Mission accomplished? Good. I thought so.

And trust me, it’s no typo.

Just for effect, I’m going to type it out again: stone-handed Darrius Heyward-Bey, he of the nine catches for 124 yards as a rookie in Oakland last year, will make more money from salary and endorsements ($21,505,000) in 2010 than Albert Pujols ($21,000,000), one of the greatest baseball players and athletes we have ever seen.

Let’s see what other fun comparisons we can make with SI.com’s annual Fortunate 50!

First off, check out the image currently adorning the SI.com home page:

Remember a few years ago when every other commercial on TV featured Peyton Manning? I remember people criticizing Peyton for over-exposing himself and being an endorsement whore. A lot of people, at least those that I talked to, were getting sick of Peyton…whereas Tiger Woods and LeBron James could do no wrong. If you were to rank overall popularity and “cred” back then, I’d have to think Peyton would have come in a distant third.

Not anymore.

In the war of attrition that is the title of “Golden Boy of Sports” (which I just made up), Peyton Manning is now clearly carrying the torch. Unfortunately, it’s a slippery slope up at the top. Let’s just hope Peyton doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet or “decisions” (or anymore Super Bowl clinching pick 6′s) that could change everything in an instant.

But I digress…

I always love perusing SI’s Fortunate 50. While I blog for table scraps in the cutthroat dining room of the Internet, people like Shaquille O’Neal get sentences like the following written after their name:

No matter where Shaq ends up next season, he is easily the all-time NBA leader in total salary: Over an 18-year career, he has earned more than $290 million.

Not a bad gig if you can get it. (Of course, being over 7 feet tall and coordinated helps.)

This year though, I found myself going WTF!? more often than usual. Here are some things that might also make you go Hmm… from this year’s Fortunate 50.

– Tiger Woods is no shock at #1, but #2 was for me: Phil Mickelson. That’s right, Lefty makes over $61 million, $52 million of which is from endorsements. Damn.

– Alex Rodriguez only makes $4 million in endorsements, the only person in the top 10 other than boxer Floyd Mayweather who doesn’t make at least $10+ million in endorsements. Must be the douche factor.

– Matthew Stafford is #11, behind only Peyton Manning in terms of NFL players. Let that sink in. A rookie QB playing for a moribund franchise that has no skins on the wall is the 11th highest paid athlete in America. For comparisons sake, C.C. Sabathia, Eli Manning, and Kevin Garnett – all proven stars who have delivered recent titles – are #’s 13, 14, and 15.

I need to stop for a quick aside here. Matthew Stafford makes more money than any QB but Peyton Manning. Darrius Heyward-Bey makes more money than Albert Pujols. The Rams Jason Smith and the Chiefs Tyson Jackson, both of whom were disappointments as rookies, along with overrated Jets QB Mark Sanchez, also made the top 50.

So…

5 out of the 50 highest grossing athletes in America were NFL rookies last year, all but two of whom were gigantic disappointments (with other two being QBs, who always justifiably get a pass in their first year).

If this doesn’t prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the NFL needs a rookie salary cap, I don’t know what does.

More fun with the Fortunate 50:

– Yankees fans will be pleased to know that AJ Burnett made it. He’s #50. Also representing the Yankees: ARod (#5), Jeter (#8), C.C. (#13), and Teixeira (#35). Yes, one baseball team had six of the highest earning athletes in America, with almost all of the cumulative wealth coming from their baseball contracts.

So…

11 out of the 50 highest grossing athletes in America last year were NFL rookies or New York Yankees. That’s 22%, or almost a quarter.

Let’s see if any more interesting tidbits can be gleaned from this fascinating list.

– Dale Earnhardt Jr., who I can’t recall winning anything important, is #16 and the highest ranked race car driver. Must be nice to have a last name like “Earnhardt” and be a race car driver.

– Terrell Suggs and Albert Haynesworth, two of the NFL’s most disappointing defensive players in 2009, both made the top 20.

– Jermaine O’Neal and Tracy McGrady both make more money than Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce.

– Vernon Wells makes more money to suck (outside a few hot months this year) than Albert Pujols makes to be the greatest hitter alive.

– DeAngelo Hall was #40. Way to go Dan Snyder.

– Consider all of the NFL defensive players I’ve already named, and then consider this: they all make more money in than high character, high motor, high productivity Cowboys LB Demarcus Ware. For once, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are not an example of disgusting excess.

I think that’s about all I’ve got. Was there anymore else egregious that I left off? Comment below.

What’s the overall takeaway here? Well, obviously the money made by athletes is nowhere close to commensurate with performance or character. But I guess we knew that already. I just find it amusing to put it into comparative terms like I did above.

Really, what we should all be saying is “Darrius Heyward-Bey, you da man!” And then teaching our kids to be really, really, really, ridiculously fast (hands be damned) in hopes that they get drafted a) in the first round of the NFL draft and b) by the Raiders. Looks like a pretty good gig to me.

Update: I tidied this post up a bit after I first published it. I didn’t quite understand SI’s methodology correctly. The salary numbers used for NFL players are actually for the upcoming season, not last season…which to me actually makes their placement even more egregious. Anyway, I cleaned up any confusing statements.

