A-Rod Opens Up But Questions Still Remain

I just got done watching the full interview A-Rod did with Peter Gammons. Wow. I didn't think I was going to get all that. I don't know the exact running time of the interview, but it had to be close to 30-35 minutes. I'm glad Alex "came clean" and admitted to using PEDs. It was the right move. hopefully, we can all move on from this and get back to bantering about baseball.

As for the content of the interview, Alex gave me more than I expected, but left me puzzled a few times.

• Alex claims to not knowing exactly what he used. I find that hard to believe. Athletes don't put random crap in their bodies. I'm pretty sure A-Rod knew exactly what he used. I was hoping Gammons would ask him if he ever injected himself with anything, but I'm not surprised he didn't. It seemed like a very structured interview. There weren't really any follow up questions to Alex's answers. I'm sure some reporters are going to throw those questions at him at some point.
• I don't quite follow the timeline. He said he stopped using in spring training of 2003 but admitted to using from 2001-2003. I don't get what he meant when he said that the timeline was "pretty accurate." And again, Gammons didn't follow-up on the answer. He wasn't sure of the timing of the 2003 test and when he stopped using. I would have expected him to know the answer to that question.
• He said that Gene Orza told him he may or may not have failed a test back in 2004 and that he hadn't heard anything about failing until Roberts bumrushed him Thursday in the gym. Since he hadn't heard anything about the test from 2004 until 2 days ago, he took that to mean that he wasn't on the government's list of those who tested positive. He also said he hasn't seen the test results and would like to, so he can see what he took. Now here's where I get confused. If he hasn't seen the test and didn't know until 2 days ago that he had failed, what's he admitting to? Based on his feelings for Selena Roberts, I wouldn't think he would take anything she says as the truth. Yet, he's admitting to using banned substances based on her report. That doesn't add up. The conclusion I'm drawing is that he knows what he took (see bullet point #1) and he knows it was a PED. I appreciate him coming out and admitting to using, but I don't think he was 100% on the level in his responses.
• He said he's been tested randomly 8-10 times since 2004 and has been clean since leaving Texas. I believe that 100%. He said this was the biggest regret of his life. It may not be the biggest regret of his life, but I imagine it's up there. Gammons said post-interview that it was a very emotional day for A-Rod. I could sense that a little bit. At one point I thought he was tearing up. I felt he tried to be as genuine as possible, even though as i mentioned in my last bullet point, not everything seemed on the level.
• I noticed at times he had trouble making eye contact with Gammons. There were also some instances where he took his time in thinking of his response, which I took to be a good thing. I'm sure some newspaper out there will have a body language expert review the interview to try and prove whether or not he was genuine. Look for that tomorrow because I'm sure it's being worked on.
• Alex wasn't afraid to tell us how he feels about Selena Roberts. He mentioned how SI basically pays her to stalk him. She was thrown out of his NYC apartment. She had a run in with the University of Miami police. She tried to break into his house. I immediately pictured her trying to climb through an open window. It was probably more like she climbed the gate and trespassed on his property. Roberts has denied these allegations, calling them "absurd." This is interesting. It's something that you'd think is easy to verify so why would either one lie about it. I have to believe Alex here. I can see Roberts being overzealous in her pursuit of confronting A-Rod. There are definitely reporters out there who will do anything for a story. I don't know why but I can picture her doing the things Alex said. Alex mentioned in his interview he had a copy of the citation she was given. I guarantee you somebody is already looking into this. I can't think of a reason why A-Rod would make this up. This could get interesting.

I'm glad Alex stepped up to the plate and owned up to what he did, even if there are still a few questions surrounding his answers. He admitted it, and that's the bottom line. I'm disappointed in him, but I can get past it pretty easily. I believe that he's clean and has been clean since he's been with the Yankees. I still think he's the best player I've ever seen play the game and that's not something that his steroid use will change. It's very easy of us non-athletes to blast these guys for doing what they did. I'm not condoning the behavior. It's wrong, no doubt about it. But who are we to pass judgement on these guys? Alex pointed out in his interview that it was the culture of the game. I can understand that. It wouldn't be called the "steroid era" if a handful of guys were using. 104 people tested positive in 2003. It doesn't make me like the guys that got caught any less. It makes me appreciate those that didn't even more. If only, I knew who those guys were.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie