Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014 season and postseason
By Hayden Kane
The arbitrator in the Alex Rodriguez case has handed down his decision.
Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 2014 regular season and postseason. Per Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports:
In many ways MLB’s case wasn’t that strong when they initially suspended him for 211 games. As such, to still get a full season seems to be a win for them, as multiple writers have noted in their reactions to the news.
162 games? Probably has to be considered a win for MLB.
— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) January 11, 2014
162 games for ARod is a huge win for MLB.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) January 11, 2014
While MLB celebrates loudly, it might be the New York Yankees who are celebrating a bit more quietly. They will not be saddled with A-Rod’s contract or his drama as they try to get back on track in 2014.
Yankees save ~$27M on luxury tax hit, or the same amount the Angels will have paid Vernon Wells to play for other teams in 2013-2014
— Jason Collette 🗣️ (@jasoncollette) January 11, 2014
As for A-Rod, his camp has issued the following statement:
For a time, it actually looked like A-Rod might have a case that the deck was stacked against him unfairly. But with this decision, those cries will be nothing more than whimpers. An appeal in a courtroom is still a remedy available to A-Rod if he wants to pursue it, but his odds of the arbitrator being overruled there are not good.
For now, it looks like A-Rod will finally have to go away, at least for one year.