Willie Mays Was Way Better Than Alex Rodriguez

Not sure that Mays needed confirmation from the pocket-protector crowd but OK, the results of the pick-a-metric comparison confirm what my old-fashioned eyeball test tells me, it's Mays in a landslide.

from fivethirtyeight.com
Willie Mays Was Way Better Than Alex Rodriguez:

Certainly, we’ve reflected positively upon Rodriguez’s immense talent — steroids notwithstanding — in the past. But we also thought it would be a useful public service to once again point out that passing a legend on a prestigious statistical list doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the better player. In the case of the Say Hey Kid versus A-Rod, it’s Mays in a landslide.

An easy way to measure Mays’ dominance over A-Rod is to look at the all-time wins above replacement (WAR) leaderboard¹. By total WAR, Mays ranks as the fifth most-productive player in major-league history, trailing only Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds and pitchers Cy Young and Walter Johnson. Mays also ranks as the third-best non-pitcher ever, according to JAWS, which attempts to balance a player’s aggregate WAR compilation against the brilliance of his peak. Among position players in the history of baseball, only Ruth had a better prime — as measured by WAR in a player’s best seven seasons — than Mays did when he was at the top of his game.

'via Blog this'

Barry Bonds Set for Hall of Fame Induction -- Just Not That One

Krukow adds that Bonds should go into every HOF that exists and of course I agree. For the reasons stated below and then some. Bonds advantages came first and foremost from his Dad who gifted him with off the charts athletic ability and his close proximity to the wisdom of the greatest all-around baseball player who ever played the game in Willie Mays. Unless he was the deaf, dumb and blind kid he couldn't do anything but succeed in the game of baseball.

The media still has too much on their plate trying to clean up the mess left by their chosen "good guys" who cheated and were given the "nice-guy pass" like Tom "Perfect Balls" Brady and Alex Rodriguez ( and before that Andy Pettitte vis-a-vis Roger Clemens ).

Hmmmm......makes you wonder about the medias ability to pick "nice guys" or judge a person's character in the first place.  Hmmmm............

from mercurynews.com
Barry Bonds Set for Hall of Fame Induction -- Just Not That One:

Kuiper, too, would prefer that the discussion Monday center on Bonds' remarkable talents. Asked for his favorite memory of the slugger, Kuiper pointed not to the diamond but to a plane ride.

They were on the team flight headed for Atlanta, where Greg Maddux was scheduled to start for the Braves. Krukow and Kuiper were talking about Maddux when the hitter said, "You want to know something? I'll tell you the first seven pitches he's going to throw me."

Bonds was so sure of the sequence that he insisted that the broadcasters write it down.

"It never got to seven, because he hit the sixth pitch," Kuiper recalled. "But the first five were right. He knew exactly what Maddux was going to do to him.

"So if he knew what Maddux was going to do him, then he knew what most guys were going to do to him. You don't think that's an advantage?"

 Krukow said: "Bonds is the best player I ever saw that I was old enough to appreciate. I saw Willie Mays when I was a kid, so I couldn't really appreciate how great he was -- I mean, I knew he was fabulous.

"But you can actually see Bonds' genius at the plate. If you break down the mechanics of his swing, they were perfect to hit for average. They were perfect to hit for power. And he had one of the most brilliant minds ever to step into a batter's box."

'via Blog this'

Willie Mays Not Bothered by A-Rod's Pursuit | SFGate

Photo: Chris O'Meara, Associated Press

Sentences don't get easier to write than "Alex Rodriguez is no Willie Mays" and concepts don't get easier to understand than the following:

Nothing Alex Rodriguez does on the field from a statistical standpoint diminishes the player Willie Mays was in any way, shape or form. Period. 

Those fans and sports-writers who have gotten their panties in a  twist consistently over their lack of understanding of this concept just need to take a Mydol and calm down. Records are made to be broken. Always have been, always will be.

Maybe they are finally beginning to "get it". Now that was a hard sentence to write.

from SFGate.com:
Shea: Mays Not Bothered by A-Rod's Pursuit:

Alex Rodriguez is no Willie Mays.

Sentences don’t get easier to write than that one.

That Rodriguez will wind up with more home runs than Mays changes nothing. Mays was superior on every front: hitting, fielding, running, leading, inspiring.

When A-Rod hits two more homers for his 660th, matching Mays, it won’t go over well in these parts — even in parts of New York, where old-timers remember what the Say Hey Kid did the first six seasons of his career, before the Giants moved to San Francisco.

One man isn’t bothered by A-Rod’s pursuit, and that’s the man being pursued. Mays is OK with Rodriguez matching or surpassing him.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” he said.

'via Blog this'

Survey finds sharp increase in teen use of HGH - News-Record.com: News

I thought all we needed was drug testing in baseball and this trend was going to reverse? SOB, they pulled another fast one on us.

I guess the youths of America were not following the example of A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire -- if indeed any of them even know who these guys are or hold them up as role models anyway.

from News-Record.com:

Survey finds sharp increase in teen use of HGH

				Survey finds sharp increase in teen use of HGH NEW YORK — Experimentation with human growth hormones by America's teens more than doubled in the past year, as more young people looked to drug...
				View on www.news-record.com	Preview by Yahoo

"There's so much pressure on winning — it's tough for these kids to stay true to themselves," he said. "I can't change every kid's mind, but if I can do my part and other people do their part, we can beat this monster."

Tygart, who as USADA's chief oversaw investigations of Armstrong and Hamilton, noted that stringent testing regimens are an increasingly effective deterrent to doping among athletes in major pro sports and in INTERNATIONAL competitions.

"But most young athletes are not in any testing PROGRAM, and their chance of getting caught is zero," he said. "When left unchecked, the win-at-all-cost culture will take over and athletes will make the wrong decision."

Among the groups seeking to reverse the teen doping trend is the Texas-based Taylor Hooton Foundation, named after a 17-year-old high school athlete whose suicide in 2003 was blamed by his family on his use of anabolic steroids. Its staff has spoken to thousands of young people at school assemblies and sports camps.

