A-Rod on the verge

When I saw the story about the Yankees ace hitter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez online last night, I happened to be watching the Yankees clobber the White Sox.

I was impressed, particularly by the performance of the very talented Mark Teixeira (who, like Rodriguez, also began with the Rangers).

Who apparently can achieve wonderful things without, as far as we know (sad to have to asterisk everyone) using performance-enhancing drugs.

Nor does there appear to be gossip about Teixeira showing up at illegal poker games with Hollywood sleaze...oh, sorry, stars.

A-Rod, who has already admitted using steroids with the Rangers, is still in potential trouble for using banned substances.

If the doping allegations are found to be true (and they are still under investigation), it is sad on many levels.

Yes, he does seem to choke under pressure -- but that's a human failing. He's still a great player.

But is he a great man? No way. Like Bill Belichick of the Patriots (behind football's Spygate), he is under a cloud. A cloud that will continue to linger. A cloud that mars the image of his team.

If the allegations are true, a lot of us will be asking: how could he be so venal? How could he be so arrogant? And, most of all: how could he be so dumb?