I can't wait for Roger to go in wearing #22.Originally Posted by RickD
I hope the Sox give his #21 away to some bench jockey next season.
I can't wait for Roger to go in wearing #22.
Still stand by what I said above,in post #2.....plus kick in some politicking as well....This is just my personal opinion
Baseball (ie MLB) loved drugs in the late '80's/'90's - the sport was ill,financially at least, & embraced the Sosa/Bonds/McGwire's as helping get Americans (& the world) fall back in love.
As other drug tainted sports (Cycling & Weightlifting come to mind) there has been a shift in ideology - this is not due to getting the sport clean but pure & simple economics.
Let's simply look at the supposed effects* of steroids:
1) increased power &
2) quicker & better recovery from injuries.
So basically a .250 & 15 HR guy turns into a .252 & 30 HR guy & players play 150 games instead of 130.What does that mean ? Not much except when FA is thrown in....under FA the .250/15 guy would command 1/2 million at the time,whereas the latter would demand 5x or even 10x that figure because he played more & produced more.THE OWNERS just don't want to PAY now,simple as that,10x market value for a "false" production.
Secondly,as steroids allowed players quicker & better recovery players played PAST their supposed retirement ( ie fall off) age & re-entered FA for a 2nd or 3rd time (you can put Bonds/Clemens in this category).
However,as FA prices increased for average players SUDDENLY the MLB (ie the owners) decided to pull the "plug" on the miracle of power increase & longetivity by banning Steroids & HGH (under pressure from Congress & WADA) but by NOT testing for them basically "turned a blind eye".Yet,the problem would not go away,as the public demanded a "clean game" (helped by sports writers' ofcourse,smelling a good story!) & the external authorities too.
Testing came in but the MLB STILL TODAY does not test HGH nor uses blood samples for Steroid tracing (unlike Cycling or the Olympics) --- heck Bonds is on record (BALCO trial) to have used every possible "aid" (including a Female HGH & a "Horse" steroid plus the famous clear & cream steroid) yet never been found guilty by the MLB testing of steroids,when he admidted using the BALCO products to the media as testing was being done!
The Mitchell report in itself is a self fulfilling prophecy - as it was intended to show what was already known,that steroids were used - yet will be totally inaccurate & useless.Why ?
1) because it was done "after the horse had bolted" -- ie like any investigation if the "cheaters" & "dealers" KNOW you are coming they will simply shift their production/usage elsewhere or use a new "product" which is untestable - just go onto any I-net pharmacy site or bodybuilding forum & you can easily find untraceable wonder products;
2) because Mitchell was not allowed to interview today's players' (thanks again the Union !) & thus was forced to interview past players' & thus cannot "judge" today's game.**
3) He did the investigation without the aid of the Anti doping authorities (WADA nor even USADA)
This is for show!
* Supposed in the sense that there has never been a case study of the usage of steroids on baseball players & can only be shown relative to real studies on body builders & Weighlifters.However,even if there was simply a "placebo" effect then the effects would still be positive.
** unlike Baseball,Cycling has taken PED's seriously,investigating daily---- using Blood sampling,off season samples & even Full season log (ie you have to be able to account for your whereabouts during the 10 month cycling season even if NOT competing & provide coroborative evidence.).
Also countries of the EU have adopted the 2002 Steroids Act & "raid" events whilst they occur to find evidence (yearly raids on the Tour de France & Giro d'Italy have lead to multiple arrests & cases such as 1999 Festina case or the banning just last year of Vinokorov & Rassmussen in the Tour).Weightlifting & Athletics have also started (since Athens 2004) used blood sampling & WADA guidelines leading to bans on Marion Jones,Gaitlin etc etc...
Registered User
Somebody else thinking the same thing I'm thinkinghttp://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotr...about-the.html
Master of Ale!
I wholeheartedly agree. I think it's nothing short of hypocrisy to name players, but not name executives and managers/coaches/trainers, etc. who it's known had at least some knowledge of the steroid issue.
o
Yep,. Multiple times in the report, it tries to come off like it's giving blame all around, but really, it's mostly laying the blame on players.
Registered User
It really makes me wonder if whole Red Sox organization has the same cheating principles that Theo Epstein has! A GM with knowledge from his own sources doesn't even notify MLB about it, get real! And then to go ahead and sign that player.
Even though I'm a Cubs fan I was happy that Boston got a championship finally but after this I wish they had never gotten one much less 2. And there's no need for Boston fans to even try to defend Theo, they should call for his resignation. A cheater thats willing to hire more cheats to win.
E=I*R
The problem is that it's the system itself that everyone in baseball is working in that is corrupt. It's really impossible to be the "good guy" in a corrupt system, and to be successful. So, everyone that's at the major league level right now is basically corrupt simply by virtue of being there.
You insist that there is something a machine cannot do. If you will tell me precisely what it is that a machine cannot do, then I can always make a machine which will do just that! -J. von Neumann
I think they should hang a help wanted sign in the window based on his free agent signings alone.
Registered User
Here's what I was afraid of, congressman all over the country are now getting involved.http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....home-headlines
E=I*R
They really do need to get rid of the monopoly exemption for baseball... no other sport has it, and not only do they do fine but they also don't have congress breathing down their throats.
You insist that there is something a machine cannot do. If you will tell me precisely what it is that a machine cannot do, then I can always make a machine which will do just that! -J. von Neumann
o
Interesting video from Will Carroll:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=705
Master of Ale!
Good lord...I thought he was just kidding about having an egg shaped head!
o
He put up an article today, http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...articleid=7003. I like the introduction:
Emphasis mine.Bud Selig is right. The drug testing program in Major League Baseball is second to none. I'll include not only the other major American professional sports, but all sports. Pro or amateur, US or foreign, MLB has it right.
What MLB doesn't have right is the public relations angle. It came too late to the party--far too late--and has gotten knocked around for the puritanical sin of making us believe. The cardinal sin in modern America is truly Baum's rule: never let us see behind the curtain. While the NFL talks about undersized 300 pounders and men the size of Frank Thomas playing quarterback, no one's questioning the lack of a prominent drug suspension since the rug-swept Winstrol-fed Pro Bowl season of Shawne Merriman.
The whole article is a good read.
Master of Ale!
I've always agreed completely...the NFL is drowning in performance enhancement. And the whole Merriman situation absolutely sickened me last year, as every announcer and commentator treated him like some conquering hero returning to the fold. Blech!
o
By the way, here's some evidence that the testing, at least in minor league baseball, is working:
Code:Minor League Test Results Year Tests Pos Pct 2001 4850 439 9.1% 2002 4719 227 4.8% 2003 4772 173 3.6% 2004 4801 78 1.6% 2005 5961 106 1.8% 2006 6433 23 0.4%
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