Donald Hooton Sr., Taylor's father and the foundation's president, depicted teen doping as an epidemic fueled by widespread ignorance among parents and coaches. He estimated that more than 1.5 million youths in the U.S. have tried steroids.

Information about teen use of performance-enhancing drugs is readily available online. The Mayo Clinic, for example, provides a list of possible hazards and side-effects, including stunted growth, ACNE, liver problems, shrunken testicles for boys and excess facial hair for girls.

The clinic urges parents to check the ingredients of over-the-counter products used by their teens, and to be on the lookout for warning signs, including increased aggressiveness, rapid weight gain, and needle marks in the buttocks or thighs.

'via Blog this'

But at least we have testing in baseball going for us.

And an endless stream of 1-0, 2-1 games to replace the 5-4, 6-5 games and they still take 3-3 1/2 hours to play. Where's the benefit? Well the cash register is still ringing and franchise values are more pumped up than Barry, Sammy, Alex and Markie-Mark could ever hope to be.

Kids are using these substances for the same reason(s) it seems they always have -- not to improve their performance on a baseball field -- but to improve the chances of securing more glances from and getting in more pantses of the opposite sex. Some things never change.  I blame the Hollywood culture. These numbers will go down when they attack IT with the same vigor and energy they attacked baseball.

As PED-Day looms, will it deter drugs in baseball? - Yahoo! Sports

Finally, first Buck Showalter put his finger on it and now the Marlins Logan Morrison has touched upon something that even the esteemed for Senator George Mitchell couldn't figure out in his whitewash that was called the Mitchell Report.

Teams have just as much, if not more incentive to encourage /condone/ turn a blind eye toward cheating as players do, and until their are substantive penalties directed at teams where it seems to occur a disproportionate amount of times ( maybe it has something to do with total payroll and the need to win to justify same, ROI,  IDK ) then this is going to go on......and on......and on.......

And don't just take away draft choices of bonus slots. If the Yankees had to eat a portion if not all of A-Rod's tainted salary instead of profiting by opening up space for a Matt Weiters signing, maybe there would be more incentive on the organizations to police their clubhouse and training facilities better.

You can't tell me those closest to these guys are not intimately aware of some of the stuff going on in these organizations.

from Yahoo Sports:
As PED-Day looms, will it deter drugs in baseball? - Yahoo! Sports:

To Logan Morrison, the suspensions and shame and loss in salary might not be enough. To really deter them, the Miami Marlins' first baseman suggests clubs pay a price, too.

''Maybe penalizing the teams for guys who signed - like Melky signing that $16 million deal - maybe the team should have to give up something,'' Morrison said.

'via Blog this'

Yankees’ A-Rod Looking To Make Deal; Could Face Lifetime Ban | CBS New York

Down goes the guy who many in the media had championed as "the one who will replace Barry in the all-time record books". Glad we're not letting the court of public opinion decide things.

from CBS New York:
Report: Yankees’ A-Rod Looking To Make Deal; Could Face Lifetime Ban « CBS New York:

Now the focus has shifted to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

The evidence against the 14-time All-Star is ”far beyond” what the league had against Braun, according to ESPN.com. However, the Yankees don’t expect Rodriguez to be suspended immediately, sources told the website.

ESPN.com is also reporting that, according to sources, Rodriguez could very likely face a suspension similar to Braun’s.

An MLB source told CBS Evening News’ Jim Axelrod, however, that the five-time American League home-run champion could be looking at a lifetime ban.

'via Blog this'

Whatever they have on A-Rod it must be pretty good if the options are 156 games or life. The good news for Alex -- there is a lot of room for negotiation. One wonders if TPTB in baseball will allow the Yankees to void what is left of his mega-contract and let Alex try his luck as a free-agent again ( after a suitable suspension ) as part of any deal.

Bet a dollar his average annual salary goes WAY down.


UPDATE:
Anger over latest PED scandal in baseball could lead to penalty of erasing contracts  

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/madden-anger-growing-time-void-contracts-article-1.1410722

The rank and file are outraged enough that, for the first time, there is the suggestion that steroid cheats should have to pay with their contracts. Up until now, baseball contracts have been sacrosanct, as in unable to be voided.

Then it wouldn't surprise me in the least if some "surprising new" information comes to light about the suddenly mortal, but equally as filthy locked-in rich as A-Rod -- Albert Pujols. Then we'll see if the the union ( and it's members ) bites back or if by then it will be too late and they will realize they have been out-foxed and out-maneuvered into adopting a TSA-NSA style position of  "if you're not guilty, you have nothing to worry about".

Enjoy life as a serf boys ( albeit a well-paid one ). At least you will know who your masters are. Ask your Dominican brethren to recount for you what having this kind of leverage does to your employers.

Or maybe my tin-foil hat is just screwed on too tight, IDK check with me on this in a couple of years.

Ryan Braun takes his once delayed Walk of Shame - next up A-Rod?

First to fall, yes. But not the last with A-Rod warming up in the bullpen. Now all of a sudden his rehab has taken a step back. The Yankees, if they have a shred of dignity left should force him to walk the plank, put him back on the roster and have him take his medicine.

from Giants Extra:
Giants Extra | A blog about the San Francisco Giants:

— MLB just announced that Ryan Braun has been suspended for the rest of the season. Here’s Braun’s statement:

“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization. I am very grateful for the support I have received from players, ownership and the fans in Milwaukee and around the country. Finally, I wish to apologize to anyone I may have disappointed – all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates. I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game I love.”

So, “this situation has taken a toll” is code for “all my lying has taken a toll,” right?

Many more shoes probably dropping on this one. It’s gonna get ugly. For the Giants, it’s a small break — they have four games against the Brewers next month.

'via Blog this'

Something about that hair should have been a tip-off that he was lying. That's not ball player hair, that is pure phoney-baloney politician hair right there.

