The local tv stations carried ARod's news conference live (it just finished). I missed the beginning of it, but from what I saw, it appeared he answered all the questions honestly.
He was asked if the Texas years' stats should stand (the years in which he admitted steroid use) and his answer was that it wasn't up to him to decide. He was quick to point out that his best years (when he was very young and 2007) were done without steroid use.
He just wants to put this all behind him and wants to get on with his career and life.
Dunno if he won over any fans, but at least he spoke his mind.
Time will probably soften the impact of it. I wasn't buying the "young and stupid" lines though. By his own admission his steroid use lasted for three seasons - who knows if it was longer. This was a systematic, conscious, ongoing decision that he undertook. Also, probably more than any other player in the game, he had access to physicians, trainers and professionals around the clock. He had a strict exercise and dietary regiment, so it is incredible that he would inject himself with the "supplements" that he would get with his "cousin" and not know what was in it. I think he was disengenuous, but I don't know if I care that much any more. I think he got some advice from a team of publicists
I think, however, that when his career ends, there will be a cloud of doubt over his place in history. Jamie Moyer and Roy Oswalt ripped his credibility.
