Should We Call Him A-Roid?

Alex Rodriguez, Major League Baseball’s pretentious pretty boy, has reportedly fallen into the deep depths of the steroid controversy. Apparently, Stray Rod is an abuser of the synthetic syringe. But, I just cannot fathom A-Rod, the Golden Boy himself, stooping to such unscrupulous measures to guarantee his place in the discussion of Baseball’s best ever.

Well, wait one minute before we castrate the man. Remember the ancient principle, consider the source? This situation is exactly why that rule was created. Wheeler dealer, book peddling Jose Canseco prompted the discussion when he claimed he “had some stuff” on the Yanks third baseman.

Yeah, a really creditable source. NOT!

For anyone who hasn’t stepped into the “scandalous” section at Powell’s lately, Canseco wrote a book called Juiced a few years ago, calling out suspected steroid abusers like Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire. Maybe he was right, but then maybe he was simply bankrupt and thought composing a book to shed light on former friends drug habits would garner enough money to crossover the poverty line. Regardless, where is the loyalty, Jose?

Honestly, I loathe A-Rod as a person. He is a greedy, selfish little brat. However, I have the utmost respect for him as a player. His skill set is about as rare as encountering water in the Sahara Desert. For that reason alone, I doubt he needs to bolster his performance level.

There has been a throng of suspected steroid users in MLB, such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, McGwire and Palmeiro, to name a few. Though, of the alleged abusers, Rodriguez is the least likely to be guilty in my mind.

A-Rod has been a consistent power hitter throughout his career. Since breaking into the Major Leagues in 1994, where Rodriguez had zero homers in 54 at bats, he has failed to reach 25 homeruns only twice. His numbers peaked in 2001-02, with 52 and 57 homeruns respectively. However, those were his first two seasons as a Texas Ranger, meaning his home ballpark was The Ballpark in Arlington, where the fourth most homers were slammed in 2002.

A quick glimpse at his physique unveils that he is a natural athlete. His muscles are not bulging out of his uniform like McGwire and he does not have a forehead the size of a melon like Bonds. The consistency argument applies again because, with the exception of his first couple seasons in Seattle, A-Rod has always looked the same. Sure, he has developed muscle mass over the years, but it has been in gradual stages. Reality is he has never arrived at spring training with 40 additional pounds of sheer muscle.

Looks like Canseco finally realized he as good as extinct in the public eye, or maybe he’s just broke again and needs to compose another tell-all book to ensure financial stability.