Alex Rodriguez: These 10 Weeks Could Be Beginning of End for A-Rod

In 2002, the Yankees signed Jason Giambi to a seven-year $120 million deal that became an albatross after he was outed as a steroid cheat before being bothered by different ailments over the years that may or may not have been caused by the juice.

Today the Yankees have Alex Rodriguez who in just the second year of a 10-year $275 million deal and is dealing with his own steroid confessions while at the same time is facing the first of what could be a string of steroid related issues.

A-rod went to see a hip specialist this week about a cyst on his hip that has been bothering him. Now according to an ESPN Deportes report he is going to need hip surgery that will cause him to miss about 10 weeks. He might not be back in action until mid-May.

Worse is that this could be the first sign that Alex’s body is beginning to break down. Gone are the days that we can just assume it was only a matter of time that he would reach 800 home runs.

Instead we are now in the days of wondering if this is just the tip of the haystack. Has age and years of taking illegal drugs finally caught up to him?

Remember Bo Jackson and Albert Belle? Joel Sherman of the NY Post does:

"

“So the Yanks still owe Rodriguez $248 million on this contract and now they find out he needs hip surgery that takes him out until, at least, May. But what else does it do to Rodriguez? Hip injuries turned Albert Belle and Bo Jackson from freaks of nature into, eventually, ex-baseball players.”

"

And people are right to wonder because at a certain point Giambi was one of the best players in the game and Ken Griffey Jr, who probably never filled his body with illegal drugs, was another lock to take a run at then Hank Aaron’s home run record.