Staying Alive: Series Headed to NY

As seen on Phillies Nation.

The World Series is headed back to the Bronx! Facing elimination, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee led the Phillies to an important 8-6 victory.

Red-hot Alex Rodriguez quickly put the Yankees on the board. A-Rod's World Series slump is history, but Chase Utley made history of his own. Utley's first inning three-run bomb started a long night for A.J Burnett. Utley was far from done.

The Phillies tacked on runs in the third inning via Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Carlos Ruiz RBI's. Burnett was the complete opposite from game two. He lasted two innings and gave up six runs. In the meantime, Cliff Lee was cruising.

Lee wasn't lights out, but he pitched better than his line indicated. He pitched seven innings, but tired as he approached the 100+ pitch mark. Three of the five earned runs he allowed came in the eighth inning, including one inherited run.

Once again, it was A-Rod with the big hit. Shane Victorino was hit by a pitch in the first inning, so Charlie Manuel opted to rest him with a commanding lead. It was controversial since Raul Ibanez was unable to make a tough catch and Ben Francisco, Victorino's replacement, could not make a strong throw on a sacrifice fly. The Phillies six-run lead was cut in half.

Chase Utley's second home run and Ibanez's solo shot were a big reason why the Phillies put together a large lead. Utley has five home runs in the World Series, tying Reggie Jackson's record in 1977. The home runs proved to be key since the Yankees continued to fight back.

Chan Ho Park pitched a solid inning, and Ryan Madson was asked to close. Jorge Posada's double and Hideki Matsui's single were the beginning of another potential ninth-inning nightmare. Instead, a run was traded for a double play and Madson struck out Mark Teixeira to end the game.

Breathe a little easier, but there are still two more games that the Phillies need to win. They'll have to do that on the Yankees' turf, but they play their best with their backs against the wall.

A-Rod Opts Surgery; Other Updates

Alex Rodriguez opted to have surgery on his right hip. A-Rod will go under the knife on Monday and will miss 6-9 weeks.

"In a situation like Alex's, when we're trying to return him rapidly to his
high-level function, it's certainly a very good option," Dr. Marc Philippon
said. "It's a little more demanding on the patient, but Alex is very athletic
and has overall very good muscular strength. I firmly believe that this approach
will be successful."

Because of surgery, A-Rod will not be playing through much pain when he returns to the playing field. A-Rod should recover quicker, but will likely undergo another procedure once the season is over.

There could be some good to come out of the surgery. It could take away from the steroid controversy, however the Yankees hate to lose one of the best players in the game.

"Alex is a big part of what we're doing out there, and we need him healthy and
we need him around," Joe Girardi said. "We're going to be without him for a while,
but good teams find ways to overcome situations like this."

In other injury news, the Los Angeles Angels' Ervin Santana has been shut down due to inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Mike Pelfrey of the Mets has also felt pain in his leg.

MLB News: Jon Lester has agreed to an extension with the Boston Red Sox. The deal is 5 years, worth $30 million. Lester, a cancer survivor, is 27-8 with a 3.81 ERA in his career.

The Brewers have released pitcher Eric Gagne.

QUOTE SOURCE: MLB.com

A-Rod Explains

Alex Rodriguez apologized to fans and teammates going more into depth about his steroid use on Tuesday. Calling it a stupid mistake, A-Rod claimed that his unidentified cousin injected him with a foreign substance.

"I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs," he said. "It was pretty evident we didn't
know what we were doing," Rodriguez said. "We did everything we could to keep it
between us, and my cousin did not provide any other players with it. I stopped
taking it in 2003 and haven't taken it since."

A-Rod, who tested positive for Primobalan in 2003, also admitted to taking the product Ripped Fuel, which eventually became banned by MLB.

"It isn't lost on me the good fortunes I've received playing baseball. I [was in
the Major Leagues] right out of high school, and I thought I knew everything. I
clearly didn't. I've made mistakes in my life, and the only way I know to handle
them is to learn from them and move forward. One thing I know for sure is that
baseball is a lot bigger than Alex Rodriguez."

