I’ve enacted an embargo on all sports media, thanks to Alex Rodriguez’s PEDs admission today. I can’t take anymore talk of how this will affect ARod’s reception by fans and his off-field endorsement career. I could give a damn how Rodriguez is treated by fans or how much off-field money he’ll make in the future.
(Guess those Horse ‘Roids Nomah scored in TJ didn’t do the job)
How is the media missing the only thing that matters in the aftermath of ARod getting nailed to the floorboards? Or am I giving them too much credit?
Let me be the first to welcome Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro to the Baseball Hall of Fame. All have the necessary on-field credentials to secure the honor. And with the confirmation that they now officially have company in Rodriguez (along with over 100 others), this means that the formerly tainted quartet will all definitely make the Hall of Fame. Eventually.
There’s nothing the sanctimonious owners can do now to damage control (ignoring Bonds) their precious game. Not to mention the absurd, hypocritical treatment McGwire has endured at the hands of Hall of Fame voters. Those same voters have always known full well that McGwire was far from alone in his PEDs use. (Or they shouldn’t be covering the game.)
(ARod’s admission should have Mark smiling as if he’s holding his swimsuit-wearing wife, Stephanie)
The dam has broke, and all players who are linked to PEDs will now have to be treated the same as clean players. All 100+ of them from 2003 alone. Baseball has no choice, it has to recognize the achievements of the *cheats*. It’s either that or pretend that the past decade of baseball never existed. The same decade that Bud Selig has hailed as the Golden Age of Baseball.
So what do you care about? The legacy of the game? How this generation of MLBers will be viewed? Who gets into the Hall of Fame?
Or what this means for how much motor oil ARod will now be able to sell? And how many bags of urine will rain down on him at Fenway Park?
OK, that last part might actually be fun.
7:13 pm on February 9th, 2009
I agree about Bonds, Clemens and A-Rod if for no other reason then their "clean" years were enough to put them in the Hall. Their numbers are definite first-ballot material, while McGwire and Palmiero were on the bubble even if they were clean.
Not to mention, induction in the Hall is a reward for being better than those who played in the same era. Considering that the whole era appears to be juiced, and Bonds, Clemens and A-Rod are still that much better than most others, they're in in my book. No to Mac and Palmiero still.
8:04 pm on February 9th, 2009
If they can let in people like Ty Cobb, why not?
7:32 am on February 10th, 2009
McGwire was nowhere the near bubble if you ignore the steroids. McGwire and Sosa get in easy without steroids, Palmeiro not so much.
10:56 am on February 10th, 2009
These sports writers could not play so they complain and moan about those who can. Ask the players why they stopped the drugs. You cannot keep getting better at tracking a 90+ mph fast ball if your eyes are "vibrating". They are not the moral compass they lead you to believe– should they have drug testing for the sports writers ??? because some of them talk and appear to be on drugs themselves as the report the "action". They should look at the stats and let them speak for themselves — and not try to speak for them!!!
LA Mike
12:20 pm on February 10th, 2009
LAMike–C'mon, brother; this is about the players and their on-field stats, not the sportswriters. Your "moral compass" should arise from the players, not those who are paid to cover their stories. Earl: LOVE that gravatar, dude, but again, Ty Cobb got in on his ON-FIELD performance, not because he juiced or a racist sadistic weirdo. Pete (Sh*t-head) Rose should be allowed IN because of his stats, the ones earned on the field of play, not excluded because he sullied the game (which he DID). The aforementioned triumvirate should be EXCLUDED from the Hall unless a hefty asterisk lets future generations know that their on-field stats were enhanced by their use of illegal drugs. Simple, no?btw, Brooksie, it's "I couldn't give a damn…", "How are the media…", and "…the dam has broken…". Stylebook…!? HELL-o!
7:57 pm on February 10th, 2009
<a href='http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2009/02/it-is-just-sports.html'>i jus wanna watch them play-not take they blood</a>
2:29 am on February 11th, 2009
@mothra: media is plural.