New book "A-Rod" breaks more bad behavior

[Bleujayone]

As it turns out- and surprising absolutely no one, it is now reported Alex Rodriguez has used steroids far more than just his admitted couple of years while on the Texas Rangers. The book "A-Rod" alleges not only has A-Rod using while on the Yankees too, where teammates christened him with the "Fight Club" inspired nickname "B!+ch T!ts" and further claims (in no small part from Jose Canseco) that he has been doing so since his high school days.

This could be especially damning after his somewhat insincere confessional/ press conference a few months back. If this information turns out to be true, MLB "steroid enforcement" is going to look ever more like an utter joke. It will also mean that A-Rods quarter billion dollar contract was indeed a result of cheating. If anyone is still in fantasyland and wonders why it is talented players would ever cheat- wonder no further.

In addition to cheating with steroids, it goes further to say A-rod cheated in games too. He "pitch tipped" when he played for the Rangers by letting opponents at the plate know which pitch was coming in lopsided games. A-Rod expected players he helped would reciprocate when he was having an off night and needed to get his batting average up.....um yeah, I think that qualifies as cheating, don't you?

I wonder if any of the teams that signed A-rod could have legal grounds for demanding some of that money back. I wonder if other players in the running for the MVP the years he won could demand he turn over his awards, and I wonder how his stats will be looked at.

Report: A-Rod used with Yankees

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez could return from a hip injury in as few as 10 days.

But he is already back in the headlines. More details from Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts' book "A-Rod" were released Wednesday by the New York Daily News. The book alleges Rodriguez did not stop using steroids when he came to the Yankees and he might have been using as far back as high school, the Daily News reports.

Roberts broke the story that A-Rod failed a steroid test in 2003. Yankees teammates, Roberts writes, nicknamed Rodriguez "B---h T--s" in 2005 because he put on 15 pounds in the offseason which included round pectorals, a condition called 'gynecomastia" that can be caused by anabolic steroids.

Roberts' book, which will be released May 12, also details Rodriguez's relationship with Dominican trainer Angel Presinal, who is banned from major league clubhouses.

Jose Canseco, a former teammate of Rodriguez, said in the book he believes Rodriguez has been using steroids since high school.

"Was he on steroids in high school?" Canseco said in the book, the Daily News reported. "I think probably so. I worked out with him when he was 18. He could lift almost as much as I could."

Rodriguez put on 25 pounds of muscle between his sophomore and junior years. Former high school teammates told Roberts that A-Rod was using steroids back then and his coach knew it -- an allegation the coach, Rich Hoffman, denied.

Other things alleged in Roberts' book, according to the Daily News:

? A-Rod "pitch tipped" when he played for the Rangers by letting opponents at the plate know which pitch was coming in lopsided games. A-Rod expected players he helped would reciprocate when he was having an off night and needed to get his batting average up.

? A-Rod's off-the-field antics including his poker habit; his divorce from his wife, Cynthia; his relationship with Madonna and his other affairs are detailed.

? A-Rod was hated at Hooters, where he tipped the minimum 15 percent.

...............................................

Rodriguez hit in a simulated game for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, facing minor leaguer pitchers Christian Garcia and Kai Liu, a left-hander from China the Yankees signed two years ago.

Rodriguez slid five times on a sliding mat for the second time, ran the bases and took 112 swings in regular batting practice.

The Yankees said Rodriguez will play in an extended spring training intrasquad game Thursday in Tampa, Fla.

Dr. Marc Philippon watched the three-time AL MVP's on-field workout Wednesday at the Yankees minor league complex and said Rodriguez could return to the majors ahead of his May 15 target date.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Neon_Matrix]

Speculation and hearsay is not enough to convince that any of what this author is saying is true. She got lucky once with actual evidence, now, she appears to be stretching. I'll believe this when I see evidence supporting it. Right now, this books seems like a huge joke.

[MEANS]

the problem is he got caught lying once, and when he held his press conference to admit what he did, he didn't seem sincere, so if any of these new allegations turn out to be true he's finished in the eyes of any fans who don't already feel he's a cheat.

[patsox]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

[Gothamite]

We'll see if she can support any of her claims.

If she can, then this will and should haunt Rodriquez until the end of his career. If she can't, then she ought to consider herself lucky that he won't sue her into oblivion.

[patsox]

We'll see if she can support any of her claims.

If she can, then this will and should haunt Rodriquez until the end of his career. If she can't, then she ought to consider herself lucky that he won't sue her into oblivion.

If she can somehow support her claims without getting sued even once, then she instantly becomes my hero.

