Aaron hit 40 more HRs than Ruth, but it required 4,000 more at-bats.

I only bring it up because I don't know why it's suddenly so important to preserve Aaron's HR record:

"Whether or not you are a Barry Bonds fan, or consider him to be just a step above a seal-clubbing, pitbull-fighting bank executive, every person of good conscience should be aghast at the way the Justice Department has gone about its business. Barry Bonds, Greg Anderson and maybe thousands of others have had their rights trampled on, all for the glory of a perjury case that looks to be going absolutely nowhere. Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama have strongly indicated that the government is getting out of the steroid monitoring business. That is welcome, but after so many years, so many tax dollars and so many reputations destroyed, it all feels positively Pyrrhic."

They were saying "Lou."

"Just when you think Alex Rodriguez has figured out how to turn around this public relations' nightmare, he does something ridiculous."

Everyone in the country stand up.

If you thought Alex Rodriguez had figured out how to turn around this PR nightmare, you can sit down.

That's what I thought.

What did Alex Rodriguez do in the past ... oh, the past ten years ... that made anybody think he had figured out how to turn around this PR nightmare?


"After Rodriguez won over some of the crowd and said all the right things during an interview session, he climbed into a burgundy SUV."

He sounded like an idiot.

I truly think ARod may be mentally deficient. He looks sharp and polished and I think that's why it doesn't fit.

Like, I heard him say the other day that he was comfortable batting fourth because he'd batted fourth for the past five years in New York. That's untrue. I don't mean the playoffs where he batted 8th. I mean 2004, when Torre batted him second.


"As A-Rod approached the vehicle the passenger side window went down and Yuri Sucart was the man behind the wheel."

Nice.


"His first time at the plate the boos were 60-40, 50-50 second time and by the third time more fans were cheering than jeering.

But after this dimwitted Rodriguez move, who knows what the reaction will be tomorrow."

Oh, for crying out loud.

George A. King III is actually attempting to count the number of boos in the stands.

If ARod had only had ten more at-bats, then about 150% of the fans in the stands would have been cheering for him.

I promise you, George A. King III, nobody's perception of Alex Rodriguez has changed because he got into a minivan with his cousin.

I know precisely what the reaction will be tomorrow. Half boos and half cheers.

I hope that shirt is officially licensed merchandise.

Wouldn't want the FBI to track you down:

"Rodriguez walked in his first at-bat, and after he popped up a ball into foul territory on a 2-1 pitch in the fourth, a fan shouted, 'That was a steroid-induced foul ball!' "

Good one!

"A-Rod wasn't fazed by the fan, as he crushed the next pitch over the wall in left-center for his first home run of the spring."

Maybe ARod was fazed by the fan. He was clearly unfazed by the next pitch by the Spring Training Pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.


Villains generate more revenue than heroes.

When is the last time anybody paid attention to a NYY/Toronto Spring Training game?

Breaking News.

Alex Rodriguez hit a homerun in a Spring Training game.

Breaking News.

Alex Rodriguez walked in a Spring Training game.

I really think most baseball writers simply don't like baseball.

"The next great baseball moment probably will come late in the 2013 season, when Alex Rodriguez hits home run No. 763 and is greeted at home plate, one cheater to another, by Barry Bonds."

The next great baseball moment will come Opening Day.

Not because it's Opening Day, crack of the bat, rebirth of Spring, green grass, blah blah blah.

But simply because there will be a situation with a tie game, two on, two out, seventh inning, 2-2 pitch. What pitch does the pitcher throw, Wallace Matthews? The #3 batter is on deck and the guy at the plate is 0-for-2 with a walk. What pitch does the pitcher throw? The tension is overwhelming. The entire game is probably decided on the outcome of this at-bat and the outcome of this at-bat is decided on the next pitch.

Or maybe somebody turns a sweet 3-6-3 dp.

Great, great baseball moment.


"Best of all, probably, would be if Bonds had to witness A-Rod's historic moment on a special closed-circuit hookup in his jail cell as he serves his stretch for perjury."

That would be best for everyone.

The DJIA fell another two-fitty today and nobody knows where Osama bin Laden is, but we should spend $500k to put Barry Bonds in jail.

Worst of all, Wallace Matthews is so fixated on homeruns, that he doesn't even care about MLB's other perjurers.


"In the week since I spoke with Bud Selig, I have thought long and hard about what the Omissioner can do to right the dreadful wrong he, his players and the players association have committed upon baseball.

After much contemplation, I came up with the answer.

Nothing."

Wow. That seriously required much contemplation? Are you mentally deficient?


I got a riddle for the asterisk crowd.

Let's say Clemens (on steroids) gave up a HR to Chipper Jones (assuming Chipper was on steroids): Does the HR count? Who gets the asterisk? Chipper for hitting the HR? Or does Clemens then get an asterisk if he strikes out Chipper in the next at-bat?

What about singles, doubles, triples, sac flies, and walks?

Why is it that only HRs get asterisks?

