Pineda Suspended 10 Games By MLB (UPDATED)

Yankees RHP Michael Pineda suspended 10 games, starting tonight, for possessing a foreign substance during Wednesday’s game at Fenway Park.
— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2014

No surprise there.  We knew this was coming the minute he got tossed last night.  The suspension starts tonight if Pineda chooses not to appeal, and I can't imagine why he would, and he will be eligible to return on May 5th.  He'll miss 2 starts, but because of the scheduled off-day on Monday the Yanks will only need to fill his rotation spot once.  I imagine David Phelps will be the leading candidate to make that spot start.  According to Dan Barbarisi, Shane Greene and Bruce Billings are with the team in Boston.  No word yet on roster moves to add them to the bullpen.

** UPDATE 4:40 PM- Greene and Billings have officially been called up, Dean Anna and Preston Claiborne have been sent down, and Ivan Nova was moved to the 60-day DL.  There's your daily dose of roster moves. **

A-Rod Waves The White Flag

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

After burning every bridge on his way to fighting what he believed was a conspiracy against him and trying to get his 162-game suspension reduced, Alex Rodriguez has now apparently changed course and decided on a less combative course of action.  As first reported by Jim Baumbach of Newsday, A-Rod voluntarily dismissed his lawsuits against MLB, MLBPA, and Bud Selig yesterday, the day that was his side's deadline to respond to MLB's request that the case be thrown out.  A-Rod's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, confirmed that Alex will no longer try to fight the suspension and will not be attending Yankee Spring Training.  After all the initial weirdness of this story, all the barbs traded in the media, and all the accusations from both sides, it looks like this media circus is finally closing its tents and moving out of town.

A-Rod Suspension Thoughts & Afterthoughts

(Courtesy of Angel Franco/The NY Times)

At long last, the arbitrator decision in the Alex Rodriguez Biogenesis suspension case was handed down this past weekend.  As many expected, the decision was not in Alex's favor.  As I expertly predicted (for once), the decision ended up being 162 games instead of MLB's original 211.  The immediate reaction from writers, bloggers, and fans alike was plentiful and spread across a wide range of feelings, and that tidal wave of activity only increased in size after last night's "60 Minutes" piece on the topic aired.  I tried to keep my thoughts on the decision to a minimum while the finer details and reactions from all parties involved came out, and I think I've had enough time to read everything, mull the whole situation over in my head, and comment intelligently on the matter.  My take on everything after the jump.

BREAKING: A-Rod Suspended For Entire 2014 Season (UPDATED)

Guess those AP reports were true.  Fredric Horowitz's decision is in and it's the one I expected.  As first reported by Andrew Marchand, Alex Rodriguez had his suspension reduced to 162 games and will be suspended for the entire 2014 season.

The report actually came from A-Rod's spokesman, so it still has not been "officially" announced by the arbitrator or MLB.  Regardless, A-Rod's camp is already issuing their statement on the matter and according to multiple beat writers they still intend to move forward with their plan to fight this decision with a court injunction.

As far as the Yankees are concerned, they will not be on the hook for $25 million of Alex's salary this season and will save $27.5 million for luxury tax purposes.  Now that the suspension length is known, they can move forward with the rest of their offseason schedule, which hopefully still includes an outside upgrade at third base.  More on this story as it comes out.

** UPDATE 11:01 AM- First part of A-Rod's statement on the decision:

"The number of games sadly comes as no surprise, as the deck has been stacked against me from day one. This is one man’s decision, that was not put before a fair and impartial jury, does not involve me having failed a single drug test, is at odds with the facts and is inconsistent with the terms of the Joint Drug Agreement and the Basic Agreement, and relies on testimony and documents that would never have been allowed in any court in the United States because they are false and wholly unreliable."

The whole statement can be found here.  More updates after the jump.

Report: A-Rod Decision Could Come This Weekend

Via the AP:

"Alex Rodriguez is likely to find out in the next few days whether his drug suspension will be overturned.

People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because no statements were authorized."

Good.  I hope the decision is announced this weekend.  I hope it's announced as soon as I finish writing this post because honestly, I'm starting to get bored with the whole thing.  It's holding up the Yankees' offseason progress, it's taken too damn long to get resolved as it is, and I'm done with it.  Make the announcement and let's move on.

