New York magazine contributing editor Will Leitch puts forward a thought-provoking conspiracy theory regarding the timing of Alex Rodriguez's decision to go under the knife.
A-Rod is missing six to nine weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a labral tear on his right hip -- instead of postponing the procedure until November and playing through the pain during the season.
Leitch suggests A-Rod's decision looks awfully convenient on the surface, given the off-the-field happenings on the slate for April.
April 14. Selena Roberts’ A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez is published by HarperCollins. Countless rumors of the salacious details found within — steroids might be the least of A-Rod’s problems — have been making the rounds for months now. (Clearly, A-Rod is worried — he accused Roberts of “stalking” him during an interview with ESPN. He later apologized.) Eventually, A-Rod will have to release a statement about the book, but it won’t be in the locker room with his teammates, which will be a relief to everyone.
April 16. The first game at the new Yankee Stadium. (Oddly, it’s a day game.) The festivities will start early that morning, with the pomp, the circumstance, the Steinbrenner, the Yogi Berra. It’ll be an epic, historic day in the life of an epic, historic franchise … and Alex Rodriguez will not be there. They’ll sell commemorative coffee-table books about the first game in the new stadium. A-Rod won’t be in them. And there will be no boos.
April 24. The Yankees play their first series of the season at Fenway Park. The Red Sox and their fans were this close to being stuck with A-Rod years ago, before the Yankees “swiped” him, and since then, the fortunes of the two franchises have reversed themselves. Booing A-Rod is popular everywhere, but no one’s better at it than Fenway faithful. It’s unlikely they’ll work themselves into as much of a lather for Cody Ransom.
What do you think? Did the off-the-field drama surrounding A-Rod and the Yankees -- and his hesitancy to face reporters over the next month -- play into his decision to opt for surgery? Or do you think Leitch is reading too hard between the lines and making an unsubstantiated suggestion?
A-Rod’s All-Too-Convenient Surgery [Daily Intel]
A-Rod to have arthroscopic hip surgery, should return in May [SI.com]
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