I don't mean to mock Matthews's pain, but it's quite clear that Bonds's .600+ on-base% in 2004 was aided by steroids. Where's the love for Ted Williams's single-season on-base% record? Nobody wants an asterisk next to 232 bases on balls?

I mean, you all claim to be Guardians of the Game and whatnot, but you only seem to know about 61, 714, and 755.

Matthews is going to miss a lot of entertaining baseball between now and 2013. But I don't think he enjoys baseball, anyway.

No mention of human growth hormone.

"Pettitte says no, he has no problem with Randy Hendricks and no problem with his deal. He was determined to get the $12 million he thought he was worth, and in the end maybe he paid a price for playing his hand too boldly, but he insists it was worth it for the chance to prove the ugly finish to last season doesn't mean he's one step from being washed up."

Greedy.


" 'Hey, around July last year I thought I was going to win 20 games,' Pettitte was saying Saturday. 'I felt that good. So don't tell me that based on my last 11 or 12 starts I'm done. I had a shoulder problem.' "

Hey, based on the last 11 or 12 starts without the aid of human growth hormone, you're done.

Hey, y'all.

"It's unclear how much more the Yankees would have been willing to guarantee at the end, after Pettitte turned down the $10 million and the Bombers signed Mark Teixeira for $180 million, but the veteran lefty says he opted for the incentives.

'To me, there was principle involved,' Pettitte said."

Naturally.

You're probably the most principled greedy, lying, disloyal cheater on the whole team.

I'll bet John Harper votes Andy Pettitte into the Hall of Fame. Not ARod, though, as we all know.

It's not the most ridiculous idea based on Pettitte's stats (215 wins, .629 winning%, 4 rings, 117 ERA+), but Pettitte's supposed incompetence is now used as an excuse for the public's general disinterest in his cheating.

I've got a few questions for hard-hitting sports journalist John Harper:

How much money should Andy Pettitte give back?

Shouldn't those performance incentives be donated to charity?

Shouldn't Elijah Cummings be knocking down Pettitte's door?

Seriously, what's the deal, John Harper? Are you just in love with Andy Pettitte, or something? You love Andy Pettitte so much that you're willing to ruin your own credibility?

Curt Schilling can say anything he wants.

I am surprised that Curt Schlling's blog is actually quite insightful, forthright, and well-written (now that he's cleaned up his grammar).

I'm late with this post, but it's a good one:

"But now this man is going to act as if he was a ‘victim’ of the same thing we all were? Worse yet, so many of these writers and media members are standing on the tallest mountain shouting to anyone who will listen how wrong all of this is, how bad all of it is, and how dare we players sat by idly and did nothing.

These men were privy to the same scenes we were on a daily basis. They saw us dress, and undress, they rolled their eyes the very same way many players did at the guy who ‘worked his ass off’ when he’d really ‘worked his ass on’ and put on astronomical muscle mass in 4 short months.

They saw hitters go from 18 to 40 home runs, pitchers go from 88 to 90mph, to 95-97mph yet we’re the ones who put our heads in the sand? Weren’t these the men and women with the power of the pen?

(For a player it’s far harder than many think to conclude that guy used PEDs. Not every player who increased his velocity by 5mph or hits 20 more HRs cheats. It’s hard, it’s a challenge, but it can be done, some players have and will continue to do that and they’ll do that clean.)

Hell, Pedro said that he KNEW players who did it for a fact. That makes him 100% more informed about users than I am, or ever was. I suspected, I certainly had my own ideas, but I never knew for a fact that ANYONE used steroids or HGH unless they came out since and admitted it.

What makes Pedro, or any member of the media that was so intent on heaping glory and praise on all things Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and others for ’saving the game’ of baseball in 1997 and 1998, any less culpable?"

The writers, fans, coaches, managers, owners, GMs, commissioner are, in fact, less culpable. Even if they turned a blind eye, they didn't necessarily do the crime.

It's also a bit silly to condemn the reporters whle absolving the teammates who refused to blow the whistle.

But Schlling can condemn ARod all he wants. If Schilling played the game clean during the steroids era, he has at least earned that. A lot of the people who are complaining are the same people who fed their kids with steroid money.

Also, I find this post very interesting because it demonstrates the antagonism between the players and the press. We all subtly know this, but the press warps the truth. They pump up the friendly players and tear down the unfriendly players.

Seriously, is ARod really less forthright than Derek Jeter or Michael Jordan?

Bobby Abreu is the worst-fielding outfielder I've ever seen on a day-by-day basis. He is a joke in the outfield.

Why am I bringing it up?

Because the press seems to have "decided" that Abreu is an adequate outfielder. The same press that has "decided" that ARod is struggling at third base.

In five years at 3b with the Yankees, ARod had a tough three- or four- game stretch where he made five or six errors, including three in one game. The rest of the time, he has often approached Gold Glove caliber.

Last year, Abreu probably gave back 25 runs in the field. So, as far as I'm concerned, he was a $16M corner outfielder who drove in 75 runs.

Stick a mic into Abreu's face every day. Follow him around with cameras. Ask him why his parents named him "Bob" and his nickname is "Bobby" and if this is why he's such a mental wreck who is afraid of walls in the outfield.

