky got, both of whom obstructed investigations in other ways.  Its not like Bud never testified in an arbitration hearing. He testified in the Rocker arbitration and explained his rationale.
 
Arods legal team has little expectation of getting a goose egg here.  The main objective is getting the suspension down to something reasonable, say 100 games, before taking the rest to federal court.   
 
He may very well have used steroids and HGH, but if its enhanced his performance the last 4 years you can't tell from the numbers, and he has passed every test.
The only evidence here is from a witness with no credibility and records which are not conclusive by themselves without Bosch, which were purchased after changing hands several times in an insecure environment.  This stuff only flies in a Kangaroo Court.
 

Future Sox Doc

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terrisus said:
 
As far as my understanding - when a player is suspended, the team does not pay him. So, they save not only cap, but the money as well.
 
That is, if a team with a $200 million payroll has a $25 million player suspended for a year, they are now only paying out $175 million in salary for the year - both in terms of cap, and in terms of actual money paid out.
Which is why it sucks so much from our end, and why the Yankees want it so much from their end.
 
My feeling is that the team should put the $25 million toward some sort of anti-drug program, and have it counted against their cap, so that they're still paying out all the money, as opposed to getting a "get out of jail free" card. 
 
The Brewers http://www.sportsgrid.com/mlb/brewers-to-give-ryan-brauns-salary-back-to-the-fans-in-hot-dog-form/ did give by Ryan's salary that they didn't have to pay, back to the fans that is. 
 

seageral

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yes nymag comes across as rubes but this part is awesome:
 
 
Jones, who has a flawless instinct for such things, knew that sliding cash across a table didn’t exactly look like the way an upstanding institution should do business. It was, in his mind, one more opportunity to be monetized. From a booth across the room, Jones had a buddy film the meeting on an iPhone, which he later sold to Rodriguez for $200,000, who planned to use it to focus attention on MLB’s tactics. (Rodriguez insisted that Jones fill out an IRS W-9 form.)
 

Rovin Romine

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So there's an update re: the stole files. 
 
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/12/3814289/police-solve-riddle-of-who-stole.html
 
 
Baseball investigators purchased the stolen files from Gary Jones, a convicted bank robber, for $25,000 last March, in a secret meeting in South Florida that Jones had videotaped.
Jones, in an interview with The Miami Herald in October, admitted he worked at the Boca tanning salon where the files were stolen, but denied he had anything to do with the crime.
On Wednesday, Boca police arrested another tanning salon employee, Reginald St. Fleur, 20, on charges of armed burglary. St. Fleur said he didn’t know anything about the burglary, but couldn’t explain why his DNA matched blood found at the scene, police said.
The files were allegedly taken from a car that belonged to Porter Fischer, former marketing director of Biogenesis, the Coral Gables wellness clinic that allegedly supplied steroids to Rodriguez and a dozen other major league players.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/12/3814289/police-solve-riddle-of-who-stole.html#storylink=cpy
 
But it's not over yet (by a long shot.) 
 
 
 
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has convened a grand jury as part of a federal probe into the steroid scandal, and the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office is conducting a separate inquiry.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/12/3814289/police-solve-riddle-of-who-stole.html#storylink=cpy
 
I'm sure they'll try to flip St. Fleur on whomever he was working with.  Since his coworker Jones ended up selling the files, it'll likely be a pretty short trail.   
 
BTW, it's charged as "armed burglary" because a gun was taken during the burglary.   That means the burglar "became armed" during the commission of the burglary.  It's prosecutable as a first degree felony in FL, which means it's punishable by life in prison.  
 
With the combination of the possible life sentence, plus the fact St. Fleur likely will not get a bond (or he'll get a very high one), I'm expecting this'll lead somewhere else inside of a month.  
 
While this reads like a purely circumstantial case against St. Fleur, unless he covered his tracks perfectly, more will show up as warrants get signed.  I'm willing to bet St. Fleur left other evidence about - pros don't leave blood on scene.  There's probably a money trail to if St. Fleur was paid to do this by Jones.  
 
**
Ultimately this has no real bearing on ARods case that I can see.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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A Manhattan judge ruled today that A-Rods PR guy Michael Sitrick is allowed to appeal his subpoena by MLB, so he won't have to appear in front of the independent arbitrator. Sitrick allegedly leaked Biogenisis documents that A-Rod took from Bosch, and MLB was hoping to use his testimony to show A-Rod obstructed their investigation.
 

Sampo Gida

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That nymag piece was interesting. Nice to know Arod has 20 million a  year in non-baseball income on top of his 300+ million net worth, that way I don't have to worry about all the money he will lose to legal costs and suspension.  Drop in the bucket to him, a big drop, but that's all
 
I can only guess at the total cost of MLB's investigation.  Bosch alone cost them at least 2 million and legal costs (Bosch suit, Arod, arbitration) alone must be extraordinary.  Not to mention all the leg work from their investigators, and their expense reports.  Would not surprise me if the costs exceed 20 million before all is done.  Of course, that's chump change for a 6.6 billion dollar collective, especially if they save the Yankees 30 million in salary, or even 1/2 that.
 
