Say it Ain't So, Alex

[MFS62]

According to ESPN Radio this morning, The NY Daily News has learned that A-Rod has been cautioned by MLB not to frequent "illegal after hours poker clubs". The report went on to say that the Yankees have not discussed the matter with him yet.

Thoughts?

Later

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I hope he gets taken for a few million every night.

[Guest KC]

Gee, I wonder if someone can get some action on sporting events too at
a late night poker club? How end-all hillarious would it be if Arod's career
abruptly ended because he's tied to some kind of gambling thing?

[MFS62]

Was he ever quoted as saying that Pete Rose was his boyhood idol?

Later

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

You know what really fucking pisses me off about AHole's run as a Yankee, and this is the latest

The fact that all those Wally Mathews/Tom Keegan/Don LaGreca/Michael Kay types who are still pissed at the Wilpons for the 24/7 conpiracy theories, (Including not going after ARod because it would drive up the price of the buyout from Doubleday) for having Phillips be the fall guy for it all (Phillips now seems to be a chief ARod Ass kisser on ESPN) would be trashing the guy for being the latest Bobby Bonilla

Hell if ARod was a Met right now they'd be wondering why ARod isn't off the team right now because of the fucking vaunted Wilpon "We want character guys"

The media loves sucking the cock out the the guy in other cities, I mean how many media types were imploring that the Mets SHOULD sign Carlos Beltran a year ago. It was like Beltran was Omar's ARod despite the fact that Beltran's career suggested that he wasn't anywhere fucking close to what that cocksucking agent of his was asking for. Yeah Beltran is our ARod, if you want to call us Tom Hicks!

Well now they are the same pieces of trash ripping the guy for a bad season, ripping the guy for the earplugs in Houston,

The media loves to have their fucking cake and eat it too. So can alot of the fans who call up radio stations and send letters to newspapers.

Fuck them all

[Guest KC]

No need to sugar coat it!

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

Oh and a nice FUCK YOU ALL to all those fans/Michael Kay/Max Kellerman ARod gushers who all but guaranteed that ARod was winning a Gold Glove. Cause Eric Chavez is your 2005 AL Gold Glove winner

[Elster88]

I'm not going to say "Poor ARod" because the guy is rich. But it's amazing that he made the front page for playing poker underground. I mean really, who gives a shit?
_____________________________
This post had the designation 132) Dennis Ribant

[Elster88]

]Wally Mathews/Tom Keegan/Don LaGreca/Michael Kay types who are still pissed at the Wilpons for the 24/7 conpiracy theories,

I didn't realize this is was still a major topic of conversation. Here's a tip though: Don't listen to morons on the radio. That and switch to decaf.

[MFS62]

what's the 24/7 conspiracytheory?
I don't remember that term in reference to A-Rod.
Did you mean the 24-1 theory , that meant he wasn't part of the 25 man team?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

]'m not going to say "Poor ARod" because the guy is rich. But it's amazing that he made the front page for playing poker underground. I mean really, who gives a shit?

1) Len Dykstra came within a hair of getting suspended for a season for virtually the same thing. But he sat down and confessed everything.

2) The law is the law.

3) Most natural proces in the world would be: (a) A-Rod, knowing he has strong cash flow, starts playing huge stakes; ( after a few nights of bad judgment fueled by drink, finds he's in the red an amount even he, and his accountant, can notice --- $10 mills perhaps; © Fat Tony takes him aside, tells A-Rodthat he likes him and respects him and he's sorry about all the bread A-Rod owes him, and offers to wipe the slate clean if A-Rod could keep his average under .200 in the playoff series. "I mean, Alex, even you can have slump."

[metirish]

Plus the fact that he's playing in illegal underground poker rooms, not very smart but I suppose that's where the real money is won and lost....and lest we forget A-Dog is a role model.....yawn

[Elster88]

]1) Len Dykstra came within a hair of getting suspended for a season for virtually the same thing. But he sat down and confessed everything.

So ARod can apologize and he won't get suspended. Fine. I still don't care.

]2) The law is the law.

Wow, ARod is breaking the law by playing poker. I'm going to quit my weekly poker game too, because, shit, the law is the law. Apologies for the over-the-top sarcasm. But really, lots of peeps break the law playing poker.
(It's not the players who usually get in trouble, it's the guys who run the game and rake the pot. That's why a house game usually won't be busted, because the house isn't making money. That, and the piddling stakes.)