Report: Yankees look to void A-Rod's deal after latest PED charge - Yahoo! Sports

This will do more to slow down the use of PED's in baseball than drug testing could ever do. Remove the monetary incentive and the behavior will follow.

Report: Yankees look to void A-Rod's deal after latest PED charge - Yahoo! Sports:

With Alex Rodriguez facing new allegations related to performance-enhancing drugs, the New York Yankees are mulling ways to void the remainder of his massive contract, ESPNNewYork.com reported.

'via Blog this'

Why people just don't like A-Rod...or the Yankees

He's a prima donna, a pretty-boy and he doesn't respect The Game. Plus, the whole coming up small in big moments is a turn off to Yankee fans and really should be a red flag to the ladies.

prima donna: a vain or undisciplined person who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team

Maybe A-Rod was trolling for lip gloss and / or lingerie suggestions to make him feel more comfortable and enchance flagging self-esteem while performing under the stress of playing for over-demanding NY fans.

Heck, he can't even do a "slumpbuster" like normal ballplayers.

At least he's off the juice. I think.

from Business Insider:
A-Rod flirting with Model Kyna Treacy - Business Insider:

"Yesterday, the New York Post reported that A-Rod was flirting with a blonde girl in the stands behind the dugout after he was pulled out of the line-up at Saturday night's game.
The Post followed up and found the girl that A-Rod reportedly tossed a baseball to with his number on it.
Her name is Kyna Treacy and she's a model and runs her own bikini line called Kini Bikini."

'via Blog this'


A-Rod's definition:

Mark Grace's definition:

http://www.markgrace.com/quotes.html

On the definition of a "slumpbuster", after being pressed by host Jim Rome in a now-infamous 2003 interview on the television show "Rome is Burning" to clarify the baseball slang term (this is the "official" word-for-word transcript from the interview)...

"A slumpbuster is if a team's in a slump, or if you personally are in a slump, you gotta find the fatest, gnarliest, grossest chick and you just gotta lay the wood to her. And when you do that, you're just gonna have instant success. And it could also be called jumping on a grenade for the team."

Clearly not a match.

"Stick it, A-Rod" - Amen, to that

So now the kid that A-Rod dismissed for sticking up for honoring the values of the game rather bow at the shrine of A-Rod stands vindicated. It looks like Dallas Braden may be in the Hall of Fame before A-Rod, no? How about that?

"Stick it, A-Rod," the feisty granny told Bay Area reporters after her grandson had completed his gem.

A-Rod is a tool. It makes for great theatre, but once again, for now, the good guy has prevailed. And I always love when that scenario plays out.

Braden went from little-known hurler to outspoken villain (or hero, depending on your feeling about the Yankees) on April 22 when he ripped A-Rod for crossing the pitcher's mound at the Oakland Coliseum while running back to first base after a foul ball -- a baseball no-no. The two exchanged words on the field, and Rodriguez said afterwards he found it "funny" a player with a "handful of wins" would call him out on a rule of which A-Rod claimed not to have been aware.

This is the problem with defending A-Rod in this mess. He is a self-centered fool. In a team environment, he's all about A-Rod.

I only wish the current Yankees captain had more of the grit and respect for the game that a Thurman Munson had, rather than the touchy-feely, corporate style of Derek Jeter. I can only imagine how a Thurman Munson would handle the A-Rod persona. Given how the relationship with Reggie Jackson played out, my imagination need not stray too far.

A-ROD, ROCKET, MANNY AND FAVRE

BRETT FAVRE - WHAT PART OF GOOD-BYE DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

OMG, Brett Favre is coming out of retirement!!! Didn't see that coming. We're going to have to get Roger Goodell to change the name from NFL to NWFL--the Not Without Favre League--because apparently we can't play a season anymore without Brett Favre in it.

Now John Madden, another fossilized icon, will have to come out of retirement and
do all the Minnesota Favre's broadcasts.

And kudos to Minnesota for giving Brett this opportunity to get this petulant, childish, "I'll-show-you-Green-Bay" vendetta out of his system before he actually DOES retire.

I feel bad about it, but at times I feel a career ending injury is in order. Some people don't understand the meaning of the word retire.
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MANNY RAMIREZ TESTS POSITIVE - WHO SAW THIS COMING?

Apparently not George Mitchell, whose famed report has now been turned into a 400+ page doorstop. See-no-Red Sox users, hear-no-Red Sox users, speak-no-Red Sox users is that correct Senator Mitchell?

THE MITCHELL REPORT POLICY RE: RED SOX PLAYERS




I mean, what was to see here? Manny's body type certainly didn't change much from his Indians days throughout the Red Sox era. It's not like his head, obscured by the dreads, didn't grow right before our very eyes.

I'm sorry, those are not valid criteria anymore? Hard to keep up with the changes in the spin from the media acolytes. More flips and spins than in a Flying Walenda circus show.

On-deck, as he was for many years with the Red Sox during the Sox nation glory years, David Ortiz. He already presented his "maybe I took PED's by mistake in one of those Dominican milkshakes" excuse.

Where are all the stat-heads and roto-heads with their pocket protectors now? Care to run a before-testing vs. after testing look at Ortiz's power numbers. That's OK, you can wait until he hits his next HR this season, which will be his first HR this season, by the way.

But this fits in with the owners strategy of throwing selected players under the bus, taking no responsibility themselves for the culture that they and theirs turned a blind eye to on the one hand, while gleefully ringing the cash register and fleecing the taxpayers for low-cost stadiums on the other hand. Not once have they taken responsibility for their role in the "steroid era".

MLB POSITION RE: THEIR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEROID ERA



The same media hand-puppets who have always aided and abetted the owners in shaping the agenda and public perception also continue to profit on both ends of the deal.

These guys will pen glowing autobiographies on the one hand--as Lupica did for McGwire--and when the tide turns, they simply pen tear-down books about A-Rod or Barry or Clemens.

