A-Rod Roundup: Roberts’ book out Monday
ByAs the fallout from yesterday’s less-than-shocking A-Rod revelations continues to die before the end of the 24-hour cycle, Selena Roberts and her publishers are quickly jumping on the bandwagon. With A-Rod’s rehab going better than expected, The Times reports that Roberts’ book will hit newstands on Monday, over a week before its original street date.
At this point, it’s tough to know what to make of this book. First, it was going to be printed in April around Opening Day. Then A-Rod got injured, and Roberts’ publishers announced the book would hit on May 13, two days before A-Rod was due to be activated. Now that Daily News reporters have spilled the beans — the rather unsubstantiated and hearsay-based beans — and now that A-Rod is set to start a rehab assignment soon, the publishers are again pushing the book forward to preempt A-Rod’s return from the DL and any more leaks. That sounds as sincere as A-Rod is.
Anyway, the A-Rod story never stops. After the jump, a round-up of the day’s news and notes.
One of Selena Roberts’ more out-there accusations seems to be that A-Rod had a massive growth spurt between the ages of 15 and 18 due to steroid use. While Sports Illustrated searches for someone to explain puberty to Roberts, both Doug Mientkiewicz and A-Rod’s high school coach highly doubt the accuracy of the story.
“From my perspective, it would be 99.9% impossible for us not to know,” Mientkiewicz said, who called Roberts out on her use of anonymous sources. “You’re basically accusing every kid that’s gone through puberty that they’re on steroids too, huh?”
Perhaps the more sticky issue in the Roberts book will be her discussion on tipping pitches. Roberts sat down for a Q-and-A on the topic. Her responses are a bit of a mess:
If it was a changeup, sources say, he would twist his glove hand. To indicate a slider, he would allegedly sweep the dirt in front of him, and he would bend in the direction of where the pitch was going to be, inside or outside. I don’t know that it’s easy to decode. You’re talking about people who see a player on an every-day basis, day after day, year after year. I don’t know that it would be at all obvious to people who are watching or to a television audience. These are people who would know how to detect when things don’t feel right.
I don’t really know what she’s trying to say. She goes back and forth on whether or not anyone would be able to pick up something, and considering that MLB has all of these games on video, it will be really easy to find out soon enough. David Pinto is skeptical, and A-Rod’s former teammates sound non-committal about the whole thing. Shane Spencer said he heard rumors; R.A. Dickey would be disappointed; and Doug Glanville finds it hard to believe no one would have figured out or reported on a pitch-tipping scandal at the time. Michael Young, A-Rod’s double-play partner in Texas, says the allegations are “ridiculous” and doesn’t believe them. I’ll take his word for it over some anonymous source with an obvious vendetta against A-Rod.
In the end, it all boils down to Bud Selig. Baseball’s commissioner refused to comment, but sources near Selig told The Times that Roberts’ book and A-Rod’s closed-door confession don’t jibe. Based on some tenuous statements in the book, Selig may open up an investigation into A-Rod on anything from steroid use to the pitch-tipping allegations.
In the end, though, Joe Girardi’s words will carry the day. The book seems, he said to The Times, like “he-said, she-said kind of stuff. We’re going to move on.”
My bold prediction is that Bud Selig will look bad, try to stammer through some sort of proclamation and then drop it. The book will make waves on Monday and be forgotten by the time May is through. Now, we too, barring any concrete news developments, will move on.
“The book will make waves on Monday and be forgotten by the time May is through.”
Wasn’t there some other book making waves? I can’t quite remember who wrote it. A former manager, I think. Dallas Green?
You’re thinking of Willie Randolph.
“Bad Stuff ‘Bout the Mets”
-by Chico Escuela
IT’S A LOTTA MEAT!!
ICWUDT
How can her Duke Lacrosse witchunt not be getting more play in the media? Everyone you hear interviewed from the media says things like, she is an excellent journalist… but they seem afraid to finish the sentence.
After Duke, which she still refuses to apologize for how can she have any credibility.
Want some intersting reading? Google Selena Roberts, Duke Lacrosse.
“Everyone you hear interviewed from the media says things like, she is an excellent journalist… “
Consider the sources. You’re hearing, for the most part, journalists discussing one of their own. People tend to overstate the importance of their own profession and the importance of those who practice it. People also tend to not want to start beef with their peers.
Q: Why do sharks not eat lawyers?
A: Professional courtesy.
http://www.instantrimshot.com
2 opinion pieces is a witch hunt now? Awesome, I’m going to go to blogger and start a Hank Steinbrenner witch hunt
you can now add the following monikers to the $250MM man, A-Roid and SterRod along with the Lightning Rod. Steve Summers is radio king
The idiocy there is off the charts.
