Debating the A-Rod/steroid connection

Well, this was bound to happen. The A-Rod/steroid rumbling is picking up steam even if it has no basis in any sort of reality. Take a look.

Over at the blog Steroid Nation, Gary Gaffney, an M.D. at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, writes about Scott Boras’ clients’ ties to steroids. Gaffney points to this article in Sunday’s Daily News about the relationship and dynamic between the Yanks and the A-Rod/Boras camp that is sure to unfold over the next few weeks.

Interestingly, the article gets into the Boras-Steroid tie in relation to Rick Ankiel and Scott Schoenweis. Boras, who likes to say he is very involved in the lives of his clients, represents these two players who were outed in the press for receiving steroid shipments. It’s a classic issue here of “What did Boras know and when”?

The Daily News article also touches on some of the Jose Canseco steroid claims, and Gaffney uses that mention to discuss a previous post of his about Jose Canseco. Earlier this year, Jose Canseco – who was never a teammate of A-Rod’s – claimed that he had “other stuff on Alex Rodriguez.”

Immediately, everyone assumed that Canseco was going to point a finger at Alex Rodriguez, the performance-enhancing drug user. But that brief mention in July was all we ever heard about it. No one followed up on it, and we refused to write about it.

But I think it’s worth a mention now because this is just totally absurd. Gaffney highlights a passage in the Daily News that features an anonymous baseball official expressing skepticism toward Boras’ clients. To me, this seems like just another way to smear Boras’ name. Are Arn Tellem’s clients any better off? I don’t think so.

Now, I have no overwhelming love for Scott Boras. I think he puts his monetary interests in front of what some of his clients would rather do. This will be especially true if A-Rod opts out and leaves New York. But to start dragging his clients into this steroid mess because some anonymous officials want to cast some doubts on Boras’ integrity over the PED issue is absurd.

Until we know who did what when, writers shouldn’t be idly fingering people on the steroid issue. It transcends irresponsible rumormongering and is bad for baseball.