The Alex Rodriguez appeal hearing for his 211-game suspension just got a bit more dramatic, as the Yankees third baseman is suing Major League Baseball in court after he says they bought the cooperation of witness Anthony Bosch and for also messing with his "contracts" and "business relationships".
According to ESPN.com, Rodriguez has been going through the appeals process with hearings this week in regards to his suspension and along with that, he now will be suing the league for their actions against him. The report says that Rodriguez is accusing the MLB of paying Bosch up to $5 million to help get him "out of baseball" and that commission Bud Selig was mentioned in the suit. The NY Time first reported the story and now the whole appeals process for his suspension just got more interesting.
Rodriquez was initially suspended 211-game by the MLB, but many feel that the number will come down to something lower. Rodriguez played out the season after getting suspended by appealing the decision and now the two sides are in arbitration with arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who will make a decision after both sides have presented arguments and while many think the 211-games will come down, it still likely means a 100 or 150 game suspension.
ESPN.com reports that Bosch testified on Monday in the hearing and the players union and Rodriguez has argued that the suspension was overreaching and excessive. The Yankees have skin in the game as well, as they would save a nice amount of money if Rodriguez is suspended for the season or a lengthy period of time. Nothing will officially happen until a ruling comes down and that could take some time and comes after players like Ryan Braun and Nelson Cruz served suspensions.
Rodriguez played better than most expected after coming back from his hip surgery, belting out seven home runs with 19 RBIs while hitting over .240 in 44 games.