I think we can all pretty much guarantee Selig will do exactly the wrong thing and look even worse doing it.
he always does. he’s the Arod of commissioners.
That’s not fair… ARod’s suits were purchased during or after the Bill Clinton Administration.
it is books like this, written by investigatory-journalists like roberts that make the evolutionary upheaval within the newspaper/media industry a well-deserved event.
Agreed.
It’s a shocking lack of actual facts and smacks of 6th grade level gossip-mongering. After her involvement with the Duke Lacrosse situation, it shouldn’t be that surprising.
I guess I’m a little surprised that their motives are so transparent with the constantly shifting release dates.
What did Alex do to Selena Roberts? This makes “Book of Shadows” seem like a friendly book.
It’s really a shame to see someone spend so much time trying to make money by tearing down not only an amazing baseball player, but someone who really hasn’t done anything to deserve the hatred he gets. There are players in all the leagues who are total scumbags and they don’t get nearly as much criticism as this guy.
What did Alex do to Selena Roberts? This makes “Book of Shadows” seem like a friendly book.
He’s good at life, unlike her. He represents the popular jock who wouldn’t give her the time of day in high school.
Barring additional revelations that are actually well sourced, I think there is going to be a major public backlash against this book, generating support for Alex.
It certainly seems like she has it out for the people who wouldn’t have given her the time of day in high school, i.e. A-Rod and the Duke lacrosse players.
Hey Selena, I gained 25 pounds and grew a decent amount between my sophomore and junior years in high school too. Are you going to chalk that up to steroids, or, I don’t know, puberty?
While I agree that Roberts has not appeared to be 100% professional in the writing and promoting of this book, I don’t think it’s fair to blame that on her “not being good at life.” She is, after all, a professional writer who is lucky enough to get paid to do what most of us would do for free, so she’s not precisely the traditional definition of a failure. Ms. Roberts’ body of work suggests an interest in attacking those who do not feel that they need to obey the law, or obey the principals of fairness and appropriate, compassionate behavior. She seems intent on trying to bring down those who display great arrogance or great disregard for others. In this, she is laudable. In using anonymous sources and (apparently) not doing enough to corroborate allegations that appear to be thrown about rather carelessly, she is irresponsible and reprehensible. But we should all try to remember that if we found ourselves fighting to make a point and no one was listening, we might easily cut a few corners and forget a few of our morals to make our point.
That’s not to say her motivations are totally pure, I’m sure she also wants to make a buck and is willing to fudge some truths to do so.
At least Game of Shadows is a good book and excellent investigative effort. It doesn’t stoop to any of the ridiculous accusations we’ve seen coming out here in Roberts’ book. When I read it, I didn’t really feel the same kind of malice you get from Roberts when she’s talking about A-Rod.
This is why Whizzo is anti-literacy.
Love the Whizzo!
Seconded.
I’m going to buy The Whizzo a big screen T.V. for his engagement party.
This is going to end badly.
That’s why nobody beats the Whizzo. Nobody!
Wake me when the book is actually out (so no more excerpts, read and decide for ourselves) and it contains something a)relevant, b) previously unknown (and bitch tits doesnt count…) and c) RECENT. I don’t give a damn what he did 3-5 years ago or what he may have done in high school etc. We already know he was a ‘roid user, adulterer, insecure primadonna etc. We can live with it. If he’s on the cover of every paper in the country in a dress and high heels by July, I could live with that too.
We have no expectations whatsoever about A-Rod the person. What the Yanks and fans are paying for, and what I’ll be tuning in for, is A-Rod the 3B, and short of telling me he’s still on the juice now, I can deal with the headlines in exchange for .280/35/120 a year
I for one am REALLY glad she wrote this book, because without it, I never would have known that Arod is a phony, insecure, hypocritical primadonna.
IETC!
Now would be a good time to ask what that means…
“I eat taco cheese”
I Enjoy Tit-Rod’s C-Cups
IETC
IETC – I enjoyed that comment
ICWUDT – I see what you did there
Thanks!
TSJCIS = TommieSmithJohnCarlos is Snarkman.
No, my first name ain’t “Baby”, it’s Snarky.
Mr. Irrelevant Non-Sequitur Jones if you’re nasty.
I enjoyed this comment.
I had to ask too and finally got to use it about your comment.
Ty Cobb stabbed a guy.
You don’t realize how much I use this in conversations with friends.
It’s just like a man getting hit in the groin with a football.