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* – Darrius Heyward-Bey photo credit: Valley Sports Pulse

* – Albert Pujols photo credit: AP Photo/Al Behrman via ESPN.com

Well, Votto wasn’t the only player with Midwest ties who got bent over when the rosters were announced today. Paul Konerko and Alex Rios of the Chicago White Sox also have legitimate beef with Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

At least Konerko still has a shot to make the team; Rios, however, will see perhaps the greatest half season of his career go unrecognized. That’s BS.

First, take a look at the outstanding seasons being turned in by Konerko and Rios, the two players who have carried an otherwise underperforming White Sox offense.

• Konerko: .297/.386/.564, .950 OPS, 20 HR, 57 RBI, 45 R, 0 SB
• Rios: .307/.362/.516, .878 OPS, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 49 R, 22 SB, 5.3 UZR

Outstanding all around numbers for both, with Rios’ excellent defense in center being an underrated quality he’s brought to the White Sox this year.

Now, the question is which players Girardi selected should Konerko and Rios have made it over. I hate it when people say “So-and-so should be an All Star” but then don’t say who should be taken off the team.

In Konerko’s case, I say David Ortiz. Here are Big Papi’s numbers on the season:

• Ortiz: .263/.369/.566, .935 OPS, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 43 R, 0 SB

Update: An astute commenter point out that in my zeal to defend Paul Konerko from this terrible injustice I failed to realize that players vote for a portion of the reserves. David Ortiz was voted in by the players, so Joe Girardi did not screw him in this instance (more on this below). Still, it doesn’t change the fact that Konerko is more deserving of a spot in this year’s All Star game than Ortiz.

After a woeful start (.143, 1 HR in April) Ortiz caught fire in May (.363, 10 HR) before cooling off somewhat in June (.238, 6 HR). Ortiz also should be given credit for helping to keep the Red Sox afloat despite a rash of injuries.

However, Konerko leads Ortiz in every category but slugging percentage, with Ortiz holding a .002 advantage. Plus, as any White Sox fan knows, Konerko has not just been padding his stats with meaningless homeruns. Paulie has been hitting a lot of late-inning, game-deciding taters all year long…and I do mean all year long.

Unlike Ortiz, Konerko’s great numbers are not a product of one hot month. While he did struggle somewhat in May (.233, 3 HRs), Konerko was outstanding in both April (.297, 11 HRs) and June (.351, 6 HRs).

Just based on numbers alone, Konerko should be in over Ortiz. Add in the fact that Konerko has played very solid defense (just one error on the year) and has been more consistent, and there is simply no way Paulie should be on the outside looking in with Big Papi getting the nod.

You could actually make a pretty good case that Kevin Youkilis (.986 OPS, 16 HR, 53 RBI) should be in over Ortiz also. Things actually get pretty tight between Youkilis and Konerko, though I’d side with Konerko because of how clutch he has been this year. I’ll admit that I’m biased though; if you want to say Youkilis is more deserving, I won’t argue. It’s a toss up.

What is not a toss up, however, is that both are more deserving than Ortiz.

I guess Girardi thought he needed to bring a full-time DH. That is the only possible reason I can find for why Ortiz made the team.

Now let’s turn our attention to Alex Rios, who really got shafted. He deserves to be in the All Star game, yet he’s not even among the players up for the fan vote! That is outrageous.

Here are the numbers for Blue Jays OFs Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista, both of whom made the All Star team as reserves:

• Wells: .274/.328/.544, .872 OPS, 19 HR, 48 RBI, 45 R, 4 SB, -2.0 UZR
• Bautistia: .229/.356/.530, .887 OPS, 21 HR, 52 RBI, 50 BB, 3 SB, -1.7 UZR

And here are Rios’ numbers again for your convenience:

• Rios: .307/.362/.516, .878 OPS, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 49 R, 22 SB, 5.3 UZR

Wells and Bautista have the edge in power…but that’s it. Rios has killed them on the basepaths and is far superior as a defensive player. He also gets on base on more. I guess we are back in the mid-90s now and all that matters are HRs. Apparently Joe Girardi, like chicks, just digs the long ball.

What would have been so wrong with picking one of the two carbon copy Blue Jays OFs and balancing it with the much more well-rounded skill set of Rios? It certainly would have been the most sound baseball decision for Girardi.

In Girardi’s defense, perhaps his judgment is clouded after watching Rios underperform for so many years in the AL East. Still, that’s no excuse. This is 2010. Girardi should have picked Wells or Bautista and had Rios on the team.

Leaving Rios off the final vote, however, just compounds the error. And look at who Girardi left him off for: Delmon Young. Delmon Young!

Look, Young is quietly having a really nice season up in Minnesota this year. I know this because I have him on a few fantasy teams. I also know that it would take me all of about two seconds to say yes if someone offered me Alex Rios for him straight up.

Here are Young’s good ,but nowhere near great, numbers:

• Young: .295/.330/.484, .814 OPS, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 35 R, 3 SB, -2.3 UZR

Do I even need to explain why Rios is more deserving? I didn’t think so.

