I feel bad for Alex Rodriguez's legacy (not him, just his legacy)

Alex Rodriguez will be retiring at the end of the week. There will be no farewell tour with teams paying tribute to A-Rod with gifts like they did for Rivera, Jeter, and Ortiz. Red Sox fans at Fenway will be able to bid farewell to A-Rod one last time this week before his last game at Yankee Stadium on Friday. I wonder if they'll cheer or boo. Perhaps a mixture of both.

I don't feel bad for Alex Rodriguez. He seems like a dick. And it's tough to pity someone who has made hundreds of millions of dollars playing baseball. However, I do feel bad for his legacy. It deserves better. If you separate the unlikable man from the achievements, you'll see that they deserve more praise and appreciation than they'll receive.

Alex Rodriguez took PEDs throughout his career. Does that matter? Are we still pretending that it matters? Did it give him a competitive advantage, or just put him on the same level as everyone else? Compared to his HGH and steroid assisted peers, A-Rod hit hundreds more homeruns. Furthermore, he hit nearly 700 homers off pitchers who went to the same "pharmacy" as he did. It's not an advantage if just about everyone has it.

And if you discredit A-Rod's stats because of PED usage, you have to do the same to others who have used. That includes David Ortiz, fellow Red Sox fans. So let's just move on from the PED issue.

There were a few years when Alex Rodriguez was the best player in baseball, and it wasn't even close. He won 3 MVPs, and in 2007 he received 26 of 28 first-place votes. With the Rangers, he led the AL in homers 3 years in a row and won 2 Gold Gloves at short-stop. So he hit homeruns and was the best fielder at the toughest defensive position.

But all people could talk about was his $252 million contract. His performance was unfairly juxtaposed against the expectations of what was then a ludicrous contract. So no matter how many homeruns he hit, all people saw was the price tag.

Looking back, I can't believe how much resentment there was from fans and pundits directed toward A-Rod for being paid. Was he supposed to negotiate the contract down so he would get paid less? That would be like Emma Watson offering to sleep with me, and me responding "Nope, second base is as far as I'm willing to go. I don't want people to hate me."

A-Rod also didn't get enough credit in the Great Short-Stop Arguments from 1997 to 2003, probably due to his playing in the AL West. If you don't remember or are too young, those were the days when fans in Boston, New York, and all over the country debated who was better: Jeter or Nomar. And as two large fanbases and an East coast oriented sports media compared the two, the best short-stop in baseball (A-Rod) was being largely ignored. Nobody in the East cared about what happened with the Mariners or Rangers. The 10pm airing of Baseball Tonight started at the same time as their games, and the morning sports page was published too early for full box scores. For a few years, A-Rod was a better short-stop and player than Jeter or Nomar. But the debate was still localized to the Northeast.

You can make an argument that A-Rod is a better player than Jeter. Power is an important part of the game and Rodriguez's power numbers dwarf Jeter's. A-Rod has about 440 more homeruns than Jeter, and slugged .550 compared to Jeter's .440. A-Rod also has a slightly higher OBP (.380 vs. .377). Jeter stole only 29 more bases. A-Rod knocked in 773 more runs. So A-Rod got on base, he could run, he could field, he could hit, he could hit for power.

Of course, Jeter was clutch and A-Rod was a bit of a choker. And maybe that makes up the difference between the power hitter and the non-power hitter. My point is that A-Rod is in many ways better than one of the most cherished players in the illustrious history of the New York Yankees, and people don't even realize it.

And did you know A-Rod has 3,000 hits? I don't remember that. He's 20th all-time in hits, just behind Tony Gwynn.

He's on lists with some of the all-time best players in the sport. He's 4th in homeruns behind Bonds, Aaron, and Ruth. He's 3rd in RBI behind Ruth and Aaron, and along with Cap Anson is one of only four players with 2,000+ RBI. He's 25th in slugging .0004 ahead of David Ortiz. He's 8th in runs scored behind Mays and Pete Rose. He's 6th in total bases between Ty Cobb and Ruth.

It's mostly A-Rod's own fault that his career and legacy don't get the respect they deserve. Which is a shame because he was a great player. And while I don't care much about him, I do feel a little bad that his career won't be looked at with the respect it merits.

Barry Bonds Returns to Baseball, Baseball Still Hypocritical

For some reason I get Comcast Sports Bay Area with my cable TV package. It's weird seeing promotions for Oakland A's spring training updates and Golden State Warriors coverage.

On Monday they broadcast a press conference involving Barry Bonds, who will be spending a few days with the San Francisco Giants in spring training as a guest hitting coach. This marks Bonds' return to the game after retirement, conviction, and failing to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

He was asked 45 questions (not counting multi-part questions and follow-ups). Only 10 of them had to do with PEDs or the Hall of Fame. Many were about his responsibilities as a guest hitting coach. There was also a number of suck-up questions phrased in ways to praise his greatness. "These kids are in awe of you..." one question began.

I don't want Bonds to be cross-examined wherever he goes. Nor do I think he should be issued a restraining order by the game of baseball and court ordered to remain 300 yards from any MLB facility. I do, however, think it's odd that the faces of PEDs in baseball are being invited back to the game. Mark McGwire, for example, as the hitting coach for the Dodgers.

The hypocrisy of the PED era remains alive and well. The game wants to appear clean and so it harshly and publicly punishes those who break the rules. Yet teams welcome back McGwire and Bonds. The Bay Area media treat Barry Bonds like a king, and they defend him like his knights. Meanwhile the high priests of the BBWAA judge him as a sinner, even though for years they praised him as he sinned.

The 30 Major League clubs have made a big deal to demonstrate their absolute intolerance of PEDs. They even went so far as to suspend Alex Rodriguez for a bizarre number of games. The 30 clubs don't want PEDs to be part of the game.

