A few months back, writer Ken Rosenthal wrote an article saying that any speculation concerning David Ortiz and PED use was unfair. Since we were at that time speculating that David Ortiz had used PED's, we took Rosenthal's article personal, and wrote a response. Now that it has been revealed that David Ortiz did in fact fail a drug test, I beleive sir Rosenthal owes us an apology. Here's my favorite excerpt from Rosenthal's article:
"Here's one thing I do know: Before steroids, players actually declined as they got older. Ortiz is 33. Maybe he is losing his skills."
Right.
I can't say that this recent revelation about Ortiz's PED use makes me happy as a Yankee fan. However, I can say that I'm glad that the picture is now balanced. Senator Mitchell's joke of a report was centered in New York, and largely reported on New York PED users. Then A-Rod got leaked this last year. With Ortiz and Manny getting leaked off that 2003 list, we have the first big players of the Red Sox to fall. Then Bronson Arroyo basically said that he's on that list, and Nomar has been so up in arms about the leaks that it wouldn't be a big surprise that he was on the list too. By the way, Nomar has been complaining about testing since day one.
A friend of mine who is a Red Sox fan asked me if I thought this nullified the championships the Red Sox won. I definitely don't think it does. I do think it cheapens them though, especially since it was the first time in 86 years they won one. Its shaping up to be an ugly era for baseball, and the quicker we move past it the better. For this reason I think its essential that they release the list. Names are going to continue to be leaked, and a story that should really be over in a couple months will be spread out over years. Why do that? The truth will set us free.
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Here is an opinion piece on why the list can't be published:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/opinion/04Glanville.html
Personally I would like to see the list printed once and for all, but this artcle raises some good points.
I read the Glanville piece yesterday. In many ways he's right, anonymity was meant to ensure an honest test, but the reasons he gives for why there was a list of names don't make sense. It wasn't so players could challenge false positives since the player's weren't going to know their own results. The MLBPA did it this way because it did not want a testing policy and they hoped to challenge some of the results as false positives to keep the number of users under 5%. Had the MLBPA not been so adamant about trying to prevent the inevitable this list would not have existed in the first place, let alone not been destroyed immediately so that no one, i.e. the government, could ever get their hands on it. The MLBPA did what it did, but not in good faith. If you want to lament the leaks, blame the MLBPA.
cmon, you guys know as well as I do, there were so many new york players named in the Mitchell report because all he had to work with were the two dealers that dealt to new york players. I think we can conclude that it was a waste of time and money, but it wasnt biased, he just had no info to go on other than the two guys the feds gave him, because obviously the players werent going to talk to him (and why should they?).
As for wanting the names released, I wrote a comment a while back with an analogy, and I think it works pretty well:
"Yes, steroids are illegal, but so is any kind of recreational drug. How would you feel if the company you work for said they were holding a confidential drug test to see how many employees were using, then years later as you work for another company, its leaked that you were a cocaine user. Your current company then fires you and you are looked upon with scorn even though your coke use was a onetime thing."
Not to mention: unless the 4th amendmant has been repealed, there is no way those names should be realeased just to satisfy public curiousity. Two wrongs do not make a right and they should really spend their time finding out who did the leaking, rather than who is actually on the list.
MLBPA messed up, kinda. But it doesnt change the fact that those names were leaked illegally.
Kind of off topic a little, but I don't know where I read this, maybe that stupid Selena Roberts book or maybe some blog, but I read the stuff ARod was taking was not illegal, just a banned substance. Is that true? It's a moot point, but I was just curious.
Must...know...all...things...ARod!!!
doesnt matter what he took, either way he is going to get skewered, tribegirl.
I read Glanville's article. It hasn't convinced me. This story will continue to be a story for months and years to come until every name is leaked. Fred made a valid point in one of his other posts - a court order would be needed to legally release the names. At this point they must be released to do damage control for the MLB organization as well as the players - for both those who tested positive and negative!!! That way there won't be any more guessing games or false accusations that I'm sure piss off (no pun intended) clean players that get the finger pointed at them because they are big or hit a lot of home runs. Players lose their anonymity??? Too bad!! One player losing it is one too many!!! Level the playing field at that point - what's good for the goose... This way EVERYONE can comment, admit, deny, point fingers, blame GNC, apologize, cry, whateves.....just get it over with this year!!! The idea being so we can get back to baseball next year which is now supposedly "clean" or dirty players are immediately caught and suspended a la Manny Ramirez to keep the game clean.
Fred, trust me - I agree 110%! Hell, the guy gets booed when he pops up after he hits a home run in his own stadium!!! I was just curious if that was true or not.
tribegirl, your still missing the point...
If you are cool with having all the skeletons in your closet realeased, then so be it(because that is whats happening). It sounds like your cool with just blowing up the fourth amendmant--which is your right--but I still think its wrong.
Damn...I sound like a conspiracy theorist.....word to the wise: if you can fight it, dont ever give the government your right to privacy. Thats why we ARE still a free nation. Once again I apologize for thowing my thoughts out there, guys. I still am against releasing the names, no matter what is said.
Don't apologize Fred - everyone has the right to their opinion even if it differs. You make valid points. I get what you're saying. That's why it would have to be argued before a court before the names could/could not be released. After thinking about what you said, I think there are good arguments to both sides, but I obviously lean heavily to the other side of the argument. I think we do agree that the "leakers" should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! I also wish ARod & company would have the b@lls to sue the MLB for not destroying those results after the data was initially collected. Unfortunately, they would be chastised by the media because they shouldn't have "cheated" in the first place. However, the lawsuit would make the larger point of the privacy that was violated b/c the results were not destroyed as instructed.
This whole thing is a freakin' mess!
Here's some food for thought....when I was in the military, I knew about twelve guys and two girls over the span of my career that got kicked out of the military for testing positive for steroids. One strike and they were out. No do-over, no rehab, no second chance. Bad conduct discharge on their record. Interesting, huh??? Nobody that is proven to have used anything illegal is actually arrested, taken to court, or anything, yet a military mbr is ruined for life. The only thing I've seen people getting busted for is lying under oath and the one or two guys for distributing. Bust a pro for using like you do gym guys and military ppl. Seriously, try getting a job with a Bad Conduct Discharge. Hmmmmm......
I think the moral of the story is, never take an anonymous drug test where they ask for your name.
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