Rodriguez has lost the respect of many people in the baseball world including Jamie Moyer, who recently expressed his thoughts on his former Seattle Mariners teammate.

"I don't see how he has a chance [to make the Hall of Fame]. "Who in their right
mind would vote for anyone who got caught taking that stuff?"

"It's about respecting the game," Moyer continued. "I'd be disappointed in anybody in
that situation. When people have had an impact on your life, you want to feel
for them. But how can I feel for him? To me, if you're doing it, you know it's
illegal. I commend him for coming out and saying it, but why didn't he say it
seven years ago?"

Raul Ibanez, also a former teammate of A-Rod, said along with Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod was one of the most talented players he ever played with.

"He's acknowledged that fact that he did the wrong thing," Ibanez added. "It's a bad
day. I think it's a bad day, but at the same time, I know the human element,
because I know Alex personally. We were teammates in Seattle. Normally, as a
player you see something happen with a guy that you don't really know and you
think that guy did something wrong. Because I know him, I feel for him. I know
he's hurting, and he's acknowledging it."

Current teammates of A-Rod, such as Derek Jeter, support him. It wasn't too long ago where other Yankees such as Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte were in the same boat as Rodriguez.

"We're here to support him through it. We don't condone what he did. Alex
doesn't condone what he did. At this point now, it's our job to help him be as
comfortable as he can on the field and try to move past this."

A-Rod knows there is no other way to gain respect back but by finishing his career cleanly.

"I know that I am in a position where I have to earn my trust back," Rodriguez
said. "And over time, I am confident that at the end of my career, people will
see this for what it is -- a stupid mistake and a lesson learned for a guy with
a lot of baseball to play."

A-Rod claimed he hasn't taken steroids since, regularly taking blood and urine test. He is ready to start the season, proving he's still a great player steroid free.



QUOTE SOURCE: MLB.com

A-Rod Admits To Taking Steroids

As seen on Philliesnation.com

Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens. When these names are brought up, one thing comes to mind: steroids. An asterisk is placed by their names and the thought of any player during the "steroid era" being clean comes to mind

For a while, A-Rod was thought to be one of those pure talented players, up until a recent report from Sports Illustrated. Random, mandatory drug testing was done, and A-Rod tested positive for an anabolic steroid in 2003, his first MVP year. In 2003, there was no penalty for steroids.

Because of the BALCO investigation surrounding Bonds, federal agents raided labs, discovering a list of 104 players who tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2004. The testing was supposed to be anonymous, but unlike the other 103, A-Rod's name was released. A-Rod has never been linked to the BALCO case.

In his book, Jose Canseco, linked A-Rod's name to steroids. Nobody believed him.

"I said in my book 'Vindicated' that he was a known steroid user before 2000," Canseco told the Miami Herald. "It's old news. I've been saying this forever. You guys are playing catch-up."

In 2004, Gene Orza tipped A-Rod about an upcoming drug testing with the Rangers. Orza had no comment on this matter.

The drug Rodriguez tested positive for, primobolan, improves strength, but does not show a dramatic change in body structure. A-Rod's numbers remained steady with no dramatic increase. Unlike Bonds, there was no suspicion that an illegal substance had been taken.

When A-Rod's name was released, he had no comments saying, "You'll have to talk the union." MLB Player's Associate had no comment due to court orders.

When the Mitchell Report was released just over a year ago, A-Rod told Katie Couric that he never took steroids.

"You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball,'" Couric asked.

"I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no," he replied.

A-Rod clearly lied as today, he admitted to taking steroids "for a period of time."

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure," Rodriguez said. "I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform -- and perform at a high level -- every day."

"Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all-time. I did take a banned substance, and for that I'm very sorry. I'm deeply regretful."

"I'm sorry for that time, I'm sorry to my fans, I'm sorry to my fans in Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about substances of any kind. Since then, I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that."

Rodriguez, who makes more money than the entire Marlins roster, is represented by Scott Boras. Boras claimed he had no idea that Rodriguez was taking steroids.

