There’s lots of good stuff in here, but one of my favorite bits is Brattain’s riff on the current state of affairs regarding PEDs:

Back in 2000, I got to work the inside of major league clubhouses for the first time. I was surprised at how many guys looked suspiciously like roiders (I have known a great many users in my lifetime). It was obvious even to a hack like me. However, the media was fearful of the players and of losing their access. I can understand this, but surely you can tip off some investigative journalist about the situation rather than remain mute.

Now that others blew the lid off the story, they’’ve become Rambo-like tough guys protecting the game from the dirty rotten cheaters. Give me a break; they were as complicit as the owners, the union and everyone else. They have no right to scream about protecting the sanctity of the game.

Yup…

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I know, what was the guy thinking? Well, aside from the fact that his job is to take pictures.

Although I don’t envy Clemens’ position, I also imagine that a different decision-making process over the past 20-25 years might have helped him avoid all this. Like, I sympathize but not too much, you know?

Anyway, he’s got some good quotes here, mostly about steroids and the Mitchell Report:

Everything’s been said that needs to be said on that. We’re moving forward. It’s baseball time… I think you ought to be asking baseball questions. I think it’s time to move on and get on with baseball.

I’m picking up two things from this:

1. Clemens doesn’t talk to the same people I talk to, because I haven’t found anyone who shares his opinion that “everything’s been said that needs to be said.” I know a lot of people (myself included) who are sick of the situation, and sick about it, but that’s not quite the same thing.
2. Clemens knows more about baseball reporting than baseball reporters do. Only ask questions that he deems appropriate. It’s the New World Order, yo.

In other news, Congress agrees more with the people I talk to than with Clemens. Seems pictures have surfaced (ah, now we see why he snapped at the photographer!) that place him at Jose Canseco’s party. Clemens, you recall, swore under oath that he didn’t attend said party.

Oh, that Jose Canseco. [Pregnant pause. Nervous laughter.] All I can say is that must’ve been one heckuva party.

Of course, there is a simple solution: Judge Alex.

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As always, additional comments are welcome.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

People suck…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

When the committee didn’t hear from Knoblauch or a representative, it issued a subpoena to force the 1991 AL Rookie of the Year to submit to a deposition next Tuesday.

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, though, that subpoena had not reached the former infielder who, like Clemens and more than 80 other players, was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in last month’s Mitchell Report on baseball’s steroids era.

Knoblauch swiped 407 bases during his 12-year career. Presumably he’s slowed since then, so the question now becomes whether the feds have a rag-armed catcher or just don’t hold runners very well.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Was I cheated of my dreams of a big-league career? I don’t know. But I do know there were thousands of guys who were right on the doorstep between 1990 and 2005 and they were cheated because they didn’t use steroids.

And a little further down:

I hear these guys apologize to fans, but at least the fans got to see some cool stuff. They got to see tons of home runs. They got to see (Mark) McGwire and (Sammy) Sosa go at it for the season home run record in 1998. I’d love to see one of these guys apologize to the minor leaguers whose jobs they took with steroids.

I sometimes hear it said that the use of performance-enhancing drugs is a victimless crime. Not everyone has the luxury of sharing this perspective.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

1. More great games, fewer Congressional investigations.
2. A commissioner who isn’t one of the owners. Yeah, I know technically he isn’t one of the owners anymore, but he’s one of the owners.
3. Hall of Fame enshrinement for Bert Blyleven, Goose Gossage, and Tim Raines.
4. Enough with the Red Sox already. It was kinda cute the first time, but now it’s just annoying.
5. A real owner for the Marlins, and not someone who only knows how to destroy big-league franchises.
6. One more season for Julio Franco.
7. Seventy wins for the Royals and Pirates.
8. No domed stadiums, designated hitters, or All-Star games that determine home-field advantage in the World Series.
9. Free steroids for everyone!

Well, maybe not that last one. Anyway, happy holidays!

