steroids | The Baseball Zealot

Baseball Zealot Radio #39: It’s Spring Training!

After some interviews on Baseball Zealot Radio the past few weeks, regular Todd and I finally get a chance to chat. As always, I’m treated to a bittersweet update of his team, the Pirates. I don’t give him too much crap about his team though… if I do, he’ll ask me which team actually won a World Championship (more than one, actually) in our lifetime.

In episode 39, we cover the latest in baseball news in light of the first week of spring training.

Enjoy!

Time: 45:10

Date Recorded: 2/17/08

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A bad week for Miguel Tejada

Miguel Tejada has seen better days. First, he gets word that Congress is opening an investigation into whether he lied to the House Committee Oversight and Government Reform in 2005 on his use of PEDs.

Then, he finds out that his older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic.

Astros management predictably expressed their condolences on Tejada’s brother’s death but kept their words to a minimum on the investigation issue, waiting for more information.

In a letter to US Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the Committee made their case:

“Mr. Tejada made statements to the Committee in a transcribed interview on Aug. 26, 2005, regarding his knowledge of and involvement with steroids. Evidence contained in former Senator Mitchell’s report on steroid use in Major League Baseball appears to be inconsistent with statements he gave to the Committee.”

Naive me. I had this feeling that the baseball powers-that-be were bringing the Mitchell Report out in the dead of winter so that it would blow over by the time Spring Training started. With Congress (and let’s face it, the media) getting involved, who knows how long it will last.

There’s More Than What’s In Mitchell’s Report

I don’t think anybody is foolish enough to think that the players named in the Mitchell Report is the definitive list of all players who have used steroids or HGH in baseball. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Surely there have been more than 83 players. These names came from basically 3 or 4 sources. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that there are more than 3 or 4 sources of steroids for players. Whenever the other “trainers” start to get busted then more names will come out. My opinion is that it’s been pretty much an even playing field and that the number of players who did not juice pales in comparison to the number of players who have. And when you see some of the names in the Mitchell Report it makes you wonder how much of an impact it really has. One thing I think it did prove is that if you don’t have talent all the steroids in the world aren’t going to help. Mike Bell? First of all which Mike Bell? It doesn’t matter they both were blips on the baseball radar. Chad Allen, Gary Bennett, Larry Bigbie. Mike Judd? At first I thought they busted the Beavis and Butthead/King of the Hill guy, too. I think the most embarrassing thing for Nook Logan is that now everybody knows his name is Exavier. Cody McKay is not that surprising when you think about who his dad is. Dave had to be the Charles Atlas of first base coaches. I don’t remember him like that as a player. Can they test coaches?

All of this was done without breaking any of baseball’s rules. Of course a lot of law breaking took place and perhaps some of these players will face consequences. But I don’t think suspensions can be given for anything unless it can be proven that the offenses took place after the performance enhancing drug policy was put in place. All this talk about asterisks and stripping of records and awards is nonsense. Baseball has nobody to blame but themselves. Everybody knew it was happening and they didn’t seem to care until pressured by Congress. Are we going to take away all of Gaylord Perry’s accomplishments and boot him from the HOF? What about the cocaine guys of the 70’s and 80’s? How about Ferguson Jenkins? Heck, Doc Ellis threw a no-hitter on LSD. Are we going to take that away? I bet if anybody knew at the time he was on acid there would have been other pitchers to try the same thing! Anyway I think that what’s done is done and there’s really not much baseball can do. It’s time to move on.

Fallout from the Mitchell Report

It’s been 8 hours since the release of the report by Sen. George Mitchell on the illegal use of performance enhancers and the response has been overwhelming.

The media has been busy. My Google Reader is filled with formulaic articles by beat reporters for each team with the same theme: Current, former (fill in team name) named in Mitchell Report. Or if they’re lucky, No (fill in team name) listed in Mitchell Report.

By the way, no current Cubs were listed but some former Cub luminaries such as Matt Karchner, Todd Hundley, Kent Mercker, and Jerry Hairston Jr. were.