A-Rod did the right thing by admitting that he used them, but he still took and lied about using illegal drugs. He only admitted it because he was caught.

Because A-Rod took steroids, it questions if some of the best players in the game have also taken steroids in their careers. The entire steroid saga isn't good for baseball, or any sport for that matter, as players are cheating their way through the game. The only thing MLB can do is to continue to test and penalize users. Whether A-Rod gets penalized remains to be seen, but there is no proof that he is currently on steroids. He must prove that he is still one of the elite players in the game without illegal substances.

Tim Malcom from Phillies Nation also pointed out his side opinion of the story.

Phillies Nation Debut

For a while now, I've been doing some "side jobs" for Phillies Nation. I've been updating their MySpace page and more recently, the Facebook group. Today, I made my posting debut on their site in an article about Kyle Kendrick.

To read the article click here.

Recent news: Former Phillie Randy Wolf signed a 1 year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Wolf, who turned down a 3 year deal worth over $20 million with the Houston Astros, settled with $5 million with incentives.

Breaking news: A-Rod tested positive for steroids in 2003 while he was with the Texas Ranges. In that year, there were no penalties for steroids.

A-Rod Playing for DR

In 2006, Alex Rodgriguez played for the United States during the World Baseball Classic. In 2009, A-Rod will be playing for the Dominican Republic.

A-Rod, 33, has 553 career home runs and could very well break Barry Bond's all time record. A-Rod also has a career .306 AVG and .967 OPS. With Team USA, A-Rod hit .333 with no home runs and 3 RBI in the 2006 WBC.

A-Rod is also a wealthy man. Over his career, he has made a total of $194,431,586. He made $28 million in 2008, more than the entire Florida Marlins roster.

The controversy is whether A-Rod, a New York born player, should be able to switch his WBC team.

A-Rod is a Dominican American, so playing for Team Republica Dominicana isn't out of his roots. At the age of four, A-Rod and his family moved to their native country, the Dominican Republic. He lived there for a few years before moving to Miami.

The rules state that a player can chose his native country, or a country of his ancestors. The decision for A-Rod in both 2006 and 2009 weren't easy ones. Wanting to satisfy both sides, A-Rod said in 2005 he would not play for either team. However, he stated in interviews he was leaning toward playing with the Dominican Republic in 2006. With the help of David Ortiz, A-Rod committed to the Dominican Republic in 2009.

"I am 100 percent sure that I will play for the Dominican Republic team,"
Rodriguez said. "This time, there will be no doubts, and it is a dream of my
mom's that I intend to fulfill."

Perhaps A-Rod was not satisfied with Team USA's loss to Mexico early in the first WBC. Perhaps he feels he has a better opportunity with the Dominican team.

Because A-Rod is both American and Dominican, he should have a choice as to which team he wants to play for, even if he decided to flip flop teams. After all, in the first place, A-Rod was not completely committed to playing with the United States.

For the counter point of this article, please visit IRONPIGPEN: The Pork Stops Here!

QUOTE SOURCE: Worldbaseballclassic.com

AL MVP

Dustin Pedroia was named the 2008 American League Most Valuable Player. Pedroia joins Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard to be the only ones who won Rookie of the Year and MVP in back to back years.

The Red Sox's second baseman, Pedroia, totaled 317 points, 16 first place votes, to take home honors and beat out Justin Morneau of the Twins who received 257 total votes, 7 first place votes. Pedroia's teammate, Keven Youkilis, finished third.

Pedroia finished the 2008 season with a .326 AVG. He had a .376 OBP, .493 SLG and .869 OPS. .He hit 17 homeruns and 83 RBI. He also stole 20 bases.

In my opinion, I would have given the award to Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees. A-Rod finished the year with a .965 OPS. He batted .302 with 35 HRs, 103 RBI, and 18 SB. Several other players, including Mauer and Morneau should have finished ahead of Pedroia.

However, Pedroia adds an MVP Award to his throphy case.