Big story in the Times today detailing the sordid case against Alex Rodriguez:
In the nine months since Mr. Rodriguez and more than a dozen other players were linked to a South Florida anti-aging clinic that is believed to have distributed banned substances to professional athletes, baseball officials and the Yankee third baseman have engaged in a cloak-and-dagger struggle surpassing anything the sport has seen. The extraordinary investigative tactics, playing out in multiple locations, reflect Major League Baseball’s resolve to prove one of its stars cheated, and that player’s determination to discredit baseball officials.
Witnesses for both sides in the pending arbitration proceedings claim to have been harassed and threatened. Some were paid tens of thousands of dollars for their cooperation. One said she became intimately involved with an investigator on the case. And some witness accounts have shifted, leaving each side scrambling to defend the sometimes inconsistent stories provided by former employees and associates of the now-defunct clinic, Biogenesis of America.
The dispute — which involves lawsuits in Florida and in New York, and a battle over grand jury transcripts in Buffalo — has become so extensive that Major League Baseball has once again turned to its go-to consultant for complicated problems, the former senator George J. Mitchell, whose law firm is assisting with the growing caseload.
These details have been gleaned from dozens of interviews conducted by The New York Times over several months with witnesses, current and former law enforcement officials and lawyers involved in all sides of the dispute, and from documents obtained by The Times relating to M.L.B.’s case against Mr. Rodriguez, as well as police reports and lawsuits. Several witnesses and lawyers insisted on anonymity when discussing any aspect of the case because they have been ordered not to speak about the matter by the independent arbitrator who is hearing Mr. Rodriguez’s appeal of his 211-game doping suspension stemming from the Florida clinic investigation.
[Photo Credit: Umar Abbasi]
Haha, mud. I think this is way beyond mud at this point. Somebody is gonna need a lifetime supply of Charmin when this decision comes down.
Lifetime. Lifetime Network. That sounds fitting.
I'd rather read fuggin' Beowulf. It's not that I'm not interested in ARod. I'm very interested in ARod when he's playing baseball for the Yankees. But I don't have the time, nor the storage capacity to spare for this. Wake me up when the verdict for the appeal of the reversal of the dismissal is in, or whatever, and we know who is playing third next season.
Beowulf. NICE. Great line.
Did A-Rod cheat & use PEDs? Probably, but the actions by MLB are just as bad to me. Rob Manfred investigated, got into a war of words with Alex's camp, and is sitting in judgement? I hope Alex gets away with it.
4) I was traumatized by Beowulf. It's the least favorite thing I've ever been forced to read. I remember cramming for the test in high school, and being so frustrated, and resentful of the book that I had tears in my eyes. Whatever grade I got on the test wasn't bad enough to keep me out of college, so I can laugh about it now.
Woody in Annie Hall..."Just don't take any course where they make you read Beowulf."
[7] Hah, great one!
I feel that way about Hemmingway and most of the Russian novelists. Like Withnail said 'There's just too many pained faces looking out windows, yearning for Moscow'.
About Hemmingway? No, that's Manhattan. Annie is Keaton. And everyone loves Buster, so, siddown.
[7] I feel that way about John Steinbeck and J.D. Salinger. Yeah, I said it.
Hey, looks like no Qualifying Offer to Hughes.
I think that's a mistake. Bet somebody pays him enough to turn down the QO anyway, and the Yankees could sure use the draft pick.
I admit to liking Hughes but 14 Million for one year would not be prudent. He may take it and next year do the same dance. I would like the Yanks to sign him to a contract for less money over a couple of years. He is young enough to rebound.
[12] It wouldn't be terrible if he took it. Probably overpaying, but $14M is just over two WARP. I bet he contributes about that much, or let's say a little less. And the chance at a draft pick is valuable.
[13] There must be an acronym for expressing how much tension Hughes creates in Yankees fans..I wish him well but really, time to move on methinks.
[12],[13] I'm willing to bet the Yanks let him play the field and set his own market; if they have a set number for him and no one matches it, I wouldn't be surprised if they came back to him and signed him on those terms. But it would be terrible if they continued to use him as a starter. And yes, not getting picks for other guys they've let walk for nothing in the past has cost them, it seems.
[14] The acronym you're probably looking for is BS, correlating in some regions as HS... and no, it has nothing to do with education, RI >;)