The denials have started to filter in. Most front and center, Roger Clemens says he is "outraged" about the inclusion of his name in the report. When I saw his name in the report, I was a tad disappointed but not surprised.

A valid point made by Mitchell…

"Everyone involved in baseball shares responsibility," Mitchell said during a news conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. "Commissioners, club officials, the Players Association and players. I can’t be any clearer than that."

I don’t think that can be stressed more. How this report will be spun by the MLB executives will remain to be seen but this should not be looked at as a "player’s problem". There is no doubt in my mind that MLB front office knew that steroids and other performance enhancers were an issue for years and chose to look the other way.

Finally, Congress has already reacted to the report. Specifically, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Congressmen Henry Waxman and Tom Davis issued a joint statement requesting Bud Selig, and Donald Fehr of the Players Association and Mitchell testify at a committee hearing. Congressman Christopher Shays from Connecticut wants to address the matter quickly:

"The Mitchell Report shows how pervasive a problem performance enhancing drugs have been in Major League Baseball," Shays said in his statement Thursday. "The common sense recommendations the report has laid out should be enacted as soon as possible. I am looking forward to seeing how serious they take this issue and how quickly they will implement these and other reforms."

Pardon me, but I get a little nervous when Congress tries to solve a problem. Going on historical evidence, I guess.

Link to Sen. George Mitchell’s REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL OF AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE ILLEGAL USE OF STEROIDS AND OTHER PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUBSTANCES BY PLAYERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (pdf)

755

(Photo: Lenny Ignelzi/AP) Bonds is tied in career homers with Aaron at 755. If you are a baseball fan of any sort, that’s not news. Chances are you’ve seen the video clip and read a few news articles about it. Maybe I’m jaded but so many mainstream news articles are filtered with the “right” things to … Continue reading “755”

bonds755

(Photo: Lenny Ignelzi/AP)

Bonds is tied in career homers with Aaron at 755. If you are a baseball fan of any sort, that’s not news. Chances are you’ve seen the video clip and read a few news articles about it.

Maybe I’m jaded but so many mainstream news articles are filtered with the “right” things to convey they don’t capture the essence of the moment.

On the other hand, I did enjoy this short posting on McCovey Chronicles. It’s written by a Giant fan who works as a Padre employee and saw the whole thing. Despite the controversy, despite the scandal, he saw the magic in the whole event.

While on the topic of Bonds and Giants fans, here’s a Giants fan, who tongue in cheek advocates for an asterisk by Bonds homerun stat. Read his posting and find out why.

And finally, here is an interesting factoid. Clay Hensley, the pitcher who gave up #755, was tested positive for steroids in 2005. The irony… you can cut it with a knife.

Arnold has “strong feeling” about Bonds, Sheffield

Clear inventor Patrick Arnold has suddenly come on the scene and made his opinion known regarding Bonds and steroids.

“To me it was always implicit that an athlete that Victor was working with was on the program,” Arnold told ESPN Radio.

Arnold told ESPN Radio that the program included a variety of drugs, including growth hormones, EPO, steroids like the “clear” and the “cream” and stimulants.

That said, the article contains many disclaimers from Arnold who by the way hails from Champaign, Illinois. He claims that it was “an opinion”. In addition, Arnold has his own agenda.

This article will generate readers for ESPN. Given the timing of this article, that’s the bottom line.

MLB cracks down on someone I haven’t heard of

This spring when we did our predictions, one question we were asked was: Which player would be suspended for steroids first? That was easy, I thought. It will be someone I haven’t heard of. While others were picking star players of questionable repute, my thought was that it will be a new player, perhaps … Continue reading “MLB cracks down on someone I haven’t heard of”

This spring when we did our predictions, one question we were asked was:

Which player would be suspended for steroids first?

That was easy, I thought. It will be someone I haven’t heard of. While others were picking star players of questionable repute, my thought was that it will be a new player, perhaps someone who was just brought up from the minors not too long ago. Someone the MLB can throw the book at and make an example of without really stepping on any team’s toes.

And I was right. Meet Juan Salas.

