The Lightning 'Rod (part 3)

I'll go out on a limb here and state my belief that there are no greater conspiracy theorists than the people of the Dominican Republic. As a by-product of the routine discourse of a very politically-opinionated populace, they've raised the level of conspiracy theorizing to an art form. Talk to the Dominican everyman on the streets of any city or town in the country, and you'll likely get an earful on what they see as the real reasons for the spread of AIDS, drugs; the truth about the moon landing; who's actually behind the September 11th attacks; how Fidel Castro managed to stay in power for half a century, etc. etc. etc.

And now, baseball.

You see, I've already heard from various sources that many down there find it oddly coincidental that Alex Rodriguez's steroid use has come to light after he chose to play for the Dominican team in this year's upcoming World Baseball Classic. It's no secret, of course, that the owners of Major League Baseball teams are on record as being not one bit supportive of the WBC. And the street corner philosophers in the Dominican see this as a catalyst for the owners to do whatever they see fit to crush this endeavor, including bringing down A-Rod, Miguel Tejada; dredging up trainer Angel Presinal; and smearing the Dominican Republic itself.

Whether or not I agree with any of this--or if it makes much sense--is not the point. But it's definitely something fun to think about. Although, I must say, no one in the Dominican is smiling right now.