The added games are for “obstruction of justice”, not malice or statement-making. And the “verdict” was in fact reached according to the collective bargaining agreement, to which the rule of law you referred to does give great deference.
And for the conclusion that he used three different drugs.
Under baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, either side can fire the independent arbitrator and the two sides have to agree on the replacement. So if the MLBPA is unhappy with Horowitz’s decision in this appeal, I believe they can fire him.
Fifty games is the set penalty in the CBA for failing a PED drug test under the current drug testing regime. That is not what Rodriguez has been suspended for.
Nope
If you have an employee who broke the rules to your benefit and you wanted to suspend him (i.e. it was not serious enough to warrant termination), would you listen to a demand that you should have to still pay his salary to some charity?
Zev Steinhardt
No, the arbitrator specifically stated only 12 games were for ‘obstruction’.
Well, what was he suspended for then?
Note that according to
[QUOTE=MLB Joint Drug Agreement]
A player who tests positive for a Performance Enhancing Substance, or otherwise violates the Program through the possession or use of a Performance Enhancing Substance, will be subject to the discipline set forth below. 1. First violation: 50-game suspension; 2. Second violation: 100-game suspension; 3. Third violation: Permanent suspension from Major League and Minor League Baseball.
[/QUOTE]
Under the agreement, a 50 game penalty is not specified solely for a failed drug test, but for any other violation.
So, yeah, I still maintain that this penalty is ridiculously beyond what any fair reading of the established agreement would give, and that A-Rod is the unfair target of MLB finding a sufficiently unliked scapegoat.
Again, just thinking about him makes my skin crawl, but unlikable people are exactly when we need to follow rules of law. Popular, likeable, people don’t get lynched or burned as witches.
50 games multiplied by three violations equals…
Less than he got?
I agree with Quercus. This is a huge over-reach by MLB, and I’m stunned that the Players Association isn’t freaking out about it. If the League can apply an essentially arbitrary punishment to a player like Alex Rodriguez, nothing stops them from making up equally arbitrary punishments to future players.
3 X 50 = 150. 150 + 12 (for “obstruction”) = 162.
There are a couple of different reasons for that. They may not be as organized as they have been in the past, they’ve lost interest in defending cheaters, and A-Rod is A-Rod (he is now suing them!).
It’s not arbitrary. The 50/100/lifetime sequence is for failure of separate tests. Long-term PED use is treated differently. All of this is provided for in the CBA.
He was suspended on two counts:
-
“Use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years.”
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“Attempting to cover up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation.”
Pete Rose got his ass thrown out of baseball pretty effectively.
The people paying him and the people suspending him are two separate entities. If I had a business regulated by a higher authority, and I had an employee who broke the rules and reaped me gobs of money - I might expect that authority to fine me in addition to suspending the license of my employee,
This came up a while back amongst my friends, when there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth after Peralta signed his new contract after coming off a cheating suspension. I casually remarked I wondered how much a team would be willing to sign someone for if they were on the hook for the salary if the player were suspended again.
Maybe the Arod situation is so unique - a team greatly benefiting from the salary relief - that nothing needs to change. I just think the team employing a cheater should share in the pain a little. Or little more than just being w/out his services, and not having to pay for those services, for however many games,
And the players begin to speak. Apparently, there was discussion about kicking A-Fuck out of the MLBPA, but turns out that’s not possible. Still, the players are NOT happy.
We’ll see how it plays out, but A-Rod has managed to fuck up his relationship with the one group of people that should have been on his side. Doesn’t bode well for him…
I saw the thread title and was trying to remember who poster ARod was, what he/she had done, and why this was in the Game Room and not ATMB…
Good.
He’s dropped the lawsuit. Of course his reasons for doing so are predictably hilarious:
Yes. Teams will be lining up to hire him as a representative after he retires.
Remember he is rich enough to be eccentric and not just crazy.
The odds may be long, but if ARod somehow finds a way to come back* in 2015 and contribute to one more NY Yankee World Championship, Yankee fans will embrace him, give him a plaque in Monument Park, retire his number, and make him a YES staple in his retirement. It’s all about winning in the Bronx, and the typical Yankee fan doesn’t give a crap about how you do it.
Of course, if ARod stinks in 2015, Yankee fans will be asking the new commissioner to void his contract and ban him for life.
Being a Yankee fan, I don’t think so. Even after the 2009 championship in which he participated, I don’t think there was a huge amount of enthusiasm for A-Rod (especially compared to the “core four” of Jeter, Posada, Petitte, and Rivera). Even if he contributes to another championship, his overall legacy with the Yankees will be seen as disappointing compared to the expectations when he was signed.
Like Rodriquez is any different from Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz and countless other P.E.D. users on Boston’s championship teams.
“Boston Strong” comes complete with a syringe kit and acne cream.
$10 million in “anticipated” legal fees is grossly inflated or he’s being quoted ridiculous amounts by lawyers taking advantage of his wealth. Lawyers at that level are expensive, sure, but a million bucks will get you a lot of very good lawyering.