Jan 06, 2014 01:11 PM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

With the possibility of Alex Rodriguez's suspension to be announced this week (according to CBS Sports), it seems pertinent to re-introduce an odd string of emails between Yankees President Randy Levine (pronounced Lev-eye-n) and his embattled star, first published by New York Magazine in its Dec. 2013 cover story, "Chasing A-Rod."

More than highlight an area of inadequacy by Yankees management, the exchange demonstrated how email technology is improperly used. I suppose A-Rod was making the polite and responsible effort by responding loyally, but perhaps he should have simply left the messages untouched in his inbox. Prudent restraint, of course, is not one of A-Rod's strengths.   

By their abbreviated nature, Levine's emails read more like a text, and maybe that method would have been more appropriate. The first one in nymag.com's except went: "Hey, tough game, I'm worried about your health, u sure u r ok? You look to me like you're a little off. If just a slump, you will come out, but if more, let me know."

In a nutshell, Levine mentioning A-Rod looking "off" (despite knowing less about baseball than both A-Rod and his hitting coach) could have been framed as a nice gesture -- a chance for A-Rod to collect his thoughts and respond accordingly. His answer, however, was short and probably written in the same amount of time he could have given the response verbally. That should have been it for Levine, but he continued to send text-like emails throughout the season anyway.

Maybe Levin felt uneasy about texting A-Rod, and didn't want to confront him about a slump directly. Still, his emails failed to reflect any depth of thought and were almost always predictable. After big games, Levine would send a positive message reaffirming his belief in his star; when A-Rod was struggling, Levine would offer some bit of clichéd advice and emphasize how much the Yankees needed him. All the while, A-Rod's personal assistant could have been the one responding by the keyboard, so generic were his answers.

Later in the chain, Levine makes a cardinal sin of emailing: never make a joke when you aren't 100 percent sure of how it will be perceived. After all, you can't see the other person's reaction and you can't control how he or she will perceive your tone. Levine compounded this mistake by breaking a cardinal rule of the baseball industry: don't joke about steroids.

"Hey, what's up with Robby," Levine wrote in August 2012. "This guy must not be using the liquid. U didn't tell me what did Chris and Steve say your ETA is. Don't rush it unless u r right. We need you. Nova looks like he may need a breather. What do u see."

By the end, the emailed communication between Rodriguez and Levine turned hostile and accusatory. Fighting via long emails was the final infraction committed by Levine.

Granted, A-Rod's drama was created by him, but if this snap shot was a microcosm of how the Yankees treated their relationship, perhaps management is partly to blame for some of Rodriguez's less than ideal choices during his Yankee career.

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