A-Rod is a bad, bad man

Believe it or not, Alex Rodriguez is back in the news for bad reasons. This time, allegations surfaced that he used performance-enhancing drugs in high school and during his time with the New York Yankees as well as that he would tip pitches to opposing hitters he was friends with in blowouts so that they would return the favor in similar situations.

Because of the report, ESPN's morning poll asked which was worse: using PEDs or tipping pitches to opponents. And really, the fact that it wasn't 100% one way is alarming, because one is clearly worse than the other.

That one is tipping pitches in blowouts. Heck, that's worse than betting on your own team to win a baseball game and Pete Rose is being banned from the Hall of Fame because of that.

It doesn't matter if the score is 15-0 0r 150-0 with two outs in the ninth inning. Giving opponents an unfair advantage is sickening for several reasons.

First, it violates the purpose of sports. Say what you want about using steroids and HGH, but the players who use them are ultimately doing so to help their team win, even if they're only doing so as a byproduct of getting themselves into the record books. Barry Bonds may have wanted Jeff Kent's head on numerous occasions in San Francisco (and sure, if he had killed him, you could raise the "roid rage" argument to contradict this entire paragraph), but when Bonds was at the plate and in the field, he was helping the Giants win those games. And if Kent was on base when Bonds went yard, that's one more run scored in Kent's career.

But when someone is tipping pitches to their opponents, blowout or not, that player is not just hurting his team, but he's also throwing his pitcher under the bus. How many times did Ryan Drese enter a 10-1 game in the ninth and see his ERA inflated because Player X was sitting on an 0-1 slider?

Second, (I know it's far-fetched to think about, but...) baseball is the only one of the four major sports (yes, I'm including hockey) which isn't timed. It's not like in the NBA, where if a team is down 25 with a minute to play, it's over. In baseball, if a team is down 10-1 in the ninth, there's still a slight, slight possibility that they could rally. It's slight, but it's possible.

The 10-1 thing is just an example, obviously, but teams score nine runs in an inning from time to time. Heck, if you get a guy on the hill who can be rattled by a few baserunners, who knows what could happen? The Cleveland Indians scored 14 in an inning about a week and a half ago. So to tip pitches to an opposing player, especially when you're doing it in a blowout, so they'll return the favor to you in a similar situation (which might be the most selfish act of all time - putting your teammates stats at risk for a chance to increase your own later on) is the lowest of low. Unlike Rose, Rodriguez wanted his team to win, but only if the game was close. If the game was thought to be in hand, A-Rod apparently couldn't care less what happened.

Finally, going forward, how do you trust him as a member of the Yankees? Sure, he's now the third baseman, so the chances of him tipping pitches when he can't see what's being called isn't great, but if he's willing to sacrifice the other 24 guys on the team for his own benefit, what else is he capable of? Would he be a guy to bet on an opposing team, then botch an easy double play ball and give away four plate appearances when New York has been eliminated from postseason contention in mid-September? Why not ... nothing matters at that point in the season anyway. And here's a hypothetical that may never happen, but is definitely a point to ponder regarding his character: Say the Yanks needed a win to get into the playoffs in the final regular season game of 2010. A-Rod comes to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game. And say Rodriguez needs just one more home run to tie Bonds' record of 73. Is Rodriguez swinging for the fences instead of trying to put the ball in play to secure a win? Figuring there are two hitters behind him to pick up the slack if he fails, what are the chances A-Rod is taking three vicious hacks at history? Judging by his track record, it's somewhere between 175% and 550%.

So nobody should be comparing his PED use to him tipping pitches. Yeah, steroids are unethical and violate the sanctity of sports, but they don't compromise what professional sports are all about, which is to see which player (individual sports) or team (uh...team sports) is the best. Taking steroids gives someone an advantage(fair or unfair), but playing 26 on 24 is a whole new ballgame.