Cheers poured out of the Yankee front office when it was announced that the third-party arbitrator in the A-Rod biogenesis saga ruled in favor of MLB and decided upon a 162-regular season ban as well as a ban for any postseason play for the 2014 season. It's more than certain Rodriguez will appeal the decision in Federal Court, but as it stands the Yankee Organization will save themselves the $25 million salary A-Rod had coming to him this season due to the suspension.
The penalty came as a surprise since 162 games is three times more than the usual 50-game suspension a player receives for failing a drug test, yet technically Rodriguez didn't fail any tests at all. Commissioner Bud Selig was pushing for a 211-game penalty, but word from the MLB office was that they're more than satisfied with the decision. The MLB Players Union did protest the length of the suspension, but within their statement they too left Rodriguez hanging out to dry.
Without a failed drug test, the evidence that sealed Rodriguez's fate turned out to be the testimony and saved Blackberry messages from Anthony Bosch, the person who ran the biogenesis clinic that supplied A-Rod with the "anti-aging" products. Rodriguez was foolish enough to send Bosch suspicious cryptic messages concerning "stuff" and sneaking around hotel entrances by use of service elevators. Bosch turned on A-Rod after A-Rod refused to pay him hush money to keep the whole affair a secret. If Rodriguez failed anything, it was reading his sleezeball detection radar.
Rodriguez refuses to admit any guilt and still holds onto some belief that the decision will be overturned and he'll be in the starting day lineup when the season starts.
While the Yankees look to be free of the dark cloud of A-Rod hanging over the club, at least for one season, there leaves the room to wonder if the Cano contract negotiations could've gone differently had the Yankees front office known they would be liberated of the $25 million they were obligated to pay A-Rod in 2014. Or does this mean that the Yankees can make a stronger push for Tanaka if they happen to get into a bidding war with the Mariners or the Dodgers? Either way, its clear the Yankees were pulling for A-Rod to get hammered and issued a statement afterwards which basically high-fived the arbitrator and MLB process without mentioning any support for Rodriguez.
In less dramatic fashion - they'll also be no Vernon Wells for the Yankees in 2014 (and beyond) as he was formally cut by the team. The move is no surprise with the abundance of outfielders on the roster now (Ellsbury, Beltran, Gardner, Soriano, Ichiro) and the fact Wells forgot how to hit baseball after April of last season. Without A-Rod clogging up the majority of the DH at-bats, his absence serves to benefit the likes of Jeter, Beltran, and Teixeira, who need the breaks from field duty. It also helps Girardi put Soriano's bat in the lineup more often without worrying about his defense in left. For the time being, Eduardo Nunez and recently-signed Kelly Johnson will probably compete in Spring Training for the 3B job, plus GM Brian Cashman can wait till the trading deadline if any bigger names become available at the position. With A-Rod pretty much gone for 2014, the lineup will mostly appear as follows:
1. Ellsbury - CF
2. Jeter - SS
3. Beltran - RF
4. Teixeira - IB
5. Soriano - DH
6. McCann - C
7. Nunez - 3B
8. Roberts - 2B
9. Gardner - LF
The Yankees also made the Matt Thornton signing official (Wells was cut to make room for him on the roster) for the tune of $7 million for 2 years. They also continue to pursue Tanaka, but no formal offer has been leaked yet, so the numbers involved remain unknown. Most experts predict Tanaka can fetch up towards $20 million per season; this isn't the Yankees of ten years ago and through the revenue sharing model, several teams now are in position to make Tanaka a big offer.
Rodriguez will have to spend the 2014 season kissing his reflection in the mirror....
The penalty came as a surprise since 162 games is three times more than the usual 50-game suspension a player receives for failing a drug test, yet technically Rodriguez didn't fail any tests at all. Commissioner Bud Selig was pushing for a 211-game penalty, but word from the MLB office was that they're more than satisfied with the decision. The MLB Players Union did protest the length of the suspension, but within their statement they too left Rodriguez hanging out to dry.
Without a failed drug test, the evidence that sealed Rodriguez's fate turned out to be the testimony and saved Blackberry messages from Anthony Bosch, the person who ran the biogenesis clinic that supplied A-Rod with the "anti-aging" products. Rodriguez was foolish enough to send Bosch suspicious cryptic messages concerning "stuff" and sneaking around hotel entrances by use of service elevators. Bosch turned on A-Rod after A-Rod refused to pay him hush money to keep the whole affair a secret. If Rodriguez failed anything, it was reading his sleezeball detection radar.
Rodriguez refuses to admit any guilt and still holds onto some belief that the decision will be overturned and he'll be in the starting day lineup when the season starts.
While the Yankees look to be free of the dark cloud of A-Rod hanging over the club, at least for one season, there leaves the room to wonder if the Cano contract negotiations could've gone differently had the Yankees front office known they would be liberated of the $25 million they were obligated to pay A-Rod in 2014. Or does this mean that the Yankees can make a stronger push for Tanaka if they happen to get into a bidding war with the Mariners or the Dodgers? Either way, its clear the Yankees were pulling for A-Rod to get hammered and issued a statement afterwards which basically high-fived the arbitrator and MLB process without mentioning any support for Rodriguez.
In less dramatic fashion - they'll also be no Vernon Wells for the Yankees in 2014 (and beyond) as he was formally cut by the team. The move is no surprise with the abundance of outfielders on the roster now (Ellsbury, Beltran, Gardner, Soriano, Ichiro) and the fact Wells forgot how to hit baseball after April of last season. Without A-Rod clogging up the majority of the DH at-bats, his absence serves to benefit the likes of Jeter, Beltran, and Teixeira, who need the breaks from field duty. It also helps Girardi put Soriano's bat in the lineup more often without worrying about his defense in left. For the time being, Eduardo Nunez and recently-signed Kelly Johnson will probably compete in Spring Training for the 3B job, plus GM Brian Cashman can wait till the trading deadline if any bigger names become available at the position. With A-Rod pretty much gone for 2014, the lineup will mostly appear as follows:
1. Ellsbury - CF
2. Jeter - SS
3. Beltran - RF
4. Teixeira - IB
5. Soriano - DH
6. McCann - C
7. Nunez - 3B
8. Roberts - 2B
9. Gardner - LF
The Yankees also made the Matt Thornton signing official (Wells was cut to make room for him on the roster) for the tune of $7 million for 2 years. They also continue to pursue Tanaka, but no formal offer has been leaked yet, so the numbers involved remain unknown. Most experts predict Tanaka can fetch up towards $20 million per season; this isn't the Yankees of ten years ago and through the revenue sharing model, several teams now are in position to make Tanaka a big offer.
Rodriguez will have to spend the 2014 season kissing his reflection in the mirror....
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