Ryan Braun suspended for rest of the season Posted by Staff (07/22/2013 @ 5:45 pm) MLB isn’t messing around, and we now have the first suspension from the latest PED scandal with Ryan Braun getting suspended for the rest of the season. I suspect A-Rod will be next, and who knows who else will get dinged. If he’s suspended, A-Rod can also kiss the Hall of Fame goodbye as well, and other teams may be kissing the playoffs goodbye if key players suffer the same fate as Braun. Tigers sweep Yankees in ALCS Posted by Gerardo Orlando (10/18/2012 @ 11:46 pm) 
Image source: Detroit Tigers Facebook Page
I guess it’s hard to make it to the World Series when you have to bench your most expensive player in the elimination game of the ALCS. This postseason will be remembered by New York fans for all of the Alex Rodriguez drama. The Yankees did get one World Series championship for the king’s ransom they paid A-Rod, but now they’re left with another $100 million to pay out on that ridiculous contract. Donald Trump is one of the biggest jackasses around, but he did have a decent point when he suggested on Twitter that the Yankees should refuse to pay A-Rod due to fraud – they resigned him not knowing he was taking PEDs. In know – it’s unrealistic, but it would make for some great reality TV. Braden’s grandma tells A-Rod to “stick it” Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/10/2010 @ 6:10 pm)  A’s pitcher Dallas Braden may have the coolest grandmother in the world. From the New York Post: Braden, the A’s left-hander best known for his dust-up with A-Rod over pitcher’s mound etiquette, yesterday hurled the 19th perfect game in major league history, shutting down the Rays, 4-0. But his grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, who rasied him in Stockton, Calif. (home of the 209 area code), after his mother, Jodie Atwood, died of cancer when he was a senior in high school, had the last word — appropriately on Mother’s Day. “Stick it, A-Rod,” the feisty granny told Bay Area reporters after her grandson had completed his gem. As Braden was approaching perfection, Rodriguez had nothing but good wishes for the 26-year-old. “Something I’ve learned throughout my career is it’s much better to be recognized for the great things you do on the field,” Rodriguez said before the Yankees played last night in Boston. “Good for him. Even better, he beat the Rays.”
A-Rod has kept his cool since his dustup with Braden, but how funny is it that Rodriguez tried to make Braden out to be a nobody after the incident and then the A’s pitcher goes out and hurls a perfect game less than a month later? It was the biggest middle finger that Braden could have given A-Rod. It was also ironic that another unwritten rule was broken during one of Braden’s start. During the fifth inning of the game yesterday, Rays’ slugger Evan Longoria tried to bunt for a hit, which is regarded as a sin when a pitcher is in the midst of a perfect game. Personally, I think that unwritten rule is flat out stupid (the entire point for hitters is to get on base anyway they can, remember?), but if anyone were upset by Longoria’s bunt attempt, I can’t blame him or her. Evan Longoria bunt? Come on.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Dallas Braden rips into A-Rod again Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/07/2010 @ 3:58 pm)  A’s pitcher Dallas Braden still hasn’t gotten over A-Rod’s decision to run across the mound following a game last month and has decided to stir the pot with more comments. From ESPN.com: Braden said he was particularly peeved that Rodriguez dismissed his actions and words merely because Braden hasn’t done much as a major leaguer yet. “There’s two ways that I can comment on that, and I’ll give you both of them,” Braden said to CSN Bay Area. “One, I was always told if you give a fool enough rope, he’ll hang himself, and with those comments, he had all the rope he needed. No. 2, I didn’t know there was a criteria in order to compete against A-Rod.”
Rodriguez also is a selfish player, Braden added. “He’s an individualistic player,” Braden told CSN Bay Area. “He plays for the name on the back of the jersey, not the front. I don’t know if he’s noticed, but he doesn’t have a name on the back over there so he should play for the name on the front.”
If this was the first time A-Rod had broken one of the unwritten rules of baseball, then I would call out Braden for overreacting. But this isn’t, and I happen to find the pitcher’s comments funny. That said, at some point Braden is just going to have to get over it. The game was two weeks ago – let it go, my friend.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
A-Rod redemption Posted by Gerardo Orlando (10/18/2009 @ 11:00 am) It’s been a surreal year for Alex Rodriguez. It began with disgrace, as he joined the club of major league players implicated in the never-ending steroids scandal. He was never a fan favorites in New York, and now he had sunk to a new low. His reputation would be forever tarnished. Yet after watching A-Rod’s postseason performance so far, this may be the best thing that ever happened to him. Last night, A-Rod rose to the occasion again to provide a dramatic home run to save the day for the Yankees in Game 2. • To be honest, for all his remarkable numbers, A-Rod has never inspired legend quite like a Williams or Ruth, a Bonds or a Mantle. Yet through five postseason games, he now has three home runs that have either tied or put the Yankees ahead. One off Joe Nathan and another off Brian Fuentes, two pretty darn good closers, too. Here’s the reaction from The LoHud Yankees Blog: • His story of exorcising October demons has almost become old hat. Four times he has been asked the same questions and four times he has continued to repeat what he said in St. Pete. “I know you guys are probably looking for something profound. I’m just in a good place. I’m seeing the ball and I’m hitting it. That’s about it.” Rodriguez now has an RBI in each of the first five postseason games, setting a new Yankee record. Here’s audio from Rodriguez: • Burnett said he, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain were in the clubhouse watching the 11th inning unfold. People would never believe the scene they made after Rodriguez hit the tying homer. “We were like little kids,” Burnett said, “jumping around and hugging.” • In the dugout, Mark Teixeira couldn’t fathom that Rodriguez had done it. Again. “I just kept yelling, ‘He did it again! He did it again!” Teixeira said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
It’s amazing what a great athlete can do when he just focuses on the job at hand. A-Rod has admitted to being so self-absorbed that he put tremendous pressure on himself. The scandal seems to have forced A-Rod to grow up and develop a more mature approach to the game. If he keeps this up and the Yankees win the World Series, this will be one of the fastest and most dramatic image turnarounds we’ve ever seen in sports. Posted in: MLB Tags: A-Rod, A-Rod grows up, A-Rod Mr October, A-Rod on steroids, A-Rod photo, A-Rod redemption, A-Rod reputation, A-Rod steroids, Alex Rodriguez, Alex Rodriguez disgrace, Alex Rodriguez reputation, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Joba Chamberlain, Mark Teixeira, Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes
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