Seems rather scummy to me and it comes as no surprise that the same newspapers that these guys and gals work for are seemingly going bankrupt by the day. When you are morally bankrupt as a business person, it doesn't take too long before you become economically bankrupt as well.
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A-ROD IS A USER? - WOW AND THE MSM LOVES HIM SO MUCH


And still does, don't kid yourself. At least the New York centric media hacks and the ESPN crowd seem to be falling in line BEHIND A-Rod and against Selena Roberts, the reporter who broke the story.

Remember how the Game of Shadows authors were held up as potential Pulitzer Prize winners? That is until the Pulitzer prize committee took an unbiased, critical look at the book and spit on it.

Where is the pathetic daily whining from the panty-waisted crowd now that their self-selected Savior of the Game has been stained? Isn't A-Rod tainting the legacy of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio? Where are Costas and Lupica now? How about Yankee acolyte Olbermann and his sidekick Little Danny Patrick?

The spin changes now that one of their own is caught. And the media is so good at identifying cheaters aren't they? They are going to put a guy or two into the Hall of Fame, who it will later come out conclusively cheated and then they will be stuck right in the middle the problem.

Baseball had its chance to get out of this mess from a PR standpoint around the time of the Mitchell Report by adopting the Giambi solution and having all parties, ALL PARTIES apologize to the fans, draw a line in the sand and say "From this day forward, if you test positive...God help you". But they didn't, they went to their separate corners and came out swinging, undoing years of cooperation between the players and the owners. The next labor negotiations ought to be a real doozy.
-----------------


CLEMENS AND HIS FORMER BFFL ANDY PETTITTE

And now a book about the rise and fall of Roger Clemens. Couldn't see that one coming either. To be fair, I have never understood why there has not been a parallel story to the Bonds - Griffey conversation regarding Bonds' jealousy of McGwire - Sosa as the motivation to Bonds getting all geared up.

The Clemens story would revolve around the infamous quote from then Boston Red Sox GM Dan Duquette that Clemens was "in the twilight of his career". This was justification for the Sox not re-signing Clemens and led to his subsequent rebirth with Toronto-the Yankees-Astros. Wouldn't shoving Duquette's very personal words up his butt qualify as motivation to get jacked up?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see why MLB chooses to blackball Bonds and now Clemens, while Tejada still plays on as if nothing happened.

And we're spending $12 million dollars and counting to prosecute Bonds, in a case that seems to be heading to the same level of cultural disappointment (or higher) reached after the O.J. verdict.

TEJADA'S LEGAL PROBLEM-RESOLUTION (from Wikipedia):

On February 10, 2009, Tejada was charged with lying to Congress about performance enhancing drug usage in Major League Baseball.[14] On February 11, Tejada pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to Congress in 2005. He faced up to one year in federal prison and deportation.[15]. On 26 March, 2009, he received a one year probation.[16]

So let's review. One year probation for lying to Congress. Not sure what Bonds would get for lying to a federal grand jury, Clemens would have been lying to Congress as well.

That just seems like a lot of money, time and effort to prosecute a case where the penalty falls in the "spitting on the sidewalk" category. Again, maybe it's just me.
Sort of like trying to kill a housefly with a hammer.

HOO-RAY FOR THE RAYS...AND BASEBALL

I stumbled upon a couple of fascinating pieces of data while strolling through the Baseball Reference web site a couple of days ago. And the data leads me to the conclusion that maybe I need to back off my bashing of Rays fans just a tad.

BASEBALL REFERENCE WEB SITE:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/

I was trying to think of when was the last time a team with a similar record and history of futility as the Rays rose up to compete at the World Series level in a similarly surprising fashion.

The best I could come up with was the 1969 Miracle Mets, a team I witnessed grow up before my eyes as a youth growing up in New Jersey.

And I started to wonder what the team attendance figures were, THEN and NOW.

The 2008 Rays drew 1,811,986 fans according to the site.

By comparison, the 1969 Mets, in the New York market, drew 2,175,373. TOTAL. And they were FIRST in attendance in the National League!!!!

The Yankees drew only 1,067,996 the same year, they were basically a .500 team. The Orioles, who won the division and also played in the 1969 World Series, drew 1,062,069.

The 1970 Cincinnati Reds, THE BIG RED MACHINE, drew 1,803,568 the next year, with a 102-60 record.

The 1972 Reds drew only 1,611,459 as a divisional winner. The 1973 division winning Mets drew only 1,912,390 for a team that was not expected to compete for a title.

It wasn't until the 1980's that we began to see attendance figures really swell for some of these division winners and cross the 2 million mark. The 1981 Dodgers won with 2,381,292 and the 1986 Mets drew 2,767,601.

So 1.8 million fans is not too bad for the Rays and the Tampa Bay community to hang their hat on. Perhaps if the infamous "Contraction List" comes back into vogue among the ownership, the Rays will not be on it. We'll see what the follow-up attendance is this year.
------------------
Interesting that in the A-Rod drama this week, we see again a PLAYER, publicly drawn and quartered.

A PLAYER squeezed for a public apology, and then being excoriated in the media for said apology not being quite good enough.

And at the same time, we hear Bud "Sargent Schultz" Selig claim no responsibility, no culpability whatsoever for the growth of the problem.

I'm not sure how Tom Hicks can demand an apology when he should in fact be offering one up for having so many users on his roster without his knowledge. Yeah right.

LET ME SEE IF I HAVE THIS RIGHT:

This team of Hicks' had A-Rod, Rafael Palmiero, Pudge Rodriguez on it's roster from the period in question, 2001-2003.

They also employed Ken Caminiti (2001), Gabe Kapler (2001-02) and Juan Gonzalez (2002). Not to mention at one time employing Jose Canseco.

This is also the team whose player representative to the union is credited with being the first clean player to step up at a union meeting and identify the extent of the problem in Rick Helling.

AND YOU, THE OWNER OF THE TEAM, HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON???


They should force this idiot to state his position under oath, perhaps before Congress, then strap his lying ass to a polygraph and see where the results take us.

By the way, as an interesting side note, the Rangers from 2001-2003 finished last in their division ALL THREE YEARS IN QUESTION.