It works on so many levels.
But he didn’t use steroids while doing it, so it’s all good.
count me in the camp that thinks this book will be a flop.
to quote Rosenthal, this sucka ain’t got not juice.
there is nothing here, unless another player comes out on the record and confirms the pitch tipping thing. if they do, things could get ugly, but what is being printed from the book is a joke.
i am pretty tired of defending A-Rod, b/c the guys admitted to using steroids, but i do have to ask this: Why wasn’t Doug Mientkiewicz interviewed for the book? seems like a pretty obvious guy to talk to, no? he went to HS with Alex and he’ll go on the record.
sometimes you don’t talk to the people that don’t support your thesis. that way, no one can accuse you of covering anything up. it’s called lousy reporting.
it’s the same exact question as “why wasn’t Paxton Crawford interviewed for the Mitchell Report”?
no good reason.
Good post steve, very good point. Compelling and rich.
Good evening, San Diego. I’m Ramiro Peña. Tits McGee is on assignment in Tampa.
“Why wasn’t Doug Mientkiewicz interviewed for the book?”
For all we know he might have. But his story didn’t fit her web, so she didn’t use it.
In other words, beware someone who seeks evidence to prove a predetermined point. In good reporting the evidence comes before the hypothesis.
that squirrel sure can waterski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xxKwesCKJk
If he was able to… that squirrel would totally murder that lady.
TBH I don’t even think the pitch-tipping thing would be a huge deal. Again, 5 YEARS ago, not relevant now. Front page stroy, sure, but forgotten by sunset, just like the crap leaking out now.
Hope you all forgive me for c/ping what I wrote last night, but my thoughts are exactly still the same:
It’s not really a secret that I’m not one of A-Rod’s biggest fans, but the issue for me here isn’t so much whether A-Rod did or did not do steroids (I’m of the belief that it’s probably harder to find players who didn’t use PEDs than those who did), but the way Roberts seems to have gone around, doing her reporting.
The caveat is, thus far, Roberts has yet to turn up anything false, but digging into someone’s background like this?
A-Rod didn’t murder babies, here.
I get that being a public figure means you relinquish some of your right to privacy, but seriously, unless you’ve taken a life in the past, or committed rape or genocide or some other such atrocity, what does it matter?
Seriously.
What does it matter what A-Rod did or didn’t do way back when?
Look, if you caught him in the act, then yeah, make a big deal about it. What he’s done in the major leagues is certainly relevant–especially anything he may have done with the Yankees.
Most crimes, however, have a thing called a Statute of Limitations. After a certain time frame, you can’t prosecute the crime. Believe it or not, SoL exists even for rape (though not murder).
Shouldn’t there be a statute of limitations on steroid accusations? For real?
Did you finish the paper?
Except for the Duke lacrosse players. And she hasn’t exactly admitted her mistakes or apologized about it.
The caveat is, thus far, Roberts has yet to turn up anything false, but digging into someone’s background like this?
How much has she actually turned up? She found out that A-Rod was on the list of players that tested positive in 2003. Beyond that, nothing that has leaked has been a factual report, just more allegations. If she had talked to someone who had actual evidence of steroid use (like his dealer or the person who injected him), then I wouldn’t doubt the claims. Instead, these allegations just sound like speculation on the part of her sources.
Also, if you expand the question of her credibility to previous reporting, then she does have a history of reporting facts that are not completely accurate.
If she had talked to someone who had actual evidence of steroid use (like his dealer or the person who injected him), then I wouldn’t doubt the claims.
He ADMITTED he did steroids. What other evidence do you need?
Alex: I did steroids.
Chris: Prove it.
I was referring to the new allegations, not what we already knew. He admitted to more steroid use than she reported initially. The question now is whether he did steroids outside of the 2001-2003 time frame he admitted to.
I just googled Selena Roberts, she is so ugly. Book invalidated.
IETC.
And it’s true. Ugly chicks are not to be trusted. The only reliable information comes from hot chicks.
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-340350
She has to have something to back this up, doesn’t she?
Selena Roberts, Do you understand that the world does not revolve around you and your do whatever it takes, ruin as many people’s lives, so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long so you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?
She is all about building a school for ants.
Axe to grind.
http://baseball.realgm.com/src.....ith_jeter/
Roberts also details Rodriguez’s obsession with Derek Jeter. Players said Rodriguez would ask women, “Who’s hotter, me or Derek Jeter?
Rodriguez’s relationship with his Yankee teammates was not helped by his apparent flirtations with their wives and girlfriends.
“He would use these corny pickup lines on a guy’s wife,” one player told Roberts. “
Heh.
