Saturday, April 3, 2010

MLB asserts its power with ARod


So Alex Rodriguez talks to Major League Baseball about his interactions with Canadian doctor Anthony Galea before he speaks to the government or his bosses. I guess it's clear who has the real power here.

ARod reportedly told MLB officials that he did not get performance-enhancing drugs from Dr. Galea. What else would he say? If he admitted to using PED, he would be risking a lengthy suspension. But was he telling the truth? With ARod, you never know. He has no credibility on this issue so I can't imagine that baseball officials are truly satisfied with his responses. But perhaps they can live with ARod's answers in the hope that the problem goes away.

I understand why Bud Selig would want to get this meeting out of the way. He doesn't want the ARod saga ruining the start of what should be another big year for MLB. But as frustrated as he must be about the entire situation, it's a poor decision on his part to insist on his people talking to ARod before the feds do. There's no way a private organization like MLB should even be seen as possibly interfering with a federal investigation. And I do not buy the notion that the feds are just going to let MLB do their investigation for them and simply subpoena MLB’s notes without talking to ARod.

So it's one meeting down, two more to go for ARod. Why is ARod so hesitant to meet with federal investigators? If what he told MLB is true, then he has nothing to worry about. He has made it clear that he isn't the target of the investigation, but simply a witness. So why not just get it over with? And why would he agree to officials before talking to the government? That can't make the feds very happy.

This whole situation proves that ARod's diva days will never be truly behind him. Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes of the Mets both found plenty of time to answer the feds' questions and the investigation is no longer a story in Mets camp. But by stalling with the feds, ARod drags this issue out longer. You would think he wouldn't want to go into the regular season with this hanging over his head, but I guess getting it over with makes too much sense.

Thanks to edogisgod via Wikipedia for the photo.

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