Cobra_Kai wrote:I maintain that A-Rod never actually had any surgery. Rather, the Yankees imposed a "suspension" on him so that he could get clean and then work his way back into decent physical condition so as not to arouse suspicion when he showed up after his "surgery" about 35 pounds lighter. The whole surgery story just doesn't make sense.
How does the whole surgery story not make sense?
The Yankees (most specifically, Brian Cashman) are on record as saying that A-Rod was having hip problems last season, and that's why he needed this surgery (which, strangely enough, seemed to be "necessary" right around the time all the steroid reports were coming out). Now, if your franchise player needs hip surgery, don't you have him get that surgery IMMEDIATELY following the season, so that with rehab and everything, he's ready for Spring Training? Moreover, if his hip was really that bad, why wouldn't they have shut him down for the year once it became apparent that the Yankees weren't making the playoffs?
Now, consider this - the stories break about A-Rod using steroids, he admits to using in Texas...then gets called in to Cashman/Steinbrenner, and is basically told "look, we know you're still using, and there's no way you're going to get caught with any PED while you're with the Yankees. So we found a doctor who will play ball (and who wouldn't? Not like the Yanks couldn't pay a large amount for this guy's compliance), the official story is that you're having hip surgery, but you have 2 months to a) get clean, and b) get in shape without steroids."
Then he comes back and is having issues with his swing, his timing, etc...of course he is, since he's been used to hitting one way for the past 7/8 years, now without the roids he has to adjust to the way his body performs now.
Basically, either there's something going on that we're not being told, or the Yankees basically have the worst player injury management in the history of baseball, outside of Dusty Baker.