[BJ Sands]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

Dude, do you know anything about journalism? The only person who challenged anything in her SI story about A-Rod was A-Rod and he turned out to be full of it.

What gives you proof that she is a "slime ball" and a disreputable journalist?

[Gothamite]

We'll see if she can support any of her claims.

If she can, then this will and should haunt Rodriquez until the end of his career. If she can't, then she ought to consider herself lucky that he won't sue her into oblivion.

If she can somehow support her claims without getting sued even once, then she instantly becomes my hero.

She has nothing to worry about - he won't sue. Public figures rarely do, even when the claims are totally fictitious - it only gives the phony claims more exposure.

That has zero bearing on the relative merits of her accusations. I don't know anything about her - we'll have to see.

[TFoA]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

Dude, do you know anything about journalism? The only person who challenged anything in her SI story about A-Rod was A-Rod and he turned out to be full of it.

What gives you proof that she is a "slime ball" and a disreputable journalist?

That's what I'm saying. She may be doing this as a cash grab and is trying to bank on being "the one with the dirt on A-Rod," but it's not like the stuff she said about A-Rod before wasn't true.

Now, someone's gotta have an axe to grind with A-Rod, whether it be the source or the journalist because his reputation has been getting obliterated lately.

[njmeadowlanders]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

Dude, do you know anything about journalism? The only person who challenged anything in her SI story about A-Rod was A-Rod and he turned out to be full of it.

What gives you proof that she is a "slime ball" and a disreputable journalist?

Also remember, the SI story that was run (not her own book) by the same author was...RUN IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED!

It's not the National Enquirer...you don't think a reputable publication like SI ran everything possible through their lawyers and made 110% sure the sources were legit and that they weren't at all susceptible to libel before coming out with the story?

There's no way they'd drop a bombshell like that only on hearsay and speculation.

[BJ Sands]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

Dude, do you know anything about journalism? The only person who challenged anything in her SI story about A-Rod was A-Rod and he turned out to be full of it.

What gives you proof that she is a "slime ball" and a disreputable journalist?

Also remember, the SI story that was run (not her own book) by the same author was...RUN IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED!

It's not the National Enquirer...you don't think a reputable publication like SI ran everything possible through their lawyers and made 110% sure the sources were legit and that they weren't at all susceptible to libel before coming out with the story?

There's no way they'd drop a bombshell like that only on hearsay and speculation.

Exactly.

Ever see the movie "Shattered Glass"? After that and the Jayson Blair scandals, major magazines, newspapers and publishing companies are even more strident with their fact-checking and scrutiny of pieces.

There's no way stuff like this would be published without major, major vetting.

[Gothamite]

Funny that you should mention those two - the Blair case happened years after Stephen Glass was caught.

You think that the Times would have been on to Blair, after watching the New Republic get burned by a scam artist. They should have done their major, major vetting. But sometimes it happens. No reason it couldn't happen again today.

Not saying that this is the case here, only that all such bombshell claims ought to be met with skepticism until they are supported with verifiable fact. Especially when the biggest claims come in the form of a book, with the added profit motive.

[BJ Sands]

Funny that you should mention those two - the Blair case happened years after Stephen Glass was caught.

You think that the Times would have been on to Blair, after watching the New Republic get burned by a scam artist. They should have done their major, major vetting. But sometimes it happens. No reason it couldn't happen again today.

Not saying that this is the case here, only that all such bombshell claims ought to be met with skepticism until they are supported with verifiable fact. Especially when the biggest claims come in the form of a book, with the added profit motive.

Just because there are two bad apples doesn't mean that the vast majority of journalists are dirty. I am 100 percent certain that Selena Roberts, along with editors, copy editors, fact-checkers and lawyers verified everything as much as they could. There is too much riding on this if she is wrong. A-Rod can afford to sue her and keep the legal process going as long as possible if needed, and they all know that.

(Of course, I might be a tad biased.)

[rams80]

Until I hear some definitive evidence that A-Rod was juicing in high school, with the Mariners, and with the Yankees, I'm sticking to my opinion that this Selena Roberts lady is the biggest slime ball I've ever heard of. Does she honestly consider herself a reputable journalists at this point? This lady is nothing but a joke to me.

Dude, do you know anything about journalism? The only person who challenged anything in her SI story about A-Rod was A-Rod and he turned out to be full of it.

What gives you proof that she is a "slime ball" and a disreputable journalist?

Also remember, the SI story that was run (not her own book) by the same author was...RUN IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED!

