Biogenesis Scandal Heats Up Centering Around Alex Rodriguez

ESPN investigative reporters T.J. Quinn and Mike Fish have reported that a previously elusive figure in the Biogenesis PED scandal, Porter Fischer, has spoken out, saying that Yankee Alex Rodriguez sought help from clinic head Tony Bosch last year during the American League Championship Series when A-Rod was slumping with a 1-9 mark.

Fischer is also an important piece to baseball's last drug scandal for many reasons. One, Major League Baseball paid him $5,000 for clinic records he turned over to the league in its investigation of the clinic's South Florida reach.  MLB is still working its way through those reports.  Two, Fischer was a co-partner of Biogenesis and paid $20,000 for entry to have influence in the lab, but later backed out because he didn't like what was going on with Bosch.  Bosch paid him back the $20,000 by request, according to sources, but still owed Fischer $4,000.

Three, enter A-Rod.  A-Rod paid $4,000 to "someone" months ago to keep quiet about Biogenesis once it was leaked nationally to the media.  Well, that someone, we now know, was Bosch, once the Yankees' problematic third baseman was told by Bosch that Fischer was ready to tell-all about Biogenesis because he wasn't getting the money he was owed.  A-Rod paid Bosch "to make it go away," according to sources, and Bosch likely used that relative dollar figure to pay Fischel to stay quiet.

A-Rod is now front and center again, because we now know why he paid Bosch off.  It was to keep Fischel quiet, which didn't work anyway now that MLB is involved and it has secured records and documents from Fischel.   A-Rod has been masked again as a liar, after he has repeatedly said he has had nothing to do with Biogenesis or will not talk in-depth about it.

Do the Yankees still need more reasons to just flat-out release the guy and eat the money in order to make the team better?

Apparently so.  Maybe the Yanks will wake-up if Alex Rodriguez opens his own PED clinic named A-Rod-Genesis.  Then, maybe, the Yanks will be convinced he is no longer welcome.

By:  Mike Lindsley, "Mid-Day with Mike," M-F 1-4, Yankees pre/post game host on 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio.  Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/MikeLSports.