Right off: I couldn't care less about steroids. If Roger Clemens wants to do steroids or HGH or smoke angel dust in the dugout before the game, its his choice not mine and I don't believe for 1 second that it actually makes him better at anything. These drugs are not 'performance enhancers', they just make you bigger not better. For all the hand-wringing about the influence on the children the moralizers are completely missing the point--they're making it worse! By dragging Mark McGwire in front of Congress you're tacitly telling the children that if you do steroids you'll hit 500 HR's when nothing could be further from the truth! Why not bring up schlubs like Ryan Anderson? He actually got busted for steroids--unlike McGwire, Clemens or Bonds--and he stunk! What kind of 'performance enhancement' did he get? None because he stunk and it don't matter how many drugs he does, he's still gonna stink. Women in America have fought for decades for the right to control their own bodies, why don't these athletes stick up for their rights once in a while instead of pretending to not be guilty?
Tomorrow Clemens goes before some relatively unimportant Congressional committee (*) to proclaim his victimhood at the hands of Brian McNamee and the blood-sniffing American media that lives to point out the faults of others while ignoring its own culpability. Is Clemens a liar? I don't know and I don't care. To me he's a Hall of Famer and he always will be regardless of how many packs a day he smokes or what websites he peruses in the off-season. He played baseball at a very high level for a long time and contributed to a lot of good teams over the years, that's all I know. His 'morality' is his own problem, its not like I'm buying a used car from the dude.
(* To be fair, I consider all Congressional committees to be 'relatively unimportant')
Virtually all of the input I've gotten on this story is from the sports media which has its own point of view, its own narrative structure for this story that may or may not be relevant to reality. None of these sports talk guys have mentioned that today that committee had a hearing on Human Growth Hormone. Do you see? These Congressmen probably aren't interested in the he said/he said sportsy bullshit. This committee is interested in HGH and baseball (for whatever reason) is the high profile HGH case. Prediction: This committee is likely to conclude that HGH is the medicine of the future and won't give a shit about Clemens or McNamee or Major League Baseball (probably a good 2 years down the road when we've moved on to a gajillion other things and forgotten all this noise). You gotta remember: Congressmen spend most of their day listening to old people complain about health care costs. HGH may well be what keeps people alive longer for cheaper. Roger Clemens may be the test case for the wonders of the medicine of the future and what Congressman could pass up a health care victory? Clemens may become a Babe the Blue Ox for the ever-increasing elderly voting bloc, the new Matlock, the new Joe Dimaggio--he'll go down as the man who made Obama's health care plan look prescient! And what first term president could pass up a health care victory?
If this committee even notices Clemens at all it may be for what makes life better. Are you ready for Roger Clemens to be hailed as a hero?
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6 comments:
re: "I couldn't care less about steroids"
Spoken like a true fan of the '99 Indians!
You know these athletes are always getting this thing called 'tommy john surgery', do you think that enhances performance? Would there be any point in having the surgery if it didn't enhance performance?
Yes, I was a fan of the '99 Indians (what brought that on?), but I've done enough drugs to know that drugs help some, hurt others and do absolutely nothing for most.
If these guys didn't want to do drugs they're get they're stinking union to outlaw it!
You tuned a blind eye to the Indians, your juiced up David Justices and your Mannys and Thomes and Alomars and Vizquels and Corderos, while they racked up their 1000+ runs, and now you're acting like you don't care, like it doesn't matter?! It's not that easy! Is this sexy?! As Palmeiro said, "I didn't and I won't---period."
Are you comparing taking steroids with Tommy John surgery?! Tommy John didn't have to stick a needle in his ass to shred his tendons. He did it naturally.
Roids won't make supremely gifted weekend warriors like you and me capable of hitting big-league pitchers, but if you can already hit a big-league curve and a 94-mph fastball, and you then take a controlled substance that will make those fast-twitch muscles faster, your bat speed quicker, your ballsack smaller and your breasts more tender, then of course you'll connect with more pitches more solidly more frequently, thereby "enhancing your performance." Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter on blue dragon.
I'm glad you mentioned Doc Ellis, Trigger. He's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. Would you consider LSD a 'performance enhancer'? I certainly wouldn't but he pitched the game of his life tripping balls.
These guys smoke cigarettes, take aspirin, they drink booze and have all manners of invasive surgery. Why are these things allowed? Why is it okay for Curt Schilling to have a cortisone shot for the playoffs? Is it right to tell the kids to unnaturally dull their pain in order to keep playing? Is that healthy?
I'm not turning a blind eye--I don't give a shit! That's not the same. I don't understand why some things are legal and other things aren't. And all this post-facto moralizing is especially absurd when you consider most of this stuff wasn't illegal at the time anyway!
I'm not advocating LSD, steroids, tobacco or anything else. I just think that the idea they'll make you better at anything is foolish. If that's the message these Congressional committees were suggesting then I'd be more at ease. But they're not. They're telling the world that the only way to hit home runs or be the best pitcher is to take drugs. I think that's an irresponsible message and I don't think its the least bit true! Roger Clemens will pay for his transgressions with tumors on his spine, I don't think anything is advanced with all this endless finger-pointing.
Steroids aren't cheating, they just shrink balls, raise your blood pressure and lower your lifespan. The real message is these drugs don't enhance anything!
Wil Cordero...forgot about that dude.
Hey, Trigger, I get my year end film review coming up. Please come and give me your take on this year's films.
It won't let me leave links in the comments (probably a good thing). But here's the URL:
http://www.yyz505b.blogspot.com/
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