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Adam Jones and Matt Wieters low five after Wieters' three-run homer against the Yankees. (Karl Merton Ferron, Baltimore Sun /May 22, 2013)
It's worth a shot
Juan C. Rodriguez
Sun Sentinel
Should they try? Absolutely. Would they be successful? Probably not.
Alex Rodriguez has been an on-field and off-field migraine for the Yankees. What remains on his contract — five years and $114 million — is a crippling figure for most franchises.
If they were to somehow remove the Rodriguez albatross it won't be because he purchased banned substances. The Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program precludes teams from taking punitive action beyond penalties the Commissioner's Office imposes.
The Yankees' best hope is that Rodriguez's hip injury proves debilitating enough to keep him off the field and insurance covers the rest of his deal.
Forced to live with error
Paul Doyle
Hartford Courant
The Yankees apparently view the latest Alex Rodriguez/PED story as an opportunity to erase a colossal mistake. Extending A-Rod's contract for 10 years in 2007 made no sense at the time and looks horrible in retrospect, so why wouldn't the Yankees attempt to void the last $114 million owed to the shell of the former A-Rod?
Nice try, but it's not happening. And it shouldn't. The Yankees were unwise to commit $275 million to a 32-year-old player and now they're stuck.
There's also no way the players' union will allow a team to void the rest of this contract, especially since A-Rod hasn't failed a drug test. Maybe the Yankees will eat millions and negotiate a buyout, but they'll pay for their fiscal sins.
Insurance best hope
Mike DiGiovanna
Los Angeles Times
The Yankees will explore every legal avenue to void the remaining five years and $114 million on Alex Rodriguez's contract, but unless there is specific language pertaining to the use of performance-enhancing drugs — and that's assuming the allegations are true — they won't be successful.
The Yankees' best hope for recouping some of Rodriguez's salary will be to collect insurance if the third baseman misses the entire 2013 season.
The biggest question facing the Yankees is this: When do the off-field distractions caused by A-Rod and his PED use outweigh his potential to help them win? At that point, they will have little choice but to release A-Rod and swallow a huge chunk of salary.
Pay the idiot tax
Phil Rogers
Chicago Tribune
Gosh, we can't take Alex Rodriguez at his word? Shocking. No wonder the Yankees' ownership has its lawyers working to find a way to void the remaining five years — at $114 million — on his contract.
But it won't happen, and it shouldn't happen. While Rodriguez clearly plays around with PEDs, he hasn't tested positive since the supposedly anonymous round of testing in 2003. His mention in the Miami New Times report is a big story mostly because he has become an albatross for the franchise.
The team's desire to walk away from the deal shows why the players' union will never agree to allow contracts to be voided for PED issues. The Yankees will have to pay the idiot tax on A-Rod.