A-Rod Willing To Accept Shorter Suspension?

Buried in yesterday's NY Daily News story about A-Rod's plans to fight the arbitration ruling should it end up being not in his favor was this little nugget about him possibly accepting a shorter suspension if that ended up being the decision:

"... sources say the Yankee third baseman would likely accept a suspension of 65 games or less without a fight. The legal fees to combat a 65-game ban would likely cost Rodriguez, who is scheduled to earn $25 million in 2014, more than he would lose in salary."

This is the first we've heard about A-Rod being willing to accept any suspension.  The stance he and his team have taken all along has been that the suspension and manner in which it was carried out was unfair, so it does strike me as a bit strange that they would be willing to accept a suspension after all their grandstanding.  Then again, this whole thing is about money for A-Rod, so if he would be able to save some by not fighting a much shorter suspension that would make sense from a personal financial standpoint.

It's worth nothing that there has been no indication that the decision will be for 65 games or fewer, and there has been no statement from A-Rod or his legal team confirming that they are willing to accept that suspension.  The plan, as far as we know it from their side, is still to take the arbitrator's decision to a judge for an injunction when it is handed down.  Guess we'll find out what the real course of action is when Horowitz issues his decision.

Oh Yeah, The A-Rod Suspension Appeal Started Yesterday

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

For as much news as his initial connection to the Biogenesis Clinic made, and as much as the MSM hyped him up as a villain when the suspensions were handed down and he was the only one to appeal, the opening day of the Alex Rodriguez appeal hearing yesterday didn't generate much buzz.  A-Rod himself was there with his legal team, as was former Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch, but for the most part the coverage seemed to be limited to just that and a few quick words from A-Rod and Joe Tacopina on their way out.  I don't know if it was because there was the AL tiebreaker game last night or if everybody was super stoked about Saints-Dolphins on MNF.  I even forget about it myself before I saw a few things come across Twitter late yesterday morning, which is surprising considering the results of this appeal are the most important part of the Yankees' offseason.

Dempster Gets Five Games, Joe Fined

Major League Baseball announced its ruling on the Ryan Dempster-Alex Rodriguez incident today.  Dempster was suspended for 5 games and fined for plunking A-Rod and Joe Girardi was fined an undisclosed amount for arguing with umpire Brian O'Nora.

The Dempster suspension doesn't come as a surprise.  MLB had to do something to punish him for what he did, lest it become target practice on A-Rod for other pitchers.  What's disappointing is that, as is usually the case with pitchers, the suspension really doesn't mean anything.  The Sawx have a few off-days in the next week, pushing their entire rotation back to the point that Dempster won't even miss his next start when the 5 games are up.  If you're going to suspend a player, he should actually have to miss a game that he would have otherwise played in.

As is also usually the case, O'Nora got off without any punishment for his role in the plunking.  Dempster absolutely should have been ejected from the game and wasn't.  Once again the umpires don't have to be accountable for their actions and conduct on the field while the players and coaches do.  Unreal.

Alex Rodriguez Officially Suspended By Major League Baseball (Updated)

From the league itself:

"Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced today that third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the 2013 Championship Season and Postseason and the entire 2014 Championship Season for violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and the Basic Agreement.

Rodriguez’s discipline under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years. Rodriguez’s discipline under the Basic Agreement is for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation. The suspension, which will become effective on Thursday, August 8th, will cover 211 Championship Season games and any 2013 Postseason games in which Rodriguez otherwise would have been eligible to play.

Under the terms of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, Rodriguez’s suspension will be stayed until the completion of his appeal if Rodriguez files a grievance challenging his discipline."

There you have it.  With the suspension not starting until Thursday it's a few less games than initially reported, but this is basically what was expected to come out of this announcement.  Now let the fun of the appeal process begin...

** UPDATE 2:26 PM- Bud Selig has issued his own personal statement, if you're interested in reading what he has to say. **

** UPDATE 2:47 PM- Yankees have released their official statement as well, and it contains a return of fire across A-Rod's bow in its denial of any involvement in the investigation.  Fun times. **

** UPDATE 3:39 PM- The MLBPA has issued a statement on all the suspensions, pledged their support to A-Rod and his decision to appeal, and said that they believe Bud Selig "has not acted appropriately under the Basic Agreement." **