Finally, let’s look at one more way that Joe Girardi screwed Paulie and Rios: that time-honored tradition of All Star managers giving preferential treatment to their own players. Honestly, I really don’t have a problem with this, if it comes down to breaking a tie between two relatively even players.

However, just as with Charlie Manuel choosing Ryan Howard over Joey Votto, Joe Girardi adding Alex Rodriguez to the All Star team over Konerko, Youkilis, and even Michael Young, and Nick Swisher to the fan vote over Rios, is simply indefensible.

Here are the numbers for ARod and Swisher:

• ARod: .278/.351/.489, .840 OPS, 12 HR, 62 RBI, 43 R, 2 SB
• Swisher: .287/.370/.504, .873 OPS, 13 HR, 47 RBI, 49 R, 1 SB, -1.2 UZR

Konerko is better than ARod in everything but RBIs, and Girardi did not have to take ARod as a backup 3B because he has Adrian Beltre as a backup to starter Evan Longoria. Why not carry two backup 1B, considering the fact that Konerko is so clearly better? And if you want someone who can play third, then at least take Youkilis instead of ARod.

Oh wait, never mind, I forgot. Girardi needs to keep A Rod – the narcissistic delicate genius – happy and confident. I guess it just means screwing more deserving players in the process.

Whatever.

What really gets me steamed is the choice of Swisher. Rios is clearly having a better overall season and is virtually even with Swisher in terms of power. Yet, Girardi has effectively named Swisher to the All Star team because we know that the Yankee fan machine will vote Swisher in.

I know that none of this should really surprise me, and it doesn’t. Year after year there are deserving players not selected to the All Star team while managers play politics with the rosters. It is what it is.

I just wanted to write this post to let out my frustration, to make sure you know not to vote for Delmon Young or Nick Swisher, and to highlight yet another example of the White Sox getting screwed and being disrespected.

Paulie, Alex…you’re both All Stars in my book, and I assume in the book of most objective observers. Let’s just get to the World Series this year so that next year Ozzie can be the one screwing other teams over. The Yankees get to do that enough; they don’t need to do it with the All Star rosters too.

Update: As I mentioned above, a couple of commenters pointed out, correctly, that I am an idiot…and failed to mention that a portion of the reserves for both the AL and NL are chosen by the players. This is no defense for Charlie Manuel, who picked Ryan Howard over the clearly more deserving Joey Votto, but it does excuse Girardi from a portion of the vitriol I expressed in this post.

According to Bryan Hock of MLB.com, Girardi actually chosen seven All Star reserves, with five of them filling the requirement of one player per team. The two players he chose were ARod and CC Sabathia (who will not play and be replaced by Andy Pettitte).

The reasoning given for choosing ARod is that he is third in the AL in RBIs. Well, seeing as how Paul Konerko has eight more home runs and is slugging about .070 higher than ARod, I’m going to assume that his RBI total would be pretty close to 61 if he had table setters like ARod has in New York. Yes, it is important to be able to drive in runs, but RBI is a stat based so much on the lineup one is in that it is not a good one for comparing the relative strength of two players’ numbers.

The real reason Girardi chose ARod was because he’s his guy and he wants to keep him happy and he wants to thank him for helping Girardi win a World Series. And like I said, I’m fine with that…when it’s a tie-breaking situation. Paul Konerko and others in the AL are having much better seasons than ARod though and deserve to go this year.

So, in conclusion, I shouldn’t have jumped quite so hard on Girardi as I did, seeing as how he had less spots to play with than I’d implied, but the spirit of my feelings and argument remains.

First, she’s not bad looking.

Second, her last name is Spottswood.

Quick, let’s see how can get to the comment section first to make everyone laugh by using it in a sentence.

Anyway, not as if you really care, but here’s the quick backstory on the ARod-Elaine Spottswood relationship, courtesy of The Big Lead:

According to the Miami Herald, Alex Rodriguez didn’t spend any time moving on from Kate Hudson, and now the Yankees’ third baseman is dating an aspiring model named Elaine Spottswood.

And if that’s not enough for you, the Miami Herald blog “Scene in the Tropics” (see what they did there? Clever, huh?) has even more backstory on ARod’s new girlfriend Elaine Spottswood.

I’m content to just post a picture of Elaine Spottswood, courtesy of TBL, and then move on with the rest of the my day.

(More: Picture of Elaine Spottswood | Photo of Elaine Spottswood)

And yes, since I know one of you is thinking it, I have considered how funny it would be if the first “t” in her last night was an “r” instead. But come on, get your head out of the gutters.

Nice catch ARod. Well done.

It’s been a nice half year for ARod after all of the steroid controversy kicked off Spring Training last March. He gets healthy, has another strong season, dates Penny Lane, then wins the World Series, dumps Penny Lane, and now starts dating Elaine Spottswood.

Goodness, if that were me, I might hump my own mirror reflection too.

We are grateful that he was able to take 30+ minutes out of his afternoon to talk with us, and impressed that he was able to be so composed…what with his beloved Yankees (especially Derek and Minka) preparing for Game 1 of the 2009 World Series tonight.

But I guess when you’ve already won 27 of them and can buy your way into the playoffs every year, it’s easy to stay even keel. (Actually, more on this topic later.)

