It's Black vs. White.....Player vs. Fans....Hitters vs. Pitchers in a battle of epic proportions for the heart and minds of baseball fans all-over the world. If he starts dividing us Boy vs. Girl, Oh man!! It's on, then. It's going to be a real throw down at that point. Let's hope cooler heads prevail before that happens people.
By the time Barry breaks the record, there won't be a man woman or child left in the country who hasn't been asked "What do you think....". It's office cooler gossip gone wild.
I don't care anymore that Hank Aaron is too busy folding Bud Selig's laundry to go.
I don't care that Bud Selig is too busy being the most ignorant commissioner of all time to go. At least he doesn't have to fold his own laundry.
I don't care that the more mealy-mouthed, panty-waisted, bed wetting, so called "guardians of the game", who still aren't over the psychological trauma of their mommies throwing out their baseball card collection, keep whining poetic about the sanctity of a baseball record like it's the deity, Get Over It, you little (INSERT COMMON NAME FOR FEMALE DOG HERE).
I don't care if those who don't like it hold their noses, in fact, I don't care if some of them hold their noses too long and have a bit of an accident, if you know what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying?
I don't care what the latest he-said, she-said...did you hear what so and so said garbage in the papers everyday. Who cares what Schilling or Wells or Ortiz or whoever have to say? I guess everyone does.
And even though you didn't ask (that's what blogs are for) I would caution all the haters piling onto the A-Rod as next Home Run King Love Boat that's currently boarding:
First, Alex is more of a Prince Charming type than a King type.
Second, Alex is a sensitive little flower, he senses that like certain high school romances, this one has all the earmarks of one based more on your feelings of revenge against the current king to be, rather than any actual true feelings of love for him. Like, it once was with Derek (giggle, giggle). This has disaster written all over it. You can't toy with the emotions of a future HOF like that.
Third, his manicurist says that the pressure of hitting all those home-runs are going to make those really gross callouses on his hands even worse and then no girl will really want him. Never mind, that won't be an impediment.
Fourth, You know how Alex responds to pressure. You've practically guranteed that he won't get the record now. He like has that thing some men get when they can't pee in a public trough like at Wrigley Field unless there's nobody else in the park and yeah, right what's the chances of that ever happening? THAT'S CRAZY.
So anyway, my point here (if indeed I really have one) is be careful what you wish for. Or whose boat you get on, this one has Gilligan's Island written all over it.
ANYWAY HERE'S THE LATEST:
From one of the best baseball blogs out there:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/
Commenting on today's USA Today Headlines:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/
Boost or No Boost?
Jason Giambi comes down on the side of Barry Bonds,
saying the steroid boost is overrated:
Giambi won't say whether he believes Bonds ever took
steroids or human growth hormone, but he's convinced
that no drug is responsible for Bonds' extraordinary
career.
"Barry is one of the greatest players, if not the
greatest, I'll ever see play," says Giambi, who has
hit 355 career home runs. "I know people have a tough
time accepting it, but what he's doing is
unbelievable. And I don't care what people say --
nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a
baseball.
"It's the same thing for Barry. If it were that easy,
how come you don't see anyone else doing what he has
done?"
I find two things interesting about this type of
argument. It separates the skill of hitting the ball
from the strength to drive the ball. In other words,
if the eye-hand coordination isn't there, if the body
mechanics aren't there, it doesn't matter how strong
you are.
So, if players believe this is true, why take steroids
in the first place? Giambi didn't answer that.
"Unfortunately, (the rumors) are going to be a part of
it. But that's OK. I'm probably tested more than
anybody else. I'm not hiding anything," said Giambi,
hitting .273 with five homers this season. "That stuff
didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people
say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting
a baseball."
In general, people use drugs because they work.
Recreational drugs make you feel good. Steroids help
build muscle. If Giambi is suddenly becoming talkative
on the subject, let's hear the whole thing. And I hope
it's better than, "Everyone else was doing it."
My commentary regarding the article and David Pinto's
comments over at Baseball Musings:
Interesting analogy you make to use of PED and use of
recreational drugs.
It's the short-term temporary illusion that
recreational drugs make you feel better when, in most
cases, on a long-term basis, they really don't succeed
in making many people feel better overall.
I believe much the same to be true with steroids/HGH
use in baseball, reflected in Giambi's comments.
Short-term, confidence boost, yes.
Muscle Mass increase, yes. Whether that additional
mass is utilized to faster bat speed has not yet been
proven conclusively for obvious reasons.
And Bonds always had lightning quick bat speed and hit
some monster tape measure home runs even back when he
was built like a Popsicle stick.
You would have to improve bat speed, which is a
combination of strength and speed. Very difficult to
do both. Many believe without being blessed with good
genetics ie: higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle
fibers, that increased mass in most cases is
irrelevant except to make for a better looking squad
coming off the bus.
I thinks that is what the David Ortiz's and Giambi's
are getting at when they acknowledge what Bonds is
doing is admirable on some level.
Either he's the only one who has figured out how to
combine PED use with maintenance of the unique sports
skill of hitting a baseball (hardest thing to do in
sports IMO) while avoiding injury and breakdowns
associated with PED use.
Canseco's career derailed due to injuries. There are
others Jose implicated who you could argue had
potential HOF careers detoured primarily due to PED
use.
I think that's the reason for the apparent disconnect
between fans response to Bonds and players response.
Among players, most of the negative stuff has come
from pitchers (Schilling, Lidle, Wendell) although
Clemens was surprisingly positive except for the love
tap to the elbow guard incident.
Hitters know how difficult it is, with or without PED
use to hit home runs. And unfortunately, for what it's
worth, they have become the human guinea pigs as to
whether the stuff works or doesn't work effectively,
if you temporarily put ethical issues aside. We won't
know the long-term health ramifications for this set
of guys for another 20-30 years.
Ultimately, you're always going to be left with the
ethical dilemma of whether the risk of being caught
and the long-term health issues are worth the
potential reward of being a Major League player, on
whatever level.
Would you take a winning lottery check today, worth
anywhere between $1M and potentially hundreds of
millions, if you were told that if you won you could
lose 10-20 years off your life?
What's the old smokers retort? "Well, it's the last
twenty years, they weren't going to be very good years
anyway"
Posted by Charles Slavik at May 18, 2007 11:33 AM
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