Banks began foreclosure proceedings on Yuri Sucart's Miami home and three South Florida rental properties in the months after Rodriguez's Feb. 17 news conference.
Perhaps even more disturbing for Sucart, who spent the past 15 years as A-Rod's anonymous go-fer, his rich and famous cousin dragged him out of the shadows and turned him into another steroid sidekick, much like Roger Clemens' former trainer, Brian McNamee, and Barry Bonds' boyhood friend Greg Anderson.
Unlike McNamee and Anderson, professional trainers who worked with world-class athletes for years, Sucart is not a fitness guru - he's a pudgy middle-aged man who suffers from lower back pain and other health problems. Rodriguez has a history of letting others take the blame for his blunders - agent Scott Boras, for for example, took the rap after Rodriguez announced in the middle of the 2007 World Series that he was opting out of his contract with the Yankees. But the idea that an elite ballplayer like A-Rod would use performance-enhancing drugs based on the recommendation of a cousin who spent the past decade laying out his clothes and making dinner reservations strains credibility, and [Sucart's attorney John] Ruiz says it was not right for Rodriguez to drag Sucart into his steroid scandal.I never understood why A-Rod would drag this poor fool into his steroid scandal. He could have accomplished just as much without mentioning him. There's a lot more in the story about A-Rod and Sucart and Surcart's many problems.
- Anthony McCarron sees a future battle brewing between the Yankees and Red Sox for the services of Aroldis Chapman. Here's what one baseball executive told him:
"He is an extremely talented guy," says one baseball executive who has seen Chapman pitch. "My bet is that it'll come down to the Yankees and Red Sox, like it always does now. Most of us believe that. To them, it's only money.There was also this quote from a Latin American scouting coordinator:
"And I think the Yankees will get him. They can give him a big-league contract over five years for $20 million and they don't even feel that."
"Aroldis is special. He doesn't have the command and control of Strasburg, but he could end up being another Randy Johnson. When Randy was drafted, some people said he'd never get it together and be any good. Aroldis is one of those great talents that comes around and you hope he eventually grows up enough to master it."- Chad Jennings is reporting that former Yankees minor league pitcher Jose Valdez was signed by the Astros and added to their 40-man roster.
“The Valdez kid threw well last season, and he’s lighting up the Dominican Winter League,” Houston GM Ed Wade told mlb.com. “We had a couple of guys see him down there and they felt this kid had a chance to be a real significant contributor to the back end of the bullpen. We gave him a roster spot as a Minor League free agent, which is a rarity.”
- Looking way ahead, Josh Johnson's days in Florida look like they will end when he can become a free agent after the 2011 season. The Marlins apparently don't want to go long-term and will instead go year-to-year. So who would you rather sign in 2011? Felix Hernandez? Johnson? Both? I'd go with King Felix, but Johnson isn't a bad backup plan.
- And here's a clip of Paul O'Neill in Seinfeld that I found over on the YES boards. Not really relevant, but still funny.
Besides that, discuss whatever you'd like.