]3) Most natural proces in the world would be: (a) A-Rod, knowing he has strong cash flow, starts playing huge stakes; ( after a few nights of bad judgment fueled by drink, finds he's in the red an amount even he, and his accountant, can notice --- $10 mills perhaps; (c) Fat Tony takes him aside, tells A-Rodthat he likes him and respects him and he's sorry about all the bread A-Rod owes him, and offers to wipe the slate clean if A-Rod could keep his average under .200 in the playoff series. "I mean, Alex, even you can have slump."

This is very funny and I got a laugh out of it, but I think it's quite a stretch to say this is the most natural process in the world. Yeah it could happen, but there are a lot of assumptions in this bullet that are based on the fact that ARod likes to play poker. And his name is Tony No-Nose, not Fat Tony.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

MLB wants to avoid that "slippery slope."

I'll admit that it's unlikely that Alex Rodriguez would run up a debt that he couldn't cover, that may not be true of lower paid players. And you can't really have a policy of looking the other way for players with 8-digit salaries and cracking down on players with mere 7-digit salaries.

[Guest KC]

Elster has Rodriguez on his roto team. Don't you?

I'm sure if all this can be proven (that Alex is indeed hanging out it in illegal
establishments, not that he's on Elster's roto team) that he's in direct conflict
with his contract and in the rules of the Player's Association and MLB.

It will be interesting to see if there's fire beyond The Posts' exclusive smoke.

[Elster88]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I'll admit that it's unlikely that Alex Rodriguez would run up a debt that he couldn't cover, that may not be true of lower paid players. And you can't really have a policy of looking the other way for players with 8-digit salaries and cracking down on players with mere 7-digit salaries.

True, but who else are they cracking down on? To me, this is just more of the "We hate ARod" stuff.

[Elster88]

KC wrote: Elster has Rodriguez on his roto team. Don't you?

Haha, nope. I guess this is a fair assumption to make. I defend a guy so I must have him on my roto team. How do you make that roll-eyes smiley work? BTW, this is the offseason, I don't have any roto teams right now.

I realize I come off as a huge ARod-defender. I just think it's weird that everyone hates him. But I guess he's rich and the girls love him, so people get jealous (BTW, I'm not referring to anyone on this board in particular, here, I'm guessing most CPFers hate him for his Yankee-germs).

I would have done pretty much everything he did that people hate him for:
A) Taken the huge money
Tried to weasel onto a contender when I realized my team sucked. No one remembers that he was willing to give up (not defer, but give up) money to play for the Sawx. He still would have had well into 9 figures, but how many other players would have done that?
C) Tried to slap the ball out of that guy's glove and then made the "who-me?" face.

All right, c is a lie, I wouldn't have done that. But people bitch about ARod way too much. If you want to hate someone, hate a prick like Sheffield or Bonds.

]I'm sure if all this can be proven (that Alex is indeed hanging out it in illegal establishments, not that he's on Elster's roto team) that he's in direct conflict with his contract and in the rules of the Player's Association and MLB.

The success of rate of my roto teams makes me wonder if there is a clause in players' contracts prohibiting them from being on my team.

[Guest KC]

I try not to hate, but if I do it's not because of girls, money, or jealousy.

It's because he's a Yankee. It's all gonna work out in the end, the poor
post seasons, stuff like this gambling thing ... crap eventually sinks.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]This is very funny and I got a laugh out of it, but I think it's quite a stretch to say this is the most natural process in the world.

It's happened more than you care to think about and still does all over the world. MLB goes to painstaking lengths to keep their players and coaches --- all of them, not just A-Rod --- from consorting in any way with illegal gamblers. Heck, they effectively banned Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle for life for merely working as casino greeters and consorting with legal gamblers.

And the gamblers too go to painstaking lengths to get their claws into professional athletes.

And, yes, very rich people can run up enough debt to hurt themselves. Michael Jordan did. Apparently Cecil Fielder wiped himself out.

And Dykstra didn't just apologize. He had to sing, name names, square his dept, and break off his associations.

[Elster88]

KC wrote: I try not to hate, but if I do it's not because of girls, money, or jealousy. It's because he's a Yankee. It's all gonna work out in the end, the poor post seasons, stuff like this gambling thing ... crap eventually sinks.

Yeah, I edited my post to say I figured this was why most CPFers don't feel the love for ARod.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't have anything personal against him.

[Elster88]

Edgy DC wrote: ]This is very funny and I got a laugh out of it, but I think it's quite a stretch to say this is the most natural process in the world. It's happened more than you care to think about and still does all over the world..

It's not that I don't care to think about it, I just think it's a stretch to assume this will happen to ARod. But if MLB wants their stars to keep their noses clean, more power to them. I still don't see why the Post chose to put a picture of ARod and poker chips on their front page. I guess so internet message boards would have something to talk about.

