» Steroids In Baseball

As every baseball fan has most likely already heard about, it was leaked that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were among the players who failed the 2003 drug test. It wasn’t as much as a surprise with Ramirez, who was suspended earlier this year, than it was with Ortiz, who has repeatedly denied taking PEDs and criticized the use of them.

The post before mine has already analyzed the situation, but from an extremely anti-Red Sox position. Therefore, I would like to clear things up a little bit:

For the first time, we know that a World Series Championship was won by using steroids.  Two actually.  The Red Sox champions of 2004 and 2007 were built around Ortiz and Ramirez.  Without them the Red Sox don’t even contend, let alone win.

Actually, if Ortiz and Ramirez don’t produce in ‘04, Nomar is traded for offense instead of defense. Plus, saying that the Red Sox are the only ones to blame is very untrue, as explained by a recent quote from Pedro Martinez: “There’s no crying in baseball. We won in 2004. That’s it. Are you going to tell me that the other guys, who used it on other teams are now whining? They used it, too.”

Should their championships be rescinded and awarded to the National League teams?  If I were a Cardinal or a Rockies fan, that’s the remedy I would be demanding.

Do you think the Padres, Braves, and Mets deserve the Yankees’ late 90’s championships? Those great teams could have had more than a few juicers.

Have the Red Sox cheated in other ways?  Why are they such a good team at home, but a sub-.500 team on the road (except when playing the moribund Orioles)?

Wow. That is a very hollow accusation. The Red Sox are 27-25 on the road. The Yankees are 28-25 on the road. Both teams are 35-17 at home. So do the Yankees cheat at home too? What about the Rays, who are 34-18 at home? The 37-21 Rangers?

What is clear is that doubt will now surround everything that happens in Fenway Park.  The suspicion will grow that a culture of corruption permeates the Red Sox clubhouse.  Major League Baseball needs to confront this problem before it infects all of baseball.

Definitely. The most consistent team of this decade must have done something to cheat. The team that won four World Series in five years is completely innocent though.

New Major League Baseball Blog Reader?, we highly recommend that you subscribe to our exclusive Major League Blogging RSS feed. Make sure to come back daily for fresh content.

If Sheffield/Church doesn’t stay healthy, Fernando Martinez doesn’t yet perform, and Daniel Murphy has to play 1b with Carlos Delgado out (all likely, all happening now), do we go crazy and sign Barry Bonds to play LF???

I dont know…

Should we? Yay? Nay?

I have posted this under the category ‘Steroids in Baseball’ just to clarify.

Hey Tin Man, what are you looking at?

I think it is time for people to acknowledge how overrated Mr. Ripken is in the sense of humanity as well as athleticism.

Being a product of the commonly perceived pre-steroid era, Ripken’s performance has slipped under the radar while his impeccable durability ultimately suggests the assistance from PEDs.

Ripken is known for his reserved nature with the likelihood for skipping autograph sessions and now this?  http://bases.newsvine.com/_news/2009/05/15/2821077-cal-ripken-takes-the-money-and-runs?category=spor  Simply absurd.

The former Orioles slugger is pompous and self-righteous in his actions to write and sell a text referencing the human condition.  Maybe he should stick to a Johnny Damon-like novel/theme, such as ”Idiot”.

Case closed.

Manny Ramirez, one of baseball’s best right handed hitters, is going to be sitting out for the next 50 games. Major League Baseball has suspended the Dodgers slugger for violating their drug policy. The league has officially said the suspension is for Performance Enhancing Drugs, but the drug in question is actually an over-the-counter medicine prescribed by a non-MLB authorized doctor.

Manny released the following statement through the MLB Player’s Association:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”

This doesn’t sound like vintage Manny to me. My guess is that he had somebody else write this for him.

Several of Manny’s friends say he has been taking the drug to increase his sex drive, while it has also been made public that the drug is actually a women’s fertility drug that has also been used to boost the natural testosterone production of a person coming off of a steroid cycle. Could this just be a coincidence? Most likely, the answer is no.

Ramirez has been one of the most controversial players during his career, but for subtle things and not for PEDs. This comes as a surprise to me, as I never figured such a carefree guy like Manny ever resorting to this. This could put a large asterisk on Manny’s incredible career in much the same ways as it has with other sluggers like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

Manny had a few options for dealing with this:

1. He could have denied it like almost everyone else caught.
2. He could have challenged the suspension since he did not get caught for a PED.
3. He could have come clean and start another emotional press conference.

However, he did none of these options. He decided to accept the suspension and go quietly, almost like he wants it to go away quickly. This may be an attempt to keep anybody from going digging for anything else that could potentially damage his reputation.

Mannywood? Or Mannyroids?

