A-Rod Drama Should End with Lifetime Ban

How will we remember Alex Rodriguez? Will it be for the towering home runs and flashy glove work on the left side of the infield? Or will it be for the contract, the steroids, the arrogance and the constant drama? With the latest developments out of the Bronx on A-Rod's quad strain and the Biogenesis scandal hovering over his head like a black rain cloud about to burst, something tells me we won't remember Rodriguez for what he did on the field. That's quite a shame because he is one of the best players to step foot on the diamond, but he created his own demise and everything that he will be remembered for was by his own doing.

Rodriguez says he's ready to play after suffering a quad strain, but the Yankees say he's not. Now A-Rod says the Yanks are doing all they can to keep him off the field. That's a storyline you don't hear everyday. However, Rodriguez attracts this type of drama and, again, it's his own doing. Getting a second opinion on an injury is fine, but A-Rod never told the Yankees and never actually saw the doctor in person. After creating a media firestorm two days ago, he then reiterated that he wanted to play and said, "Enough doctors...let's play."

There's a slight problem though. What if you aren't wanted? It sounds ridiculous that a team plagued with injuries to every superstar on the roster wouldn't want Alex Rodriguez, but it seems true. It makes perfect sense. Ryan Braun's lies came crashing down on him earlier this week and it's assumed that A-Rod won't be far behind and that would spell doom for the Yanks.

Despite all the injuries, New York is still very much in the AL East race and bringing Rodriguez back into the clubhouse could be disastrous for them. If he comes back now then the media is going to rush into that clubhouse and talk about the injury and the Biogenesis scandal and, instead of an asset, A-Rod becomes a distraction. Besides the scandal, the Yankees are smart for taking their time with him because he is a big investment. There's a lot of money left to pay A-Rod and the last thing the Yanks want is an injury that keeps him off the field for the entire season or longer.

The injury is just a small part of this drama though. The real focal point is the scandal and whether or not a suspension is coming A-Rod's way. If so, then he should be done. This isn't his first rodeo with PEDs and what's worse is that he once apologized for taking them then went around the country speaking out against PED use. Yet now these reports surface and Rodriguez is, once again, looking like a fraud. If he is found guilty that warrants a lifetime ban no question.

Can you blame the Yankees for not wanting this guy around? I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that he did or did not take PEDs and that a suspension is a sure thing, but Rodriguez did something to get his name brought up in those reports. That's enough for me. He was somewhere he shouldn't have been and dealing with people he shouldn't have been around. Despite all his great plays, clutch home runs and outstanding play, the Yankees are better off without him.

When that black rain cloud that is the Biogenesis scandal bursts and Alex Rodriguez has to face the media he will be a shamed man. There won't be any apologies this time because there won't be anything that can cover up this stain the second time around. All there will be is the remains of a fat contract for an arrogant, drama queen who just so happens to be one of the best players we have ever seen. But will we even remember his play?

Braun's Mistake is Permanent to His Reputation

Baseball is a changed game. It's a changed culture. Sure, there are still those that embarrass themselves and disrespect the history of the game by using PEDs, but the game has changed in the sense that players are calling for harsher penalties and the tolerance is at a minimum around the league. Ryan Braun is finding out the hard way and it's assumed that Alex Rodriguez won't be far behind him. It doesn't matter what sport it is, a superstar standing at a podium spilling half-hearted apologies for using PEDs has become the norm for this generation. Braun fit right into that category yesterday as he gave a sad apology, if it could even be called that.

Let's rewind the clock to February 2012 when Braun stood at a podium in Arizona and vehemently denied any wrongdoing after it was reported in December 2011 that he was being investigated for elevated levels of testosterone. At the time he was in such denial that he went to great lengths to profess his innocence. "I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body," he said.

Now it's 2013 and Braun was in front of a microphone, but singing a much different tune. "As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences for those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization," he said.

Hey guys, did you hear that??? Ryan Braun realized he's not perfect! Seriously? What a dumb thing to say. Did he think he was like the second coming of Jesus Christ or something? At any rate, we're all glad he realized he's not perfect. Oh, and he just now realizes that he made some mistakes. So when he was taking those substances he didn't realize it was a mistake? Ryan Braun is no fool and I wish he wouldn't act like he was so naive. He's a smart individual. He's smart enough to lead us on this trail of denial for more than a year and he almost got away with it.

Of course, he couldn't get this far without crushing a few people along the way, namely the tester Dino Laurenzi Jr. Oh, and if you're wondering, Braun didn't even mention Laurenzi the other day when he was spewing his lame apologies. We may never know what Braun does in private, but I hope he apologizes to Laurenzi after completely ruining his reputation so that he could avoid a suspension in 2012.

Braun had an excuse for everything, a reason for why his name popped up in investigations and he stepped all over those in his path to try and maintain his innocence and reputation. Like I said, he's a smart guy for leading us on this long. However, he had to know this would be the end eventually. He saw the Rafael Palmeiro finger wag, the Mark McGwire silence, the ballad of Floyd Landis and the Oprah interview with Lance Armstrong. He's seen Barry Bonds become the most hated man in baseball and he saw countless others admit and give a half-hearted apologies for taking PEDs. He had to know that eventually the truth would be revealed.

But maybe all that lying went to his head and he actually believed it to be truth. Who knows. Here's what we do know: MLB players aren't forgiving him anytime soon and many have called for stiff penalties. Matt Kemp said he should be stripped of the 2011 MVP award and Skip Schumaker said Braun should be suspended for life and that "he makes me sick." There is no tolerance for this sort of thing in the MLB any longer and the commissioner should listen. No game will ever be 100 percent clean, but a stiff penalty to a star like Braun will certainly grab everyone's attention.

Ryan Braun is a fraud and he is a cheater. He's not the first and he's not going to be the last. When he returns to the field in 2014 he may still hear the cheers in Milwaukee when he hits a home run, but on the road and among his peers his reputation will never recover from this. It's a mistake with permanent ramifications and it's unfortunate that Braun was the last one to realize that.