Report: Yanks offer Stadium for A-Rod apology
If Alex Rodriguez can apologize here, he can apologize anywhere. (USATSI)
The New York Yankees want to lessen the obnoxious and intrusive impact of Alex Rodriguez apologizing for Biogenesis at spring training by having him instead do a press conference at Yankee Stadium before the club gathers officially at Tampa, Fla. That’s the word from the New York Daily News, which has been all over the A-Rod saga like a dedicated rash.
Of course, no matter where A-Rod goes, he’s going to be leading a media circus. Perhaps, the thinking is, a mea culpa in New York City will take the edge off for manager Joe Girardi and the gang down at Steinbrenner Field. After all, 2014 was an A-Rod free season — a much different experience than normal.
Pitchers and catchers report to Yankees camp Friday, and position players are scheduled to arrive Feb. 25, with the team’s first full workout set for the next morning. It’s possible that Rodriguez, who is coming off a record 162-game suspension for associating with performance-enhancing drugs bought and sold through the Biogenesis clinic, will want to get an early start at camp. So if he takes up the Yankees reported offer, he had better get a move on.
Rodriguez turns 40 in July, and is coming off his weakest three personal seasons at the plate. He’s also had three surgeries — to both hips and to his knee — since 2009. So there’s a lot of mystery as to what he has left. While it’s unlikely that Rodriguez will be able to challenge Barry Bonds’ home run record (or Hank Aaron’s old mark), he’s also six home runs from tying Willie Mays at 660 on the all-time list. If he does, a big bonus kicks in — one that the Yankees don’t want to pay and don’t think they have to pay, if you believe the Daily News coverage.
That part of the story might be the most mysterious of all: Why do the Yankees want to make a big deal out of A-Rod at every possible turn? All they do is draw the wrong kind of attention by whining anonymously about having to pay milestone bonuses for Rodriguez surpassing certain home run marks.
Even this story about using Yankee Stadium as a pulpit for a mea culpa. All the Yankees would be doing is creating an additional media event that associates A-Rod and PEDs. He’s going to get swarmed at spring training anyway. It’s going to be a topic of conversation as long as he’s on the roster. The Yankees just make it worse with every protestation. If these reports are to be believed.
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