Somewhere, somebody is counting down the days until the Alex Rodriguez circus arrives at New York Yankees camp in Tampa. In the meantime — and in between workouts with Barry Bonds, of course — A-Rod is continuing what's been tabbed his "rehabilitation tour," most recently heading to MLB's midtown Manhattan headquarters for a meeting with commissioner-elect Rob Manfred.
Kevin Davidoff of the New York Post provides the details:
Earlier this past week, the Yankees’ disgraced, returning slugger convened with commissioner-elect Rob Manfred at Major League Baseball’s midtown Manhattan headquarters, multiple sources confirmed. In an attempted signal of goodwill, A-Rod came unaccompanied by any Players Association representatives or personal attorneys.
And goodwill, according to one source, was A-Rod’s intention when he initiated this get-together. He wanted to clear the air with Manfred and get on the same page with central baseball as he prepares for his reentry.
The last time A-Rod had visited the building, on Nov. 20, 2013, he had exited in fury (or at least pretend fury) after independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz didn’t allow Rodriguez’s legal team to interrogate commissioner Bud Selig for his 211-game suspension of A-Rod. Rodriguez stood up in the hearing room, looked at Manfred and shouted an expletive — whether it was directed at Manfred specifically or commenting about the situation in general eternally will be open to interpretation, depending on your witness — and left the room and the building.
Certainly not the worst idea for A-Rod to touch base and make sure Manfred's focus is looking forward, not backward. That said, we're guessing the whole scene was a bit awkward regardless of any progress that may or may not have been made.
After all, it was Manfred who took the lead on the Biogenesis investigation, which eventually led to A-Rod's suspension for the entire 2014 season. Manfred willingly put himself directly in the eye of Hurricane A-Rod, and he felt its wrath time and time again. At one point during the arbitration hearing, Manfred was clearly worn down by the back and forth, so he lashed out with the following scathing statement.
“This latest, sad chapter in Mr. Rodriguez’s tarnished career is yet another example of this player trying to avoid taking responsibility for his poor choices,” Manfred said. “Given the disappointing acts that Mr. Rodriguez has repeatedly made throughout his career, his expressed concern for young people rings very hollow. Mr. Rodriguez’s use of PEDs was longer and more pervasive than any other player, and when this process is complete, the facts will prove it is Mr. Rodriguez and his representatives who have engaged in ongoing, gross misconduct.”
Yeah, it got prety ugly for awhile.
The war of words only ceased when Rodriguez decided to accept his punishment and await his next opportunity. An opportunity that begins in just about three weeks time. And though it's easy to question A-Rod's sincerity in meeting with Manfred, and perhaps even Manfred's in meeting with A-Rod, it's notable that both sides were willing to take the first step.
Now, as Davidoff points out, we await A-Rod's first "ice breaking session" with higher-ups in the New York Yankees organization. They too were in A-Rod's path of deconstruction as he desperately fought the sanctions against him, and there are no doubt that some hard feelings that remain. It's a bit surprising that meeting hasn't already taken place, but Davidoff suspects A-Rod will be reaching out soon.
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