Interesting stuff. It should make for some great labor-management negotiations going forward.

AN A-BOMB......FOR A-ROD

As much as I wanted to roll my eyes at some of the things he said.

As much as I couldn't take my eyes off the dreamy, pink shade of lipstick chosen for the occasion to make him appear softer, more vulnerable.

I cannot deny the one message that A-Rod delivered with more power than a five hundred foot home run.

The "loose culture" in baseball that made it easier for him to drift to performance enhancing substances. Loosey-goosey I think he added later for emphasis.

I don't feel too sorry for the way he was "outed". The most powerful and successful union in the country finally fell on its hubris and let down its members. It is the MLBPA that is responsible for A-Rod's name leaking out and it will be their fault if all 104 names are released.

And I agree (strangely) with Curt Schilling's comments, that all 104 names now should be released. One thing I can virtually guarantee is if/when those names are released, there will be more Red Sox players named than there were on the Mitchell Report, which will allow people to see that exercise for the dog and pony show it was.

Let's see $20 million dollars on the Mitchell Report, $55 million and counting to put Barry Bonds head on a stick. I don't know what the Clemens tab is going to come to. And for what? Finality? Think again. I know these figures are chump change for the government and MLB to waste, but still quite a tab.

This 2003 list needs to be made public for a couple of reasons. All other players remain under a cloud of suspicion without its release. I don't buy the argument made by Yankees announcer Michael Kay on ESPN's "The Sports Reporters" that players "right to privacy" will be violated. He was arguing that A-Rods "rights" were somehow violated simply by the release and reporting before Alex stepped forward and confirmed the reporting.

This is a labor-management, collective bargaining breach but the players beef now rests solely with their own union. The union screwed up initially by having names attached (however loosely) to the "survey-only" samples. If it's just for informational purposes, there didn't seem to be a need to attach names to the list. But the union compounded the error by not securing the samples and lists and destroying them as it appears was their right under the agreement. THE UNION SCREWED UP.

Then we can get closer to the "Giambi solution" that I've been looking for. Remember, we got distracted by the media characterization of Giambi's "apology as non-apology" when he hit the nail on the head.

EVERYONE, PLAYERS, THE UNION and OWNERS should apologize to the fans for what happened. For the culture, the climate, that built up which allowed players to have to choose between their jobs, their legacy, their long-term health.

Players willfully made bad, short-term choices to inflate their wallets, records and legacies.

Union leaders protected those bad choices instead of protecting the players.

Owners turned their heads and ignored the issue as it grew in front of their eyes. They chose short-term, growing revenues and profits over the long-term health of the game.

And the one gaping hole that I still see that has not been adequately addressed is the culpability of management and ownership in the development of the culture.

Players have been drawn and quartered publicly. There is testing and public scorn to face for future users.

The union has been properly emasculated and cut down to size.

However, ownership continues on their merry way virtually unscathed. No better example of that then the Tom Hicks quote whining about the only thing he didn't hear out of A-Rod that he thought he should have was an apology to the owner who signed him to the infamous $252 million dollar contract that put so much pressure on A-Rod.

Dude, STFU. Have you ever heard of the phrase "a fool and his money....."? Well you are a fool. And a fool who can now claim Canseco, Palmeiro, Pudge Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Kapler and A-Rod as alumni. If there is a team that is the "poster team" for the steroids issue, the Rangers would lead the list.

OK, we've identified the problem. Now for the solution.

To ensure everyone is on board to make sure there is not a return to the culture that allowed this issue to stain the sport, the next agreement between players and owners should include penalties as follows:

THE SLAVIK PLAN TO IMPROVE MLB DRUG PROGRAM:

$1,000,000 fine for each member of the 25-man roster who tests positive
$500,000 fine for each minor league players who tests positive

The money should go to either drug prevention education programs in the schools and youth programs or to grass roots level youth baseball programs to REVIVE BASEBALL EVERYWHERE in this country, not just in the inner city.

Now the teams will be engaged and motivated to make sure something like this never happens again. And maybe the fans will believe it.

Too many have pinned their hope on the conviction of Barry Bonds being the exclamation point that signals the end of the issue. If those folks don't know they are wrong now, then they never will be.

The A-Rod leak guarantees there has to be a change in the narrative. A change in the story presented by the media.

It's interesting to note that now that the Bonds case has transferred from the court of public opinion to a court of law, we see the "mountain of evidence" that was the book "Game of Shadows" is turning into a molehill for the prosecutors.

Another larger issue that has not received much play is this: if the names remain private, there remains a risk that a player who participated in this survey, retires and is elected to the Hall of Fame and later the list is revealed and that player is on it.

Then the Baseball Writers who vote are going to find themselves with quite the problem. There is now a huge and growing list of "Scarlet Letter" players who do not seem to have much chance of induction. That list includes Bonds, Clemens, McGuire, Sosa, Palmeiro and now A-Rod.

That is going to leave a huge hole in the history and story of the Hall of Fame, which is a museum not a Stairway to Heaven. I'm not sure what these guys are going to do if this list continues to grow.

My suggestion would that instead of leaving otherwise worthy players outside the Hall of Fame looking in, I am sure that the writers could open their ballots to include more players like Dale Murphy and Andre Dawson who have not come remotely close to being implicated but whose career statistics were not "artificially" inflated as others in the era might be.

I don't think including players of that caliber comes anywhere near making this Hall of Fame into the Hall of the mediocre.

I think it would be justified under the theory that this is the Golden era of baseball where more fans have been brought to the ballgame than at any time in history. It's the fans game and the the fans hall and they have voted with their wallets.

For the youth, I would say responsible parents can teach their kids about morality issues just fine, sometimes negative examples provide good teaching points as well.

This is a part of the history of baseball, just as segregation once was. We acknowledge it, learn from it and move on. We don't remove the pre-segregation era players from the post-segregation era players.

