1. In today’s Post , I wrote a column trying – for one day anyway – to block out off-the-field issues with Alex Rodriguez and just concentrate on what a tremendous player he remains, and what a healthy/happy Rodriguez might mean over 162 games to the defending champions.
Of course, the off-the-field matters never do seem too far away with A-Rod. At some point this week, he is likely to meet with the Feds about his involvement with Dr. Anthony Galea, who is under investigation for his alleged involvement with illegal performance enhancers.
There has been a lot written and said about it taking so long for A-Rod to meet with the FBI on this issue. But I think most of that is unfair. Look, Rodriguez might have something to hide and his stalling, therefore, could be about a guilty man trying to get his story straight. I am not here to claim Rodriguez innocent or guilty. I have no idea.
But he does not lose his rights as an American just because he is famous (or infamous) and because people want his legal life to take place on their clock.
It is just as plausible to me that a controversy-filled life has led Rodriguez to be extremely cautious, especially in matters dealing with the federal government. I keep reading comparisons to how quickly Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes dealt with the Feds on the Galea matter. But I think, for example, that Reyes was silly for meeting with the Feds with one of his agents (who was not a lawyer) as his only advocate in the room. I don’t care if you are innocent: You do not meet with federal agents asking questions in a legal case without legal representation. Period.
If I were as famous, controversial and likely to stick my foot in my mouth (even if innocent) as Rodriguez, you bet I would hire the best lawyers available and make sure they find out as much as possible about the scope of the questioning. The last thing you want is to get into a room and have the Feds go on a fishing expedition with questions way off topic from Galea. If you are A-Rod, you don’t want a bunch of agents bullying their way in to try to make their star off of Rodriguez’s fame and infamy. What you do want are lawyers around to be constantly advising you of your rights and informing the Feds when those rights might be violated.
Again, Rodriguez is not telling me about his legal decision making, so I have no idea what is on his mind. But, quite frankly, I see nothing wrong with his taking his time and having his lawyers do their job. This is not a matter of national security. It is a case about if athletes were getting illegal performance enhancers. A little perspective might be nice.
2. On how many teams would Joba Chamberlain, Alfredo Aceves or Sergio Mitre be in the rotation independently or in some combination? My suspicion is quite a few. One or more, for example, could probably be helping the Mets, which leads me to …
3. Mike Pelfrey’s continuing problems this spring and the unreliability on the mound and in the training room with Oliver Perez and John Maine makes me continue to believe that the Mets must keep Jenrry Mejia stretched out in the minors as an option to start this year.
The Mets can muddle through the eighth inning for now by trying a buffet of choices and seeing if somebody emerges. But their starting pitching options if matters go wrong behind Johan Santana are hardly as vast.
Again, the script for the Mets should be something similar to what occurred with Phil Hughes last year. He was arguably one of the 12 best arms when the season began, but when the Yanks had concerns about rotation depth they sent him to Triple-A to begin the year. When a starter was needed, he was summoned. When the rotation was back to something closer to whole around June 1 then the Yanks determined that they really did need to keep their 12 best pitchers and to have Hughes help in the eighth inning.
I know the Mets want to get off to a strong start to the season. But they still have to keep the whole 162 games in mind. They still have to keep perspective on what is likely to be their biggest problem over those 162 games, which is probably going to be rotation depth and quality.
If around June 1 they want to reassess, fine, but for now Jenrry Mejia should be a starter learning on the farm.