Japanese Whaling Is Fun as Hell

Scandinavian whaling? Not so much. Frankly, those whales don't stand a chance. There only hope is radical green peace militants out for blood. But what does this have to do with the Yankees? Nothing. But if one anonymous commenter wants a Japanese whaling post, who am I to deny him/her?

But on to the Yankees...

I've been thinking about A-Rod, as I often do (who doesn't?), and the fact that he still hasn't spoken with Scott Boras. Now, for all I know, Boras is giving him a massage right now, but at least publicly A-Rod has been very careful to separate himself from Boras. A-Rod has played the whole opt-out debacle very intelligently. He's managed to cast Boras as the villain to the tune of (at least) $275M. Instead of being universally maligned in Yankee Land he's more or less been accepted (there will always be people who won't like him, you know, on account of all the home runs and RBIs and solid defense at third, but for the most part, he's a Yankee).

A-Rod has been very intelligent about the way he has presented himself in the media since the opt-out. Similarly, Andy Pettitte may be the least tarnished PED user ever. And all he had to do was tell the truth at a deposition! He held a press conference, was sincere (though frankly, I think Pettitte probably sounds sincere even when he's insincere, so it's hard to know for sure), and now all is forgotten. The fans aren't holding it against him and that's all one can hope for.

These are two interesting examples when you consider Roger Clemens. He's really blown it as far as addressing this PED situation. Now, if he really didn't do it (which strains credulity) then I feel bad for the guy, because no matter how passionate his denials he is a cheater in the eyes of millions. But if he did do it, just fess up. Don't drag this out, file law suits, drag your "friend" Andy into all this during a season when he should be helping the team you have claimed you'd like to represent if/when you go to the hall. I don't know if there was a right way for Clemens to go about the post Mitchell Report situation, but if there is he is not even close. I suspect, however, that if he makes the hall in a few years (and I still think he will), all will be forgotten. As long as he doesn't bring it up in the induction speech. Just look at Pete Rose, everyone knows he cheats, but no one not in the press thinks he should be banned from baseball for life. Charlie Hustle is still a hero to many, and I think Clemens may find himself in a similar situation eventually.