Alex Rodriguez's two-front conflict with Major League Baseball and the Yankees reaches High Noon — and 8 p.m. — today in what promises to be one of the most historic and bizarre days the game has ever seen.
At noon, commissioner Bud Selig is expected to suspend A-Rod through the end of the 2014 season, a ban that would cost Rodriguez 214 games and about $34 million, for his alleged involvement in the now-shuttered Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in South Florida, an industry source told The Post.
And shortly after 8 o'clock tonight, weather permitting and assuming he appeals the suspension, A-Rod is expected to make his 2013 debut for the Yankees at U.S. Cellular Field.
AP
Alex Rodriguez
The Rodriguez camp has said publicly that it would appeal any suspension. The Yankees have been informed that A-Rod will be suspended and that he will be available to play if he appeals the penalty, a source said.
As per the terms of baseball's Joint Drug Agreement, A-Rod's appeal hearing would be heard within 20 days, and then the arbitrator (Fredric Horowitz) would be expected to issue his finding within 25 days of the hearing's opening. So A-Rod's fate should be decided by mid-September at the latest; Horowitz can rule fully in one side's favor or deliver the middle ground of a lesser suspension.
Selig considered suspending Rodriguez via the "Best interests of baseball" clause in the Basic Agreement, which would allow the commissioner to keep A-Rod from playing during an appeal. However, all indications were he reversed course out of concerns the tactic would intensify growing backlash that Selig is being particularly heavy handed with Rodriguez.
Approximately 12 other players, including Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli, will be suspended for 50 games or a few more today, to conclude this turn in the Biogenesis investigation. At most, one player from that group is expected to appeal; Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz said yesterday that he hasn't decided yet.
So unless he turns up with another injury or doesn't appeal, A-Rod will start at third base for the Yankees tonight, manager Joe Girardi said yesterday _ a gargantuan development even without the accompanying suspension. The 38-year-old underwent left hip surgery in January. He was on the verge of returning July 22 in Texas before he complained of a left quadriceps condition while rehabbing at Triple-A. That sparked an immense clash with the Yankees over the severity of his condition.
"I don't expect it to be awkward," Girardi said yesterday of A-Rod's joining the offense-starved Yankees. "Most of the guys know him as a teammate. I think it will be business as usual.
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