If you are not familiar with his work, Jimmy Traina runs the Hot Clicks blog on SI.com and is an editor of the always entertaining Extra Mustard section of the site, which fuses sports, pop culture, and humor. Hot Clicks is one of the most visited sports pages on a daily basis, as any publisher knows who has ever received a link from Traina.

Let’s just say it can put a strain on your server.

Use the in-page player below to listen to the podcast, or feel free to download this and all MSF podcasts for free on iTunes.

Tonight’s game — between ex-Indians CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee — provided an excellent introductory topic, as Traina offered his advice to Indians fans (watch anything else) and went against the grain from what you might assume he’d say concerning payroll discrepancies in baseball.

We also discussed the pressure of always being expected to win, whether he thinks A-Rod can ever become a “true Yankee,” what it was like to meet his hero Derek Jeter, and his thoughts on Mark Sanchez and Hotdoggate.

From there, a very informative discussion ensued regarding his role and daily duties at SI.com, how he acquired what most guys would consider to be a dream job, and how his view of the media has changed over the years — including how being on TV or in a newspaper does not necessarily mean that you know more than the average sports fan. (And yes we’re talking about you Jay Mariotti and Chip Caray.)

Finally, we rolled out a new section of the podcast that is currently going by the ultra-creative name of Five Questions. We won’t give away of the answers — you’ll have to listen to the podcast — but here are the questions so you’ll know what to look forward to:

1. In honor of Aslyum.com’s Movember promotion to raise cancer awareness, what are your top 3 non-Mattingly mustaches?
2. Who is your favorite SI swimsuit model of all-time? (Hint: she’s pictured to the right)
3. If you were told that tomorrow was going to be your final Hot Clicks, which lovely lady would get the featured spot at the top of your last hurrah post?
4. What is the best Halloween costume you’ve seen? (This answer definitely surprised (and somewhat disturbed) me.
5. Choose one of the following options: film a documentary in which you go trick or treating this weekend with either one of the Road Warriors, in full costume…or…be the fifth wheel for a double date with Derek Jeter, Minka Kelly, A-Rod and Kate Hudson.

Once again, we thank Jimmy for his time and think you’ll enjoy this latest MSF podcast offering. It is both entertaining and informative, especially if you’ve ever entertained a career in sports media or had a massive man crush on Derek Jeter.

And if you want some solid Yankees commentary during the games this week and next, follow Jimmy on Twitter, @jimmytraina, and definitely make Hot Clicks a daily stop.

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* – Jimmy Traina photo credit: SI.com

* – Derek Jeter / Minka Kelly photo credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images via SI.com

* – Mallory Snyder photo credit: MM Agency

However, something caught my eye that has become a pretty noticable trend.

My stats show me the keyword searches that have driven search engine referrals to the site. I’ve noticed that every time Albert Pujols has a big game, searches involving his name and “steroids” spike. After another two-homer outburst by El Hombre yesterday, here are the search numbers so far today:

• “albert pujols steroids” – 53
• “pujols steroids” – 41
• “pujols steroid” – 6
• “is albert pujols on steroids” – 4

And to the right is a snapshot from my Google Analytics tracking since I wrote this post about Pujols on May 15th. These are all search terms and the number of individual visits that have come to Midwest Sports Fans as a result.

I guess some people are wondering about Albert Pujols and steroids, huh?

And keep in mind, at last check my post about Pujols was only #7 on the first page of Google results for “albert pujols steroids”…so the posts above mine are driving significantly more traffic from these types of searches than I am.

And lest you think that the aforementioned post was speculative regarding Pujols being on steroids, I assure you it was not. In fact, I went out of my way to state that Pujols is one of the few remaining guys left that I believe to be clean. There is always doubt — a fact that we’ve all been over ad nauseum in recent weeks — but Pujols gets more benefit of the doubt than anyone in my mind.

A quick excerpt from that post, which was written a few weeks before the now infamous Raul Ibanez post:

I’ve given up hope on most current and former baseball players and stopped giving the vast majority of them any benefit of the doubt. And I don’t blame myself for not being able to withstand the force of pessimism…I blame Major League Baseball and the greed and vanity of the players.

However, one of the few guys that I remain steadfast in defending is Albert Pujols.

…

In fact, I’m done referring to PED’s as performance-enhancing drugs. From now, I’m calling them Pujols Emulation Drugs. Albert Pujols is the standard by which all other major league baseball players should be held, both on and off the field. Anyone caught using PEDs, like Manny for instance, is clearly just trying to reach Pujols’ level. But that’s the greatness of Albert Pujols: he didn’t need to use PEDs to get where he is (good Lord I hope…I really do).

I could go into all of the SEO reasons why this post ended up on the first page for an “albert pujols steroids” search, but I don’t want to bore you. Mainly it’s because those terms are in the <title> tag and the content matches up. It wasn’t necessarily my intention (not that I’m complaining, mind you) but I am glad that people searching for this information are finding that post.