It's not the National Enquirer...you don't think a reputable publication like SI ran everything possible through their lawyers and made 110% sure the sources were legit and that they weren't at all susceptible to libel before coming out with the story?

There's no way they'd drop a bombshell like that only on hearsay and speculation.

Exactly.

Ever see the movie "Shattered Glass"? After that and the Jayson Blair scandals, major magazines, newspapers and publishing companies are even more strident with their fact-checking and scrutiny of pieces.

There's no way stuff like this would be published without major, major vetting.

I dunno....there's a lot of money to be made there, in an industry that is bleeding red ink. Perhaps there is less incentive to fact check now.

[Shumway]

What the hell does tipping 15% at Hooters have anything to do with A-Rod doing steroids? Maybe he just had a busted waitress. Plus, A-Rod's hated pretty much everywhere he goes.

[pcgd]

I don't know why and maybe there is something wrong with me, but for some reason him tipping pitches to other teams bothers me more than doing steroids. Steroids at least attempt to help your own team be better. Tipping pitches hurts your own team and not only that, how do you think those pitchers feel. If there was some call up that had a try out more or less in a blowout and got lit up because of A-Rod tipping pitches, that's really really crappy.

[OnWis97]

I don't know why and maybe there is something wrong with me, but for some reason him tipping pitches to other teams bothers me more than doing steroids. Steroids at least attempt to help your own team be better. Tipping pitches hurts your own team and not only that, how do you think those pitchers feel. If there was some call up that had a try out more or less in a blowout and got lit up because of A-Rod tipping pitches, that's really really crappy.

I agree. And while I am not surprised at the focus remaining on steroids (because of our obsession with it as well as the fact that he appears to have been less than truthful), this seems worse. He gets a big fat contract due to statistical numbers while others, his teammates, could theoretically have been losing money due to his selfish attempts to maybe help his own stats in some other blowout situation.

I've kind of come to grips with steroids. So many people used it that while it inflated stats, it was probably a wash from the team success perspective. But this is essentially point-shaving...ok it's not for gambling, but it's reducing the margin of victory for completely selfish reasons. Next to Pete Rose gambling and very, very few other things, this is as bad a thing for the integrity of the game as I've ever heard. I hope it's not true. But more importantly, if it is true, I hope we don't start hearing that it goes on all the time with other players. I would not think so due to the trading/free agency.

If this is true, it's far worse than roids. Far more selfish. Far more "me". And no pitcher (or other player for that matter), should really ever want to be his teammate.

To add to that, in this story(Link) current Twin R.A. Dickey sums up what we're trying to say:

That explanation wasn't sufficient for Glanville or Dickey, who said "There's no situation that would ever justify him doing that on any level. That's somebody's ERA that's somebody's livelihood, that's somebody trying to provide for their family. I'm holding on to the belief that it's not true. No one with a conscience could do that. Blows me away."

[Gothamite]

I agree on the tipping pitches. Scumbaggery.

So she claims he tips pitches on the field but doesn't tip for pitchers at Hooters?

(Of course, I might be a tad biased.)

Nah. That couldn't have anything to do with it.

[BJ Sands]

(I just get a bit uppity when I hear people start blindly ripping journalists.)

But seriously, if you're going to go after Selena Roberts, at least use the Duke lacrosse case as ammo. She was wrong and hasn't entirely admitted it yet.

However, that was when she was a columnist for the NY Times. She herself wasn't investigating the case like she is with A-Rod. Big difference.

[Bleujayone]

May 3- ...Major League Baseball is now investigating whether Alex Rodriguez used performance-enhancing drugs after 2003 based on allegations in the upcoming book "A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez," by Selena Roberts, that says he continued to use steroids and HGH after 2003, the New York Times reports. Rodriguez had met with MLB investigators in March and said he used a substance called boli from 2001 to 2003 but then quit using any performance-enhancing drugs.

Roberts meanwhile, says she won't cooperate with MLB, so it doesn't look like this investigation will get very far. Either way, Rodriguez's hip injury is a far more pertinent issue for fantasy owners (he could possibly return as early as next weekend) and any impact from the investigation apart from PR damage, is likely far away.

------------------------------------------

-I understand Roberts refusing to take take part in the investigation as to do so would probably risk exposing her sources (a common journalist tactic). But I'm skeptical its the only reason. It may also stem from keeping up interest for the upcoming book. It would seem if MLB really wants Roberts' information, they may have to wait until after the book comes out. A-Rod's "I'm not going there", tactic rings about as negative as the testimony by MLB players before Congress a few years back. He'd better consider "going there" before he finds other people doing it more and more for him.