Thursday, November 21, 2013

Did A-Rod Make the Right Move?

Associated Press Photo
So unless you've been hiding out on a snow mountain in Siberia, you've heard of Alex Rodriguez' outburst yesterday during his arbitration hearing. Just to recap, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled that MLB commish Bud Selig would not be forced to testify. A-Rod reportedly went into a rage and stormed out of the hearing, yada, yada, yada.

Several sports news outlets, ESPN in particular, have dispatched their insiders and legal experts to shed light on this situation and what it means. As most of us probably figured out once this latest news broke, Team A-Rod knew all along that Selig was not going to testify, which means that yesterday's antics were just that...antics.

Clearly the slamming of the desk and the use of profanity by A-Rod as reported, signifies that he will not testify during these hearings; a definite change from reports last week that said he was prepared to. This latest also a follow-up to the report that A-Rod "called in sick" from his scheduled pre-interview with MLB, also last week. It could also mean that these hearings could wrap up as soon as tomorrow which would definitely mean a decision before Christmas.

From the outside looking in, it appears that things are not going well for Team A-Rod and that they are moving to force this thing into federal court. With that said, I have one question...

Is this smart? Not that I take for face value every sports or legal analyst following this for their opinion; obviously the majority of them will report from their point of view. But no one seems to think a federal court case will go his way. One legal analyst on ESPN said this morning, that he doubts either side will even get to testify if it goes to court because the court will shut it down. Why? Because most courts would almost always rule that the arbitrator's ruling will stand. It would then be up to Team A-Rod to prove misconduct by MLB. How would they do that without the opportunity to argue their case? And if so, what evidence do they truly have of misconduct outside of what has been presented in arbitration? I would think that if they want a federal court to take them seriously, they're probably going to have to dig deeper than what Horowitz has already had his eyes on.

It's been my feeling from the beginning that A-Rod's cool demeanor (well, up until yesterday) through all of this could mean that his team has an "ace-in-the-hole" that they're withholding to play at the right time. If I'm right, then perhaps the best time would be during trial in federal court.

Stay tuned...

Follow Rasheeda Cooper on Twitter: @ra_cooper

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