Burning Bronx, NY – Only A-Rod could dominate the headlines for an entire season without playing a game. His bum hip has healed but now he may or may not have lower body injury that is keeping him out of the lineup. The sports media has been abuzz with news that MLB is looking to spin the Thunderdome wheel (break a deal, face the wheel) and banish Arod to the desert wasteland, the Yankees are trying their best to keep Rodriguez out of the lineup until the powers that be make their decision.
Arod will definitely be suspended. It wont be a lifetime ban (unfortunately) because that would never hold up on appeal. But it will probably be a good deal longer than Ryan Braun’s 65 game settlement. 100-150 games seems a likely suspension for Rodriguez. And then the Yankees will try to figure out a way to not pay the $100M left on A-rod’s contract.
A lot of Yankee fans, including myself, have a bit of an ambivalent attitude towards A-rod at the moment. I can’t stand the guy and he can go jump in the lake for all I care. Buuuuut the Bombers could use a right handed bat in the lineup. And anything we get from the aging and oft-injured hemorrhoid of a player would be better than the steaming piles of human feces the Yankees have marched out at third base in his absence.
Arod says he’s ready to play, but the Yankees say he’s injured and can’t play. Pretty much everyone knows that the Yanks are just trying to stall on bringing Rodriguez back until Bud & Co decide on how long he’ll be forced to sit out. The Yankee players and front office are sick of Arod and the circus that he brings with him. From Cashman‘s comments earlier this season to Thursday’s report from an unnamed player that Rodriguez is persona non grata in the clubhouse, everyone is done with Arod. The Yankees have made the decision that the baggage that comes with Rodriguez is not worth his production at the plate. So we won’t be seeing A-Roid any time soon in a Yankee uniform. But the Yanks still need a right handed bat.
Enter Alfonso Soriano. The Fonze was shipped to Texas for Alex Rodriguez almost a decade ago. When we last saw Soriano in pinstripes, he was waving at sliders that were six feet out of the strike zone in the 2003 World Series. Then Aaron Boone got hurt playing basketball and A-rods move to the Red Sox fell apart. And that was all that was needed to bring the white elephant, Arod to New York. Soriano has been wandering the barren wastelands of Wrigley for the last seven seasons. Out of the limelight and free from any pressure whatsoever.
A deal is almost done and Alfonso may soon have the opportunity to come home. That is if he approves the deal. He’s been quiet about the trade rumors and some think he isn’t too keen on returning to New York. Maybe he still has nightmares of his 2003 postseason, waking up in a cold sweat on a nightly basis. Or maybe he just prefers deep-dish pizza. We should find out today whether he chooses to stay in Chicago, or come home to New York.
Come back tomorrow for Preacher Collins.
