Steroids in the Yankees Family

George Steinbrenner doesn't have to look any further than his own son in-law to find steroid issues. Felix Lopez Jr. married King George's daughter Jessica in 2004. That meant that Lopez's son and namesake was now part of the Yankees extended family. But you won't find Felix Lopez III anywhere near the Yankees.

The younger Lopez was busted back in 2002 for distributing steroids, a first degree felony that could have landed him in jail...for life. But Lopez III worked out a deal with prosecutors to bump it down to a second degree felony charge. Lopez plead guilty to possession with intent, and was given three years probation.

In an interview with Newsday on Friday, Lopez Jr., 54, said he stands by his son but added that his son will never work for the Yankees because of his past and the negative perception it would create. "Sometimes kids make mistakes," Lopez Jr. said.

Federal authorites had intercepted a package, containing illegal steroids, intended for a woman at Lopez III's address. But when they delivered the package, Lopez said the package was his. He was arrested as part of a large steroids bust that saw 115 people arrested in 80 cities around the nation.

A-Rod's Associates Coming to Life

Alex Rodriguez is way off base if he thinks he can just move on now after admitting steroid use and holding a press conference. A-Rod's nefarious cousin was revealed yesterday by the NY Daily News to be Yuri Sucart. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Angel Presinal was banned from all MLB clubhouses after he was caught with a bag of steroids at a Toronto airport in 2001. At the time, he said they belonged to Juan Gonzalez. Now comes word from the Daily News that Presinal was a regular companion of A-Rod's in 2007. That's right, A-Rod's best season as a Yankee and in his contract year.

The source said Rodriguez avoided being seen in public with Presinal.

"He was around Alex in 2007," the source said of Presinal. "Every hotel they went to, he stayed in the same room with Yuri. You would never see Alex with [Presinal]. They would meet in one of their rooms."

Presinal was not around A-Rod and the Yankees during the 2008 season, the source said, but Sucart remained a constant presence around Rodriguez, at home and on the road.

"Yuri is his driver," the source said. "He takes care of him all the time. His clothes, his food; he's with Alex every day."

Brian Cashman was quick to clarify that the Yankees had no association with Presinal, while A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras, declined to comment.

MLB already wants to talk to A-Rod as they did with Jason Giambi after his PED revelation, but now it's possible that the US government could be calling A-Rod in for a meeting.

You just get the feeling this is going to get a whole lot uglier.

Wrap up of the Steroid Poll

We thank the 83 readers who took part in are latest poll concerning Alex Rodriguez.

An overwhelming amount of you want to know the other 103 names (including duplicates) on the "failees" list. 64%, or 53 of you, said, "Yes, give it to me now".

18% of you said what's supposed to be kept private should be kept private.

And 18% of you said let me see those Red Sox.

This matter (obviously not just Red Sox) can go either way. If Congress insists on revealing names, and thereby violating the rights of the players, it could open up an entirely different can of worms. When is private really private?

The Post Conference

Nearly 24 hours have passed since A-Rod's self described youthful mistake. The reaction, for the most part, has not been good, particularly from the media. While there are a number of fans who could care less if he A-Rod did 'roids are not, the majority of Yankees fans seem to be upset at the appearance, for lack of a better term, of "A-Fraud".

Most people we have spoken to, or read, feel there is much more to the story. Particularly:

1. How could you not know what you were taking?
2. Who is the mysterious cousin (Francesa and others are referring to as "My Cousin Vinny"
3. How could you not know whether you really failed a drug test or not
4. Is there much more to come to light when Selena Roberts' book goes to print.
   

Here's what the media thinks:

Steve Politi (Star Ledger): The dumb cousin excuse? Sorry, A-Rod, nobody is buying it

Peter Abraham (Journal News): A-Rod blames youth, stupidity for steroid use

Tyler Kepner (NY Times): A-Rod Details his use of Steroids

Jack Curry (NY Times): After Awkward Pause, Rodriguez Thanks Yankees

Mark Feinsand (NY Daily News): What A-Rod should have said. Mark also has a transcript of A-Rod's opening statement.

Joel Sherman (NY Post): The Truth to be Told, A-Rod Just Can't

Dan Graziano: We're Supposed to believe this?

A-Rod Begins the Damage Control Tour

No matter what A-Rod does, it will not change the way opposing fans look at him, but he can have a definite impact on Yankees fans. Ala Andy Pettitte, A-Rod will hold a press conference tomorrow to apologize, express his regrets and remorse, and hope to move forward. As with Pettitte's news conference last year, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada will be in attendance, as will Pettitte himself.

A-Rod began the apology tour last week, phoning SI writer/steroid exposer Selena Roberts to make amends for his criticism of her in an interview with Peter Gammons a week ago.

“I know this lady from Sports Illustrated, Selena Roberts, is trying to throw things out there that in high school I tried steroids. I mean, that’s the biggest bunch of baloney I’ve ever heard in my life,” he told ESPN, adding that “this lady is coming out with all these allegations, all these lies.”

A-Rod also accused Roberts of attempting to break into his home in Miami and made false allegations about run-ins she had with Miami police and University of Miami security.

Roberts said she would comment on A-Rod's call, which took place this past Wednesday, after his press conference tomorrow.

Bud Selig, Idiot at Large

We've been very critical in the past of Bud Selig, and his latest comments do nothing to change the fact that we think he's an idiot.

Selig told USA Today's Christine Brennan that he would not rule out disciplinary action for Alex Rodriguez's revelation of steroid use.

Just who are you trying to impress Buddy? The fans? The owners? Yourself?

The thing is that steroid use in baseball was not illegal from 2001-2003. If the government hadn't intervened you would probably still be sitting on your hands today and looking the other way. Home runs sell tickets.

And let's not forget this was supposed to be confidential steroid screening. We're just amazed that Selig didn't have access to the results even if they were confidential.

Finally, Bud you better suspend 75% of the players in the majors, because that's the probably the number of players doing steroids in the period from 2001-2003. Hell, any member of those Texas Rangers team for that matter.

Go back to selling used cars, Bud. It's the perfect role for you.

Tea and Sympathy

When times are tough, you just never know who might have your back. Or at the very least, put in a good word for you. Kevin Youkilis may not be a fan of his Yankee opponents, but yesterday he had some kind words for Alex Rodriguez.

“It’s an unfortunate thing to hear that,” Youkilis said. “It’s also a good thing that he came out and admitted it. Sometimes it’s hard to go out there and admit to something in your past. There’s a lot of people in this world who have done something wrong. Myself, I’ve done things wrong, not in that nature.

“But it’s tough. I think it’s tough for people in general in life to admit to some of the things they’ve done wrong.”

“That’s definitely not the case,” he said. “It’s definitely a small percentage. I’ve never done anything like that in my life and I plan on never doing it.”

“I don’t know if someone had it in for him,” Youkilis said. “It seems like just to take one name out of that group is a little odd. The whole thing is kind of unfortunate. Some of the players were betrayed (when the confidential results were leaked).

Very cool comments from Youk. But Joba will still throw at your head.


There are plenty of people in agreement with Youkilis concerning why only one name was revealed of the 104 on the list. And we should clarify that 104 count. There may not be 104 individuals on the list, because it's a compilation of more than one test. So some names could be on the list multiple times.

We want to know what you think. Our new poll asks if you think the remaining names should be revealed. Donald Fehr of the MLBPA of course does not, being that all of this information was supposed to be confidential. As for us, yeah, we want to know!

Letterman Checks In

David Letterman hit one out of the park last night with his Top 10 list. But you can judge for yourself.

"Top Ten Messages left on Alex Rodriguez's Answering Machine."

10. "Hey, it's Mark McGwire. Want to get together this week and not talk about the past?"

9. "Joe Torre here -- thanks for helping book sales."

8. "Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?"

7. "Are you worried this will taint all the championships you didn't win?"

6. "It's Bernie Madoff. Nice try but I'm still the most hated man in New York."

5. "Michael Phelps here. Got any snacks?"

4. "This is Sammy Sosa. Just pretend you don't speak English."

3. "Michael Phelps again. Did I call you or did you call me?"

2. "Hey, it's Rod Blagojevich -- I'll say you're innocent, if you say I am."

1. "It's Madonna. You got a phone number for Jeter?"

Is Half a Confession Better than None?

In listening to Alex Rodriguez's "confessional" with Peter Gammons yesterday, you definitely got the impression that where there's smoke there's fire. While on the one hand he admitted to steroid use from 2001-2003 ("that's pretty accurate" left the door open for more revelations), A-Rod was more apologetic for being naive rather for actually taking an illegal substance.

Possibly more damaging to A-Rod's reputation, was his accusation that SI.com reporter Selena Roberts was stalking him, and in fact had been cited by the Miami police for trying to break into his home. Peter Abraham of the Journal News reported last night that no such citation took place nor are there any police records of any such incident.

We were also left with the impression that A-Rod is still not speaking the entire truth. A truth that may never come out. We're sure that Bud Selig will want to meet with Rodriguez, just as he did with Jason Giambi, to clear the air. A-Rod will also be quizzed about Roberts accusation that MLBPA COO Gene Orza tipped him off to a 2004 random drug test.

And of course this has the chance to get even uglier, even "zooier". Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) wants to conduct another dog and pony show in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which still is NOT supposed to deal with these issues. With nearly 600 thousand workers laid off in January, somehow we think Congress should be working on other things.

Even President Obama was quizzed about A-Rod's failings during his first press conference last night, stating that he was "disappointed" at the news. We wonder too if the President realizes just how little common sense A-Rod has.

Ah, this is only beginning of what is to be a very long baseball season in the Bronx.

A-Rod to Speak, but will he Say?

Bob Raissman of the Daily News is reporting that Alex Rodriguez will appear on ESPN "some time" Monday afternoon to discuss Sports Illustrated's story of steroid use and abuse. The question now remains, what will he say.

Our feeling is that A-Rod is going to come clean. Unless he can prove 100% without a shadow of a doubt that the story is false, he has no other choice.

Update 2:30 PM
Newsday's Neil Best confirms that ESPN's Peter Gammons will be sitting down with A-Rod for an interview that will air at 6 PM EST.

Torre Who?

With today's news from SI.com that Alex Rodriguez reportedly failing a steroid test in 2003, the shift of media attention from Joe Torre's book is palpable. The fallout from "The Yankee Years", including "A-Fraud", Mike Mussina's dissing of Mariano Rivera, and the "Single White Female" relationship of Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, were expected to be the main topics of conversation when pitchers and catchers report on the 13th.

But instead, a zoo-like atmosphere will surely exist, the direction of which could very well steer one way or another in the next 48 hours. The MLB Network held a forum this morning that ran into the afternoon, with Bob Costas, Tom Verducci, Harold Reynolds, and Matt Vasgersian discussing the issues.

The consensus was that A-Rod needs to make a public statement in reaction to the story within the next couple of days. That translates to an Andy Pettitte-like "mea culpa" or a Roger Clemens' type strategy of "deny, deny, deny", and hope it doesn't blow up in his face. Strength of character has never been one of A-Rod's notable traits, so we can see it being the latter rather than the former.

Personally, we are very disappointed. No matter what we've thought of A-Rod at times, there's never been any question of what we felt about his talent or accomplishments. That said, his career could be tarnished, whether the accusation is truthful or not. And that's just sad.

Costas also sat down with the main author of the story, Selena Roberts, to discuss the findings. Roberts did her due diligence and had what she felt were four reliable sources. She also traveled to Miami on Thursday to get a reaction from Rodriguez, who gave her a veiled "get lost" in his response of, "You'll have to take to the union".

The bigger issue here though, again, is the results of the drug testing in 2003 being leaked out. These results, just like the BALCO grand jury testimony, was supposed to be confidential. Time and time again, this information is being leaked. And you're not hearing about some utility infielder each time either. These are planned leaks, by whom we do not know, but an investigation needs take place.

To make matters worse, MLB player's association COO Gene Orza is being accused of tipping off players to the timing of random drug tests. It's a serious accusation, with Roberts' source being a handful of players. And rather than simply denying the charge, when given the chance to address it, Orza told Roberts, "I'm not interested in discussing this information with you."

Just when we think things can't get much uglier when it comes to performance enhancing drugs and baseball, it does.

Breaking News: A-Rod Postive for Roids in '03

Four sources have told Sports Illustrated that Alex Rodriguez failed a steroid test in 2003. A-Rod was one of 104 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs as part of a mandate by MLB to determine if random drug testing needed to be performed in 2004.

Two anabolic steroids showed up in A-Rod screening. When asked about it on Thursday, A-Rod said, "You'll have to talk to the union. I'm not saying anything."

Read the complete story here.

Forget A-Fraud, now we'll have A-Roid.