Finally, it would demonstrate that indeed we are a forgiving nation. If this Hall of Fame and this sport wants to cloak itself in sanctimonious terminology, then maybe they should demonstrate that they have a REAL understanding of the concept of FORGIVENESS.

Miscellaneous Weekly Notes:

A-ROD: MORE HR'S BY AGE 32 THAT ANYONE EVER!!!

Lost in A-Rod's ascension to the throne as the white knight in shining armor, who has been anointed to remove the stain on baseball's record book left by the dragon that is Barry Bonds, is this simple fact:

A-Rod has hit approximately 25% more home runs, vis-a-vis during a comparable period of time in both career stage and chronological age as Henry Aaron himself.

Which begs the question: If it was such an insult to the sensibilities of baseball purists that Bonds passed Aaron all-time by 1 HR, why doesn't anybody bat an eyelash when the graphic is displayed showing A-Rod 25% ahead of Aaron career-wise from age 20 to 32?

On a comparable basis, Bonds would have to finish with approximately 930 career home runs to assault the record book in a similar fashion.

And doesn't this show conclusively how the OVERALL environment in which to hit home-runs has changed for the better again by a value that approaches 25-30% better across the board? (smaller parks, less foul territory, harder baseballs, harder bats, softer pitching, better strength training and legal nutritional methods)


Jayson Stark wrote an article about A-Rod and listed the top HR hitters and their production before and after 32:

Alex Rodriguez 500 ???
Hank Aaron 398 357
Barry Bonds 332 421
Babe Ruth 356 358
Willie Mays 373 282
Sammy Sosa 386 218
Ken Griffey Jr. 460 129
Frank Robinson 399 187
Mark McGwire 277 306
H. Killebrew 393 180
R. Palmeiro 232 337

Is A-Rod really a 25% better home-run hitter than Aaron? I'm not sure, but he is hitting in an era that allows him and others to appear to be. And in a sense he and the HR hitters to follow benefit from playing their ENTIRE careers within this environment whereas, the Bonds, Sosa, McGwire era players, for the most part, played half their careers in the Astroturf era where speed and the stolen base was emphasized vs. those who came along from the mid 1990's. By that time, Astroturf became a relic and the long-ball replaced the stolen base and the hit and run as the offensive weapon of choice.

SMALL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN BASEBALL MAKE FOR BIG DIFFERENCES IN THE GAME.

When the mound was lowered by a few inches after 1969, in my opinion it ushered out the short right handed pitcher (under 6-0 tall) at the major league level. Pitchers, especially rightys, had to get taller to compensate.

When you combine many small changes, all of which benefit the hitters, why is it such a surprise that the 500 HR and 600 HR club is going to increase it's membership by leaps and bounds in this generation?

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THANK GOD LITTLE LEAGUE'S PITCH COUNT RULE HAS NOT TOTALLY DONE AWAY WITH "COACH TROPHYCOLLECTORS" ABILITY TO PLAY TO WIN AND RUIN KIDS ARMS

Yesterday's LLWS Western Regional final between Arizona and California featured an incident that demonstrates why the newly minted pitch count rule may not work as well as intended and may in fact have some unintended consequences.

California had just replaced their starting pitcher with a reliever who began to noticeably poke, prod and otherwise manipulate pain that appeared on the inside of his elbow. This is the tell-tale trouble spot for "Little League" elbow. The announcers commented on it, but the coaches were either oblivious to it or since the kid had not come anywhere near the pitch count limit that would REQUIRE they take him out, were stubbornly going to let him "pitch until his arm fell off" with a trip to Williamsport on the line.

It won't be long before the pitch count is listed on the scoreboard as the way it looks and sounds, it is going to change the hitting strategy for teams when they face the other teams top pitcher. "Take some pitches Johnny, he's at 57" and "What's his pitch count" are going to be common phrases around the old ball yard. It's going to rise to as important a level as knowing what the game score is, the inning and the count on the batter which have traditionally been the important "game situation" stats. Going forward, add the pitchers pitch count.

I guess I rail on this topic every year around this time, but here we go again.

Listen clearly, I'll only say this once for you corporate sponsors and telecasters (ESPN & ABC) who along with your exposure and money and nationally televised pressure have created and perpetuate and profit from the conditions under which this epidemic of arm injuries emanates and continues. Because you know, or should know that what I am saying on this subject is true:

Stop saying this rule is what is going to initiate a downtrend in the amount of injuries to young pitching arms. The only thing that is going to stop it is if you either ban national broadcasts of these events or ban the tournaments themselves outright. The pressure to get EXPOSURE for their kids led to the Almonte incident and leads to borderline child abuse across the country year after year. And a rule change that the parrots behind the mike will laud, while at the same time calling the sliders that pitchers throw along with the curve balls, "breaking balls" and "off speed pitches" in a lame attempt to divert attention from the abuse is disingenuous at best and criminally fraudulent reporting at worst. PLEASE STOP IT.

The parents sell their collective souls and potentially their children's future in baseball in this insane chase for "exposure". Who's watching these kids for future reference anyway? College scouts? Pro scouts? I doubt it. How'd the added exposure work out for the Almonte kid? Not very well.

REMEMBER THE WORD THAT I THINK MOST PEOPLE WOULD ASSOCIATE WITH "EXPOSURE" IF WE WERE PLAYING A WORD ASSOCIATION GAME. THAT'S RIGHT "INDECENT". IT APPLIES HERE.

If you don't know that what I am saying is true and correct regarding the problem and the conditions that brought us to this place, you are either woefully ignorant regarding the topic or criminally and shamefully negligent by putting profits and ratings over kids LONG-TERM health.

YOU CANNOT CONTINUE TO PUT LIPSTICK ON THIS PIG AND SELL IT AS PRETTY. Time and another generation of ruined arms will be the legacy you have created and continue to perpetuate. And you will divert attention or blame someone/something else. SHAMEFUL.


