A-ROID!!!

It's official -- everyone in major league baseball has taken steroids at one time or another. Today, A-Rod admitted he did steroids from 2001 to 2003 (no way to know if thats the actual extent of his use or not). Whether that's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, we'll probably never know, but even if true, it's hard to say what effect this had on his career -- past, present, or future. It's a little easier, however, to discuss what impact this revelation will have on his P.R. profile.

I think the way this was handled thus far has been a master stroke by A-Rod. Or, more precisely, whatever P.R./crisis management firm he employed to advise him. He didn't let the S.I. story claiming he tested positive fester for days while he looked like a fool (kind of like his recent playoff performances for the Yankees). Instead, he acted fast, came (at least relatively) clean, and shouldered the blame. Except for one weak moment, where I felt he tried to cop out by saying the pressure and the climate at the time in baseball were factors in his decision to cheat, and that he had merely been "naive", I thought he performed strongly. Given a chance to blame the player's union for keeping the samples and letting the positive hit the news, he demurred, taking all the blame himself for creating the positive sample in the first place. In short, I think he hit this situation out of the park. So, for once, A-Rod came through in the clutch.

That being said, this might be the toughest situation involving drugs any athlete has ever had to deal with. We've seen future Hall of Famers like Bonds and Clemens have to deal with the accusations towards the end of their careers. We've seen very good players like Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte admit to steroid use (though Giambi never actually said it). But we've never seen a future Hall of Famer admit to steroid use in the middle of his career. A-Rod will likely play 10 more years, and approach or break all kinds of records. How will fans deal with this? Like Bonds, he's not the most adored superstar out there -- even by his own home fans. Speaking of Yanks fans, how do you think they'll react to A-Rod coming to the plate at the new Yankee Stadium on opening day? I think it's safe to say there will be at least a few boos.

But how will fans as a whole react? I'd imagine somewhere between Bonds/Clemens, who are pariahs outside their long-time fans, local area and small circle of friends, and Pettitte/Giambi, who continue to play with nary a boo or steroid chant to be heard when they take the field. But which side will it lean towards? I'll say closer to the Pettitte/Giambi treatment, though it could be a little rocky at first. I think the first few times around the league, he'll hear quite a few boos and chants, and see some embarrassing signs -- and not just about Madonna. But within a few years, people will concentrate more on how good he still is (presumably without drugs, but you can't assume anything anymore -- he could be on any number of untestable drugs), and how he at least admitted it, which is what everyone claims Bonds and Clemens (and Pete Rose before them) should've done. You can't say dirty players should just come clean, then refuse to forgive someone who does just that (presumably).

As he said himself in the interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons, he's got a 14-year sample to show what he's done without steroids (presumably) -- the five he's already had, and the nine more he's got on his Yankee contract. But A-Rod has been called "A-Fraud" before these whispers of his steroid use even began. He's been hated for his lack of clutchness, his selfishness, his pretty boy persona, etc. How will this affect that? Will it slow the forgiveness? Stop it altogether? Or will this, along with his admission he's been selfish and immature up until this point, open people up to him? As crazy as it seems, there is an outside possibility this could be just the thing to personalize A-Rod to people. To be perfectly honest, I actually like A-Rod more today than I did yesterday. Not by much, but just a little bit. That's all he needs -- for people to soften towards him ever so slightly. Even if it takes years. In this case, I think A-Rod has time on his side.