What's the "truth" about Abreu? What's the "truth" about ARod?

The "truth" is that the writers dislike ARod and like Abreu. That's it.

Which is why so many fans don't care about the Pedro Gomezes of the world. To us, ARod is neither likeable nor unlikeable. He's .300/40/120 with 20 stolen bases thrown in.

I don't need to spend time in the sweaty locker room watching them, ahem, "dress and undress."

You don't speak for the fans.

You think you speak for the fans, but you really don't:

"We like to think we do everything bigger and better here, especially in sports."

You are making that up.


"But lately it seems as if the only place we've cornered the market in sports is with the biggest pinheads."

I don't know, it's kind of funny. I just saw Barkley praised to high heaven for his sincere apology. He was driving drunk. But it's okay because he seemed sincere while apologizing.

Get a Congressional investigation and a parade of parents whose children were killed by drunk drivers.


"Yankee fans still want the Yankees to be Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. Yankee fans just want to root for their team the way they did when Joe Torre was the manager and the Yankees won the World Series every year."

(Cheater/Liar Andy Pettitte conspicuously missing from the list.)

True, some Yankee fans live in the past. But not nearly as much as the sportswriters who still bring up 1998 on a daily basis.

Actually, forget about 1998. They bring up freakin' Babe Ruth on a daily basis.


Most Yankee fans I know are distressed by ARod's steroid use, but more concerned about the health of Joba and Wang and whether or not Gardner can hit well enough to handle CF.

Also, I'd like to point out that the Torre-era Yankee teams had steroid cheats. So, Lupica's point seems to be, "Fans would rather bury their heads in the sand and root for cheaters, as long as they don't know about it."

Kind of like a fool who'd write a book about the 1998 HR race.


"But now Rodriguez keeps getting in the way. To root for their team, Yankee fans have to root for A-Rod, who doesn't just admit to using steroids but then answers questions about that as well as he hits in the playoffs."

ARod answered more questions about steroids than any baseball player ever, except Jose Canseco.

As for his playoff hitting, it's not as bad as you think.


"Rodriguez is supposed to hit 800 home runs in the big leagues before he is through, hit more than Babe Ruth or Henry Aaron or Barry Bonds, and guess what?"

Babe Ruth. Nice.


"The Yankees would have to pick up half his salary, or more, to get rid of him."

That, I doubt.

This fury will settle down as long as he hits well.

The Yankees might miss the playoffs with ARod, but they'd almost certainly miss the playoffs without ARod. The guy has always been worth the investment, and still is.


"The truly amazing thing is that guys like A-Rod expect people to go back to rooting for them no matter what they've done or how pathetically they've explained themselves - or even how much they've lied - as long as they produce."

You miss the point entirely, don't you?

If ARod didn't produce, you wouldn't care. If ARod didn't produce, you wouldn't write stories about him every week. If ARod didn't produce, you wouldn't know his name.

I mean, you can win an MVP in this league and admit to taking steroids and nobody even pays attention because they're so focused on ARod.

You can win two MVPs in this league while taking steroids and nobody even pays attention to you because they're so focused on ARod.

Why?

One reason: ARod is a better player.


Kei Igawa has never lied to you and he's never appeared on any steroid list. As far as I know, Kei Igawa is a strong family man.

Of course, I don't care. Because he can't play baseball too well.

So, where's the Lupica article about Kei Igawa?


Go write a retrospective on the greatest Family Men in New York baseball. How's Craig Wilson's son doing? Did he graduate college yet? Awww, that's sweet. You seem like a nice guy. But you can't play for us anymore because you hit .212. Sorry!

I challenge anybody to tell me if Jose Molina is married or to describe his latest hairstyle. That's the Yankee starting catcher from last year. Bet you don't know anything about him, and you don't care.


ARod, you have permission to lie to me all you want. In fact, you don't have to ever speak to me again. You can frost your hair and divorce your wife and say contradictory things to Joel Sherman.

But if you hit .240 this year with 18 HRs, you're dead to me.

I'll take that bet.

Wallace Matthews thinks the Yankees won't win the World Series one time in the next nine years:

"Like every other team that has employed A-Rod, the Yankees have yet to win a thing with him, and it is hard to believe they ever will."

ARod has been in the playoffs seven times, four times with the Yankees. So, while he has not won a World Series ring, he has helped his teams win.

I guarantee Matthews said the same thing about Clemens.


"For everything he adds to a team, he takes away that much more ..."

Wrong.


"Understand, this is not a media-created frenzy. It is solely an A-Rod Production, starting with his decision in 2001 to puncture his legacy with a syringe right up to his disingenuous and dishonest news conference Tuesday at which he promised to lay this all to rest."

So, the ARod obsession started when you learned about steroids? It has been a two-week problem?

I think it's quite obvious that the media has been obsessed with ARod for a long time and that most of that coverage has been negative. That's why I don't think much has changed since his steroid revelations.

