A-Rod: Playing Poker May be Hazardous to His Image

According to a recent AP report, Alex Rodriguez was cautioned by the New York Yankees that playing poker in illegal clubs could be dangerous and harmful to his image.

Early last month, the New York Daily News reported the star slugger attended games at an underground club with professional card player Phil Hellmuth.

Hmmmmm. This is A-Rod we're talking about, a guy earning about $25 million a year plus whatever his endorsement portfolio brings in. I think he can afford to take a few losses in New York City poker clubs. And just for the record, altho0ugh it's illegal to operate a poker club in New York City, I don't recall ever reading about anyone arrested for playing poker there.

If I were a reporter covering the New York Yankees, I'd focus on A-Rod's dreadful post-season performance, not his poker.

But I'm not a reporter covering the New York Yankees. I'm a lifelong Dodger fan who'se hoping the Yanks are fed up enough with A-Rod's disgraceful poker playing habits to ship him off to Los Angeles, where legal poker clubs abound. That way the Dodgers can reap the benefit of his usual 40 homers, 100+ RBIs, and .300 batting average. Alex can play poker to his heart's content. And we Dodger fans won't have to worry about his post season failures either; even with A-Rod in the lineup the Dodgers seem a long shot to make it into post-season play.