Just as in the case of the Ibanez post, my discussion about Pujols was completely speculative, completely honest in terms of my thoughts and feelings, and highlighted a continuing problem in Major League Baseball that still requires addressing. The tone of the Pujols piece was more explicit in giving him the benefit of the doubt than the Ibanez article (something I’ve previously recognized as wishing I could do over) but I don’t really see a huge gulf of difference between them.

At the end of the day, Albert Pujols and Raul Ibanez sit atop my list of players that I believe in more than others. Everyone is playing with a cloud of suspicion right now, testing policy or not, and that’s just the reality. And while stories like ARod and Manny continue to frustrate me and many other baseball fans (though many have professed to just not caring anymore, which is fair…I’m just not there yet), I still try to focus more of my attention and appreciation on the guys who I think have always played the game the right way.

With that said, a list was recently published at the site RotoInfo that is supposedly the complete list of the 103 players who failed drug tests prior to the 2003 season. It is accompanied by the statement “Rumored steroid list (UNCONFIRMED)” and no other information is given but names. I find it absolutely amazing that my piece about Raul Ibanez — which accused no one — caused such a huge stir, while this list — which accuses 103 players specifically — has gone relatively under the radar in comparison. Again, I’m not complaining about the exposure generated by the Ibanez post, and I never have. The whole thing just still seems so random to me.

For the record, I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other about the RotoInfo list. I’ve seen other lists that have attempted to guess the identities of the 103 players and I simply lump this in with those. It’s just a speculative list — which I’m fine with — and there is no reason to consider it something more or less than any other list until we have some sort of confirmation. Tommy Craggs over at Deadspin wrote about the list yesterday and offers a more informed opinion about its potential validity than I can provide, as I am not all that familiar with the past work of RotoInfo.

However, after seeing the RotoInfo list and other lists like it, I figured I would try to flip the steroid speculation on its head and focus on the guys I think are clean, rather than waste time worrying about the guys I think may have cheated over the years. I will state again that I firmly believe every player is legitimately under suspicion; not necessarily that they are currently using, as I think testing has to have had a positive impact, but that they might have used in the past during the height of the PED era. With that said, there are guys that I believe in a lot more than others. So even though I’ve somewhat become an icon for negative steroid speculation (fair or not), allow me to tread for a few moments in the much less volatile and Rosenthalless ground of positive steroid speculation.

Here is my own personal speculative list of guys currently playing that I think have always been clean and still are (but that, granted, I still wouldn’t be totally shocked to learn dabbled in PEDs at some point during their careers).

Note: This list is not meant to be exhaustive. It only takes into account players who have played at a consistently above average level for a number of years and that I feel I could make a legitimate statistical and empirical case for in defending. Feel free to argue or add to the list in the comments:

• Albert Pujols
• Raul Ibanez (as said in the post linked above, after looking at even more statistical evidence that I’d originally neglected, I believe in his numbers much more than when I initially wrote the post.)
• Mark Buehrle
• Derek Jeter
• Roy Halladay
• Justin Morneau
• David Wright
• Grady Sizmore
• Mariano Rivera
• Joe Nathan
• Johan Santana
• Ichiro Suzuki
• Jim Thome
• C.C. Sabathia
• Ken Griffey Jr.

If you want to know how I arrived at this list, here you go: I clicked on each of the rosters in my fantasy league and went down the list, just going with my gut reaction. I tried to stick with more veteran guys who were around during the early parts of this decade. There were plenty of guys that “almost made it” (although I won’t name them so I don’t get accused of implicitly accusing them) but the guys above are the ones that I didn’t hesitate to add.

I suppose there are two ways to look at this list. I was actually surprised to find that many guys that I feel relatively comfortable with, but it still looks pretty paltry in comparison to the total number of MLB players. The list is only about half a roster’s worth of players. Congratulations once again Major League Baseball. The rotten fruits of your greed never cease to find new and exciting ways to manifest themselves.

Bringing things full circle, Albert Pujols does, in my mind, stand out as the “last great hope” of baseball fans who want to see records held by guys we believe in. I still consider Roger Maris to be the single-season home run king and I still consider Hank Aaron (my favorite player as a kid, even though he was retired) to be all-time home run king. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, etc., etc.; these guys are not worthy of such lofty status. If Albert Pujols ever achieves one or both of those marks, I believe he will be worthy.

(Good Lord I hope…I really do.)

* – Albert Pujols photo credit: AlbertPujolsFanClub.com

Last night in Saint Louis

Later this week or early next, he will hit his 352nd homerun, which will allow him to pass Ralph Kiner for the most long balls in the first nine years of one’s career. For reference, Alex Rodriguez hit fewer than 300 his first nine big league seasons.

While A-Rod, steroid issues aside, will now be very hard-pressed to pass Barry Bonds and become the all-time homerun king (Alex, approaching his 34th birthday, hit #565 last night) Pujols, statistically, has a valid shot.

You don’t have to do much math to figure, if the Cards’ first basemen ends 2009 with roughly 380, he is halfway to Barry, and Albert does not turn 30 until January of next year. Averaging just 40 for the next five seasons will give him close to 600 before age 35, when non-drug users generally slow down.