That's also why the outrage often sounds hollow. Tejada, Sheffield, Santiago, and about 100 other baseball players get a pass.

You always hated ARod. Everyone knows it. (Funny how Pettitte's apology sounded "sincere," or something, especially since Pettitte didn't give 1/10th the information that ARod gave.)

You were frenzied when ARod took off his shirt in Central Park. You were frenzied when ARod got a divorce. You were frenzied when ARod grounded into a double play in a playoff game.

ARod, ARod, ARod, ARod.

The level of outrage for steroid use isn't much different than the level of outrage for the World Series opt-out announcment.


"As usual, he leaves a mess behind for his GM, his manager and his teammates to clean up."

Answer some stupid questions from stupid sportswriters. Then, go out and play winning baseball. Then, answer more stupid questions from stupid sportswriters.

Like every other working human being in the world, you won't like all of your coworkers.

I don't see the problem.

ARod draws all the negative attention and Teixeira won't get booed if he hits .211 in April.

Burn it down.

"Now, there are fair and absolutely reasonable arguments to be made that a) writers shouldn't be the ones voting for the Hall of Fame; and b) that a players' character and integrity shouldn't be part of the Hall of Fame process. Those arguments still wouldn't change the fact that these are the realities of the Hall of Fame process currently, and for the foreseeable future.

So, barring any modifications to the Hall of Fame ballot language, Rodriguez finds himself in an excruciating position. Sympathizers will almost surely fall back on the 'he was a Hall of Famer before and after he cheated' excuse, but such logic is irrational. Imagine a high school student, who is caught cheating on just one of the six tests he takes in a semester. The student gets a zero for that test and, even if he gets a perfect score on the other five exams, the best he can do for an overall grade is an 83. That's a B-minus."

Huh?

What does that have to do with a baseball player who hits 800 homeruns?

"In Rodriguez's case, his admitted cheating means he gets a zero on at least the integrity portion of the ballot, and all the home runs and RBI in the world can't change that. Even if you wanted to grade him perfectly on the other five categories, that zero has to be counted. And the Hall of Fame isn't a place for 83s. It isn't a place for B-minuses."

Oh, gee.

For one thing, I've know from the people in the Hall of Fame, and some of them are certainly B-minuses. I mean, Bill Mazeroski turned a super-quick double play and hit .260.

Secondly, I have an easy way to fix your imaginary grading system. Just grade on a weighted scale, where baseball-playing ability counts the highest. Since it's the baseball Hall of Fame.

Or, you could just grade on a curve. Jackie Robinson gets an A. Sammy Sosa gets an F, because he corked hit bat and took steroids. Everybody else gets a C.

The problem with the morals clause is that it's too late to start selectively enforcing it.

I know I am being redundant, but I want to show you three examples of the type of people whose plaques grace the walls of the MLB Hall of Fame:

• Ty Cobb was not only allowed in the Hall of Fame, he was a member of the inaugural class. Want to read something hilarious about Ty Cobb?: "In a May 15 game against the Highlanders, Cobb's ears were burning from the continuous insults of a fan sitting behind the dugout. When Cobb could take no more, he charged into the stands and beat the fan senseless." Many accounts claim the fan had no hands. Good stuff for the kids of America.
• Cap Anson was inducted a few years later. Few remember his batting average. However, "His contemporary influence and prestige are regarded by historians as playing a major role in establishing the racial segregation in professional baseball that persisted until the late 1940s. On several occasions, Anson refused to take the field when the opposing roster included black players."
  
• Gaylord Perry's book, "Me and the Splitter," was published in 1974. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.
  

It's the baseball Hall of Fame. It ain't Heaven ... and Sam Borden ain't St. Peter.

I'm glad I'm not Mike Vaccaro.

"At the end of the day, what really matters most, for now and forever, is that he can fall asleep at night, that he can look himself in the mirror, that he can say, with utmost certainty, serenity and confidence, that he was true to himself and honest to himself, regardless of whatever mistakes he may or may not have made."

At the end of the day, what really matters most, now and forever, eternally and for perpetuity, older than the mountains and the seven oceans, older than the sun in the sky, is to cram as many cliches into one run-on sentence, trying to fit as many clauses, as humanly possible, between periods, even though this approximates the stylistic efficacy one might expect from a five-year-old.


"Can he do that now, after this press conference that served as a public confessional box?"

Ummm ... I'm not sure.

What was he supposed to do, again?


"I would have a tough time. But I am not Alex Rodriguez. And the more time goes on, the more people have to be grateful thay [sic] they aren't either."

Hey, Updike, this is one time you should have used a comma, rather than start a sentence with "and."


I think a lot of people would trade their penniless, fraudulent lives for ARod's $450 million, fraudulent life.


It's quite possible that Mike Vaccaro is a better person than Alex Rodriguez. But it's also quite possible that he isn't.

Vaccaro has never made a mistake? Vaccaro has never lied? Vaccaro can sleep at night?

I hope he can sleep at night. I wouldn't wish him any ill will.

He must have an extra-large pillow to accommodate his swelled head.

Hitting.

