Friday, December 14, 2007
Say It Ain't So (Allegedly)
Let me get this straight. Two of the most dominant players in the history of baseball (my favorite sport), are cheaters (allegedly). Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have put up numbers over the past decade that seemingly almost defy logic.....and now we know why (allegedly). Bonds being on the list in yesterdays Mitchell report documenting heavy steroid use in baseball, wasn't a surprise, but Clemens' inclusion was. Even though I assumed he was "enhanced", actually seeing his name in print was shocking. After all, this is possibly the greatest pitcher ever. Now his legacy is forever tarnished by a decision he made which was fueled by ego and greed (allegedly).
Clemens was the biggest name in the Mitchell report, but there were 75 others. Many of those also surprised me. Having to tell my 11-year old son that one of his favorite players was caught cheating (allegedly), was a very hard thing to do. His face dropped when I told him Paul Lo Duca was included. That angers and saddens me all at the same time. I love baseball and always will, and I can forgive these guys, but I'll never forget what they did to put such a negative light on this great game.
What I fear is that this report will do nothing but create a huge "he said, she said" situation that will linger for years. I fear none of these guys will come out and say, "Yes I did that, I'm sorry and I'll do whatever I can to make this better." I think they'll all just deny these accusations and baseball will fall further and further into a game of cloudy questions and suspicions. I hope I'm wrong. I also hope that this report somehow leads to more advanced testing for HGH which is the current drug players are taking (allegedly), because its undetectable through urine tests.
The scary thing about yesterdays report is that I know it only scratches the surface. These 76 names came from just 3 sources. You know that so many others just "got away" with using performance-enhancing drugs because their providers weren't questioned or they were just better about hiding it.
Say it ain't so...........but I know it all is (allegedly).
Clemens was the biggest name in the Mitchell report, but there were 75 others. Many of those also surprised me. Having to tell my 11-year old son that one of his favorite players was caught cheating (allegedly), was a very hard thing to do. His face dropped when I told him Paul Lo Duca was included. That angers and saddens me all at the same time. I love baseball and always will, and I can forgive these guys, but I'll never forget what they did to put such a negative light on this great game.
What I fear is that this report will do nothing but create a huge "he said, she said" situation that will linger for years. I fear none of these guys will come out and say, "Yes I did that, I'm sorry and I'll do whatever I can to make this better." I think they'll all just deny these accusations and baseball will fall further and further into a game of cloudy questions and suspicions. I hope I'm wrong. I also hope that this report somehow leads to more advanced testing for HGH which is the current drug players are taking (allegedly), because its undetectable through urine tests.
The scary thing about yesterdays report is that I know it only scratches the surface. These 76 names came from just 3 sources. You know that so many others just "got away" with using performance-enhancing drugs because their providers weren't questioned or they were just better about hiding it.
Say it ain't so...........but I know it all is (allegedly).
Posted at 2:27 AM by Chris Coraggio
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