After the entire circus of half truths, lies, deceptions and a really bad Razzie-like performance by Alex Rodriguez while facing the gauntlet by the the media, his teammate and perhaps the most important person on the Yankees — Derek Jeter — spoke his mind today.
He gave his full support to Alex Rodriguez, despite his body langauge yesterday in the press conference. Jeter said the right things; however, you must wonder if he’s seething down deep when it comes to his teammate.
Jeter was one of many who showed his support to Rodriguez, but you have to wonder would they have done if this were, let’s say, Melky Cabrera who is facing the media.
However, you have to realize Alex Rodriguez is the best player on the planet and the Yankees need him to reach their Manifest Destiny — the World Series.
From Newsday: “One thing that’s irritating and really upsetting is when people say everybody was doing it,” Jeter said. “No, that’s not true. Everybody wasn’t doing it.”
Jeter said he believes Rodriguez, because he gives people the benefit of the doubt. He was surprised at the initial reports that Rodriguez had used performance-enhancing drugs, he said. He admitted being disappointed, saying: “I think everyone’s disappointed. He’s disappointed in himself.”
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Although Jeter has long proclaimed himself a staunch opponent of steroid use, he was asked again if he has ever used steroids or experimented with any performance-enhancing drugs or supplements.
“I’ve never taken performance-enhancing drugs, I’ve never taken steroids,” said Jeter, offering to go down any list of banned substances and say he hadn’t used them.
Rodriguez did not speak with reporters, saying, “I’ll see you tomorrow, guys.”
As much as the Yankees put on this press conference to move on from this dog-and-pony show, this topic is not going away.
