…naturally, this was spun to mean rodriguez would prefer reyes to Derek Jeter, instead of just taking it as a compliment of reyes… nevertheless, i agree with a-rod… and i’m glad jose is on the Mets…

Rodriguez and Reyes are teammates on the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic.

According to ESPN News, Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez admitted to Peter Gammons that he used performance enhancing drugs.

…if you’re looking for me to comment, don’t hold your breath… i made peace a long time ago with the idea that, wow, get this, athletes might cheat… i still believe reporters care far more about these stories than the actual fans do… this is a huge deal today, but in two weeks, each individual group of reporters and each group of fans will get bogged down when their individual team gets together in spring training, and then nobody is going to care… or, at least we’ll care about our own team more than this story… so, whether right or wrong, knowing we will all move on in a week or so, i just have a hard time getting all worked up about it today…

Selena Roberts and David Epstein write that, “in 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids.”

Rodriguez’s name appears on a list of 104 players who reportedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

…this story makes me angry for a couple reasons…i was hoping that a-rod would beat barry bonds’ all-time home run mark for this very reason, because i believe bonds did steroids…now if it’s true, it taints a-rod’s legacy as well…

…if it’s not true, it’s unfair to a-rod and his fans that he will become vilified for this…every time mlb seems to be clearing the woods from the whole steroid era, something else seems to surface…it’s a truly unfortunate report in every way for me…

…i could not stop laughing on

…the show’s host, Carson Daly, who is clearly a huge Yankees fan, could not control himself as rodriguez slid on to the stage…daly, who can compose himself around Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johansen, lost his mind upon seeing rodriguez…i mean, he damn near started blushing…

…with a mic in hand, and a Yankees hat on his head, a-rod could not stop praising New York City…it sounded like he was running for mayor, complete with talking points, canned answers and an on-queue twinkle in his eye…

…the guy just makes me laugh…he really does…i don’t know if he does this sort of thing deliberately, or if it’s truly as coincidental as he makes it seem…what’s more, i can’t tell if it helps his stardom and pop-culture status, or if it hurts…

…it’s hard to believe that only six weeks ago it seemed semi-realistic that a-rod could have ended up on the Mets next season…on one hand, it would have been great to get this guy’s bat in the Mets lineup…on other hand, we’d have to endure this sort of nonsense all of the time…

The following poorly-produced clip is of Rodriguez getting trash thrown at him while on stage with Daly…

As quoted in Buster Olney’s ESPN.com blog:

“I used to think as Scott as a necessary evil, and now I’ve changed, I no longer think he is necessary … Boras is what he is, and he’s done what he does, and I’ve signed many contracts with Scott, but it makes it difficult.”

“I had this conversation with Andruw [Jones] who was a little put off by the whole situation with the Braves and how his departure was handled, and I was thinking to myself, that he needs to realize that his agent makes things difficult from time to time, and there are some teams that don’t want to deal with it. It’s well known that the last time he [Jones] did a contract with the Braves, he did it without using Scott. We’ve seen at least twice this week when that’s happened, with A-Rod and Kenny Rogers … there are times when Scott is not a plus…”

…wow…boras difficult?…no, it can’t be true…really?…

…even though he has always done good for his players regarding dollars and term, in my opinion, he is bad for baseball business…i hope more of his players realize this and take control of their negotiations and wishes…

…my hunch is that there is more to this negotiation that we will ever know, and so to characterize a-rod as a beggar, or having settled, or referring to his agent as a loser in this scenario, or suggesting the Yankees went back on their word, is probably inaccurate…again, just a hunch…

…as i said last night, the thing i can’t help but wonder is what other team, who he clearly had no interest in playing for, was at least willing to give him a sizeable and competitive offer, because the Yankees are not just giving him this much money to be nice…sure, it’s far from a low-ball offer, and $275 million is not the initially rumored-about $350 million, but it’s not seven-years, $200 million either, which they easily could have offered had no other suitors been available…so, even if he had his heart set on playing in the bronx and only the bronx, simple market-economics will suggest that at least one other team is willing to pay big money, though less that he’s signing for, in order to escalate the Yankees offer to where it is right now…

…i can’t believe the number of hours we were all forced to spend during the last two weeks, thinking about rodriguez, listening to ridiculous questions about David Wright moving positions, speculating on contracts and destinations, only to see a-rod end up right where he started, just two weeks later…unreal…

…nevertheless, the thing i can’t help but wonder is, what other team, who he clearly had no interest in playing for, was at least willing to give him a sizeable and competitive offer, because the Yankees are not just giving him this deal to be nice…i mean, it’s far from a low-ball offer…sure, $280 million is not the initially rumored-about $350 million, but it’s not seven-years, $200 million either, which they easily could have offered had no other suitors been available…so, logic suggests that at least one other team is willing to pay pretty big bucks in order to escalate the Yankees offer to where it is right now…

Earlier today, Feinsand and Bill Madden of the Daily News, citing ‘a source with knowledge of the situation,’ wrote that the Yankees have re-opened negotiations with Rodriguez, adding that the team does not want his agent, Scott Boras, involved.

…Update…4:00 pm…

According to the Associated Press, the Yankees and Rodriguez met in New York today, and Boras was not involved.

…Update…4:02 pm…

At his website, ARod.com, Rodriguez writes…

“After spending time with Cynthia and my family over these last few weeks, it became clear to me that I needed to make an attempt to engage the Yankees regarding my future with the organization…As a result, I reached out to the Yankees through mutual friends and conveyed that message. I also understand that I had to respond to certain Yankees concerns, and I was receptive and understanding of that situation.

Cynthia and I have since spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. During these healthy discussions, both sides were able to share honest feelings and hopes with one another, and we expect to continue this dialogue with the Yankees over the next few days.”

Rodriguez, who has been represented by Boras since he was 16 years old, reportedly approached the Yankees through a third-party intermediary.

According to the source, Rodriguez would be expected to take a 10-year deal worth an estimated $275 million.

The source, as quoted by the Daily News…

“Alex is going to be back with the Yankees.  The Yankees don’t have a choice.  How are they going to compete without him?  They need him back.”

…tune in tomorrow for another episode of As the World Turns…i can’t help but be skeptical about this news, but at the same time, a deal between a-rod and the Yankees makes the most sense for both sides…hard to dispute that…stay tuned…

According to Crasnick, seven of the 15 people believe the Angels will eventually sign Alex Rodriguez, while three feel he’ll end up on the Mets.

Also, 14 of the 15 people believe the Twins will not trade Johan Santana, while one person thinks he will be traded during the regular season.

Lastly, asked to choose between Bartolo Colon, Josh Fogg, Livan Hernandez, Kyle Lohse, Carlos Silva or Jeff Weaver, four people chose Silva, four chose Lohse, three chose Hernandez and three chose Colon, while nobody selected Weaver or Fogg.

Crasnick also asks for opinions on who is better, Torii Hunter or Andruw Jones, and where will Barry Bonds end up.