… you always get caught in the end.

As I sit here in my Yankees t-shirt reading A-Rod drug stories, I have to admit that I want this theory to be a fact. Not sure Alex Rodriguez would feel the same way – unless he is of course innocent, in which case he should sue SI and become even fabulously wealthy.

Problem for A-rod is this - if he’s on the list then he’s on the list. Putting him on the list, he may argue, was wrong – but he’s there. Sad to see him do what The Rocket did and go down in flames.

The interesting bit for me here is not if he did it or not do it (I can guess) but how he’s now managing the reaction. I think Mike Lupica’s piece in the NY Daily News makes the point really well when he compares A-rod to Phelps.

Michael Phelps got caught this past week in a different kind of story and a different kind of headline, involving a college party and Phelps allegedly smoking dope.

It is a sports misdemeanor compared to what A-Rod is now charged with, and had nothing to do with the records Phelps set in Beijing. But when the picture of Phelps with that bong began to circulate out of London and around the world, here is what Phelps finally said:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect of me. For this, I'm sorry. I promise my fans and my public it will not happen again."

Sports Illustrated went to Rodriguez for a comment and he said, "You'll have to talk to the union."

I remember when I made my first mistake at IBM (I made many) and I quickly told my supervisor. I was nervous but he was not worried. A mistake quickly fixed is not a problem. It’s the cover-up that kills you (eh, Martha?).

From a PR point of view I also think A-rod is making a real mess here. The truth out is always the best strategy. Say what you know. Come clean. Sit through the press conference and the world will move on. There is always another JonBenét Ramsey story around the corner - sadly.

Back to baseball: I am pissed that A-rod is on this list and Torre’s book isn't helping either. These are distractions that the Yankees don’t need. But NY has never loved A-rod and I have never been a great fan. Jeter is there when the action is hot. A-rod is somewhere practicing him swing.

As one of my Twitter buddies tweeted to me yesterday “Arod never understood why New Yorkers love 250 hitters who hit 500 in the World Series and not 320 hitters who go 063 in the playoffs.”

Pitchers and Catchers report for duty in less than a week. There is a theory that we should just let them play ball. I suspect lots of other stuff will be tossed around before we get to that.