Then again, we don’t know exactly what happened. He could have taken steroids for years, he could have tried it once and stopped, or he might be completely innocent and has personal reasons for taking the drug. Unless more details become available, all we can do is assume things and create our own conclusions. We may never know what really did happen, and it may be for the better. Why throw anybody under the bus when there could be others who are getting away with these things? I say all we can do is realize that this is the Steroid Era, everybody is trying to get an edge, and the overall competition is still on an even playing field.

The LA Times has broken the story. Manny Ramirez will be suspended for PED’s for 50 games effective today. This looks to be true as the Dodgers have already made a move to promote outfielder Xaiver Paul from the minors. Manny would be set to return around July 4th from this suspension.

The obvious effect of this will be how will the Dodgers make up Manny’s production? He is batting .348 with a .492 on base percentage and  slugging .641. Manny is  a once in a generation type hitter, so there is no one way to make this up. Juan Pierre looks to benefit from this the most, as he will start everyday in left field for the Dodgers.

Hello All,

I just got an interesting email and I was discussing it over dinner with a good Yankee fan friend of mine.

Jerry from NJ Asked Me: “What are your thoughts on the A-Rod getting into the Hall Of Fame Argument” and he went on to ask “Tell me why you feel he should get in and NOT Pete Rose” WOW….my first reaction was…I hadn’t thought of this in that way before. I assume someone must have brought this up at some point, but I haven’t yet heard it so I want to answer it here. I also encourage all authors here to chime in, this can lead to some incredible debate and conversation.

Steroids In Baseball

Betting On Baseball

So here’s my take on it. I am not going to even bring numbers into this debate. Both players’ numbers speak for themselves. What they do have in common is that the each dishonored the game of baseball in some way.

Let’s look at each hall of fame worthy players mistake.

Pete Rose: An absolutely incredible player, a true testament to intensity, focus, and poise. He is considered one of the best hitters in the history of the game, and is not being admitted into the hall of fame because he bet on the game. He wagered on the game he played which goes against the “rules” as they say…

A-Rod of course is considered one of the best players ever to grace a baseball field, hands down, no arguments about it. A-Rod is a true marvel and up until this year I truly felt he was the last hope to reclaim Aaron’s record in a legit manner. Boy was I wrong…as were many. He is guilty of using performance enhancing drugs for “3″ years of his career…sure…3 Years. Regardless, it happened and now its time to face the music.

So let’s compare these two. One of them cheated the game he played to make more money…but then again…so did A-Rod. That’s right…A-Rod also cheated this game for the sake of money. Juicing up those numbers led to an even bigger payday that he could have ever dreamed of.  A-Rod’s cheating also enhanced his stats, in a big way…whereas Pete Rose’s actions could have in no way caused inflated numbers.

It is my opinion that it should be: Pete Rose In….A-Rod Never In. I am (was) a huge fan of A-Rod for years…but now I must admit I am a little deflated about the whole matter.

I know I can go on and on about this debate, but I want to leave the floor 100% open to all of you, our loyal visitors. I encourage everyone to chime in and let me know if you agree with me on this topic! Come on, let your voice be heard!

Hello All,

We have been receiving A LOT of interesting visitor inquiries as of late, and many of the questions (5 to be exact) have been on this very topic (or close to it).

So I will give my opinion to those who asked:
- Jim (Illinois)
- Gina (Chicago)
- Jason (New York)
- Bill (Connecticut)
- Susan (Washington DC)

* This post has drawn even more emails since it was posted (5 to be exact) and I will post some of that here as well! *

Ok, so the question went something like this: “Do You Feel MLB Should be testing EVERYONE in order to preserve the sanctity of the game from this point forward?”

First, I want to also say the floor is open to ALL visitors to give your opinion here as well.

I truly feel that this would be a wonderful first step for the MLB to take. I understand the players unions has some say in this, but let’s face it, if you throw away the random aspect of testing it will certainly make players think twice about these performance enhancers.

The only thing that should be random about this testing is the dates, EVERYONE should be tested, and EVERYONE should be unaware as to when. Let’s let the truth come out, if no one is taking them anymore than why should the have any issue with this? If everyone is so squeeky clean, then why should the union even have an issue…Let’s get real here, there are still a great deal of offenders in baseball..and I dread the day that list gets released…

So in conclusion, I feel YES they should test EVERYONE. If this rule started today, barring any undetectable substances, it would restore some purity to this wonderful sport we love so much. It would mark 2009 as the true re-initiation of official non tainted record keeping.

I want to open the floor to the other authors here to make some comments and critique what I have said here…also, visitors let me know your thoughts.

