Update 1:45 p.m.: Chris directs us to a 2007 ESPN.com article in which the reporter notes that A-Rod had trained with Angel Presinal. So now it appears as though the Daily News is simply re-reporting old news while intimated a steroid/PED connection. This may very well be much ado about nothing for A-Rod, and I’m inclined to believe that this may not be a very compelling story after all.
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I desperately wish we could all buy into Murry Chass’ call to move on with this whole A-Rod thing already. I wish we could be confident that A-Rod put the story to bed earlier this week with a mostly heartfelt and mostly accurate apology.
We can’t however quite put this behind us yet because this story is still developing in ways that could impact A-Rod and the Yankees this season, and it’s quite possible that the S word — suspension — could be back on the table.
The fun started when ESPN Deportes discovered that primobolan is not available over the counter in the DR as A-Rod claimed. That aspect of this story is hardly news. The Dominican is not famous for its exacting pharmacological standards, and from all accounts, it has been as easy to secure steroids and supplements in the DR as it is to by Advil and Claritin at Duane Reade. So fine. Big deal.
What is actually a big deal though is the latest development from the Daily News: A-Rod has reportedly been linked to Angel Presinal, the one-time MLB trainer who, along with Juan Gonzalez, was linked to a bag of steroids in 2001. According to the Daily News’ sources, A-Rod has been involved with Presinal as recently as 2007. If true, this revelation would cast some serious doubt on Rodriguez’s claim that he has been clean since
In fact, according to Andrew Marchand, the Commissioner’s Office could suspend A-Rod as they investigate his link to Presinal. According to the Daily News, A-Rod was warned that his association with Presinal could be trouble for him. (The article also notes that MLB monitors Presinal’s whereabouts. If true, wouldn’t MLB have known that he was associating himself with A-Rod? As poorly as Selig handled this steroid scandal, the league’s investigative unit is nothing but thorough.)
I want to be able to believe that A-Rod was just seeing Presinal to work out with a trainer. But considering that Presinal and A-Rod’s now-infamous cousin are linked by the Daily News, this cat isn’t going back into the bag any time soon. It’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.
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