Can he hit another 170 or so from age 35 on? That is the question. (Barry Bonds hit about 350 after age 35, for what it’s worth; while Ken Griffey Jr has only hit 119 due to injuries)

With alleged and confessed steroid use in MLB tainting many HR records in the eyes of fans and media, Pujols, assuming he’s clean (the czars are already doing drug tests on him regularly, which he’s passing), is the Great Hope for baseball fans everywhere.

[Editor's Update: Even more amazing is the fact that Pujols is doing all of this with very little protection in the Cardinals lineup, as discussed earlier today by our good friend Moon Dog in his article Albert Pujols Should Vote His Teammates Off the Island.]

I would assume that most people have probably seen the interview with Peter Gammons as well, so a complete summary is not necessary.

Before I get into my analysis, I do want to point out the hilarity of the picture to the left. This was taken on my phone while watching the interview on ESPNews.

Apparently the people at ESPN really wanted everyone to know that ARod had admitted to using steroids. As if watching and listening to the interview wasn’t enough, we have three separate windows on the screen informing us of the breaking news.

ESPN sure knows how to do overkill better than any other network, don’t they?

Anyway, after watching the full length of the interview and reviewing the full transcript at ESPN.com, there are a few excerpts that I don’t think are getting enough attention. Here they are, with my analysis below.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #1:

PETER GAMMONS: ESPN surveyed a number of doctors and experts in this field, and they said the Primobolan could never be prescribed by a doctor. But it was accessible?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: First of all, I want to see these tests because I haven’t seen them … I am saying I’m guilty of being naive and not having all the information and being negligent. But I would love to see the tests before I start answering questions that I’ve never even heard before, probably yesterday for the first time.

So, again, I am guilty of being very naive, and I’m deeply sorry for that.

I think it is important to note that Alex Rodriguez never explicitly admits to using “steroids” or even performance-enhancing drugs” during the course of the interview. All he says is that he experimented and was negligent in using “banned substances” that are now against baseball rules. I’ve seen this pointed out on other blogs, and obviously it is a product of ARod being coached up by his lawyers and/or agent before the interview not to admit to anything specific. As a fan, I appreciate his willingness to face the music on national TV with Peter Gammons, but he is most certainly not completely forthright in terms of discussing specifics.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #2:

PETER GAMMONS: Now, you mentioned the Katie Couric interview. You were asked if you ever used steroids, human growth hormones or other performance-enhancing substances. You said no, flat-out no. In your mind, that wasn’t a lie?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: At the time, Peter, I wasn’t even being truthful with myself. How am I going to be truthful with Katie or CBS? Today, I’m here to tell the truth, and I feel good about that. I think my fans deserve that. I’m ready to put everything behind me and go play baseball. You know, we have a great team this year. I couldn’t be more excited about the guys that we’ve brought in, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett … It’s an important time in my life to turn the page and focus on what’s next.

PETER GAMMONS: So from 2004 on, you have been completely clean?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Yes.

I am glad that he addressed the Couric interview, because he told a bald-faced lie to the nation. Whether or not he knew that he had failed a test, he certainly knew at the time that he had taken PEDs, and he wisely realized there was no way of wriggling out of that one.

The irony of the next question from Gammons though, coming on the heels of explaining his lie to Katie Couric, is just delicious. I really want to believe Alex Rodriguez in today’s interview, and give him the benefit of the doubt, but how do we know that he’s being truthful with himself, and us, now?

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #3:

PETER GAMMONS: You were tested during the WBC [World Baseball Classic] in 2006, is that correct?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Correct. I got tested in 2006. And also this year when I go down to Puerto Rico, I’m sure I’ll get tested again in 2009.

Prior to Texas, I really had — at that time in Seattle, I had never even heard of a player taking a substance, a steroid of any kind in my Seattle days. I mean, I know this lady from Sports Illustrated, Selena Roberts, is trying to throw things out there that in high school I tried steroids. I mean, that’s the biggest bunch of baloney I’ve ever heard in my life.

I mean, what makes me upset is that Sports Illustrated pays this lady, Selena Roberts, to stalk me. This lady has been thrown out of my apartment in New York City. This lady has five days ago just been thrown out of the University of Miami police for trespassing. And four days ago she tried to break into my house where my girls are up there sleeping, and got cited by the Miami Beach police. I have the paper here. This lady is coming out with all these allegations, all these lies because she’s writing an article for Sports Illustrated and she’s coming out with a book in May.

Really respectable journalists are following this lady off the cliff and following her lead. And that, to me, is unfortunate.

This excerpt is one of the most compelling in the entire interview. First, continuing with the irony, ARod says that Selena Roberts’ purported claims that he took steroids in high school is the “biggest bunch of baloney” he’s ever heard. Hmm…it seems to me like ARod’s outright lie to Katie Couric on national television was just as big a bunch of baloney, if not moreso, seeing as how we have no way of knowing whether he did in fact take steroids in high school or not.

Then he totally catches me, and probably most everybody else, completely off guard with his accusations against Selena Roberts. I can’t wait to hear her and SI’s response to this. If true, it’s pretty salacious; and you have to reasonably assume it’s true or else ARod has completely lost his mind. I’m not sure if this was the right forum to present these accusations, and divert the attention from apologizing for his own mistakes, but these claims certainly need to be vetted out in public and will provide even more layers of intrigue to a pretty outrageous story all around.