"Ultimately he does that by hitting, not with another rehearsed performance. Hitting is the only thing that has ever made Rodriguez interesting. That doesn’t change no matter how many handlers he has. Take the bat out of his hands and he is about as much of a sparking personality as Kobe Bryant is when he isn’t shooting jump shots or dunking the ball. A-Rod could hire 100 talent agents and spokesmen and not be Tiger Woods or LeBron James."

Close.

It's the combination of hitting, fielding, and running that make ARod interesting.

But it makes me wonder why you spend so much time pondering ARod's pointless press conferences and postgame activities.


By the way, Tiger Woods is uninteresting except when he's golfing and LeBron James is uninteresting except when he's playing basketball. Unless you're a 12-year-old.

You're not fooling anyone.

"Ortiz also says he feels fine after wrist problems last season limited him to 23 homers. He says he took a few months off from swinging and felt a little strange when he started doing it again. But now he says he feels fine."

Right.

It was the wrist.

You looked a lot slimmer on the TV. Probably because of the wrist. Also, you looked a lot slimmer when you played in Minnesota. Probably because of the wrist.

It brings to mind a saying about glass houses ...

" 'He’s a young man and he has a special chance to do a lot of special things numbers-wise. But now they’re going to be tainted. People don’t forget.' "

Now, look, I don't think the Yankees have anything in particular to apologize for.

The teams they beat were (are) on 'roids and the teams that beat them were (are) on 'roids.

Clearly, the Torre-era Yankees had players on steroids and those players helped Torre win rings and, without those rings, he doesn't make the Hall of Fame.

If ARod's numbers are tainted, then so are Torre's rings.


"Torre said he was unaware of any drug use by players on his successful Yankees teams."

You are a so-called player's manager.

You noticed what kind of jeans ARod wore. You know the names of all their children and their wive's birthdays. You explained to Tom Verducci the degree to which ARod nervously fiddled with jewelry.

You were (are) conveniently unaware of any drug use by any of your players?

Yet, you're so observant, you think you're qualified to write a book about Life in the Clubhouse.


I believe, deep in my heart, that Torre truly is saddened by the revelations of ARod's steroid use. Torre is sad that his book got pushed out of the headlines.

Pete Rose interviewed by Mike Francesa.

Pete Rose on ARod: "We all make mistakes, and I'm the kind of person who is willing to forgive."


Mike Francesa: "If steroids were prevalent in your time, would a lot of players have used them?"

"Prevalent" means a lot of people are using them.

I don't do anything about it ...

... so the horse I'm climbing on can't really be too high. But this guy is probably proud of himself. Going after cheaters by cheating:

"Three federal judges reviewed the raid. One asked, incredulously, if the Fourth Amendment had been repealed. Another, Susan Illston, who has presided over the BALCO trials, called Novitzky's actions a 'callous disregard' for constitutional rights. All three instructed him to return the records. Instead, Novitzky kept the evidence, reviewed the results and received clearance from an appeals court to pursue 103 MLB players who, those records revealed, had tested positive for steroids. (That investigation is pending another appeals court decision, expected this fall.)

...

Now the Novitzky era reaches a climax with the March 2 trial. Whatever the verdict, Bonds' reputation has been ruined. And since U.S. attorney general Eric Holder and President Obama have said leagues—not governments—should police steroids, Novitzky's crusade will likely end. And that leaves a question for the rest of us to ask: Was it really worth it?"

Posnanski hits a grand slam.

Posnanski nailed the ARod "confession," referring to is as an "infomercial."

This is probably the wisest thing I've ever seen written by a sportswriter:

"Meanwhile, the Hall of Fame is filled with people who admitted to using drugs (Paul Molitor, Ferguson Jenkins, etc.), who willingly cheated (Gaylord Perry threw spitballs, Don Sutton and Whitey Ford cut baseballs, players undoubtedly corked bats), who enthusiastically used illegal performance-enhancers (that would be anyone who ever popped an amphetamine to get a boost, and it's likely that represents a high percentage of Hall of Famers) and so on.

...

Point is: It's the Baseball Hall of Fame. That's all. Are people coming to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame without some of the greatest players of the last 20 years? Will people still view it seriously? I sort of doubt it. Baseball has been a messy game for more than 100 years. In the years before Jackie Robinson, there were no black players. Players caroused and gambled and boozed. Many cheated to get ahead. Many took drugs. There have been beanballs and stolen signals and thrown bats. There have been thugs and racists and liars and everything else. And, yes, there have been steroid users, too.

The Hall of Fame voters can try to sort through that jumble and pull out only the sportsmen with integrity and character. We can try. But we will fail. Seems to me that sportswriters are pretty good at judging what's a hit and what's an error. Not great at it. But pretty good. Anyway, we should probably stick with that."

Carlos Delgado took steroids, too.

This is not a defense of ARod just because he's a Yankee or because I root for him. I'm not trying to blameshift. It's just a guess:

"Well, if A-Rod says it's okay to throw out his three Texas years because they were only ones in which he was doing bad things to inflate his numbers, that means we can erase 156 homers from his record. Bogus as Bonds' all-time record of 762 homers may be, it's the one in the books."

