Monday, February 11, 2008
Topic Number 2
Well, first I am impressed about the passion we are seeing. But its time for a new issue. This one is a serious issue. Before I begin to talk about it I want people to stick there pride in their back pocket and really be "fair and balanced..." I needed to make a fox news plug right? Anyways, the controversy of the week belongs to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and it poses 2 questions. First, are they guilty? And second should they be guilty? If they did take them, did they take them before MLB has a rule in place? Is this situation MLB's fault or the players union? I want your honest assessment.
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6 comments:
This is a rather complicated issue.
There seems to be a couple of things to consider. Anabolic steroids can be legally used only with a doctor's prescription. Therefore even if players were using steroids before there was any rule against it, they would be committing a criminal act in order to gain a competitive advantage.
I do, however, have a certain amount of sympathy for players who would otherwise deserve a place in the Hall of Fame. The players named in Senator Mitchell's report were certainly not the only players using steroid, but those who were not named will find themselves in Cooperstown while those named will go down as cheaters.
I also understand the concern that Senator Mitchell would be biased in favor of the Red Sox due to his longstanding relationship with the team. I think the large number of players from New York on the list has a lot more to do with the fact that his investigation was based largely on one man's testimony, and that man worked in New York than it does that George Mitchell is a lifelong Red Sox fan and one of the directors of the team.
This issue is one fairly close to my heart. I used to be a big baseball fan. Ever since Mark McGuire's hat size went up 7 sizes (you tell me if that's the 'roids) I have lost all respect for the game. (That and there are 170 million games in a year, so a 15-game losing streak could mean you are still in it.)
I can sum up my arguement into two words, Pete Rose. The guy was gambling on baseball, which is a perfectly legal thing to do. Steroids, while not only cheating, is illegal. I say if you are going to hold a grudge against Pete for something (against league policy, yes--but a legal activity nonetheless) absolutely you should hold a grudge against people engaged in illegal activity, whether the policy was in place or not.
It pains me to say that, because I'm a closet Giants fan, as well as a fan of Roger Clemens. I was really sad to hear that he had done it. I hope they can find something that proves him innocent. If they can't, absolutely they should be banned from the game and Cooperstown.
The fact that there were no rules in place doesn't change the fact that the game has been tarnished. When you think of Roger Maris, and his 61 home runs that stood as sacred record for many years, only to be obliterated by 3 guys on the juice (Sosa, Mac, and Bonds.) That's what's most infuriating to me. There is no place in the hall of fame for cheaters. The fact that bonds was probably a hall of famer prior to the juice is irrelevant...he cheated. As did Mac and Sosa and a number of others. That to me, should be a disqualifier.
Before i begin i need to clarify. Baseball haters have the all-time worst argument for why football is better than baseball. TV rating. Honestly don't sound so stupid please. 1.Football is played on all the days and times that the entire nation is at home. 2. There are like 1/10 of the games so everybody is able to keep up on it without missing too much. 3. Baseball requires thinking and strategy, which traits many sports fans do not possess. To them it’s like watching a game of chess. 4. If everybody were to watch all their teams baseball games like they do football games this country would shut down all day everyday because baseball is time consuming. Football is popular because people have time to watch it.
Now on steroids. Clemens and Barry have taken a lot of heat for “cheating the other players” through this while people seem to turn their heads to the fact that EVERYONE else in the league did it too, at least the majority. Sure, I applaud the guy who didn’t because he didn’t want to be a bad guy. But if two guys facing each other are on steroids, which one has the advantage…that’s right neither. So that being said, the majority of roid users were pitchers. The pitchers are the ones that Barry faced. If he did use roids (still yet to be determined whether he did or if he did knowingly), it didn’t give him any advantage over the pitchers. Bretzing said Barry was probably a hall of famer…and by probably he meant absolutely. Just because people don’t like him they try to make hits on his achievements. The guy has achieved near perfection in baseball. He has set records that will not ever be broken. Most of these records were set before the accused steroid use. His 73 HR’s define him in the eyes of most. Those, while being the most popular are fractions of his achievements. The rest of his HR hitting was very consistent over his career. Before roids he had already won 3 MVP’s most of any player ever!!! He has totaled now 7 MVP’s – his closest competitor has only 3, Barry had more than that in a row (4). Spare me the Barry was pretty good crap. He is the world’s greatest player by a much longer shot than Jordan being the best basketball player or Tiger the best golfer. Barry is a member of a very elite club of 300 HR’s & 300 stolen bases. It has 4 members. Very elite huh? Well since then he has gone on to create a 400/400 club and not only that but a 500/500 club. Willie Mays, the man most would call the greatest ever will tell you that Barry is the All-time greatest, and will never be replaced. Say what you will but keep in mind…while you are saying all the stuff you say, you’re saying it without REALLY knowing what you’re talking about right?
On steroids: The whole thing has gotten out of had. It's like modern day witch hunt. A few players today are villified, but I would bet that the majority of players used steroids 10 years ago....the majority. What was stopping them? Baseball didn't test for it.
I don't want to sound like I am condoning the players that did use them, but I don't get why everyone is so quick to jump on players like Bonds and Clemens when so many others did it too.
In my opinion, it has gotten out of control because MLB management hasn't stepped up and taken the blame, but instead, it has hung some of its biggest stars (including those that helped lift baseball out of the post-strike crisis) out to dry.
Also: What is the deal with congress??? Don't they have more important issues to discuss than steroids in baseball and the Patriots video taping scandal? (I refuse to refer to it as Spygate.
Also, also: Again, Lackey referred to baseball as a "thinking man's game". I admit that I'm a dumb football fan, so could someone please explain what strategy is involved in baseball and how it is a "thinking man's game"?
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