Alex Rodriguez: Cheating douchebag or regular douchebag?

As a diehard Boston Red Sox fan and self-proclaimed journalist-in-the-making, I've sat idly by for the past few days, watching as every media member in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Argentina and Kazakhstan has put in their two cents regarding Alex Rodriguez (A-Roid, to those of you who just read the front page of newspapers). Now, it's my turn.

It's no secret I loathe everything and anything to do with the Bronx Bombers. I don't allow them on my fantasy baseball teams (I benched, then traded Xavier Nady in the middle of a career year - and still won the league), mock their announcers with a heartfelt "The Yankees lose, theeeeeee Yankees lose!" whenever I get a chance to watch them put one in the "L" column and have a wardrobe devoid of anything resembling pinstripes. I refuse to date any girl, no matter how hot, if she claims to love her Yanks and even wrote a column about it back when I was a paid journalist. And if they happen to raffle off the opportunity to press the button to demolish The House That Ruth Built, I will end up emptying my life savings (which, to be fair, isn't much) for a ticket.

Yet, I can't hold anything against that $252 million prick for spending three seasons on the juice.

Call him a cheater if you want. I'll call you wrong. Back in 2003, steroid use in Major League Baseball was completely legal. The number of individuals who tried gaining a competitive advantage will never be known, but at this point, it's safe to say that number is high. A-Rod did what he thought he had to do, which was to be the best. Obviously, he didn't think he could be that type of player on natural talent alone, so he took steroids. What's important to remember in all of this is that steroids don't help you become a great ballplayer - they just make you stronger. Rodriguez always had the natural talent, which was evident when he was a Seattle Mariner. He could go both ways (even off the diamond like he's been doing for over four years with Derek Jeter), run the bases and field his position. His always consistent numbers are stellar and would most likely be All-Star worthy if you take back the home runs that cleared the wall by what...10 feet? Call him a liar for flat out denying it in an interview with "60 Minutes" if you'd like, but he's not a cheater. At least he wasn't in 2003.

However, A-Rod seems to be looked upon as a "hero" for his about face from that interview. Going from lying in one interview to owning up to his "mistakes" in another has people praising him for facing the music, rather than continuing to deny all accusations and running from the media.

Give me a break.

Listen, it's good for him and his image to handle this the way he has, but after seeing what Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have gone through, did he have any other choice? Does anyone truly believe he's in any way remorseful for what he did? If steroids were legal to this day, does anyone truly believe he would have realized what he was doing was unethical and quit?

So just because he's been backed into a corner and took the easy way out, he's the good guy in all of this? Yeah right. I'm not going to jump on his case for admitting to what he did, but he's not a savior either.

It's very important to remember that Rodriguez is not alone in all of this - he's just the most prominent figure. To fans of other baseball clubs, be careful how you scrutinize him. Remember, he was just one of 100-something names on that list. As a Sox fan, I know it's in my best interest to keep my mouth shut because the odds of a former or current BoSox being on that list is pretty good. I'm not going to look like a hypocrite by calling Rodriguez an embarrassment to the game and looking the other way when one of my own gets busted.

Whether Rodriguez is truthful when he said he only took steroids in his three seasons with the Texas Rangers may never be known, but A-Rod, to this point, it completely innocent of any wrongdoing on the field.

When do the asterisks for Neifi Perez's stats become recorded?