Alex Rodriguez Goes with Classic Misdirection Technique, Tells MLB Investigator He's "Full of Shit"
The A-Rod saga took another strange turn today.
During Day 12 of the hearing to determine if his 211-game suspension will be overturned by Major League Baseball, A-Rod stormed out when he learned that Bud Selig wouldn’t have to testify about MLB’s shady and potentially illegal tactics used in their effort to make an example out of him.
A person familiar with the session said that after [arbiter] Horowitz made his ruling, the New York Yankees third baseman slammed a table, uttered a profanity at MLB Chief Operating Officer Rob Manfred and left. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because what takes place at the hearing is supposed to be confidential.
“I am disgusted with this abusive process, designed to ensure that the player fails,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I have sat through 10 days of testimony by felons and liars, sitting quietly through every minute, trying to respect the league and the process.”
“This morning, after Bud Selig refused to come in and testify about his rationale for the unprecedented and totally baseless punishment he hit me with, the arbitrator selected by MLB and the players’ association refused to order Selig to come in and face me. The absurdity and injustice just became too much. I walked out and will not participate any further in this farce.”
“This is ridiculous!” Rodriguez is said to have shouted after Horowitz issued his ruling shortly before noon.
Rodriguez then pointed a finger at Manfred, who directed MLB’s investigation into the Biogenesis clinic suspected of being a source of illegal performance-enhancing drugs for ballplayers, and said “You know you’re full of s—!”
Rodriguez’s attorneys David Cornwell and Jordan Siev remained in the hearing room and entered into the record that they believe the hearing is “an unfair process,” according to a source.
It was unclear whether the hearing will continue.
Wow. A-Rod going with a variation of Ryan Braun’s misdirection technique. Sure, their tactics may have varied – A-Rod with flash bangs, Braun with a self-righteousy-outrage press conference on a pitcher’s mound to ruin a man’s life – but the end goal is the same: turn the attention on the accusers and away from the mountain of evidence against themselves.
It (temporarily) worked for Braun, but A-Rod will stand to lose a lot if it doesn’t work for him. If his 211-game suspension is upheld, it’ll cost him $32 million.
