Excuse-A-Paloooza: At Least A-Rod Goes the Classy Route

We all remember first baseman Raphael Palmeiro sitting in front of that congressional committee. He thumped his fist on the table while promising that he "never, ever took steroids." Later, after Palmeiro tested positive. he would add the word "intentionally" to the promise.

Pitcher Roger Clemens has improved upon the standard set by Raphael Palmeiro. He denies the allegations. When new evidence is presented, Clemens simply denies more. No new words, no new theories.

Simply, "Uh-uh, not me, boss."

Pitcher Andy Pettitte got nabbed by the same tattler that ratted out Roger Clemens. He decided to take the high road. Well, the somewhat high road, anyway. Pettitte's chorus of, "I only did it once" was soon followed by his second hit saying, "I was recovering from an injury."

Mark McGuire would neither deny nor apologize. “I’m not here to talk about the past," McGuire told Congress.

What did he think they were going to ask about? The future?

Jason Giambi's approach was freshy-fresh. He never admitted to taking anything, but he apologized for it. Giambi told USA today, "I was wrong for using that stuff."

Stuff? What stuff?

It's gold, Jerry! I tell ya, gold!

Barry Bonds' plan, lets call it the "BOND'S GAMBIT", is to find someone to blame for everything. In Bonds' case, it is the media.

He cheats on his taxes? "The media hates me!"
He cheats on his wife? "The media hates me!"
Teammates say he's a jerk? "Media!"
He goes from weighing about 130 pounds and looking like Nipsy Russel in "The Wiz" to looking like an African-American version of The Incredible Hulk?

Well, you get the idea.

So, today in an interview with Peter Gammons, A-Rod decided to blaze his own trail. Rodriguiez said, more or less, "I did it. I was stupid to do it. I'm sorry I did it."

Only time will tell how this new approach pans out for Alex.