That is an impossible thing to say. ARod has to adjust his stats, but Bonds does not. You're saying Bonds's HRs are bogus and then you're defending them at the same time ... in the same sentence.


"So under the new A-Rod math, it would seem he's going to need to hit an additional 156 homers on top of the 762 in order for the all-time record to be completely pure and clean again."

It will still be bogus. But it will be the one in the books.


"Just wondering: Is this the way the Yankees will try to sell it? That their man isn't satisfied with breaking the all-time record with the benefit of tainted homers and, has instead, established an even more formidable mountain to climb for himself? All in the name of integrity."

Mr. Madden, are you really wondering about that?

I'm going to go wild here and guess that will not be the way the Yankees try to sell it.


"As long as Rodriguez is conceding that his 2001-03 seasons shouldn't count, do you suppose perhaps he might want to put a call in to Carlos Delgado and offer him his 2003 Most Valuable Player award? A-Rod won it with 47 homers and 118 RBI for a last-place Texas team while Delgado, who finished second, 29 points behind, had 42 homers and a league-leading 145 RBI for the third-place Toronto Blue Jays."

So, you're that confident in Delgado?

That's kind of weird.

I'm all for innocent until proven guilty. Which is why the baseball players should not have been tested in the first place.

But I'd take even odds that Delgado took steroids.

What's the beef?

"Certainly $200 million buys a lot. Not a bullpen. The Yankees could run into the same problem as last season with this bunch of characters: Damaso Marte, Brian Bruney, Jonathan Albaladejo and Edwar Ramirez."

Bruney's ERA last year was 1.83.

Ramirez's ERA last year was 3.90 and he had 63 strikeouts in 58 innings.

Marte wasn't great, but will likely be better.

Alabadejo only threw 14 innings.

The bullpen will be Rivera, Bruney, Ramirez, Coke (0.61 ERA), Aceves (2.40 ERA), and Marte. Something like that.

It's a good bullpen.

Yankees are synonymous with ... integrity.

Integrity must be their third tenet.

I mean, look, ARod's cheating sure ain't good. But, unfortunately, it sure ain't new:

"Everybody’s All-American turned out to be a two-bit cheat whose talents were exaggerated – if not created – in a chemist’s lab."

I like that, too: "Everybody's All-American."

ARod has been the most hated player in baseball since 2001.

Over the course of two days, he's re-imagined as a shining knight who was supposed to save baseball.


"In the real world, the Yankees would do what employers always do when they discover an employee has deceived them. They’d fire Rodriguez. Fire him and fight him over the balance of the absurd wages they never should’ve given him in the first place."

Evidently, you know nothing about the real world.


If ARod's stats are solely built on 'roids a la Giambi, then O'Connor sort of has a point. The Yankees paid for 40/120 and got 22/75. It could be a major problem.

I suspect ARod will still put up massive numbers and the Yankees will sell out every game. Time will tell if the contract is worth it. Please don't act like the performance on the baseball field doesn't count. That's precisely what he's paid to do.

Giambi is a criminal because he couldn't even bat .250.


"What a crying shame. At a time of epic unemployment, a multimillionaire who deserves to lose his job will keep it."

I was thinking the same thing about a hack columnist for something called NorthJersey.com ... sans the multimillionaire part.

You're guilty of taking steroids.

"It was such a loosey-goosey ear, I'm guilty of being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. To be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substances I was guilty of using."

Should that read, "loosey-goosey year"? What's a loosey-goosey ear?


I'm naive.

That's not against the law.

No prescription required to be naive.

I thought I was ARod's biggest fan ...

It appears otherwise:

"In baseball, we love our numbers. And we love our heroes. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez, a man who has committed a crime he doesn't even understand:

A crime against the once-proud history of his sport."

This history is prouder than ever. Aaron and Maris were booed by their contemporaries, but now they're more popular than ever.


"But they knew what the number 60 meant. They knew what 61 meant. They knew who Babe Ruth was. And they knew this was a phenomenon that linked Mark McGwire to the Bambino, that linked now to then, that linked this America to that America.

That's what the home run record used to mean in our land.

That's what baseball used to mean.

But not anymore.

And that's the crime here. That's the tragedy. That's what we've lost.

We've lost the opportunity for Alex Rodriguez to restore that: the meaning. The relevance. The power. The romance.

He held that opportunity in his hands. And now it's gone.

He was the one man on the planet with the chance to resuscitate the greatest record in sports. He was the one man on the planet with the chance to rebuild his sport's sacred bridge to the glory days."

What the heck is the matter with you people?

If it bothers you so much, then hitch your hopes and dreams to Albert Pujols. Or Ryan Howard. Or Evan Longoria.

Maybe Josh Hamilton will ... what is it he's going to do? ... he's going to "rebuild the sport's sacred bridge to the glory days."

If he takes enough amphetamines to help him get the competitive edge. Since steroids are illegal.