The book also reveals that Rodriguez would brag about wild nights with strippers and once during a trip to Texas as a Yankee, visited a sex club while his wife was home pregnant with their first child
Wow.
http://www.traileraddict.com/c.....vest/magic
Unless you been messing around with their wife or girlfriend!
Naw, but they will be there to help you.
Best basketball player who has ever lived.
Yeah… no.
Yes.
Magic
Wilt
Jordan
Kareem
Bird
Oscar
The best in my eyes. Magic is number 1, but the others can be debated.
You can’t be serious. MJ is hands down the best ever, but we can continue this in an open thread sometime.
Tier 1
1-Michael Jordan
Tier 2
2-Magic Johnson
3-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4-Larry Bird
Tier 3
5-Shaquille O’Neal
6-Wilt Chamberlain
7-Bill Russell
Tier 4
8-Oscar Robertson
9-Tim Duncan
10-Karl Malone
I didn’t include Kobe or Lebron yet, since they’re still too far from the end. But Kobe could end up somewhere between 5-10. There is no limit for Lebron.
What about Earl “The Goat” Mennagault?
He was said to be the greatest player to ever live…
I loved watching Jordan(and old clips of him) as much as anyone, I just think Magic was better than him. His versatility, elevated play of his teammates. Magic had to retire at 31 obv, you gave him 4 or 5 more years, he could of done alot more. But that’ll be the end of this one even though I have much more to say.
Michael Jordan is not only the best basketball player ever, he’s one of the three or four best players in the history of major team sports ever.
There’s a club that includes Jordan, Babe Ruth, Pele, and possibly Wayne Gretzky (if you count hockey as a sport.)
Magic is not in that club. Magic will never be in that club. Not going to happen, sorry.
Okay. Wayne Gretzky scored 200 points in a season four times. No one else in the history of the NHL has done it ever. EVER.
That’s your opinion, once again we can discusss this in an open/game thread.
I didn’t say he had more success than Jordan, I said he was a better overall player than Jordan. I still believe that is true.
Okay… you’re still wrong, though, Pop. But yes, let’s open thread this biznatch.
Not tonight, though, I’ll be at the game with The Artist.
Okay. Wayne Gretzky scored 200 points in a season four times. No one else in the history of the NHL has done it ever. EVER.
And, when you say the “NHL”, are you talking about that league that plays on the Versus Network? The same network that’s about to start broadcasting minor league outdoor football?
Wayne Gretsky won the MVP his fisrt 8 years in the NHL!
Not saying that makes hockey a sport, but impressive nonetheless.
If Wayne Gretzky never scored a single goal, he’d still be the all-time leading scorer in NHL history. He was so far above everyone else at the time, it’s not even funny.
He makes Alex Ovechkin look like Wayne Brady.
So that RealGM.com article is based on this Daily News article.
I’ll summarize:
I thought Selena Roberts was supposed to be a serious investigative reporter. I guess she’s just one step below Rush and Malloy.
(Also, Roger Clemens, a fat 45 year old, has man boobs too. Where’s my article about Curt Schilling’s tits while we at it?)
Hmm… I wonder if ARod also had some dude rub liniment on his balls.
Billy likes to drink “soda”.
Miss Lippy’s car? Is green…
Axl, I think this really might be the comment of the week.
Axl, don’t take this the wrong way, but this was your best post ever.
seriously, i laughed out loud.
Please tell me that she has more evidence of his man boobs that the DN suggests:
If that’s all she’s got, then why did she write a book?
I would love to read the book, but would hate to give her any money. Will wait for used copy on amazon…
what all us Yankee fans should do…
No, all of us Yankee fans shouldn’t even buy it used on Amazon.
There’s no redeeming or historical value in this book. Pass.
Spot on, tommie. I have stacks of books on my bookshelf with much more historical and cultural relevance. Selena’s book, even if true, is only noise. Read something with substance instead.
Get it from the library. Then you don’t need to spend any money on it all.
Did the ex-closer in Boston like chop a guys head off with a machete or something? Urbina…
You mean ex-Detroit-and-Florida closer.
Florida/Boston, same franchise, no?
Philly too, I believe.
All of the above.
Montreal Expos (1995–2001)
Boston Red Sox (2001–2002)
Texas Rangers (2003)
Florida Marlins (2003)
Detroit Tigers (2004–2005)
Philadelphia Phillies (2005)
Venezuelan “Pound you in the ass” prison (2007-present)
he spent some time in philly too
Does it really matter how long and exactly when Arod took steroids? He admitted to using them. I don’t understand the need to know in detail just how long or where exactly it was. He’s already known as a cheater and a terrible human being. And unfortunately the latter is probably the reason he was caught for the former. People already don’t like him because he makes a lot of money and he’s better than they are…but he’s sort of a cocky asshole on top of it…so that doesn’t add any points.
