When players like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were first embroiled in the steroid controversy, I shared some of your outrage. I felt like it was unfair for a "few select players" to cheat their way to the top.
But by 2005-2006, when it became abundantly clear that a "few select players" to cheat became "hundreds", my outrage dissipated. My blame went from the users to the ones using the users for profit, Bud Selig and the owners. And I started to justify users thinking: Why should they be put at a competitive disadvantage because their peers use? Why should they potentially lose their jobs and millions of dollars because others juice?
By 2008, the news of the Mitchell Report, and the subsequent high-profile juicers were created with yawns from me.
Now, after the NY Times report of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz flunking confidential steroid tests in 2003 that weren't confidential, I'm now angry again. But not at Manny and Ortiz(or Manny Ortez as supposed Red Sox die-hard John Kerry once called them). I'm angry at the general public for continually being naive on the steroid issue. I'm angry at the mainstream media for driving up drivel like "Should the Red Sox 2004 and 2007 World Series be tainted?". I'm angry at baseball, for not destroying confidential tests, and thus, breaching the idea of anonymity to exploit their own phony interests in sending a message to kids and their parents.
I'm just angry that anyone still cares about steroids in baseball.
Yes, I suppose Manny and Ortiz's alleged steroid usage prolongs a bad message to America's youth(altho I think a worse message is trade masculinity for homers). And Ortiz, in particular, looks like a jackass for saying steroid users should be suspended for an entire season.
OK but where do you want to go from here? Strip the Sox of their 2004 title? That's a great idea, let's instead award the World Series to the Yankees, with A-Rod and the human raging steroid Kevin Brown. How bout the Cardinals, and manager Tony LaRussa? Yeah, he didn't know what the Bash Brothers were doing when he was the A's skipper. Or the team they beat in the NLCS, the Astros ? Now pitching.....Roger Clemens!!!
Then I guess we should keep Manny and Ortiz out of the Hall of Fame(not that the latter was likely to go). Joining a distinguished list of Barry Bonds, Clemens, Juan Gonzalez, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Mike Piazza, A-Rod, Pudge Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Sosa, some of our generation's best players who's accomplishments are supposedly "tainted." Why don't we just make Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr the only two people to get into the Hall from the steroid era? I have a better idea if that happens: Close it down. It's not a Hall of Fame without the all-time home run leader, hits leader, or a guy who wins 7 Cy Youngs.
I almost think that it'll take a Jeter or Griffey to get busted before the average Sportscenter viewer actually realizes that most people were PED users. And still could be. In the meantime, I wish everyone would either move on or move out. If you don't like the fact that most baseball players have juiced in the last 20 years, then find another sport to root for that you think is clean. For the rest of us, let's enjoy tomorrow's trade deadline. Whether it involves PED users or not.
But by 2005-2006, when it became abundantly clear that a "few select players" to cheat became "hundreds", my outrage dissipated. My blame went from the users to the ones using the users for profit, Bud Selig and the owners. And I started to justify users thinking: Why should they be put at a competitive disadvantage because their peers use? Why should they potentially lose their jobs and millions of dollars because others juice?
By 2008, the news of the Mitchell Report, and the subsequent high-profile juicers were created with yawns from me.
Now, after the NY Times report of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz flunking confidential steroid tests in 2003 that weren't confidential, I'm now angry again. But not at Manny and Ortiz(or Manny Ortez as supposed Red Sox die-hard John Kerry once called them). I'm angry at the general public for continually being naive on the steroid issue. I'm angry at the mainstream media for driving up drivel like "Should the Red Sox 2004 and 2007 World Series be tainted?". I'm angry at baseball, for not destroying confidential tests, and thus, breaching the idea of anonymity to exploit their own phony interests in sending a message to kids and their parents.
I'm just angry that anyone still cares about steroids in baseball.
Yes, I suppose Manny and Ortiz's alleged steroid usage prolongs a bad message to America's youth(altho I think a worse message is trade masculinity for homers). And Ortiz, in particular, looks like a jackass for saying steroid users should be suspended for an entire season.
OK but where do you want to go from here? Strip the Sox of their 2004 title? That's a great idea, let's instead award the World Series to the Yankees, with A-Rod and the human raging steroid Kevin Brown. How bout the Cardinals, and manager Tony LaRussa? Yeah, he didn't know what the Bash Brothers were doing when he was the A's skipper. Or the team they beat in the NLCS, the Astros ? Now pitching.....Roger Clemens!!!
Then I guess we should keep Manny and Ortiz out of the Hall of Fame(not that the latter was likely to go). Joining a distinguished list of Barry Bonds, Clemens, Juan Gonzalez, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Mike Piazza, A-Rod, Pudge Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Sosa, some of our generation's best players who's accomplishments are supposedly "tainted." Why don't we just make Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr the only two people to get into the Hall from the steroid era? I have a better idea if that happens: Close it down. It's not a Hall of Fame without the all-time home run leader, hits leader, or a guy who wins 7 Cy Youngs.
I almost think that it'll take a Jeter or Griffey to get busted before the average Sportscenter viewer actually realizes that most people were PED users. And still could be. In the meantime, I wish everyone would either move on or move out. If you don't like the fact that most baseball players have juiced in the last 20 years, then find another sport to root for that you think is clean. For the rest of us, let's enjoy tomorrow's trade deadline. Whether it involves PED users or not.
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