My Obligatory Post About A-Rod

The game today absolutely sucked and I don't really want to write about it. So I figured what better time that now to write about the leaks from Selena Roberts upcoming book about A-Rod. It's not really something I wanted to write about but it's hard not to have an opinion on the matter. So here goes:

1. A-Rod reportedly tipped a Hooters waitress the standard 15%. Really? And we should care about this why? Is there a law out there that says the wealthy should tip more than 15%? Is there a law out there that says anyone has to leave any kind of a tip. It's a standard, not a law. And how do we know that the service didn't suck? How many of us can honestly say that they've never tipped below 15%. If this doesn't lay out Roberts' motives to totally blast A-Rod, I don't know what does.
2. A-Rod reportedly tipped pitches to opposing players in exchange for the same in return, so he could pad his stats. This seems like a wild accusation. I'm not even sure how this is possible and can even be kept a secret. I'd have to think that more people would be in on this than just Alex. I read that Alex used to call pitches when he was with Texas which would give him the opportunity. But to do something like this would be premeditated and the arrangement to do something like this would have to be made before the game. It seems like it would be hard to pull off. If MLB wants to investigate and reprimand Alex for this, I think they're stupid. I'm inclined to believe that things along this line happen in the game today. I'm sure that a pitcher has thrown an intentional meatball to someone. I'm sure that a catcher has probably told a hitter what pitch is coming. What I'm saying is that people are foolish if they think that the game is 100% played on the level by everyone involved. I'm not naive, I'm sure it goes down. How come nobody cared when Brett Favre stood there and let Michael Strahan sack him to break the sack record in the NFL? Isn't that kind of along the same lines? I don't recall there being a huge uproar over that?
3. A-Rod reportedly used steroids in high school and HGH while a member of the Yankees. We already know that Alex used steroids and quite frankly I don't care when he did. There are a lot of things in this world worse than someone using steroids. I don't really care.
4. A-Rod cheated on his wife. Again, who cares? I'm sure that a lot of married ballplayers cheat on their wives, probably more than those that don't. I wouldn't be surprised if they have arrangements along the lines of "I don't care what you do as long as I don't hear about it, and you don't bring home any diseases. As long as I've got this fancy house and car, do what you want." The problem here is that Alex's escapades become public knowledge and his wife probably had little choice but to divorce him. She was made a fool of in the public eye and standing by her man was no longer an option. Why doesn't anyone care about Kobe Bryant like they do about A-Rod? Kobe allegedly raped a girl and that story was over and done with rather quickly.

The real problem that I have with Roberts' book is that it only paints one side of the story. There have been multiple people coming out in recent days saying that these things didn't happen. Doug Mientkiewicz came out and said that he was 99.9% sure that Alex didn't use 'roids in high school. Buck Showalter and Michael Young came out and said that there was no way he was tipping pitches to opposing ballplayers. Yet their accounts are left out of the book. I think it's ridiculous that people are allowed to write things like this without providing both sides. I know that's how it goes, but it's ridiculous. Her claims are obviously unfounded and I think it's irresponsible for her to write them when there are people out there who are refuting her allegations. Maybe if she included that I'd respect her a little more. It's painfully obvious that Roberts' is setting out to do 2 things: 1)Paint A-Rod in the most negative light she can and 2)make a lot of money. I question her motivations and it makes me dislike her even more. I know she was right about Alex in her SI story, but I have my doubts about what I'm hearing now. Especially with guys like Mientkiewicz, Showalter, and Young adding in their 2 cents.

I really hope that no one out there buys her book. I don't really care what's in there and if it's true or not. It doesn't and wouldn't change my feelings about Alex as a ballplayer. I also don't know why anyone really cares that he's allegedly a bad person. Not tipping more than 15%. Cheating on his wife. Making a clubhouse kid put toothpaste on his toothbrush. Why should any of us really care? It's really sad that people out there, namely Selena Roberts, actually try to seek these things out.

How sad does one's life have to be to write a book like this? I hope it bombs and it all blows up in her face. Boycott the book folks. Boycott the book.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie