A-NOTHER A-POLOGY FROM A-ROD

First he maintained his innocence. Then he served a suspension of an entire season. With his return looking messy before it had even begun, Alex Rodriguez decided to apologize to the New York Yankees’ management for the trouble he had caused since 2013.

Banned from baseball in 2014 because of his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), Rodriguez, soon to be 40 and plagued by bad hips, would best serve the Yankees if he’d just fade away. But he can’t and he won’t, not with $61 million owed him for the final three years of his contract. And no one (well, Rodriguez and the Yankees) wants to deal with this when position players report to spring training on Feb. 25.

So A-Rod went the public route on Tuesday, issuing a hand-written apology to fans and foes alike. “I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season,” Rodriguez wrote in blue ink. “I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. To Major league baseball, the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association and you, the fans, I can only say I’m sorry.”

He went on to say: “I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that I say at this point. I understand why and that’s on me.”

Sincere? Not? Who knows? There are those who think he could only tell the truth if he said: “I’m lying.” As far as the timing of this mea culpa, though, it is curious. On Wednesday, ESPN The Magazine publishes a big A-Rod feature, which it wrote with the ballplayer’s cooperation. If there are any revelations (and what could be left?), A-Rod can say he apologized in advance.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .