The cat is out of the bag

Brian Cashman
Courtesy of bleacherreport.net

If he could, I believe Brian Cashman would drop Alex Rodriguez from the New York Yankees in a heartbeat.

The relationship between the Yankees' general manager and the third baseman hit a new low Tuesday when -- in response to A-Rod's Tweet that he had been medically cleared by his doctor to resume playing baseball -- Cashman became flummoxed during an ESPN.com interview and said that Rodriguez should "shut the fuck up." (I don't believe in censoring on this web site when it's obvious what was said.)

I'm pretty sure that sentiment was shared by virtually every Yankees fan, since many of them hate Rodriguez's guts. They don't like his attitude. They are disgusted by his admission of using steroids. And they are fed up with his lack of production, especially in the playoffs. If they never see Rodriguez take the field again in pinstripes, they would be thrilled.

Alex Rodriguez
Courtesy of wikimedia.org

The problem for Cashman and Yankees fans is there is only one way for Rodriguez to go away, and it wouldn't be a 100-game suspension from Major League Baseball if he is found to have a connection with Biogenesis.

Rodriguez has to retire from baseball, and that's not likely to happen any time soon. He still has a hunger to play the game and a huge contract that keeps him tied to the Yankees through 2017. Potentially missing an extra 100 games isn't going to drive him away from baseball, nor will facing the prospect of playing in front of hostile crowds every night -- home AND away.

Cashman could try offering Rodriguez in a trade, but I don't believe there is a major league team willing or desperate enough to acquire A-Rod and his huge contract. Cashman could try finding a loophole to justify releasing Rodriguez outright, but you can be sure the MLB Players Association will fight that to the end. All that Cashman, the Yankees and their fans can do is wait until the day when A-Rod says he is done playing baseball.