Salas has 23 ML games to his name which right now, is going down the toilet. His suspension will last the usual 50 games for a first offense. At this point, he is planning on spending it in workouts at the team facility and pitching in the extended spring training program.

Salas, by the way, is the 4th Devil Ray to be suspended for MLB’s drug policy (Josh Hamilton, Alex Sanchez and Matt Rico).

Maz giving tips, not cheering for Bonds

Bill Mazeroski was on hand at Pirate City to give Freddy Sanchez some tips on handling the ball. Who better than Maz who was a fair to middlin’ secondbaseman in his day? “When you watch film of Maz, you can’t see the transfer,” Sanchez said. “It’s like … nothing.” “Freddy can be a fine second … Continue reading “Maz giving tips, not cheering for Bonds”

Bill Mazeroski was on hand at Pirate City to give Freddy Sanchez some tips on handling the ball. Who better than Maz who was a fair to middlin’ secondbaseman in his day?

“When you watch film of Maz, you can’t see the transfer,” Sanchez said. “It’s like … nothing.”

“Freddy can be a fine second baseman,” Mazeroski said.

While some (including Commissioner Bud Selig) are side-stepping the Barry Bonds/homerun record issue, Maz was unabashed about the whole thing.

“I hope it doesn’t happen,” he said. “It’s just the steroids issue and all that stuff. I’d like to see Hank keep the record.”

It’s nice when some people, despite what you think about their opinions, aren’t afraid to speak their minds.

WILL HE OR WON’T HE???

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Roger Clemens
Photo courtesy of Jim Pierce Baseball America

Last year Roger Clemens timed his return to coincide with his wants. He wanted to be strong down the stretch, he wanted to rehab at two minor league teams he has an interest in, and he wanted to play ball with his son Koby. The Rocket signed a 22 million dollar deal with the Stros and the reported attendance at two of his rehab starts ended with the number 22. Quirky, maybe, but he has the rite to certain oddities. Clemens has indeed earned his place in baseball history, as one of the greatest pitchers in the history of baseball. And at the ripe old age of 43 he still has something left in the tank as evidenced by a 2.30 ERA, with a 7-6 record, 102 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings pitched. His lifetime mark is 348-178 to go along with 4,604 career strikeouts. So what if he named his sons with each boy’s name starting with the letter K (Koby, Kory, Kacy, & Kody). Roger is a rawboned hard thrower out of the mold of Nolan Ryan, who can still, “blow that speedball by you. Make you look like a fool”, to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen. So we’ll have to see if the Rocket will be blasting off again in 2007 or whether he’s gonna come in for a landing at his home base.

Palmeiro reaches 3000. Is there still doubt?

On a double he hit against the Seattle Mariners last night, Baltimore Oriole Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach the 3000-hit plateau. He added a single before the night was through. Palmeiro has always been an underrated player but talk of the Hall of Fame is inevitable. Of the 26 players with 3000 … Continue reading “Palmeiro reaches 3000. Is there still doubt?”

On a double he hit against the Seattle Mariners last night, Baltimore Oriole Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach the 3000-hit plateau. He added a single before the night was through.

Palmeiro has always been an underrated player but talk of the Hall of Fame is inevitable. Of the 26 players with 3000 hits, all but four are in the Hall. Three of the four (Ripken, Gwynn, Henderson) are not yet eligible. The other one… well, you know about the other one.

But let’s not stop there. Let’s not forget Raffy has passed the 500 mark in homeruns and is within striking distance of 600. Last count, he has 566. Using the same methodology, there are 20 players with 500 career homeruns. Every eligible player in that group in is in the Hall (Bonds, Sosa, Griffey and Palmeiro are still active, McGwire is not yet eligible).

And yet, after all that, there are still those who do not believe. Buster Olney says in his latest article,

Palmeiro has reached 3,000 hits, and the debate is ongoing about whether he has the credentials for the Hall of Fame.

I would like to think that any thinking baseball fan would not need any more credentials than 3000 hits and 500 homeruns. Not that Raffy doesn’t have ’em. I am curious as to what debate there is.