A-Rod Appeal Hearing Ends Quietly

While it looked like the stage was set for more shenanigans after Wednesday, Alex Rodriguez stayed true to his word and did not appear at yesterday's hearing session for his suspension appeal.  With him no longer participating and Bud Selig staying away, the hearing concluded yesterday and now everything is in Fredric Horowitz's hands to make his ruling.

Initially it was reported that Horowitz would have 25 days to render his decision, putting him on a December 16th deadline.  T.J. Quinn of ESPN had differing information yesterday, however, reporting that both sides have to put together summary briefs and submit them to Horowitz before his 25-day countdown can begin.  The deadlines for the brief submittals and responses are December 11th and 21st, and only when those requirement have been met will Horowitz start working on his decision.

This pushes the schedule way past the Winter Meetings and possibly out into January, which is not good news for the Yankees.  Given how aggressive they've been on the free agent front since start of the offseason, I have to think they're anticipating the suspension being upheld, or at least reduced to a number that still keeps A-Rod's money off the books next year.  Guess we'll just have to wait and see.