Let's suppose one of these players breaks Bonds's record and does it without steroids.

So freakin' what? What does that prove? Steroids were never used in baseball? Or we just can conveniently ignore their existence?

Contempt of court.

Should we complain about Valerie Plame, you putz?:

"Don't forget that the most important informant in American history -- W. Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat -- took down a president in part because he didn't receive the promotion he wanted. Nobody complained then, because the information he leaked was legitimate.

For the same reasons, nobody should complain now."

Deep Throat was violating a court order? I was unaware of that.


MLB players clearly use steroids and have cheated for decades. A relatively small segment of the population is wringing their hands because their preferred form of entertainment has been tainted or because they want to protect Aaron's HR record or because children have lost another role model.

It's worse when lawyers cheat. That affects all of us. Nice lesson for the kids.

Bonds, Clemens, ARod, McGwire are all unpunished in the real courts.

Unable to get the desired results, the lawyers respond by cheating, by trying their case anonymously in the Court of Public Opinion.

Somehow, when weighed about the Constitution of the United States, Aaron's precious HR record seems a bit unimportant.

I'm guessing he said the same thing about Giambi.

I'm more convinced than ever that ARod hits 40/120 this year and 6 HRs in the World Series:

"Now that A-Rod's pursuit looks as counterfeit as Bonds', they should do what's best for the organization:

Cut him loose - no matter the cost.

As difficult as it is to imagine eating $270 million, the Bombers will be making a statement, not just for the Yankee brand but for baseball as a whole.

They will be applauded for it."

They will be applauded the most by the team who picks up ARod on the cheap.

How have the Giants done since ridding themselves of Barry Bonds? The Giants won 72 games last year. The players really responded well without the distraction.


"The Yankees operate under two basic tenets: The relentless pursuit of championships and the fierce protection of their brand. If they are going to remain true to both, then they have no choice but to sever ties with Rodriguez."

Get rid of 120 RBIs because that will help you win the championship.


As for the Yankee brand, I like how ARod is the last straw, but Giambi, Pettitte, Sheffield, Clemens, Stanton, Canseco, IRod, and Matt Lawton were not.


I can't wait for ARod to win the World Series MVP.

Richard Justice makes it too easy.

Richard Justice on ARod:

"In the end, it doesn't matter how much he cheated or even when he cheated. That's the thing about cheating. When you're caught cheating one time, you're a cheat for all-time. So you say you used steroids just a couple of times? Really? Until you got caught, you said you'd never used steroids. Why should we believe anything you say now?"


Richard Justice a year ago on Pettitte:

"Andy Pettitte did the honorable thing. He didn't do it willingly, but he did do it. Good for him.

He's about to find out that he's living in a forgiving country and that fans want to move on from steroids and human growth hormone. That's going to be difficult to do as long as some players hide behind lawyers and owners play dumb.

Those who know Pettitte aren't surprised that he did what he did Saturday afternoon. He may never get all of his reputation back, but he took a small step in the right direction.

Here's hoping others are paying attention. If Pettitte had denied using performance-enhancing substances, it would have been virtually impossible not to believe him."


Richard Justice is not the decider. It's just that this sort of hypocrisy is not uncommon. If Bonds and ARod are defensive and paranoid, it's because they should be.

Lean muscle.

Maybe this explains why ARod doesn't really look like a steroid user:

"Primobolan is known by the chemical name methenolone. It is taken orally or through injection and is considered 'safe' because it has relatively few side effects. It is also considered one of the most expensive steroids. It improves strength and maintains lean muscle without developing excess bulk."

ARod's body has changed since 1996. Everybody's body has changed since 1996, especially if you're continually hitting the gym. Personally, I don't perceive any kind of freakish change.


Was ARod still using steroids in 2007 when he hit 54 HRs?

Is it possible he was still using in 2007?

I don't see how it's possible, but he already fooled me.


It's not a small point. If he completely collapses and becomes Edgardo Alfonzo or Miguel Tejada or Brady Anderson, then his career will be dismissed. If he cranks out 40/120 this year when he's (presumably) clean, then his reputation can certainly be salvaged.

My personal nightmare is not the damage to ARod's reputation or MLB's reputation. My personal nightmare is a 3B making $27.5M while hitting 14 HRs.

Jim Rice was mean to the sportswriters and claims that's why it took him so long to get into the Hall of Fame.

"If you ask me, A-Rod was probably going to have problems with a lot of the writers on the character and sportsmanship issues, but his numbers would be just too overwhelming to deny him election to the Hall."

Gee, ya think his numbers get him into the Hall of Fame?

Even though us writers really dislike ARod, I guess we'd have no choice but to put him into the Hall of Fame. Because he hit 800 homeruns. Shucks. Kind of makes us feel powerless.


"Now, however, in light of the report that he tested positive for steroids in 2003, those numbers can no longer be believed, and it comes down to the matter of integrity. Until now, only A-Rod's persona wreaked of insincerity, and that wasn't enough to deny him a place in Cooperstown. Having his record suddenly deemed invalid is something else entirely."