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John Thorn offers a thoughtful look at the situation. From his article:

We had pinned our honor to their sleeves and sent them forth to joust on our behalves — we could hardly do battle ourselves, could we? — and they had betrayed our trust. These ballplayers, these superhuman figures who could reach heights unattainable by mere humans, were our surrogates; they were us, and their fall feels like ours.

Even if you don’t fully indulge in hero worship, it’s hard not to sympathize with this point of view. I mean, if you follow a team, it’s usually (but not always — there are a couple along the east coast that have very large pocketbooks and proportionally large bandwagons) because that team represents your city. By extension, the players on that team represent your city.

Heck, a lot of times they wear your city’s name on their uniforms for all to see. It’s difficult, as a fan, not to think of these guys as representing us in some way, shape, or form.

That said, and I think this is a point that many folks are missing, we are not without blame. Thorn puts it nicely:

Some wag once said, we elect the politicians we deserve. Let me suggest that we select as our champions — the bearers of our hopes, our dreams, our illusions — the heroes we deserve.

Did you stop supporting MLB even when it became evident that a serious problem existed? Did you take your hard-earned cash and spend it on other, nobler pursuits?

I sure didn’t. Apart from a brief stretch in the mid-’90s after the last major work stoppage, I’ve stood by baseball’s side for as long as I’ve had money to spend. Does this make me complicit in MLB’s nastiness? Hate to say it, but I think so. It’s like the blues cats say: “I can’t quit you, baby.”

Guilty as charged. And then some.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• How surprised is anyone by the magnitude of this?
• How surprised should we be?
• Should players and others be held accountable for their actions?
• If yes, how forthcoming will athletes be in the future?
• If no, what is the incentive for not trying to cheat the system?
• Why do we, as fans, continue to support these people and provide them — through our purchase of tickets, merchandise, and the like — with the means to perpetuate their actions?
• How will future generations view the current era?
• Should individual records and awards be stripped?
• What about team accomplishments? The IOC is considering sanctions against Marion Jones’ relay teammates because they earned their medals while working with Jones. Should MLB do the same?
• If we are to damn an entire era and those who are a product of its environment, should we do the same with other eras, e.g., anyone who played before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier?
• What confidence do we have that the list of names provided in the report is accurate and complete?
• If it’s not complete, and there are others, how does MLB pursue and possibly reprimand them?
• How culpable are the owners? The players union? MLB?
• Can anything really be done to improve the situation beyond superficial actions that make it appear as though something is being done?

There are others, but I’ll stop here. This really, really, really, really stinks…

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• MLB was slow to respond to steroid issue. Although baseball is moving in the right direction, it needs to do more.
• The report claims to be a “deliberate and unbiased examination of the facts.” In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that George Mitchell is part of the Red Sox ownership group (he is listed as “Director” in the Front Office directory on the team’s web site).
• Several players were approached for interviews, including five who had “spoken publicly about the issue”; of that latter group, only Toronto’s Frank Thomas agreed.
• Describes the union as being “largely uncooperative,” which I think surprises no-one.

A quick excerpt on that last point:

We sought to interview as many current and former players as possible. We attempted to reach almost 500 former players. Many of them declined to be interviewed, but 68 did agree to interviews. In addition, interviews of 3 former players were arranged through the assistance of federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents.

Mitchell’s general recommendations:

1. Major League Baseball must significantly increase its ability to investigate allegations of use outside of the testing program and improve its procedures for keeping performance enhancing substances out of the clubhouse;
2. there must be a more comprehensive and effective program of education for players and others about the serious health risks incurred by users of performance enhancing substances;
3. when the club owners and the Players Association next engage in collective bargaining on the joint drug program, I urge them to incorporate into the program the principles that characterize a state-of-the-art program, as described in this report.

David Pinto is covering the press conference. Me? I’m slowly losing my will to live. Have a nice day.

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