The other shoe dropped August 5th in the Biogenesis debacle and 13 men are out i.e. suspended. Twelve will be gone for 50 games, and those twelve have accepted the suspensions.  These players will be eligible for the post season, which is good news for Detroit Tigers fans, as one of these suspended players is starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta.  Peralta issued a statement apologizing for his mistakes, accepted full responsibility, and offered no excuses.

Contrast that with the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod got the biggest suspension at 211 games, that is, for the rest of 2013 and all of the 2014 seasons.   The length of suspension was due to multiple drug violations (he has admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in the past as well) and his attempts to obstruct and frustrate” the investigation.   If this was a criminal case, they’d probably call that Obstruction of Justice, which is a crime.  A-Rod has decided to appeal, which is his right, and can play until the appeal is complete and a decision rendered.  Coincidentally, A-Rod made his season debut hours after the suspensions were announced (he had been recovering from off season surgery).  The fans at U.S. Cellular field in Chicago greeted him with a chorus of boos.  A-Rod had one hit in four at bats, but the White Sox clobbered the Yankees 8-1.

In the press conference/circus in Chicago that followed, A-Rod gave us a “woe is me” song and dance about how difficult the last seven months had been, how people want his contract cancelled, and so on.  He’s not on good terms with the Yankees front office.  One of his lawyers, David Cornwall (who also has suspended Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun as a client) said they’re fighting the suspension because they believed baseball overstepped its bounds according to baseball’s labor contract and drug testing agreement.  Cornwall didn’t say anything about A-Rod not taking performance enhancing drugs, just that the penalty is too harsh.

When confronted with the evidence, all of the players suspended as a result of this investigation threw in the towel immediately, including serial liar Ryan Braun.  His reputation is shot, so this has to be about money.  Rodriguez stands to lose a lot of money if he’s suspended that long, but he will still have $86 million left on his contract for the years 2015-2017. As a repeat offender, we feel baseball would have been justified in administering a lifetime ban to Rodriguez.  He should begin his road to redemption, if that’s even possible anymore, by accepting the suspension and quit acting like the victim.