As long as his name remains in the memory of the public, Alex Rodriguez - A-Rods name will forever be associated with steroids. The public loves a hero downfall story, and the nasty beating that A-Rod received from the mouths of critics and fans is a good indication of this. Only a few compassionate fans will probably look beyond the ghastly image of a cheating drug-user in A-Rod. But then again, the public memory is short and they can be forgiving (with a good publicist, anything is possible).

Only a few people were in the mood to be understanding and tolerating when A-Rod gave a justification for his steroid use. In February, he said that the steroids were only to give him a dramatic energy boost. He earnestly believed that he needed the steroids back in 2001 when he was 25 years old. Today, with a repaired hip and a birthday next month that brings him closer to senior citizen in baseball terms, it is unfathomable how A-Rod will get his edge back and play in the level that the Yankees require without performance enhancers to help him. Perhaps to address this problem, A-Rod was given two days off, which he admitted that he needed to medical personnel and the front office.

This June, A-Rod had a .288 slugging percentage as the cleanup hitter, with one home run in 18 games away from the Yankee Stadium. After coming off the list of disabled players, A-Rod said that he was ready to play all 38 games but with his performance in the last games so far, it is clear that he is struggling to fulfill his insistence. It seems that A-Rod is also hiding something about his health or his capability.

Until the All-Star break, Rodriguez will be taking one game off for every week. Cody Ransom is supposed to be A-Rods backup since he will be coming off the disabled list this week, which is a better option than Angel Berroa. After their loss Sunday, Rodriguez said that they will take this month and regroup, and after every 10 days, regroup again. He said that the idea was for him to get a little stronger each month; he believed that his injury is healing and getting better but that it was all new ground for him, that he has never been down that road before.

His return last May did help push the standings of the Yankees upwards but his disability may just as equally have contributed to their losses. Peaking at 34-23 in early June, the Yankees took two of three from the Boston Mets. In their next two series, they lost the last two after winning one against both Florida and Washington. Behind the Red Sox, the Yankees stand four games in the American League East. Manager Joe Girardi is hopeful, however, saying that they were a better team than they have played the last two weeks. They got 11 games over and they have dropped a few from those games.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS