What do kids make of A-Rod's steroid mess?

TAMPA — The signs on the walls around the Citrus Park Little League complex in northwest Hillsborough County say no littering, no loitering, no skating, no smoking.

No drugs.

"Violators will be prosecuted."

On Tuesday evening, Ryan Braddock, 10, ran onto the field with his teammates. Ryan's favorite player is Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. Ryan wears his socks high because that's the way Rodriguez wears them. On the back of his navy blue T-shirt was his favorite player's nickname:

A-ROD.

It has been a hard week for Ryan's hero.

On Saturday, Sports Illustrated reported that A-Rod had tested positive, in 2003, for an anabolic steroid.

On Monday, in a news conference in Washington, President Obama was asked 13 questions. Most were about an economy built partly on artificial wealth. But one was about a player and a sport built partly on artificial strength.

"The thing I'm probably most concerned about," the president said, "is the message that it sends to our kids."

Five of the boys on Ryan's team hadn't heard. Blank looks.

The ones who had?

"It wasn't that cool," said Tommy Mace, the coach's son. "Now he won't make it to the Hall of Fame."

"If you take steroids, you'll become mean, and you'll disrespect your friends or something," Sam Wheelus said. "I learned that from my dad."

The headlines have called A-Rod A-Fraud and A-Roid. The New York Post called him a LIAR and a CHEAT in fat red type.

What will the kids think?

Citrus Park is serious about its baseball. Last summer it had a team good enough to make it to the Little League World Series. On Ryan's team, the "Minor A" Rays, the kids are 9, 10 and 11. They were barely born, or not yet born, when in the summer of 1998 sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa used their Popeye arms and Bunyan bats to thrill this country's sports-crazy public with their home run race.

Now A-Rod. Lessons learned?

"That he should stop," Michael McMullen said.

Why?

"So he doesn't get into trouble."

Why?

"So he can still play."

"Everyone's going to be mad at him," Jackson Koontz said.

"Go to the Y or something," Tommy Mace said. "Everybody can work out."

Natan Montes said he wasn't surprised.

"I actually thought he'd been on it for a while," he said. "I just thought he was too good. He looked too big."

Ryan Braddock, the big A-Rod fan, once did a book report on his favorite player. He learned that A-Rod was the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, and that with the Yankees he got to play on the same field where Babe Ruth used to play, and that he has a German Shepherd at home. Ryan said he got an A.

He was asked if this news made him like A-Rod any less.

"Probably not," he said.

"He's still my star player. He just wanted to show off for the crowd and let them know he was good."

Rodriguez said on Monday on ESPN: "I want to do things to influence children and realize they should learn from my mistake."

He has hit 553 home runs. In 2007, he signed a 10-year, $275 million contract. Next week he starts spring training with the Yankees in Tampa.

On Tuesday, up the road at Citrus Park, Ryan stood on the side of the field in his A-Rod shirt and his A-Rod socks and his Nike cleats and his Nike cap and he took some practice swings waiting to go take his cuts.

The lights came on.

Across the back strap of his cap was Nike's longtime pitch. The letters of the message were bright white on black cloth.

JUST DO IT.

Michael Kruse can be reached at mkruse@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8751.