This guy Fischers story is also not ringing true.  For a guy to be living in a shed in his mothers back yard and turning down 125 K, and then having his buddy or his accomplice steal the records from him just as he was to turn the records in to authorities, and then sell them for the same amounts sounds like a case where Fischer does not want someone to know he collected a big windfall for whatever reason.  The reason perhaps is not very relevant to Arod or MLB, but would not be surprised if the money trail shows he got a piece of the action.
 

InsideTheParker

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OK, so I've got John Goodman playing Jones, even though he's probably too old. I'm too lazy to look up these guys' ages.  Tony Shaloub as Bosch? Who's skeevy enough to play Fischer? Sean Penn?  Ideas for Arod? That was a fun piece to read.
 
terrynever said:
Excellent read. What was new, to me, was the part about A-Rod and Bosch exchanging texts over "food." The writer really humanizes this story, painting a few interesting characters, including the con man Jones, who is right out of a Hollywood script. And it's a great take on life in Miami.
 

soxhop411

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Report: A-Rod could seek injunction following arbitrator's ruling http://t.co/wHSFKeGCW8 via @cbssports
 

glennhoffmania

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More on this:
 

Rodriguez’s lawyers will likely claim that the unprecedented suspension violates federal labor law because the arbitration process was unfair and biased against A-Rod.
 
 


Rodriguez attorney Joe Tacopina famously stated last year that his client does not deserve to be suspended for “one inning,” but the sources say the Yankee third baseman would likely accept a suspension of 65 games or less without a fight. The legal fees to combat a 65-game ban would likely cost Rodriguez, who is scheduled to earn $25 million in 2014, more than he would lose in salary.
 
 

It's nice to see that he is primarily concerned with the financial cost-benefit analysis of the suspension and law suit.
 

According to one baseball source who asked not to be identified, the idea that A-Rod’s suspension should not exceed Braun’s is patently ridiculous.
 
 


Rodriguez’s biggest legal challenge in the long run may turn out to be the prospect of his own testimony and questions about his relationship with HGH guru Anthony Galea, who admitted to bringing banned drugs into the U.S. for the purpose of treating pro athletes. MLB’s lawyers would undoubtedly want to depose A-Rod, opening him up to possible perjury charges.
 
“It’s great to feign outrage and file something,” said one source. “But once the ball starts rolling, you could lead yourself into criminal exposure. Is he going to testify that he never got performance-enhancing drugs?”
 
 
 

Hoplite

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It's a dog and pony show. There's no way Rodriguez goes to trial, where he'd have to testify under oath and open himself up to perjury charges.
 

Average Reds

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Hoplite said:
It's a dog and pony show. There's no way Rodriguez goes to trial, where he'd have to testify under oath and open himself up to perjury charges.
 
If any of the details that have made their way into print are accurate, I would guess that MLB officials have a lot more to lose by being placed under oath than A-Rod.
 
The point is that any lawsuit by A-Rod is not motivated by a desire to testify and "get the truth out."  It's because he has so much dirt on the MLB investigators that he thinks he can negotiate a lower punishment by threatening to expose their behavior.
 
And as I said in another thread, if even a fraction of what has been printed is true, I will no longer be surprised if his strategy works.
 

Gdiguy

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glennhoffmania said:
 
More on this:
 

 


 

It's nice to see that he is primarily concerned with the financial cost-benefit analysis of the suspension and law suit.
 

 


 

 
 
I take the opposite track - I'm impressed that he's actually become smart enough to think about it rationally.
 
Public-wise, I really doubt that anyone's opinion of ARod really changes if he can get a court to throw out the arbitration ruling - most people have already come to a decision about where they stand on whether they believe him or not. Baseball history-wise, if there's nothing else that's become clear from the last two Hall of Fame votes, it's that it doesn't make any difference whether you were actually caught (or 'convicted') of using steroids or are just suspected of it - they'll punish you regardless. So other than money, is there really any difference in whether he's suspended vs not? Or 50 vs 75 games? A full season will start to really cut into his ability to hit milestones (whether he wants them for history reasons or to hit contract incentives), but if he was willing to accept a first time offender's penalty then +/- 25 games doesn't really effect that too much either. I'd prefer it gets overturned just because I think MLB's behavior has been kind of ridiculous, but if they had slapped a 50 game penalty on him I can't really argue with it.
 
Also, I'm not so sure ARod would need to testify in a trial anyway - again, it depends on what their goal is, but if it's to get the season-long suspension thrown out it may be enough to argue that it's out of proportion to what was collectively bargained for & what penalties have been given to other players, and ARod's testimony isn't really necessary for that. MLB's would be, which is why I agree that a trial is probably the worst possible outcome for MLB (and has the potential to actually be worse than having the arbitrator rule in ARod's favor, which is probably why the threat is being made by ARod's people). 
 

terrisus

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Most of the other people in the Biogenesis stuff got 50-game suspensions.
Rodriguez is now (supposedly) saying he will accept his suspension if it's less than 100 games.
 
