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Roger the dodger, and other steroids accusations

Dec 14th, 2007 by Bill Burt

We’ve had 24 hours to peruse the Mitchell Report and frankly nothing has changed in my book.
Roger Clemens is still in trouble. The MLB Players Association still doesn’t care about the “epidemic.” And I believe this report, while not harnessing a lot of hard evidence (two guys really), will be a great thing for professional sports.
Let’s look at all three issues:

1. Roger Clemens is Barry Bonds’ equal.
I will be interested in Clemens’ response other than his lawyer’s denials. Clemens, from the report, was a major steroids abuser. If you’re wondering why he seemed to get in better shape after leaving the Red Sox, while in his late 30s and early 40s, we have our answer. He did it artificially.
Please don’t fall for the “I work hard” argument. Nobody is questioning work ethic. In fact for steroids to work, you have work hard, otherwise you become fat.
Clemens simply couldn’t walk away from the sport. My guess is he will do a 60 Minutes story, tears flowing, referencing his childhood.
He deserves what is coming his way in terms of scrutiny.

2. Nothing to fear by Donald Fehr himself.
This guy I blame more than anyone. The executive director of the MLBPA has fought tooth-and-nail against testing because of rights. Well, look where all of his protesting has got him.
The owners have played a role. They turned their heads. But the reason they turned their heads and accepted the big dollars that came with the home-run era (steroids era) was the result with the powerful players association.
Fehr, in my mind, is the No. 1 culprit here. The only times he has faced this issue is when the pressure has been on, be it from public, Congress and anyone else.
He, like Clemens, don’t even realize what is coming their way.

3. Mitchell Report is great for professional sports.Here’s the deal to all potential steroids/HGH users: Eventually, you will be exposed.
My guess is that more names are coming. More whistle blowers are wetting their lips. It’s about time this issue is faced head on. Random testing for all pro athletes is what is needed. They are held to a higher standard and paid handsomely for it. If they can clean their house, somewhat, my educated guess is that high school and college athletes will soon follow.
This was a wakeup call more than anything. Athletes will not be protected any more.

This was a gutsy move by MLB and commissioner Bud Selig.

Do you agree?
problem

Posted in Red Sox | Comments

  • Rob
    I think Fehr might be in even more trouble... Thought I saw on an ESPN crawler last night that he said that "the decision to talk to the Mitchell panel was up to each individual player."

    I wonder about that. The man's not an idiot, but did he just throw all his players under the bus?
  • John Cronin
    Yes Bill, I agree. But MLB is going to suffer moreso as the prices of tickets keeps skyrocketing to pay for these high priced cheaters. All sports figures will suffer, and well they should when so many of our kids look up to them, imitate them, even in little league, and if the players union doesn't do something drastic, a major hit on sports will be felt for years.
    This is only the beginning, the tip of the iceberg, and as it all unravels, the only way the MLB can go is down. Greed has hit us again.
  • pasta diving lugo
    I don't agree at all, Bill.

    If this is a crime and there are criminal penalties, let's get it on, take it to court. But do you really think they are going to do that? Mitchell knows all he has assembled here is yesterday's rumours and innuendo plus the hearsay evidence of a couple of guys doing plea deals to reduce their jail time. By any standards of justice, "Judge" Mitchell has failed utterly to deliver.

    Next time you want a report for 20 million, please PLEASE contact me. I will give you the names of labs and distributors for all sports and we can begin to prosecute them. Mitchell is a dog, an absolute dog of a human being. How you smear another human being's accomplishments and put your socks on the next day is beyond me.

    Bonds has a Bill Clinton problem. He swore in an affidavit that he didn't take any drugs. He gets a day in court. The rest of these guys don't get that. Where do they go to get their reputations back? I, for one, believe David Justice when he says, "Yeah I had a bottle of the stuff in my locker for a while but froze when I learned I had to inject myself. I tossed them. Look at my record in 2001. Hit .240 and was out of baseball." And how do you distinguish between a Clemens with possible long term use and a Pettite who may have been using them short term to recover from an injury quickly. Tell me that's not happening in the NFL.

    The players didn't deserve this. The distributors and producers do. Not a f---king word on those folks except maybe on some receipts. You're part of the chattering classes, Bill, scurrying about with your cheeks full of this offal looking to spread it about here and there. Wise up.

    Start writing about consequences. How do you spend 20 million dollars on a report like this? Now there's something I would love to read.
  • Pasta
    This report was more based on hearsay, but you know what, I don't care. The message is clear: Baseball has put its greatest pitcher of the last 40 years for everyone to see.
    You focus on the cash and I'll focus on the message. If you cheat you will be caught eventually, especialy the superstars.
    Was I hoping for more tangible dirt? Probably. I believe Jose Canseco's original forecast of 75 percent of baseball players have used "illegal" performance-enhancing drugs. My belief is more names will be coming down the pike, probably a few Sox players.
    This is a great time for professional sports. This is the beginning of a long, difficult road in ridding this junk from sports. Hopefully, the kids took notice.
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