If you were to create a Mount Rushmore of PED usage in baseball, Barry Bonds' swollen cranium would be up there, along with McGwire's, and then Jose Canseco and A-Rod. Baseball wants PEDs out, yet PED users are welcome to return.

It's baseball saying one thing and doing another. It's baseball writers saying one thing and doing another.

At least McGwire admitted it. Kind of. Actually, let's not praise McGwire for his post-PED "honesty." When Bonds was asked on Monday if he should admit to his usage, he gave this answer worthy of a politician:

"I already went to court and that's where I'll leave it."

When asked about Biogenesis he responded:

"I don't want to get into that at all."

When asked about his intimidating persona, Bonds modestly admitted "I had teammates who said 'Barry, you're too nice.'"

The question I would have asked is "What will you say to a young player who tells you he's thinking about doing a little something extra, maybe outside of the rules, to help himself out, and wants to know your thoughts on that?" That's the question to ask. It falls within his role as a guest coach, he'll probably still give a meaningless answer, but it's not a direct, accusatory question about his PED use either. You can even add "As a veteran," or "As someone who played in the era."

I'm not mad at Bonds. I'm mad at the game for making a spectacle of punishing steroid and HGH users, and then welcoming the men who inspired that use back into the game as coaches.

More than that, I'm mad at the Bay Area media who have been Bonds apologists for years. They've given Bonds more free passes than NL pitchers did. There were only a handful of difficult questions for Bonds to answer. And when he was asked if he was jealous or upset about the Giants winning the World Series without him in 2010 and 2012, one of the gathered media pointed out that Bonds was at the games and cheering. The Bay Area press stood and defended Bonds like knights defend their king.

At the end of the press conference, the microphone caught reporters saying "Thanks, Barry." And "Good job."

And while one segment of baseball media defends Bonds at all costs, another has the unshakable stance that he should never enter The Hall of Fame except as a paying customer. Both groups are hypocrites. Both are fighting a battle over ethics, but doing so in unethical ways. The Bay Area Knights of Bonds dismiss and excuse any and all wrongdoing by their king. And the high priests of the BBWAA have banished him from Cooperstown because of his sins, even though those same priests praised him endlessly while he was sinning.

Baseball wants to seem clean, yet guys like McGwire and Bonds still carry their inflated skulls and massive biceps around baseball clubhouses. Even if they are clean as coaches, what's the message to young players? Take PEDs, hit 600+ homeruns, then get paid to coach. No Hall of Fame? No problem.

Then the writers are divided on how to be unethical and wrong in their coverage of the game. Some want to gloss over the truth or explain it away. Some with sin want to cast the first stone.

All are wrong. The 30 clubs punish violations too harshly, and also shouldn't welcome back famous cheaters with open arms while doing so. And the media shouldn't be so entrenched with their positions. Bonds can be a cheater and a Hall of Famer. He can be bad and be great.

Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes on Conan

Shane Victorino and Jonny Gomes appeared on Conan last night. I have to say that Gomes has the crazy eyes. And Victorino's shiftiness and nervous energy kind of scares me at times.

They talked with Conan about beard-pulling, chemistry of the team, Jake Peavy buying a duckboat, Shane Victorino's high pain threshold...

Then they talked about how much the City of Boston meant to the success of the Red Sox this year.

Artie Lange was the next guest and he talked about his hatred of Alex Rodriguez. He also talked about his recovery from drug addiction, although he did so in a funny way.

Finally, just for laughs, here's a classic Conan clip of him playing in an olde tyme base-ball game.

Is it weird that I'm really turned on by how shy and demure one of the women is?

Red Sox Fans Don't Have the Right to Boo A-Rod for Steroids

Alex Rodriguez is a massive turd. Booing and jeering him for that is fine. However, Red Sox fans who booed and jeered him this weekend for using PEDs are utter hypocrites.

The same people who cheered Manny Ramirez for years, and watched him win the 2004 World Series MVP, booed Alex Rodriguez because he took PEDs. The same people who now cheer for David Ortiz, cheer for a player who tested positive for something. Ortiz waited until he knew that it would never be released what he tested positive for, then claimed he didn't know what exactly he had taken to result in a positive test. These people booed A-Rod for PEDs. And chanted about him cheating.

Red Sox fans don't have any moral high ground in baseball's steroid era. From Manny Alexander to Jeremy Giambi to the Ortiz/Ramirez combo that had people making comparisons to Ruth/Gehrig, PEDs have been as much a part of Boston baseball as anywhere else in the Majors.

Manny Ramirez hit 274 homeruns in a Red Sox uniform. He knocked in 868 runs. He had an OPS of .999. He did this thanks to steroids.

David Ortiz suddenly went from a platoon player to an All-Star when he got to Boston (and met Manny). He's hit 367 homers in Boston, knocked in 1,165 runs, and has an OPS of .964 with the Sox. In 6 years with the Twins he had an OPS of .809, and hit 58 homeruns. He was the MVP of the 2004 ALCS.

So the ALCS MVP in 2004, along with the World Series MVP that year have both been caught taking PEDs. The Sox won the World Series, thanks in large part to two players who took PEDs. Yet Red Sox fans feel emboldened enough to boo Alex Rodriguez for PED use? Sorry, but that's like a Patriots fan booing an opposing coach for filming hand signals on the sideline.

You can't single out players and teams you don't like and hate them for PED use in the PED Era. Just about everyone was taking something. It was fun when only Yankees were getting listed on reports, and the Red Sox seemed like a relatively clean organization. Now we know that PEDs were a part of Boston Baseball.

There are plenty of reasons to hate Alex Rodriguez. Boston fans don't need to turn themselves into hypocrites in the process of hating him.

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