Assuming that if he hadn't kicked and screamed the whole way through that he would have gotten the same suspension as everyone else, yeah, I'd say that was a pretty big mess-up on his part.
 

glennhoffmania

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Furthermore, this is all besides the point.  This asshole has been screaming that he's totally innocent since day one.  Now he's saying he'd accept a 65 game suspension because it would cost more to fight it than he would lose in salary- this coming from a guy who will make over half a billion dollars in his career.  So he's still innocent but he doesn't want to spend more money to continue fighting it.  Maybe he should've thought of that before rejecting MLB's settlement offer and spending millions on PR and the arbitration.  The guy is a total clown.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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Sources close to A-Rod have him filing an injunction if the ban is upheld or not reduced to his liking so he can report to spring training and start the season.
 

Bigpupp

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terrisus said:
Assuming that if he hadn't kicked and screamed the whole way through that he would have gotten the same suspension as everyone else, yeah, I'd say that was a pretty big mess-up on his part.
I think that's a pretty big assumption. This whole thing had felt like MLB trying to make an example of him (rightfully or not).
 

terrisus

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He was one of like a dozen names that they uncovered through the Biogenesis stuff. There was nothing in what was done then that set him apart or that was specific to him.
What set him apart, aside from the repeated denials and everything (as opposed to the other players, who just accepted it), was stuff like paying money for documents to be destroyed and whatnot.
 
To make it sound like there was nothing that Rodriguez did differently than anyone else, but that Baseball just decided to "go after him," is to ignore so many things.
 

Sampo Gida

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glennhoffmania said:
Furthermore, this is all besides the point.  This asshole has been screaming that he's totally innocent since day one.  Now he's saying he'd accept a 65 game suspension because it would cost more to fight it than he would lose in salary- this coming from a guy who will make over half a billion dollars in his career.  So he's still innocent but he doesn't want to spend more money to continue fighting it.  Maybe he should've thought of that before rejecting MLB's settlement offer and spending millions on PR and the arbitration.  The guy is a total clown.
 
What exactly was MLB's settlement offer?  I seem to remember they went from lifetime ban and offered 211 games, he did not take it and they went with 211 anyways since Bud realized it probably would not hold up in arbitration. 
 
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/report-rod-could-banned-life-turns-down-mlb-204052447.html.
 
Arods not in a position to accept anything. Whatever the suspension is that is what it is.  Arod can only choose whether to fight it or not.  While he does have quite a bit of money, legal costs are pretty expensive.  211 games costs him over 30 million in salary.  65 games costs about 20 million less.  Spending 20 million to save 10 million makes less sense than spending 20 million to save 30 million.
 
People plea guilty to crimes they are innocent of.  Have to weigh the odds of getting off and the legal costs against what you lose by accepting the sentence on the table.
 

Bigpupp

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terrisus said:
He was one of like a dozen names that they uncovered through the Biogenesis stuff. There was nothing in what was done then that set him apart or that was specific to him.
What set him apart, aside from the repeated denials and everything (as opposed to the other players, who just accepted it), was stuff like paying money for documents to be destroyed and whatnot.
 
To make it sound like there was nothing that Rodriguez did differently than anyone else, but that Baseball just decided to "go after him," is to ignore so many things.
I assume you're replying to me, but I never really said or implied anything you're saying. The point I was making was that Arod was never given the same offer that the "dozens of other players got." That, just by itself, shows that Arod was being targeted.

Then, I actually said that he may have been rightfully targeted (I believe he was) because of the things you outlined. So no, I'm not ignoring anything at all. I'm just saying that he won't look foolish for accepting a 50-100 game suspension now, because he was never offered one to begin with.
 

terrisus

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He was never offered it, no - because he did a number of other things first, which set him apart from the players who were offered that.
 
If he had just sat back and waited for Baseball to come to its decision, he would have gotten the same offer as everyone else.
Instead, he would tell anyone who listened how innocent he was, and go around buying up documents and whatever else.
 
So, instead of being offered a 50-game suspension that would have been over by now, he put himself into a position where apparently he feels it's better to accept a 100-game suspension.
One can phrase it as him being "targeted," but that's because of all that other stuff that he did beyond what anyone else did. He only has himself to blame for anything beyond 50 games.
 

Bigpupp

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terrisus said:
If he had just sat back and waited for Baseball to come to its decision, he would have gotten the same offer as everyone else.
Again, I think that's making a huge, huge assumption.
 

Rovin Romine

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I'm curious - does anyone know if and to what extent spring training counts toward AAV?  
 
I ask because we tend to equate total salary for 162 games played in terms of valuing a player.  If ARod drags this out into spring training, does his salary count against the Yankees to any extent?  
 

Average Reds

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Rovin Romine said:
I'm curious - does anyone know if and to what extent spring training counts toward AAV?  
 
I ask because we tend to equate total salary for 162 games played in terms of valuing a player.  If ARod drags this out into spring training, does his salary count against the Yankees to any extent?  
 
My understanding is that the answer is not at all.
 
Remember, players don't earn their salaries during spring training.  They get paid only during the season.