Enough is enough. I don't know about you but I'm tired of having a name or two leaked to the media every 2 months about yet another MLB player who tested positive for PEDs in 2003 when the league tested guys to see if they should implement testing. I know that the list was supposed to be kept separate from the results but that didn't happen. The Feds got ahold of both because MLB was lazy and dropped the ball. These tests should have been kept a secret from everyone except the lab conducting them and I'm sure that's what these players like ARod, Sosa, Manny, and Ortiz thought but this obviously hasn't happened.
If the public and MLB want to truly put the Steriod Era behind us (at least until these guys come up for election into the HOF) then the player's association, Selig, owners, and some big whig agents need to get together and decide that releasing all the names at once is in the best interest of everyone involved. Look, I'm not here to vilify those players who have been caught "cheating". I believe that the owners and GMs knew what was going on as far back as 88' when Canseco went 40/40. The players saw that for one, it wasn't illegal in baseball and two, they could prolong their careers and make much more money in the process. It's hard to sit here and say that I feel sorry for the guys who tested positive in 2003, but I kind of do. The reason is that's it's been 6 years since they tested positive and they still have to account for those actions whenever someone in the government or baseball decides to leak a name out.
Today's report of Ortiz couldn't have come at a worse time for him or his team. Which leads me to believe that this was done intentionally to hurt the BoSox. They're struggling as a team and Ortiz has had a terrible year (although he has turned it around a bit). I wonder if the person who leaked this story is a Yankees fan? So now in the middle of a pennant race ortiz has to answer for a test taken 6 years ago and the front office has divert their attention from the trading deadline to deal with this fire storm. Every media outlet will now head to Boston and follow Ortiz and his teammates around for the next 2 weeks and ask every question imaginable.
That's why all the names should be revealed at once. At this rate it will be 2036 and names will still be coming out from 2003. I say that MLB should release the names around late November or early December in dead of winter and around the GM meetings. That way the media can still ask questions to the GMs who will be in one central location and it won't impede the current season. It will also allow for these guys to deal with it away from their ball clubs and on their own. They won't have to deal with every media outlet camped out by their lockers after every game. This gives everyone a forum to speak and it makes sure that these guys who tested positive don't get away with a free pass. We could then begin to truly heal as baseball fans and as a sport. Instead of having the wound close and scab a little before someone rips open the Band-Aid. MLB and the MLBPA should finally begin to look out for the welfare of the game and the best interest of its players for once. While the initial shock of having 103 names published will be a blow to all, it won't last forever.
And to the person(s) who are revealing these names every 3 months, can you please start leaking the names of some pitchers who tested positive? I'm tired of everone thinking that only hitters take steriods and that the pitchers are innocent (higher ERAs and WHIPs). Pitchers used them too (higher K/BB, more innings pitched, and look at their salary increases compared to hitters).
L.Glaze
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Of course that would be better to get the names out now. But instead, and this is much worse, it will keep dribbling out.
ReplyDeleteThe key is that anyone on that list should hold the press conference now.
You do that, people and the media appreciate it. But you let them play "gotcha" like they did with Ortiz and it looks so much worse.
I agree with you, Tom. You know that your name is on the list. You know it is going to come out. Why isn't anyone doing a preemptive strike and outting themselves. Its like a little kid who has to get their bad report card signed and they know that their parents will see it eventually, but they still hide it from them until the last minute. It doesn't make any sense.
ReplyDeleteI will go on record as saying that I am loving this slow process of finding out the next person on the list (although I am not the biggest baseball fan in the world, so maybe that is why). You couldn't script this kind of drama! It's crazy to see that pretty much every name is a BIG name in baseball (its probably a part of the strategy-all of the nobodies will come later).
Leo, I think you hit on an important point that everyone misses when it comes to steroids. The motivation isn't necessarily the numbers, but the $$$ generated by the numbers. I would probably guess that many of these guys would do it again if they could get away with it for a few years because it can tarnish your image, they can keep you out of the Hall, but at the end of the day, the Bentley coupe stays parked in front of your mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
...and another thing. Despite all of the media circus surrounding baseball and steroids, most people still don't understand what the benefits actually are. If someone says to me again that steroids doesn't improve bat speed, or that pitchers aren't building muscle so it is pointless, I'm going to hurt someone. The major function of steroids is to help the body to recover and to shrink inflamed tissues in the body. The reason why they build muscle is because, working out/lifting weights tears your muscle fibers, and as a result, you need to allow time to rest in between workouts. Steroids help you to recover quicker and work out longer, which builds muscle. But steroids would also help a pitcher's arm to heal quicker between starts or allow him to pitch more innings than he would ordinarily be able; if anything, it probably helps them more than anyone! Steroids also help Lance Armstrong (or Marian Jones or Ben Johnson or Tim Montgomery or Michael Phelps-oops, did I just say Phelps?!) to put off fatigue in a race, allowing him to hit his peak while others seem to be hitting the wall (hmmm, I wonder if his newly clean body had anything to do with this year's results). If you think about it, any profession that requires endurance could benefit from steroids. A teacher standing in front of the classroom all day, a doctor making their rounds and working through the night, a lawyer working grueling hours in a courtroom grilling witnesses, strippers working the pole for hours on end, etc. Hmmm, maybe there's an untapped market out there! I'll be right back...
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