(Update: Selena Roberts has released a statement categorically denying ARod’s claims that she stalked him, which you can view over at FanHouse, and which I can link you to because Jay Mariotti did not write the article. The FanHouse article also includes some details about the upcoming book that Selena Roberts is writing about ARod — yet another layer to the escalating feud between the two. Thanks to Tim over at MLBTradeRumors for tipping me off to the fact that Roberts had issued a statement.)

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #4:

PETER GAMMONS: A lot has been said about the fact that the union did not get those samples destroyed, which involves over a hundred players. Are you bitter at all that the union didn’t get those tests destroyed?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: No, I mean, God has done this for a reason. There’s a reason why. I can care less about what the union did. I could care less about what Selena Roberts did. This has to come out. This is very important.

The most important thing for me in my career is to be honest and forthright, to go into my ’09 season as part of the greatest organization in the world, as one of the guys to go out and try to reach our goal.

And when you have that monkey on your back, it’s really hard to be the person that you know you can be. It’s hard to fulfill your potential that way.

I’m not sure God really cares one way or another whether ARod got outed for steroids, but I’ll let him go with it if it makes him sleep better at night. His statement here that honesty and integrity are the most important things in his career is downright laughable.

He has been lying, either implicitly or explicitly, for the last six years. Now, when the story goes public and he is backed into a corner, he decides that honesty is the only way. I can’t even take him seriously listening to that statement.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #5:

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: [at the end of his response to a question about what he learned from watching Andy Pettitte handle a similar situation by publicly coming clean and apologizing]

…You know, one thing I’m learning as I get older, and hopefully a little wiser, is that honesty, the truth will set you free. I’m just proud that I’m here sharing my story. Regardless of what the union — this is no one’s fault. This is my fault. I’m responsible for this. And I’m deeply sorry for that.

ARod does deserve some credit for continuously saying that it is no one’s fault but his, and not throwing the Players Union under the bus for screwing up by not destroying the samples. I’m sure that inside he’s pissed about it, and he probably should not have gone on and on about all the pressure he felt – single mothers raising multiple kids might like to argue about who deals with more pressure – but he didn’t blame anyone else when given the chance, only the circumstances and environment.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #6:

PETER GAMMONS: Everyone cares about what other people think.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Uh-huh.

PETER GAMMONS: This weekend, there was a quote — there was an unnamed Yankee front-office official who said his legacy is now gone. There’s a column in the New York Daily News that started out, now it appears he really is A-Fraud, Alex Rodriguez can forget about have been his run at Barry Bonds’ all-time home run record taken seriously and can probably forget about the Hall of Fame, too. What do you say about that?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: I’m sorry if Bill feels that way. He’s one of the respected journalist I respect in New York. And, again, you know, I feel that — I hope that people don’t follow this Selena Roberts lady and take their lead. I hope they look at this and give it time and realize that this was three years that I’m not proud of, it’s three years I’m going out there, but to really judge me on, you know, prior Texas and post Texas. And that’s all I want.

Also, I have nine years remaining in my career where I can still do some pretty special things, I think.

This excerpt is just curious on many levels. Peter Gammons never names either the Yankee front office official or the New York Daily News writer by name, but ARod starts off by saying he’s sorry “if Bill feels that way.” Perhaps someone can enlighten me: who is Bill? Maybe I missed something, but ARod certainly didn’t. He either knew who the front office official was or had read the Daily News article. Please leave a note in the comments if I am misinterpreting this.

(Update: Thanks again to Tim over at MLBTradeRumors.com, the best MLB blog out there in my humble opinion, who kindly informed me that the “Bill” in question is Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.)

And what was he getting at by, again, throwing Selena Roberts under the bus? He hopes people don’t follow her lead? I guess if he means trying to break into his house, as he alluded to earlier, I understand. But if he means investigating the truth and reporting it, then he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth. I thought honesty and integrity where the most important things to his career? That’s what he said. He seems to be waffling here.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #7:

PETER GAMMONS: Are you worried at all what it’s going to be like those nine years in New York?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Look, I think New Yorkers like honesty. I think they like people that say the truth. I also think they like great players that know how to win. And I think winning’s the ultimate medicine we can take here. If we can win a championship, if we can play well, if we can play well down the stretch, I think New Yorkers love to forgive you.

And right now, I made a mistake. I was stupid. I was an idiot, all these things. And I think New Yorkers can probably relate with that every once in a while. And I think they want to see me, now that I’ve come forward, continue and, like with Andy Pettitte, be a great player again.

This is by far my favorite excerpt in the interview, and it’s even better if you play it live and can see his facial expressions and tone. He describes himself as making a mistake, being stupid, and being an idiot, and then says that “New Yorkers can probably relate with that every once in a while”. And in the interview footage, he kind of smirks as if to say that New Yorkers can relate to being stupid and idiotic because they are too –- every once in a while of course.