]And Dykstra didn't just apologize. He had to sing, name names, square his dept, and break off his associations.

Ouch. I'm glad Nicky the Lip didn't get to Lenny after he sang like a canary.

Edit: Post, Daily News. Same difference.

[Guest silverdsl]

I think the Yankees are right to talk to A-Rod. There is nothing wrong with playing poker and in a perfect world this would get zero attention because he's just doing something that countless others do. However, he's one of the most popular players in baseball and everything he does is going to be under extra scrutiny. In addition, when it comes to a subject like gambling which is probably as touchy as steroids to MLB considering that it relates to the integrity of the game, then the media, MLB, and some fans are going to cast a harsher eye on anything that even remotely looks like it could be or could turn into something inappropriate even if in reality everything is perfectly legal and above board. Why put himself in this kind of a position and run the risk of having to deal with negative publicity like he is now? He's going to places that are getting raided by the police. Just gamble in Las Vegas (as he's done recently) and play poker with his buddies at home or somewhere where it's legal to have a poker establishment.

[Guest sharpie]

]I still don't see why the Post chose to put a picture of ARod and poker chips on their front page.

Well, the Daily News had Camilla Parker-Bowles on the cover so they must've felt they had to go in a different direction.

[Guest Rotblatt]

]Sources familiar with A-Rod's thinking have told the Daily News that he did quite well in the first 162 hands of Texas Hold 'Em before a series of colossal blunders in the final 11 hands put him $20M in the hole. In the penultimate hand, A-Rod had a chance to regain his winnings, needing a Jack or a King from the flop to complete a royal straight and win a staggering $200M pot. Luck, however, was not in the cards for the star third baseman, as the dealer instead turned over the Queen of Clubs. A-Rod was left holding a pair of queens--not nearly enough to best the full house his opponent from Boston drew. In a move widely reviled by the illegal gambling circuit, A-Rod responded to the flop by slapping the dealer's hand, leaping to his feet, and signaling that he had won the match. In a related story, a new game "Texas Fold 'Em," in which the first player to acquire and exchange the Queen of Clubs wins, is rapidly becoming a fan favorite in New York. While its origins are in Seattle, Texas gamling clubs popularized this innovative new game.

-The Rotblatt Daily News

[Elster88]

silverdsl wrote: Just gamble in Las Vegas (as he's done recently) and play poker with his buddies at home or somewhere where it's legal to have a poker establishment.

Excellent point. Though I doubt his buddies have the $$$ to play with him.

He probably just wanted to play somewhere closer to home. Or maybe Famke Jannssen works at the club he plays at. Or maybe he likes hanging out with gangsters. They can be funny.

Yeah, the Yankees could have a chat with them.
George: You playing poker in illegal places?
ARod: Yeah
George: Will you take me with you?

But should the newspapers have a chat with him? The Daily News is in the habit of policing baseball players, so this is right up their alley.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]It's not that I don't care to think about it, I just think it's a stretch to assume this will happen to ARod.

It's not that they or I assume it will happen. The mere possibility that it will happen is enough to threaten the sport.

]But if MLB wants their stars to keep their noses clean, more power to them.

Their stars, their scrubs and everyone in between. Just don't go thinking Rodriguez is being singled out.

]I still don't see why the Post chose to put a picture of ARod and poker chips on their front page. I guess so internet message boards would have something to talk about.

Well, then, your beef is with The Post. Get in line.

[Elster88]

="Edgy DC"]Their stars, their scrubs and everyone in between. Just don't go thinking Rodriguez is being singled out.

ARod is singled out all the time, every day.

="Edgy DC"] ]I still don't see why the Post chose to put a picture of ARod and poker chips on their front page. I guess so internet message boards would have something to talk about. Well, then, your beef is with The Post. Get in line.

I think it was the News actually. My beef is with people who hate and cry and shout for no reason. (Again, not necessarily anyone here, Yankee-ness is a perfectly legitimate reason to hate.)

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

There's a limit to how much I'll dis A-Rod, because I stick to the policy of giving a break to guys who are good to my kids. Through his management agency, A-Rod sent autographed photos to MK's Cub Scout den when the kids engaged in a letter writing project, so I don't dump on him as much as I would otherwise.

Captain Intangibles never replied, so he's fair game in our household.

[Guest KC]

So Rodriguez has a bigger staff than Jeter, big deal. You let your Cubs
write to MFY's? Mrs. Fields' stock plummets ... details at eleven.