The best part of the game I watched was when the California team coach yelled to his batter from the 1st base coaching box to move up in the box in order to "get the curve ball". Hit it before it breaks, I suppose (pure youth coaching genius since a curve ball breaks from virtually the moment it's released by the pitcher). You could hear the Arizona coach retort (he was miked also) from his dugout, "Yeah, move him up so he can't catch up to the fastball". Sure enough, they called for the FB and one weak swing later, the result of looking CB with two strikes and getting FB, is you have a strike out to the batter, with an assist given to the hitting coach. That's if you're scoring at home.

Priceless. And we wonder why Johnny can't hit the curve ball. If he stays back, he doesn't telegraph to the opposition what he's looking for, he has a longer look at the curve if he gets it, so you have less swings at CB's in the dirt, and you can still attack the FB. The Arizona coach was ex-major leaguer Clay Bellinger, so what does he know, right? The Cali approach has been a pet peeve of mine for years and years, it was great to see it's weakness exposed so conclusively. Thanks, Clay.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

L'Affaire Vick, ESPN and the Giants

ESPN weighs in on Michael Vick, and as usual links to Barry Bonds:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=kreidler_mark&id=2940791

WTF!!! No matter what the story, ESPN finds a link to Bonds. Wrestler dies, kills his family, link it to Bonds. Vick runs his dog killing operation, link a story theme to Bonds. Global Warming, I bet the knuckleheads at the WWLIS find a way to lay it at Bonds doorstep. And I love how every weasel talking head now wants to caution everyone that an indictment doesn't mean anything happened. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE AN INDICTMENT OF BONDS YET AND YOU'VE ALREADY CONVICTED HIM IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION. You'd have to be contortionist to reconcile your arguments now folks. Athletes are supposed to know exactly what they put into their bodies when they test positive for steroids, well the same argument should go for Vick and his property. He should have (and very likely did) known what was going on. Why does Vick get the benefit of the doubt for something that is much more of a disgusting act against society? And please don't give me your nonsensical drivel about Vick not chasing a "hallowed" record. THAT ONE IS OLD. ESPN writers and talking heads are one-trick ponies and when the BALCO grand jury goes bye-bye after pitching a three-year shutout, what say you then?

Note: judging by the other comments posted, it seems as if many others are catching on to the WWLIS's act. My faith in the collective intelligence of my fellow man is being restored.
=====================================================================================



It's difficult to put the Michael Vick situation into perspective, because the details of the indictment paint a picture of a sick, disturbed individual. And it's not as if he hasn't flashed signs of becoming a bit of a jackass before.

He makes the Bonds affair look like child's play. This very likely sinks lower than Pete Rose, lower than Barry Bonds, lower than Ray Lewis and perhaps due to the he said/she said, "was it rape or simply adultery?" nature of the offense, lower than Kobe.

It's absolutely insane that we are at a place where we are searching for the bottom of the barrel of behavior in sports. Let's see, what's worse? Steroids? Rape? Active participation in a homicide? Running a dog killing operation? Pedophilia? Good Luck sorting the chips here NFL. And your dumb-ass sponsors. You all deserve each other.

And now we'll see if the Ayatollah Goodell is serious about his brandy-new personal conduct policy or not. It's different now that we;re talking about a marquee player rather then Pac-Man or Chris Henry or some other replaceable part. Be careful what you wish for, huh Roger-Dodger?

If the details I'm hearing are correct, that Vick purchased raw land and this "enterprise" was built on said land without his knowledge, then you can toss out the rogue relative, I didn't know what was happening on my property defense.

This will get very ugly, very quickly. Because these guys will turn on each other quicker and in a more ferocious fashion then the dogs they bred. And guess who has the most cash on hand to hire the most ferocious pit-bull legal team? And guess who has the publicity generating machine of both the NFL and corporate scumbag Nike on his side?

Right now, I feel sorry for Vick's accusers, they are going to be attacked with a ferocity we haven't seen, well since the last Presidential election.

As for Nike, they've already proven themselves to be a fairly rotten corporate citizen, so it does not shock me one iota that they would support Citizen Vick. That's fine, that is their prerogative. They should remember however, there are consequences for this position. They better hope they are right in stridently aligning themselves with Vick and continuing to roll out new products with his name as the sales tool.

For what it's worth, I'll take my chances on an early burn-anything-I-own with the Nike logo on it. If I end up wrong, I'll by a whole new Nike infested wardrobe. However, the verdict won't be my prime determinant (you know the whole OJ thing).

Let's see how big a fan of the court of public opinion the World Wide Leader in Shake and Bake (ESPN) becomes now that one of the biggest stars of their largest broadcast partner (the NFL) publicly fries when the details of his behavior come to light.

It's like I've always said, don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. Actions speak louder than words. They will act different here, because at the core level, let's just say, we know what they are, we're just negotiating the price.

I forgot where I saw it, for attribution's sake, but some legal expert opined in an article that Team Vick will spin all further media accounts using some euphemism that diverts attention from what this is, a dog-fighting operation, sick, sadistic animal abuse. Much like L'Affaire Kobe's rape-trial was rarely referred to as what it was, a rape-trial, it was Kobe's off the court issues, or Kobe's legal issues.
Making it sound like he was fighting a parking ticket or something. You'll see the same thing here.


Just to remind people that one of the behaviors psychologists have found common and prevalent in serial killers and other sociopaths, is an inclination to abuse animals before moving on to other victims. It is a sick, abhorrent behavior. Clinton Portis's jackass defense that a lot of people do it, doesn't justify the behavior.

It makes the defense that once this jackass exhausts the legal process, Goodell better come down good and hard on this clown. In fact, if I was NFL Commissioner for the day, I would tell Scumbag Vick in no uncertain terms:

"You can play the system here all you want, that is your right, but if this thing gets strung out to the end, and you're even remotely close to a guilty verdict, you'll never play in the NFL again. You will be banned for LIFE. And I don't mean life, like in the justice system definition of life, I mean the rest of your time here on earth LIFE. Are we clear, scumbag?"

It actually disgust me to no end that they will let this guy take the field.
Make no mistake about it, as much as I love the Giants, if this douchebag is playing against them, I wouldn't watch it.

