The trap Alex Rodriguez should avoid

Thanks to Buster Olney, I learned this morning that Bob Klapisch was concern-trolling about Alex Rodriguez, writing that if Alex Rodriguez really loves baseball, he would just confess about steroids and Biogenesis. (Given the use of quotation marks in Klapisch's tweet linking to the column, I'm inclined to believe he thinks A-Rod is full of it ... surprise, surprise, surprise.)

On A-Rod and his "love" for the game. http://t.co/3wz26qMYW4
— Bob Klapisch (@BobKlap) July 21, 2013

To Klapisch, and anyone who agrees with him, I say "Screw that" and "Why should he?"

If Alex Rodriguez sat down with a reporter tomorrow and came clean about everything -- the steroids between 2001 and 2003, anything he might have done since then, Biogenesis, all of it -- would it help him? Would baseball fans and media say, "Wow, that Alex Rodriguez is really a stand-up guy! Good for him! I hope Bud Selig takes it easy on him now."

Ummmm...no.

Alex Rodriguez will continue to the the pure embodiment of All That Is Wrong With Baseball, which he has been not since he admitted to taking steroids, but since he had the unmitigated gall to sign the contract that Tom Hicks offered him in 2000.

Unlike someone like Andy Pettitte or Jason Giambi -- who Klapisch cited as a role model for Rodriguez to follow, conveniently forgetting that Giambi's saving grace was not the admission, but people liking him -- between the steroids, the amazing ability to step on whatever rake he can find (this being but one example) and his postseason troubles (see below), he is hated enough so that his reputation will never recover.

As for a-rod's readiness, he appears to be in postseason form. today 3 strikeouts in 4 at-bats
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 21, 2013

Remember, this is a guy who got ripped by his own team for saying he was ready to play games again.

Visit from Dr. Kelly over the weekend, who gave me the best news - the green light to play games again! http://t.co/RuzfXOJjHI
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) June 25, 2013

I also found this note in Klapisch's column revealing.

"In his heart, however, A-Rod knows exactly why Selig is obsessed with excising him. It’s because Rodriguez was once christened as the game’s savior, clean and hardworking, the very medicine baseball needed after Barry Bonds ensured the game’s Holy Grail – the all-time home run record – was fraudulent."

And if you think that's just my opinion and people will forgive Rodriguez if he just admits to what he did, let me remind you that he did it once before, and it got him nowhere.

Meanwhile, you have Ken Rosenthal carrying on the idiocy that people really shouldn't judge David Ortiz for having been on the list of players testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, a benefit of the doubt that no one on the list has gotten because Ortiz is well-liked.

Re: Ortiz. Tested positive at time when there were no penalties for PEDs. Tests were supposed to be confidential. I view him less harshly.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 20, 2013

Folks, I know I may be splitting hairs on Ortiz. He never admitted to PED use, unlike some others. Just view his circumstances as different.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 20, 2013

Let me rephrase that: Ortiz did not admit to intentional PED use. And players were less vigilant then, with no penalties in place.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 20, 2013

Last thing on Ortiz: I respect all opinions on this. Hard to know what is right, what is wrong. I don’t pretend to have all the answers.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 21, 2013

Why Ortiz’s positive test and others in 2003 cannot be viewed as definitive. It’s complicated, but read this story. http://t.co/cc5942qAU1
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 21, 2013

Again, I respect everyone’s opinions. But there were issues with 2003 list that could not be explained in 140 characters. Story helps.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 21, 2013

I have an idea. Alex Rodriguez should confess what he did (again, by the way) when David Ortiz confesses to what he did.

Which means it will never happen.

David Ortiz shows it's OK for some guys to test positive

So David Ortiz is all set for this season. Yay.

Ortiz's career is pretty amazing for a guy the Twins gave up on after the 2002 season, having never hit more than 20 homers or having a slugging percentage higher than .500. Since then, the fewest homers he has hit is 23, and his slugging percentage has been above .500 every year but one.

It's a tribute to hard work, dedication and regular playing time, and having nothing at all to do with whatever he may have tested positive for in 2003. Uh uh, no way.

You do remember he was on the list of positive tests, right? Actually, it's easy to forget, since the media haven't insisted it on hanging steroids around his neck like they have Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa. He said he didn't do it, so everyone went away. There were no confessions, without which we could not go on. I don't think he has ever been on a witness stand, so there's no chance of the law coming after him.

In fact, it's like the positive test never happened. Instead, we see Big Papi "hugging it out" with Yankees fans in a promotion for the MLB Fan Cave or captaining a team in the All Star Home Run Derby. (In case you're wondering if I would hug Ortiz, the answer is no.)


So what's the secret?

Easy.

He's popular. People (especially the press) like him.