(MLB) A-Rod Juice Situation

Reported/Written by Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post.

THIS shouldn't surprise us, of course, because after all we've learned about baseball and the Steroid Era, nothing should surprise us. The rule of thumb, if you are smart, if you've been duly hardened by the revelations that keep smacking us in the face like an out-of-control speed bag, is this:

You take the years 1990-2004, 15 years for easy, digestible purposes.

And you put them on a shelf, separate and apart from all that came before, and all that has come after, and will come after. It doesn't matter that logic tells us that a lot of honest, honorable baseball players still decided to play it clean, even as their clubhouses started to look more and more like pharmacies, even as their teammates started to look more and more like cartoon freaks.

The fact is, what we already knew was that the whole 15-year era deserves its own asterisk. And what we keep finding out only stamps that asterisk bolder and darker and deeper. Alex Rodriguez? If Sports Illustrated's story is true - and Rodriguez himself sure doesn't sound like an aggrieved, innocent victim in it, with his first reaction being, quote, "You'll have to talk to the union" - all that does is wrap the whole Era into a neat bow.

Because if we can all agree that Rodriguez belongs in the conversation as one of the greatest players who ever lived, then it is only right that he take his place at the dais alongside Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens as the featured speakers at the banquet honoring The Era.

With everybody toasting each other lifting loaded syringes, rather than champagne glasses.

BY ME (JIM ALIAS)
with that said...
theyre saying that during his years with the Texas Rangers, between 01,02,03... he in fact ADMITTED to using roids (which the fact that he admitted it is a great showing of his person...you must respect that!)..And from what he says it was JUST DURING THOSE YEARS. i believe Alex Rodriguez is by far the best player in the league. Steroids or not. NO ASTERISK is needed next to him. hes a GIFTED hitter...and SS/3B. Ive seen him produce great numbers AFTER the testing began to hit full stride. Being a Yankees fan i may be a little more lenient with this player. BUT ITS TRUE, ITS TRUE. Also... beyond the fact he did it.... he still would have done VERY CLOSE to what he did anyways...but thats my opinion.