As the Major League Baseball season heads into its final month, several teams will be jockeying for a playoff position as every club that is close to a playoff spot will be playing each game with something on the line.
Players, coaches and umpires will affect the outcome of games, which could be the difference between a team ending its season on the last day of the regular season or continuing into the postseason. The New York Yankees of the American League East as of Monday were only 7 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the division and only 3 1/2 games out of the wildcard spot, which goes to the team with the best record that didn’t win its division. The Yankees are playing better baseball during the past two weeks with players such as Alfonso Soriano returning to the lineup after battling an injury, but one player’s return isn’t fair and MLB should act quickly to remove him.
MLB suspended Alex Rodriguez, who missed April, May, June and July due to an injury, for 211 games at the beginning of August for his involvement with Biogenesis in Florida, an organization that was known to give athletes banned substances to increase their playing abilities. Rodriguez was one of several players suspended for violating MLB’s drug policy, but he is the only one to appeal the decision. The other players accepted their punishments and are sitting out their games.
Rodriguez ”“ who isn’t denying his association with Biogenesis ”“ isn’t appealing to have the suspension thrown out: He is appealing to have the suspension reduced. He has the right to appeal, per the baseball’s union guidelines, but MLB decided it wouldn’t hear the appeal until the end of this season, including through the playoffs. That means a player who broke rules and cheated will be allowed to play for the rest of the season, and potentially change a team’s fate along the way, and that shouldn’t be allowed.
MLB should immediately hear the appeal and make its final decision. Rodriguez, 38, will most likely sit out all of next season after his appeal is heard, but he should also be sitting out now. It’s absurd that MLB officials will allow this media circus to continue.
Many players have stated to the media that they don’t feel it’s right that Rodriguez is continuing to play, which is a change in demeanor from just 10 years ago when baseball players didn’t violate the unspoken rule of talking about players who had been suspended for being found to violate the drug policy.
Earlier this month, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster deliberately hit Rodriguez with a pitch, and MLB suspended Dempster for five games. Dempster immediately accepted the suspension. The aftermath was coated in irony as people joked that MLB suspended Dempster for plunking a suspended player who should not even be playing right now.
Rodriguez’s situation has also become the baseball story of the summer, unfortunately, in a year when the Pittsburgh Pirates have awoken from a 23-year slumber and are battling the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Central title; The Los Angeles Dodgers have gone 40-9 since the All-Star break to lead the NL West by 9 1/2 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks; and the Red Sox, one of the worst teams in baseball in 2012, are on the verge of winning the pennant, but are in a tightly contested race with the Tampa Bay Rays. All great stories, and they have been told, but not like the Rodriguez story, which continues to brew hotly as the dog days of August near a close, overshadowing these noteworthy achievements. For that, MLB should be ashamed.
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Today’s editorial was written by Sports Editor Al Edwards on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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