The Truth About Mac

I needed a few days to get my thoughts together on Mark McGwire finally admitting that he did steroids. Not that it was a shock, but sometimes having something confirmed kills that .00001% of you that hoped for a different outcome. That it was "just" the andro that was found in his locker in 1998 that he fully admitted to using (an over-the-counter product at the time that has since been banned).

Is this different than the other guys who have been caught/accused/admitted to PEDs? I think it's more harmful, for one simple reason: the 1998 Home Run Race. It should not be dismissed or taken lightly how important that race for 61 between McGwire and fellow roid-er Sammy Sosa was. Don't forget these important facts:

- MLB was just 3 years removed from the devastating Strike of '94-95 that canceled the '94 World Series and turned millions of baseball fans off for good.
- The country was trying to deal with the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal (sidenote: how quaint does that controversy seem now?). The public needed a diversion from non-stop coverage, and Mac and Sosa provided that.
- This was a NATIONAL headline day after day for weeks on end in the summer of '98. This was not relegated to the sports section, this was front page of the paper, lead story on the evening news.

So where do we go from here? We, as baseball fans, have been forgiving to those who came clean about their steroid use. I think McGwire will be treated the same way, and that's fine. I also believe that there is no way he gets into the Hall of Fame now. My wish is that he was more forthcoming earlier, and that he didn't say that PEDs didn't help him hit home runs. Yes it did, Mark. You used it to stay healthy, at the very least. And you took a part of Americana with you.

Steroid Fatigue

Just another day of crappy Northern weather in February, so would you like to focus on baseball? Spring Training, beautiful weather, hope eternal, blah, blah. Well good luck with that- instead there is nothing but steroid talk. And I, for one, am sick of it. 5 of the top 7 baseball stories on ESPN.com are steroid-related. No new revelations, mind you. Just more of the names Canseco, Tejada, Clemens, and A-Rod. The world we live in rehashes everything over and over again, but I will try to avoid this on this blog, unless something new comes to light.

So here's some of what you should be hearing about:

- The World Baseball Classic Deux is gearing up, and while names are dropping out, it should be an exciting tournament all around. Pool C looks the most promising, with the US, Canada and Venezuela all sporting solid teams (sorry, Italy, but looks like you're the odd team out).

- Indians, White Sox, and Dodgers all have new digs in Arizona, and word so far has been positive. Let's see if the intimacy of Dodgertown carries across the country. My bet is it will not.

- The Nats are having drama very early. Ryan Zimmerman denying problems with the team, Odalis Perez no-showing for camp. Don't you actually have to be a good team to have these type of problems?

Sigh...

Well, here we are again. Another big star, another steroid scandal. And this one is big, folks. The one who was going to save us from the last 15+ years of tainted numbers is now one of the tainted. The one who would save us from Big Head Bonds and the ** home runs will now face the same scrutiny and disdain. A-Rod, the very divisive "savior" has fallen from his perch, and now no one is left that can save us from the fake numbers of Clemens, Caminiti, Canseco, etc, etc.

At least, A-Rod admitted his fault, albeit after getting caught. And he did seem somewhat sincere, given the circumstances. But he will never be looked at the same, nor should he be.

So where this leave us? Nowhere good. There are no names left that can really shock us, and perhaps more importantly, no one who is a legitimate threat to all the illegitimate records. Albert Pujols? Perhaps someday, but whispers have surrounded him as well.

So I propose what I have in the past- erase all numbers for all players who were or are cheaters. Wipe off Clemens from '98-'07, Bonds '99-'07, Mcgwire ?-'01, et al. Of course, it will never happen, but something has to be done to correct this era. It just gets sadder and sadder.

For my wife's take, see here.

Jose Can You..Shut Up?

Enough is enough from Jose Canseco, the poster boy of the Steroids Era and the only doper thus far to benefit from his notoriety. His first book, "Juiced," is widely credited for Congress's first hearing by his outing of Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmiero. So why is his 2nd book "Vindicated," due out on April Fool's Day, looked upon as garbage? Well, first came the report that he tried to bribe White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez out of $5 million to keep his name out of the book. Then came news that A-Rod is named- but is he? Canseco says he introduced A-Rod to his dealer, but is vague about everything else, and also says he never saw him use. Ordonez and A-Rod may well be guilty (their names have never come up before), but Canseco is using his vengence toward MLB supposedly blackballing him to make more money. He should be ashamed of profiting from a dirty era which had a huge part in by using and introducing others to steroids. But, of course, he's not- millions will buy his book, hoping for a revelation, but all they will find is insinuations and vague suggestions. Bring proof, Jose, or just go away.

Best Uses of the Word "Bro"...

3. "Don't taze me bro."-U. of Florida student
2. "That's my chopper you just thrashed Broseph."- Jack Black in "Anchorman"
1. "C'mon bro. Next question."- Washington Nationals catcher Paul LoDuca, when asked what he was specifically apologizing for after admitting to "mistakes in judgment" regarding his Mitchell Report-alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

*Sigh* It justs gets sadder- one of my former favorite players just acting like a tool.

Pettitte Outduels Clemens, Nanny Picks Up Save

Amid all the actual important stuff that happened in our lives yesterday, the 83rd episode in the Clemens saga played out on a national stage. And in this fan's opinion, good ol' boy Raj(pictured above in all his 1986 pre-HGH glory) made himself look even worse. His best friend Andy Pettitte told investigators that he did talk to Clemens about HGH and confirmed Brian McNamee's version. His response? "He must have misremembered our conversation." He threw his wife under the bus("she took HGH behind my back."), and his late mother under that same Greyhound("she told me in 1988 to take B-12" even though no trainer or doctor would give a player a shot used for Elderly dementia). Even his nanny from 1998 got involved, as the most famous party outside of the Playboy Mansion was dissected 16 different ways.

So what's next? No one is sure, but Clemens could very possibly be brought up on perjury and witness tampering charges. No one has come out of this looking good, including Congress, Bud Selig, Brian McNamee, Andy Pettitte. But Clemens, for all his OJ-like denials in the face of mounting evidence and testimony, could take the hardest fall of them all.