I’m not sure how this line will play in New York, but something tells me that tongue-in-cheek digs at the people from the city in which he currently plays, many of whom are ready to boo him at the drop of a hat, is not the best way to garner support from the home fans and rebuild his New York reputation.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #8:

PETER GAMMONS: Now, Jose Canseco talked a lot in his books about you. He claimed in his last book that he hooked you up with a guy that was very well acquainted with performance-enhancing drugs here in Miami. Is that true?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: That couldn’t be more false. That’s a hundred percent not true. And, you know, it’s kind of interesting how “SportsCenter” and ESPN still quote this guy. No, it’s a hundred percent false.

Well sadly ARod, Jose Canseco actually has a little more credibility than you do right now. Say what you will about Canseco’s career and the train wreck that is his personal life, but every new steroid revelation seems to vindicate him more and more. That’s why people keep quoting him, and they will as long as his credibility, which respect to steroids at least, remains as strong as it is.

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #9:

PETER GAMMONS: When some young player or some player comes up to you and says, ‘All right, you knew that what you were taking was illegal. Why did you do it?’ How do you answer that?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Well, I’ve answered that. I mean, I think it comes back to the culture was much different. It had a lot to do with me being stupid and selfish and naive and just, you know, I got caught up in this ‘everybody’s doing it’ era. So, you know, why not experiment with X, Y or Z?

You know, there’s absolutely no excuses, and I feel deep regret for that.

This excerpt contains perhaps the greatest instance of Freudian truth in the entire interview. ARod says that there are no excuses, and that he feels deep regret “for that”. Deep regret for what ARod? That you cheated and took PEDs or that there are no more excuses, you were outed, and had to come clean? Seeing as how he straight up lied to Katie Couric, and did not come forward until he had no other choice for the sake of his reputation, I think while he probably does legitimately feel bad for cheating, the honest truth is that his biggest regret is that he didn’t get away with it. Call me a pessimist I guess, but if his biggest regret really was that he cheated, why would he wait until now to come forward?

Alex Rodriguez ESPN Interview Transcript Excerpt #10:

PETER GAMMONS: Did you learn anything from the congressional hearings and some of the players with comments who have been in staunch denial? Did you learn from them?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: You know, again, I don’t like to focus on anybody else but my situation. I think there’s always something to be learned. There’s a lesson to be learned in every situation.

I just know that for me, you know, putting everything out there and being honest was the most important thing.

PETER GAMMONS: Are you concerned that over the next few months this will hurt baseball?

ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Maybe over the next few months it will hurt baseball, but in the long run, I think it will help. I think any time you put the truth out there, I think it’s very painful in the beginning, but I think at the end of the tunnel, there will be light. And, you know, I think the more of that that happens, the more light will be revealed at the end of the tunnel for the game of baseball as well.

This is another point on which I take exception with how ARod conducted his apology.

Throughout the interview he seems to shine of spotlight of altruism on himself like he is making this grand gesture by coming forward. Am I mistaken? Did he have this come-clean interview with Peter Gammons already scheduled before the SI story broke?

No, he didn’t.

Selena Roberts and SI are the ones who brought this story to light, and ARod is doing nothing more than trying to keep his sorry ass a little further away from the fire. His reputation and Hall of Fame candidacy are already sinking, and he’s just doing damage control to keep it from sinking further.

If he really believes the “bunch of baloney” that he’s spouting about the glory of putting the truth out there and the light at the end of the tunnel, and blah blah blah, then he wouldn’t also be saying, “I hope that people don’t follow this Selena Roberts lady and take their lead” (from the excerpt above).

Selena Roberts, while apparently overzealous if ARod’s accusations are to be believed, is the one who brought the truth to light. If he were really being genuine about how great it feels to be honest, then I would think he’d stop implying that he is doing some great service to kids and the game of baseball by coming forward. He would instead be commending Selena Roberts for compelling him to do the right thing.

Instead, of course, he spent a good part of the interview disparaging her.

Final Impression

As you can probably tell from the tone of my analysis, I do not consider this interview a “victory” for ARod. Earlier today, Tyler posted some nice commentary regarding what ARod needs to do to “save face” moving forward. I agreed with most of what Tyler said, and personally I don’t think that Alex Rodriguez did or said enough in today’s interview to save any face.

I give him credit for taking questions (albeit pretty softball questions) in front of a national audience, but he made too many excuses, offered up too little detail, and was completely dismissive of the work done by Selena Roberts in finding out the truth. I think that from a damage control perspective, the interview served its basic purpose; but it could have done so much more.

Was anyone else left with a nagging feeling that Alex Rodriguez was not being completely forthright, but just saying the bare minimum to get him through the interview? Yet, he kept saying how good it felt to get the truth out there. I realize there are probably legal concerns and implications, so maybe he was hamstrung by those. Still, after watching that video of him lying to Katie Couric, it’s hard to know whether he should be believed now.

At the end of the day, as I said in my post yesterday, I’ve always had great respect for ARod’s amazing baseball talent but little else. The SI allegations certainly lessened his greatness in my eyes, and today’s interview did nothing to repair my broken view of him as a person or player.

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Once again, the biggest storyline heading into this baseball season will be the ARod soap opera in New York. We can only hope that he, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and the rest of the Yankees flop so that they aren’t a major story come September.