The Media Needs to Give A-Rod A-Break

Earlier today A-Rod was speaking with members of the media. When discussing the steroids and HGH he said had been tested "9 or 10 times" last season. That's a lot of testing, and if he were tested that many time it would probably indicate that there was a problem. I guess he was probably just exaggerating to make a point.

The AP, via MSG.com, which also speculated that he may had been exaggerating, had this to say:

Rodriguez could have been exaggerating about the amount of tests, he could have been selected for an unusually high number of checks or he might have dropped a clue to something else.

Under baseball's drug-testing rules, players are tested at least twice: within five days of arriving at spring training and again at a randomly picked unannounced date. There also are 600 additional random tests throughout the major leagues, of which as many as 60 may be conducted during the offseason.

If Rodriguez's statement was correct, that means he was selected repeatedly for the random tests. Another possible explanation is that he tested positive for a stimulant, which would have subjected him to six additional unannounced tests over the following year.

If you are aware that he could have been exaggerating, and if you know how many tests most major leaguers take in a given year, then why not just give the man the benefit of the doubt? They would have if this had been Derek Jeter, or Mariano Rivera, that's for sure.

Today Jeter said he “missed (Joe Torre) when we were running. We haven’t run that much in the past.”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this statement. He obviously meant it as a joke, and everyone understood that. However, if this had been A-Rod I can assure you that within 20 minutes someone would have written an article about how A-Rod is lazy and doesn't want to run.

Due to the fact that members of the media are trying to make his life a living hell, and ran with this story like it was some sort of big deal, he was sadly forced to issue a statement:

"My quote from earlier today was taken literally. I was not tested nine or 10 times last year. I was just using exaggeration to make a point," Rodriguez said in a statement through Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo.

"My intent was simply to shed light on the fact that the current program being implemented is working, and a reason for that is through frequent testing. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused."

Alex, here's some advice, don't speak to the media. If you do, say as little as humanly possible. For the most part they will never treat you fairly, twist everything you say, and never give you the benefit of the doubt.