UPDATE: Nike surprisingly does the right thing by suspending the new Vick shoe line that was due to be released. I already weeded the Nike shoes from my wardrobe but maybe now I can keep the pants and shirts.
=====================================================================================
AS THE GIANTS TURN:

Well, we're stuck with Sabean for a few more years. The team is in last place and seemingly is intent on mounting a sincere challenge to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the #1 overall pick in nest years draft. Which we'll use to draft and develop a stud pitcher we can use to trade for another broken down veteran.

That's the Sabean MO.

And don't give me the A-Rod pipe dream.

I think Magowan has been a good owner for this franchise, money has not held them back as much IMO as the use of the money given, and that is Sabean all the way. There’s been way too many dollars tossed down the drain with little return on the field.

Bonds salary over all his years with the Giants has been one of the biggest bargains in baseball. They’ve done a poor job capitalizing on having a centerpiece.

Which leads me to believe that if they ever actually had a legitimate chance to get someone like A-Rod, this recent history of personnel decisions will come back to haunt them. 4-5 teams will be in the hunt for him and I have to imagine the dollars will be close among all. The deciding factor after that, for A-Rod and his agent, will be which team can build around him after they’ve paid his king’s ransom of a salary.

Giants and Cubs would seem to fall back in this regard, behind the Yankees, RSox, Angels and perhaps the WSox. Just my $0.02.

UPDATE: Well, the Taste of Chicago just concluded, but for dessert Chicago gets a taste of Bonds. Two dingers, two balls hit out of the stadium (one foul). 4AB's and three absolute laser beams. GUESS WHO'S BACK??? At this point, FUCK THE WEASEL, who cares if the scumbag Selig is there or not. It would actually be better if he's not there.

A-Rod and His Gal Pal

FROM TODAY'S NEW YORK POST:


http://www.nypost.com/seven/05302007/news/regionalnews/hes_a_yankee_doodle_randy_regionalnews_dan_mangan.htm

By DAN MANGAN

May 30, 2007 -- Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate with a mysterious, busty blonde in Toronto, as these intimate, exclusive photos reveal.

Cynthia Rodriguez - A-Rod's wife and mother of their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Natasha - was nowhere to be seen during the slugger's big night out on the town, which occurred the evening before the last-place Bronx Bombers' pathetic 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

And it came as Rodriguez took a room at Toronto's Four Seasons hotel - down the street from the Park Hyatt, where most, if not all of his Yankee teammates and coaches are staying during a three-game stint that ends tonight.

C'mon, his wife would have just been a third wheel, besides she doesn't like blondes.

Wait a minute, he doesn't stay with his teammates? Who does this guy think he is, Roger Clemens. He probably doesn't want Jeter to steal another girlfriend from him.

"No comment," Rodriguez said when The Post asked him about his north-of-the-border jaunt with the blonde.

Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said A-Rod has "never commented on his personal or private life, and he's not going to start now."

Right, just like his other nasty habits like not hitting in the clutch, NOT playing on a World Series winner, WHY START COMMENTING ON STUFF NOW? Just cram all those skeletons into a big closet marked "Alex's Screw Ups".

Rodriguez went 0-for-3 last night in the Yanks' 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

A-Rod started his busy Sunday in The Bronx, where the Yankees dropped a third straight game to the Los Angeles Angels.

At least the night wasn't a total washout. A size three collar and a waiting Hummer (He drives a Hummer, right?). That's a decent day at the park.

Rodriguez, who was wearing his wedding band, was casually dressed in jeans and a white, short-sleeved T-shirt featuring a large fleur-de-lis on its left arm. His tight-bodied, bleach-blonde gal pal was clad in a snug pair of blue jeans, a shiny, light T-shirt and wedge-heeled shoes.

See, he was wearing his wedding band. That means anything that happened is OK. These creeps in the media make me sick. Fleur-de-lis? Not very manly, but when you're A-Rod, you can pull shit like this off.

Home to what one Web site calls, "Toronto's most beautiful all-nude dancers," the Brass Rail is known for its booming sound system, overflowing crowds, overpriced beers and $20 lap dances - a drop in the bucket for Rodriguez, who has a 10-year contract worth $252 million.

Over-priced beers? But apparently very reasonably priced lap dances (no editorial). And the third baseman is no bargain at those prices either, pal. This writer has his priorities in place, huh?

Rodriguez and the blonde spent an hour or so at the Brass Rail, the witness said.
When they walked out of there, A-Rod and the woman were alone.

Those Rodriguez flunkies know when to make themselves scarce. They'd have spent more time at the bar but Alex is young and not very skilled in the art of conversation and the sexual tension it can create. Plus, he doesn't speak Canadian very well and his posse didn;t have a American-to-Canadian thesauraus.

They then got a cab back to the Four Seasons. Their cab pulled up to the hotel minutes after midnight.

Right before the beefy-armed bitch would have turned into a pumpkin. Good thing those dumb-f**ks were on Canadian time or A-Rod would have been wiping pumpkin seeds off his genitalia. Sucks when that happens.

A-Rod then strode into the hotel behind her. He rubbed his nose as if to obscure his face to other people as he joined her at the elevator bank.

As the doors to an elevator opened, he and the blonde got in together, the witness said.

The doors then closed, and they disappeared upstairs.

Yes, he strode the smug, purposeful stride of a stallion who just knew he was moments away from mounting his filly. Actually, he rubbed a different body part and did the F-you dance for the pathetic paparazzi, but they couldn't print those details in the New York Post, they have standards and journalistic integrity and junk.

Alas, we may never fully know what happened after those two hormonally charged hunks disappeared into the night, but if nine months from now, she pops out a tight-bodied, green eyed little muffin with GQ good looks, in a shiny shirt with a propensity for choking in the clutch, I guess we'll be able to connect the dots.

Good Luck in Divorce Court, what's 1/2 of $252 Million?

Bonds Divides Nation Again...Let's Get Ready to Rumble

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