The Alex Rodriguez Interview

Well, he admitted it. The greatest player of our, or possibly any generation used performance enhancing drugs. Below I have posted just a few thoughts I had after getting to watch the interview, conducted by Peter Gammons, in its entirety. If you have not had the chance to watch the whole interview, ESPN has posted the full transcript.

• In my opinion, Rodriguez did a commendable job. Not only did he cop to the use of a banned substance in 2003, he offered up the fact that he was also using in 2001 and 2002. Though he will be reviled throughout the baseball community, and rightfully so, A-Rod has admitted more than any other player that has been caught using PEDs. Barry Bonds will soon be in jail for perjuring himself on the subject. Roger Clemens has attempted to fight Brian McNamee's claims head-on, despite new findings of DNA evidence. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire have fallen off the face of the earth. Rafael Palmeiro, after the most famous "point" in baseball since Babe Ruth in the 1932 World Series, blamed Miguel Tejada for giving him a tainted supplement. Even Andy Pettitte, our Lord and Savior, hid behind injury as a "reason" for using illegal substances. Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate, and admitted that he succumbed to pressure. Not hard to believe after Yankee fans have watched him fold under pressure for years.
• He was wearing a beautiful Rolex Daytona. Though this was not what many would deem an important part of the interview, I like watches.
• Peter Gammons did a horrific job. Though history will revere Gammons as a Hall of Fame journalist (and world-class Red Sox whore), the ball was clearly dropped on this interview. Gammons let A-Rod off the hook repeatedly, completely abandoning the use of the follow-up question. Rodriguez answered every question put in front of him, but Gammons did not go off script at all. When A-Rod said that he did not remember where he got the drugs or even what he took, should he not have been taken to task for that ignorance?
• A-Rod showed a side that the public had not seen before. He showed emotion, approaching tears at times, and made multiple statement tarnishing the image that he has been so conscious of for the last 15 years. He admitted to being weak and giving into the pressures of the large contract that he received prior to 2001. All of a sudden, even though he will be killed for this all over the press, the American publis may actually have more to identify with in the case of Alex Rodriguez.
• His lips were perfect. Plump, full, and glossy.
• Like everything that Alex Rodriguez has done since he was eighteen years old, this interview was premeditated. There were points when he seemed more human, but the fact is that this was all scripted. It seems that even when he says the right things, they don't seem genuine.
• Rodriguez still refuses to admit any conversations with Jose Canseco on the subject of steroids. I am not going to pretend that I know anything about the interaction between the two men, but one would have to be an idiot to think that Canseco just made a bunch of stuff up about a bunch of players and it all just happened to be true.
• Fact: if he hits .300/.400/.600 this year and the Yankees win a ring, nobody will give a flying sh*t.