I'm happy to hear that his persona of insincerity wasn't quite enough to deny him a place in Cooperstown.

That's really amazing to me.

Jeter is insincere.

Ripken is insincere.

Torre is as insincere as a person can possibly be, contradicting himself four times in the course of one sentence. Writing a book with Tom Verducci and then going on a promotional tour claiming that the book was written on Opposite Day, so everything he said to Verducci was the opposite of what he really meant (that joke courtesy of Steve Somers).


Do you know how many cheaters are in the freakin' Hall of Fame?

You writers are all cowards, I'm serious.

If Nolan Ryan threw one spitball, I want his plaque taken down.


"Even if the Sports Illustrated report is not further substantiated and denied by all the parties involved in baseball, A-Rod - who already had enough character and sincerity issues - has been irrevocably tarnished for life. He can continue to amass Hall-of-Fame caliber numbers, but he's not going there anymore than McGwire, Bonds, Clemens and the rest of the cheats who stained the game are going there."

That makes no sense.

If the SI report is unsubstantiated, then ... well, use logic to figure out the new conclusion.


Look, MLB will never have its Day of Reckoning.

The writers will never get the clean break they're looking for.

Madden is claiming that ARod's baseball achievements have been "irrevocably tarnished for life" and Madden is basing this claim on anonymous sources. I don't necessarily doubt the sources, but I know for a fact that their actions were illegal and I don't know if they had any particular axe to grind.

Madden's stance is quite absurd, and it's also quite lazy.

You're a HOF voter and your responsibility is sort through the conflicting data and try to determine whether a player is worthy.

I could be completely wrong about ARod, but I truly don't believe his career is built on steroids. I'd put him into the HOF without hesitation. Of course, he'd take his rightful place among many other cheaters who were also great ballplayers.

I was surprised.

"Were you shocked? Was anybody? Rodriguez will never completely get back his clean image - he has no one to blame but himself for that - but coming clean is a good place to start."

I was surprised for three reasons:

1) His power numbers are consistent.

2) His body and face don't look particularly pumped up.

3) His body hasn't suddenly broken down like Garciaparra, Giambi, and others.


Assuming he's guilty, then contrition doesn't make him any less guilty.

I am not quite sure the Pettitte strategy would work for ARod. People don't generally like ARod and people generally like Pettitte.

If you can remember as far back as yesterday, then you should remember that his image was already shot.

(103 others.)

I'm only kidding, I'm only kidding. I know we only care about the cheaters who actually perform well on the field.

One overrated fraud sticks up for another.

"But Torre is not less a Yankee because of this book, he has not somehow diminished his own Yankee legend, he hasn't changed his status as someone who became more the face of the New York Yankees than any manager in the history of the team."

I don't know about that last part.


"There was a morning a few years ago when I sat with him in the visiting manager's office at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., before a spring training game. He had been telling stories that day about Warren Spahn, and talking about a dinner he'd had the night before at a restaurant we both knew in Jupiter, called Carmine's."

Torre is a legend, this is true. A figment of the collective imagination. A myth.

The man who is still "classy" and "gentlemanly," even though the existence of this book proves otherwise. Its content also proves that he wasn't even a very good manager.

Nice Warren Spahn stories, though, I'm quite sure.

"That day the subject came back around to something people had said about Joe Torre for a long time, even after his team had stopped winning the World Series, about how he made it harder than it had ever been for people to be Yankee haters.

'I don't think it was just me,' Torre said that day. 'I think we made it harder for people to hate the Yankees.' "

Yuck.

Lots of speculation that you didn't bunt on an injured Schilling because you didn't want people to hate you. Or maybe that's why you didn't pull the team off the field when they were attacked by bugs in Cleveland.

If your opponents don't hate you, you're doing something wrong.

Maybe you lost sight of the prize.

Of course Torre belongs in the Hall of Fame because he got four rings. Does anybody really care about the manager's wing? Peter Gammons is in the sportswriter's wing and they may as well put Freddie Sez in the fan's wing.


Of course the Yankees should retire Torre's number in Monument Park. He's very popular, and that's the most important determinant.

As for Torre's importance in winning those four rings, he's far behind lots of other people: Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, David Wells, David Cone, Orlando Hernandez, Jim Leyritz, and forgotten World Series MVP John Wetteland.

Basically, if you threw a pitch or hit a ball, you were actually more important than Joe Torre.

I'd retire all of their numbers.

Why not?

Monument Park is already watered down enough with Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Roger Maris, etc.

You've got to wonder what Graig Nettles, Roy White, Willie Randolph, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, and Bob Lemon are thinking.

For the first time, I'm in favor of a salary cap in baseball.

The follow-up questions that will never be asked.

Torre: "I always tried to make Alex [Rodriguez] feel comfortable in New York."

Felz: "Then why did you bat him 8th in a playoff game?"


Torre: "I thought Bernie could have been an effective pinch-hitting presence off the bench."

Felz: "Are you aware that Bernie Williams is one of the worst pinch-hitters ever? I think he batted well under .200 as a pinch-hitter."