Alex Rodriguez—Get the Umbrella Out

We are now less than a week for the "boys of summer" to be stretching, taking laps, and tossing the ball around in Florida and Arizona. This is the time when all baseball fans are anxious and hungry for the warm weather to come back, watch their heroes play, take pictures, and grab an autograph. Fathers get together with their sons, and grandfathers with them as well.

The skies over Florida and Arizona will be blue. The sun will shine down on the fans and give them the farmer's tan they were not able to get during the winter. They can say they were at the beach, but we know there are no beaches in Arizona.

In the spring, fans look to see who's on their team's roster, and hope that in October, their team will be in the Fall Classic.

Unfortunately, 2009 has a black cloud hanging over the two states. It is quite dark and has the potential of causing massive damage. The cloud will move north once April arrives, and will hang over the Bronx for the rest of the summer.

You will hear thunder and see lightning with this cloud, and yes, a lot of rain. The rain will ruin a lot of hopes and dreams for the young and young at heart. No one will be spared.

A-Rod, and 103 other players, created this dark cloud—a symbol of what baseball has become. Just another form of entertainment trying to get your dollars out of your pocket, at all costs.

A-Rod now admits to using steroids from 2001-2003 as a Texas Ranger. He stopped taking them when he arrived to the Bronx. I guess, in his mind, this makes it alright to hide behind this fact—even after denying it on national television in an interview with Katie Couric, shortly after the Mitchell Report.

We are to forgive A-Rod for his mistake. He was young, immature, and stupid when he decided to cheat and get millions of dollars at our expense. Funny, but I recall not long ago a similar approach from an Olympic swimmer that had the world at his feet for two weeks.

I read comments from many fans saying if they tested positive for illegal drugs, they would be fired on the spot. They are right, but there is a big difference between you and A-Rod. You being fired for illegal drug use is because your productivity is way down, and it is affecting the company you work for. A-Rod was using "performance enhancing" drugs, and he was putting up monster numbers.

A-Rod has a lot of explaining to do. Why should he carry the burden? Why not the other 103? I have $300 million reasons why he should. A-Rod put himself in this mess. No one was supposed to know. It was supposed to be a secret.

This dark cloud that wears No. 13 will be around for awhile. Baseball needs to move this cloud and do it fast, or we are in for a big storm.