Box Score Beat

A-Rod: The Neverending Story

Posted on 20. Feb, 2009 by John De Petro in Sports Journalism

Contributing to Box Score Beat on the A-Rod scandal for the second time is John De Petro. De Petro graduated from the College of Staten Island in 2007 with a degree in communications/ journalism and now attends the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He describes himself as a New York fan through and through, a “Yankee fan who would rather see the Mets win than lose.” De Petro dreams of one day being paid to cover the World Series.

My right leg feels a little bit longer today than it did Monday. That’s because Alex Rodriguez was pulling it all Tuesday afternoon.

A-Rod’s press conference earlier this week raised more questions than it actually answered. And as soon as the conference was over, ESPN, the New York tabloids, and every other sports news outlet went to work. We’ve all asked the same questions and they’re beginning to get answered.

Who is this cousin he’s talking about? Yuri Sucart, of course. Rodriguez tried not  to name names and get his cuz involved, but it was only a matter of time before someone dropped the dime. It took less than a day to get that news.

What is “Boli” anyway? Primobolan. Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone back in 2003. He admitted to the Boli positive test but said nothing about the testosterone. I’m sure that confusion will be cleared up.

“Can you really get this stuff over the counter in the Dominican Republic like Rodriguez says? Apparently not. In fact you can’t even get it in the Dominican Republic at all. The country’s official who regulates pharmaceutical policy says that the drug could not be legally sold over the counter or with a prescription.

The New York Daily News sent a reporter to the D.R. to buy some steroids. But while Boli was unavailable, the reporter was able to purchase testosterone in under 2 minutes.

“What’s the next bit of information we’re all going to find out about? Well, he has been hanging out with Angel Presinal, a trainer who has been connected to steroids and banned from clubhouses by every team in the MLB. So yeah, that’s not good.

Alex Rodriguez pled ignorance. He played the “I was naive” and the “young and stupid” cards, and the media didn’t buy it. It seems as if they were right not to. Every day since A-Rod told his story, the media has done its job answering those doubts. As I type, opening day is 44 days away. As the first pitch on a new season begins, the A-Rod steroid story looks like it’s not going to end any time soon.

Rodriguez dug himself into a hole (not “A-Hole” like the New York Post would say). It’s all on him.

But with shovel in hand, sports writers are all trying to help make that hole just a little deeper.

Tags: A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, Angel Presinal, New York Yankees, Primloban, steroids, Yuri Scuart