That being said, I don’t see what an investigation is actually going to get accomplished. OK, so say you do find out through an extensive and expensive investigation that Arod took HGH on the Yankees…now what? I don’t quite understand. But Bud Selig is an idiot and feeds into the media hooplah…and thinks he has to “make a move” in order to stop it. He doesn’t. He just needs to have some common sense. “This too shall pass”.
Have I mentioned that I like you a lot more when the Yankees are winning?
No beer and no Yankees winning on TV make Axl… something something.
LOL. I was just really frustrated before guys…you must understand. All my friends around here are die hard Red Sox fans…I live right on the border of MA. Everyone I work with loves the Sox. I mean I smile and I brush it off and speak logically to them…but deep down my blood was boiling haha. Then the top blew off unfortunately. I’ll try to control myself in the future.
Go Yankees!
Sorry if this has been posted, mentioned, or discussed already, but everyone should read Craig’s post on this:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/m.....artiality/
I love how the media is making a big deal about the bench and weight in HS, when that’s really not that crazy. 310 pounds is a good amount to be able to bench, but Alex was also a top notch athlete so its certainly possible.
Selena Roberts likes to troll and get down in the gutter through my hometown of Miami…SI, historically, has a really bad track record here, especially vis a vis UM Canes.
Nice to see A-Rod’s PR firms finally earning their money. I’ve been impressed at how quickly the narrative turned from his steroid use to Selena Roberts and her “lack” of journalistic ethics. I want to believe the public can’t be so easily manipulated, but you can’t argue with success. Nice work, guys.
OH NOOES WERE BEING PLAYED!!!!!!!!
“I want to believe the public can’t be so easily manipulated”
Read some Chomsky.
Read some Chomsky.
So that’s where RAB gets its socialist leanings!
Yeah, except Chomsky is an anarchist.
He’s a libertarian socialist (yes, a type of anarchist), but a collectivist nevertheless … as opposed to invidualist anarchists (i.e. Ben Tucker, who interestingly enough also referred to himself a libertarian socialist) … but he’s certainly not a (statist) socialist – the type most people think of when they hear the word “socialist”
But does he like puppies or not?
i am up to the point where i seriously don’t care if a-rod chokes a prostitute to death or steal kei igawa’s tires. this woman doesn’t have any type of evidence against a-rod this and even if she had it, why would YOu all care what a-rod was doing in Hs? and then we see ESPN, all the reporters in the world and Fat peteabe backing her up with out even knowing if what she’s alleging is True.
You may have killed her when you shoved all those dollar bills down her throat, you may have killed her when you hit her with the stool. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor. But I’ll tell you what didn’t kill her. Smoking!
ietc.
lets collect $$$ to put that family guy spot up as a commercial on YES. if it detracts from one of those gross anti-smoking commercials, it will be worth it
PeteAbe lost a lot of credibility with me for just blindly believing Roberts because she’s been right so far on A-rod .. while completely ignoring the hack job she did to the Duke lax team .. and that all these allegations are from anon sources … and the fact that steriods basically (on some level) put the body through puberty again … which explains why teens grow DURING PUBERTY
or the ‘interested reader’ fiasco
He’s also ignoring the fact that if A-Rod did indeed tip pitches, it takes two to tango there. Baseball better be ready for a pretty wide-ranging scandal if it goes down that path.
I’m glad all of this is happening.
In an era where morality and personal responsibility are being fed down the toilet, it’s become necessary for the everyman to expose all the misdeeds of the guys up top.
Basement dwellers unite!
A lot of it sounds like speculation and whispers. The high school stuff, the using as a Yankee and the pitch tipping.
It seems like a concerted effort to bring someone down on flimsy evidence. And, to me, that is repugnant.
I am very interested to know where she came up with evidence he was tipping pitches to opponents? This is serious stuff, which goes to the integrity of baseball (Much more serious than steroids, sexuality, and cheating), and although I do not believe it (And I am no Rodriguez fan), it needs to be investigated, because if true, it would put him in a category far WORSE than Rose, and he could be banned from baseball for life. If it is (As I suspect), a fabrication, he should sue her for libel. This will not end soon, trust me.
Why is my morbid curiosity driving me to want to pick up this book? Is it because I want to dislike her more than I do now?
Please someone explain this to me.