I’ve participated in fantasy sports leagues for the last 10 years (football and baseball) and I usually finish in the middle of the pack or near the bottom.  Why?  Because on draft day I go with my heart instead of my brain.  I like to draft players on my teams because I know how often I’ll be watching those games.  It’s not a good formula for success – especially over the last five years, between the Giants, 49ers and Warriors.

But even I’ve been savvy enough to know that you don’t draft Giants offensive players.  I didn’t draft one last year or the year before – and I’m definitely not going to this year (except maybe Molina).  Now starting pitching, on the other hand – obviously Lincecum is a first or second round pick, and Cain (and even maybe Randy Johnson) are worth taking a look at.  I’m not a Wilson fan.  His WHIP and ERA are way too high, and despite the high save total last season he just isn’t even remotely an elite closer.

But for three seasons in a row not to have a single offensive player that’s worthy of being drafted in a 10- team league?  That’s sad!

There are a few Giants that are on my “bubble” for players I might pick up if they are still avaialble in the very latest rounds of the draft:

Fred Lewis – I like Lewis a lot, and think he has great upside.  But his power numbers (9 HR, 40 RBI) just aren’t very intriguing on a fantasy roster.

Randy Winn – Randy Winn is probably my favorite Giants hitter these days.  I think he’s the toughest out on the team, and there’s no other Giant I’d rather have up in a clutch situation.  But again, the power numbers just aren’t there (10 HR, 64 RBI).

Bengie Molina – The Mole is a middle of the road catcher in fantasy baseball.  His numbers last year were great (.292, 16 HR, 95 RBI).  If he’s still around in the late rounds, I might pick him up.

Its been a boring few days for Dodger fans, not much happening other than the Hudson signing, so I thought I would take this time to talk about a league-wide problem, the use of performance enhancing drugs.

I’m actually not going to get deep into the details of the steroid problem in baseball, as thats really been beaten to death.  I was doing some research online to acutally back an arguement I was making on Yahoo Answers, and I found one of the best articles I’d ever seen written about steroids and PEDs.  In this article (linked at the end) an amateur cyclist decides to find out for himself how much PEDs really improve performance in athletes.  This guy actually goes to a doctor who puts him on a regimin of PEDs and he outlines exactly how much they really helped him.  It’s a rather amazing article to read and really gives you insight as to what these drugs actually do.  For example, I’ve heard many a times that steroids can’t help you hit a baseball, they only help you hit a baseball farther, but I never knew before that HGH (one of the major drugs in the BALCO scandal) actually improves eyesight in many, which could actually help you hit a baseball.

This is a fairly long read, but I think its something that most people really should read, as it really does give insight as to how easy it is (or was, as this was from 2003) to legally get PEDs and how much they actually help.  Enjoy.

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

Hello All, 

Today I received an email regarding the use of steroids in baseball. There are some interesting items in here, take a read, make sure to comment and let us know your thoughts on the topic.

Baseball needs to look at why and how this has gotten to this point.  Most of the stories that are coming out are from the past.  Is the ability to know if a player is on steroids so difficult as to allow so many players to be doing it for so long?  Do the players feel pressured into doing it to compete for the high salaries that are out there?  It’s either do it or lose out to the cheaters.  I’m not condoning this but I can surely see where their coming from.

 And while we’re at it lets revisit Pete Rose.  He seems to have achieved all of his stats without the use of steroids.  Oh, he was a bad boy so his stats don’t count. Please, murders don’t always get life sentences why is Pete getting one.   Put him in the Hall of Fame now.  Pete Rose was great. I know because I couldn’t stand him when he played (he was the competition).

If baseball was a little more prudent in their approach to this problem then the players wouldn’t get away with it.  Many players are just kids (big kids) and baseball and the owners should be more aware of what’s going on in their clubhouses.  All of these allegations are coming from disgruntled teammates or managers.  What we need to do is what President Nixon did with the countries traitors (draft dodgers).  We need to pardon them and get on with the game.

Let’s just make sure it stops here and now.  The alternative is to erase all baseball records and start over.  Who knows who has been cheating all these years to set the records.  Alcohol is a drug and most ball players indulged in this activity in the past.   My favorite player Mickey Mantle was a near alcohlic and I’m sure it numbed his pain so he could produce.   So lets pardon these guys, leave the records alone and lets fix the problem here an now.  No more steroids period.

After I read the email I found myself agreeing with many of the points in this message. Something HAS to be done right NOW regarding the future sanctity of the wonderful game of baseball. If we can at least be 90% sure that the players playing right now are not on steroids, we can still look forward to some serious records being broke (for real) in our lifetimes. 

So please comment, let us know what your thoughts are. This blog thrives on visitor and member input regarding topics like this.