A-Rod's Path to Greatness and Destruction

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST IS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR IN THE SPORTS SECTION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 11

("Baseball's Bullying Makes It Tempting to Root for Rodriguez")


We have spent too many years questioning greatness.  Clemens, Bonds, McGuire and Sosa, Braun and Rodriguez. We are left with far more asterisks than exclamation points.

A-Rod, like so many of the others, is an unsympathetic character in this long running play.  While he may be a scapegoat for a sport that turned a blind eye to its own imperfections, his immense wealth pales in comparison to an even larger ego. Like Clemens and Bonds before him, he is driven by an insatiable desire to be anointed. 
   
Even though ownership may be an unindicted co-conspirator, I will shed not a tear for Mr. Rodriguez and his hundreds of millions if he is punished for making the game less, by trying improperly and imprudently to make himself more.