Friday, November 22, 2013
A-Rod Hearing Over, But Decision Could Take A While
According to this article, the decision on the A-Rod hearing could take until January to come out. This puts the Yankees in an odd position, because there is an easy $30 million wrapped up in A-Rod that they would like to spend, but cannot until the decision comes down. It can be easy for us fans to get upset at the potentially long waiting time for this decision, but we have to consider the situation. Just because juror's on murder trials, and drug convictions usually take a matter of hours to come to their decisions, doesn't mean that an arbitration hearing should follow their lead. No, there are so many variables to consider when it comes to A-Rod's suspension, and his legacy is on the line here. It's not as simple as putting someone behind bars for the rest of their lives. Besides, think of the benefits of waiting until January to get their $30 million. By then, there will be a number of bargain bin castaways that the Yankees can pick up for cheap, and the lack of options will ensure that the Yankees don't make anymore stupid signings (Wells anyone?). So look to the positives Yankee fans.
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4 comments:
My parents were in town this weekend and were curious about ARod's arbitration strategy. As I tried to explain it to them, I realized it makes no sense.
ARod is shocked, shocked that (a) Selig won't testify, and (b) the arbitrator won't compel Selig to testify. I presume ARod's lawyers told him that Selig wouldn't testify and the arbitrator wouldn't force him to do so, since ARod has no right to force anyone to testify in a private arbitration. So ARod's storming out of the arbitration/venting to Francessa strikes me as staged.
The only reasons why ARod would stage a fit over the arbitration could be to rehabilitate his image or set up a challenge to an unfavorable arbitration decision in federal court. Neither of those strategies would work. If ARod gets any PED-based suspension at all, his reputation is trashed. No one will care about who testified at his arbitration.
Overturning an arbitration decision in court is nearly impossible. That's the point of arbitration - it's supposed to resolve the dispute so you don't end up in court. ARod could be planning to argue that the arbitrator didn't give him a fair hearing, which would be a ground for reversing the arbitrator's decision if true. But he won't win on that ground because he has no right to compel Selig to testify. He can't win in court by arguing that the evidence against him was too flimsy.
So he is either acting against the advice of counsel (who would tell him not to do all the things he did) or has hired a law firm that would give him advice I would never dream of giving a client.
As for the time spent on ARod's arbitration, you get what you pay for. The arbitrator is getting a lot more compensation to hear ARod's case than a judge who presides over a murder trial, and the two sides are spending a lot more on the arbitration than the prosecution and defense on most felonies.
I'm going with the option of A-Rod's camp is just trying to set things up for the court case. I agree that it seemed staged. I think A-Rod is basically acting against the advice of the players union, but in the advice of his hired team of high-powered lawyers. There's probably enough ego within team A-Rod to believe that they can win this case.
Anyways, what do you think comes out of the arbitration? I imagine the suspension is upheld, but I also imagine it will be reduced. I just don't know how much it may be reduced.
I see the possible outcomes as no suspension (MLB can't prove either PED use or obstruction), 50 games (MLB proves PED use, but not obstruction), or the full 211 game (MLB proves everything). If MLB proves PED use and obstruction, I don't see how the arbitrator can recalculate the suspension. He would more likely defer to MLB's judgment that an extra 161-game suspension was warranted.
Your point about the team's ego is likely correct. If they really think they will find sympathy in federal court, they will get an unpleasant surprise.
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