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A-Rod Faces A Long Road Back

Tribune photo by CHRISTOPHER URSO

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez speaks to reporters during a news conference in Tampa.

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2009

Updated: 02/17/2009 09:54 pm

TAMPA - The foremost of many curiosities in the Alex Rodriguez mea culpa Tuesday is his assertion that his cousin made him do it. Let's explore that for a moment, shall we?

During a nearly 40-minute news conference at Steinbrenner Field, the first Rodriguez has spoken in such a setting since admitting to steroid use, he said he used a drug called "boli" - perhaps the anabolic steroid Primobolan - that a cousin obtained over the counter for him from the Dominican Republic.

But what did we learn that we didn't know before?

Not too much, other than some specifics about how his drug use started. He stuck with the "young and stupid" gambit.

"I'm here to say I'm sorry. I'm here to say that in some ways I wish I went to college and grew up at my own pace. I guess when you're young and stupid, you're young and stupid," he said.

First off, I don't know of any drug you can take by injection without a prescription, let alone one brought in from the Dominican in violation of who knows how many laws. Rodriguez sought to explain it all away by admitting to being "young and stupid." He was 25 years old when some of those injections took place - not so young.

He has earned this kind of cynicism, if not interaction with the feds on par with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. I don't say that because he got caught and tried to exercise damage control. I say that because he still dodged and weaved.

He was asked if the steroids tainted his records. He dodged the question.

He was asked if steroid use was cheating. He wouldn't say.

He did apologize, which puts him ahead of Bonds, Clemens and Mark McGwire. But you were left thinking that he is only sorry he got caught. Someone asked if he would have admitted to steroid use if Sports Illustrated hadn't reported his positive test. He said he hadn't thought about it.

That's a crock. Little more than a year ago, Katie Couric asked him point-blank if he had ever used steroids. He said no. He would have kept saying no until there was no other choice.

Needed Time To Compose

He had to stop once for nearly a minute to compose himself as he spoke of his teammates, then stopped his statement before taking questions from the media. He said he won't be talking about this subject any more.

As he was two weeks ago, though, A-Rod is still an admitted user of performance-enhancing drugs – drugs that would get him suspended from baseball now, but because they weren't outlawed during his admitted time of use the worst he gets is days like the one that unfolded at Steinbrenner Field, spring home of the New York Yankees.

He is correct when he says there was a culture of casual steroid use in baseball dating to the late 1990s. The fact that Rodriguez was one of 104 positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 speaks loudly to that fact. Players of that era either used drugs, or considered it, or at least had the opportunity to.

The big issue isn't whether A-Rod did something many other players did. The continued deception is the problem. Just, please, a little honesty and straight talk.

He didn't name names of others in baseball who might have used.

He was apologetic. He was on a mission to take his flogging and get it over with.

"I'm here to take my medicine," he said.

Rodriguez is one of 104 players who tested positive under a volunteer program before penalties were in place for banned substances. He has been the only one in his group publicly identified, which happened when Sports Illustrated broke the story of his positive test.

Players of this era appeared to routinely abuse steroids in an effort to gain a competitive edge, which led to bigger contracts and more money. It also tilted the game out of balance. Players who might not have juiced felt compelled to do so, mostly because they believed many of their competitors were doing it. It is destined to become one of baseball's darkest chapters, and that's saying something for a sport where gamblers once conspired to throw the World Series.

"I'm not sure what the benefit was," he said. "I believe that if you take any substance in baseball, the benefit is half mental and half physical."

Subject Is Dropped

He says he is done talking about it.

"My teammates will have to carry the burden of answering the questions for me," he said.

Bet they'll love that.

But he also knows he has violated a basic trust with the game and its fans. He already is a target with the richest contract in the game and his assault on some of baseball's all-time slugging records. All those records may now be tainted.

"I know I'm in a position where I have to earn my trust back," he said.

That may take a lifetime, if it ever happens.

"I may have to answer this for the rest of my career," he said. "That's the position I've put myself in."

He hit 91 home runs and drove in 395 runs for the three years in question. He was the American League MVP in 2003. Wouldn't it have been refreshing to hear one of these guys say, "No doubt the drugs helped me. I knew I was cheating but I did it anyway. I took the risk because of money. Here, take my MVP trophy back. I earned it under false pretenses."

Maybe his cousin can talk him into it. He seems to have a lot of influence.

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