Alex Rodriguez plans to appeal his 211-game suspension.

By Amy McGinnis

I’m sure you’ve all read that Alex Rodriguez plans to appeal his suspension that is set to last through the 2014 season.  That sounds like a waste of a lot of people’s time, if you ask me, but I don’t make decisions for him.  A-Rod will be 40 at the end of his suspension (if he serves it), and he has been a giant disappointment for the Yankees of late … can’t we just call it what it really is? Rodriguez is done.  Somewhere, Pete Rose is placing a wager on whether or not MLB wises up and bans Rodriguez altogether.

Of the thirteen suspended players, Alex Rodriguez earned himself the heftiest suspension.  Why is that? Why did the other twelve each get a 50-game suspension, when Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games?  The answer is easy: A-Rod tested positive for PED use just like the other twelve players, but he also lied and obstructed the Biogenesis investigation.  Rodriguez is in the middle of his ten-year contract, of which he is still owed about  $96 million (the contract runs through 2017).  If his suspension remains intact, the Yankees will save roughly $34.2 million.  It’s pretty bad when your team’s fans want you gone.  Adrianne Apgar, a diehard Yanks fan, says, “His career is over any way you slice it.” Personally, I hope that MLB uses Rodriguez as an example, and if I were Bud Selig, I’d come down on A-Rod like the hammer of Thor.

There’s one other interesting difference that I’ve found – Alex Rodriguez is the only suspended player who was born in the United States.  The other twelve were all born in either Venezuela, Nicaragua, or the Dominican Republic.  In all of Major League Baseball, 24% of players were born in Latin American countries.  I’m not implying anything; I just find it interesting.

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Amy McGinnis, AmyMac, suspension, TalkSportsPhilly