TJ Quinn: A-Rod Paid For Bosch Attorney

ESPN.com's T.J. Quinn continued his fine investigative reporting tonight with a story he broke a short time ago. According to Quinn, Alex Rodriguez paid for Biogenesis head Tony Bosch's attorney and later wired $50K that the attorney would not accept.

One of A-Rod's former attorneys described the latter transfer as "a mistake", but it is reportedly part of Major League Baseball's pile of evidence about A-Rod. Here is an excerpt of Quinn's story:

A spokesperson for Bosch attorney Susy Ribero-Ayala said in a statement to "Outside the Lines" on Sunday that Rodriguez, currently appealing a 211-game suspension from MLB, paid her a $25,000 retainer to defend Bosch in February. Bosch was the founder of the now-defunct Biogenesis clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., at the center of the league's ongoing drug scandal. "A retainer was paid (via wire transfer) by a representative of Alex Rodriquez (sic). Ms. Ribero-Ayala accepted this payment on behalf of Anthony Bosch as payment for his legal representation," the statement says.

"In April 2013, Ms. Ribero-Ayala received an unsolicited and unwarranted wire transfer from A-Rod Corp. The funds were immediately returned. Mr. Rodriquez (sic) does not have any involvement in Mr. Bosch's legal representation." According to documents seen by "Outside the Lines," the amount of the second transfer was for nearly $50,000, minus transfer fees.

The documents also show that Ribero-Ayala and Jared Lopez, a partner with Roy Black's law firm in Miami, exchanged emails discussing the wire transfer. Black's firm was representing Rodriguez at the time. 

According to the document, Ribero-Ayala said she had received the money and was unaware of any reason for it. Lopez responded that the money had been sent in error, and he asked that it be returned. It was.Black's firm no longer represents Rodriguez, and Lopez could not be reached Sunday night. The documents and the statement from Ribero-Ayala's office appear to contradict earlier reports that Bosch sought to "shake down" Rodriguez for money before agreeing to cooperate with MLB's investigation in June. 

Instead, several sources familiar with the case said, investigators have said they believe Rodriguez paid for Bosch's attorney and sent the second payment in order to prevent him from providing evidence or testimony against Rodriguez.¹

The outcome of this soap opera has a long way to go and got emotionally charged Sunday night when Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Ryan Dempster hit A-Rod with a pitch after throwing behind his legs and two other pitches inside and tight. Joe Girardi was ejected for arguing after home plate umpire Brian O'Nora ignored the obvious intent of the pitches and warned both benches. A-Rod got a measure of revenge later in the game when he hit a solo home run off of Dempster.

1 - ESPN.com

A-Rod, Braun Could Be Heading for Home

Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun may be heading for home and not rounding third base to get there. T.J. Quinn, Pedro Gomez, and Mike Fish of the ESPN program Outside the Lines are reporting that Major League Baseball is looking to suspend about 20 players including Rodriguez and Braun.

Anthony Bosch, the owner of the Biogenisis anti-aging Clinic that served as a front for the distribution of performance enhancing drugs (PED), has decided to cooperate with MLB. (Shouldn't he be cooperating with law enforecement?) Of course, the burden of proof lies on MLB and speaking of lying, Bosch could certainly do that to wangle his way out of trouble.

But the biggest liars in these cases generally are the users and A-Rod and Braun can certainly spin a tale. You have to think that the Yankees knew about this since just a few days ago Brian Cashman commented on the inability of A-Rod or anyone to live up to the contract Rodriguez has.

Principle owner Hal Steinbrenner told the media that A-Rod had let the team down. He also backed off his statements a bit by stating that everyone makes mistakes and you hope they aren't repeated, etc.

It also created a bit of a debate on ESPN radio this afternoon. Stephen A. Smith called out the Yankees for commenting on Rodriguez while he's rehabbing from hip surgery. Later, Michael Kay defended the Yankees for speaking truthfully.

The sh*t is starting to hit the fan.