Fungos 12/17
Doing Fungos a bit differently today as there is not much news since the Weekend Edition…
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The hypocrisy that is shown in the media is truly amazing. The fact that Baseball is under so much scrutiny while Football flies under the radar is beyond me. Yes, the performance enhancing drugs scandal is terrible in Baseball, but there is, at the very least, an acknowledgement that there is a problem. Meanwhile, Football has done absolutely nothing to address their problem. Take for instance Shawn Merriman from the San Diego Chargers. Last season, he tests positive for steroids and gets suspended for four games (a quarter of the season). What is his punishment? He gets a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Meanwhile, Baseball players are vilified (justifiably so) in the media for the same transgression. Jayson Stark, over at ESPN.com, has a great article comparing Rodney Harrison and Andy Pettitte. Both have admitted to using HGH, but Pettitte is getting slammed in the media, while Harrison is getting nothing.
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The idea that the majority of players are dirty is something else that is really bothering me. I truly believe that most players are on the level. Perhaps I am wrong, but I see enough players doing the right thing and progressing a normal amount, to really believe this. I look at current players like Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey, and Alex Rodriguez and say “The Game is still good”. I find it horrible that because of the actions of a few, Alex Rodriguez has to answer a question from Katie Couric regarding if he ever took drugs.
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A player that I thought of immediately after reading the Mitchell Report was Fred McGriff. It’s not because I thought he used; it’s quite the opposite. McGriff was a slugging first baseman who always seem to get overshadowed by the “Great” sluggers of the game. It is sad that he fell short of 500 homeruns as the Crime Dog was a good player who would’ve been a star if he did not play in Steroids era. I plan to do something on McGriff in the near future.
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Andrew, our 13 year old staffer, is working on a piece that will discuss the fact that in all of his life, he has never seen “clean” baseball. I can’t wait to read this piece, and I am also saddened at that statement. It is a shame that these players who make millions have cost fans of all ages the simple satisfaction that knowing the game is natural.
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The Dodgers did end up signing Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda to a three year 35.3 million dollar deal. The money isn’t much more than Kyle Loshe or Carlos Silva are going to get, but it is still a curious deal to me. I’m not too keen on Japanese pitchers coming to the States after seeing numerous fail. True, Dice-K was successful, but he is in the prime of his career. Kuroda is already 32 years old. It’s a risky deal for the Dodgers as they could’ve made a deal for Erik Bedard instead. With Dan Haren going to the D-Backs, the Dodgers will have to hope that Kuroda can help the rotation.
Well, that’s it for today. We’ll return to a normal Fungos format the next time out. Thanks for reading this rant. Enjoy the day!
Comments
By Pete on December 17th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
>> I find it horrible that because of the actions of a few, Alex Rodriguez has to answer a question from Katie Couric regarding if he ever took drugs. >>
That’s the worst part about all of this – that every homer, every hit, every strikeout will now be looked upon with a raised eyebrow.
I think people will put it out of their minds with time, though – if better testing is implemented and enough guys get caught, the ‘great’ players will still be viewed as just that – and not suspected of being fueled by some sort of PED.
Here’s some food for thought – how is what Clemens did much different from what Gaylord Perry used to do to the ball when *he* pitched?
By garmida on December 17th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Excellent thoughts Pete. I agree that time and a real good testing policy will help people to forget. I really hope Baseball steps up.
That’s an interesting question regarding Clemens. As someone who tried to emulate the Rocket growing up, it saddens me to think that the majority of his career was a fraud. In this respect, he is similar to Perry, a Hall of Famer. A cheat is a cheat. Yet, we look at Perry as some sort of novelty act, even though his cheating directly influenced games. It’s an interesting debate.
By athomeatfenway on December 17th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
1. Totally agree with your NFL stance. In 1970, there were two 300 lb. players in the entire NFL. Today, there are (6) six on the Patriots alone. It aint from better nutrition or evolution.
2. Greater N.Y. folk are understandably upset about the shadow cast over A-Rod. Presently, the most damning thing you can say about him is that he has obviously bulked up over the years. But He hasn’t tested positive. And he didn’t drop weight and decline in power stats in the wake of the Palmeiro debacle, as many users did.
3. Christy Mathewson said (about 90 years ago) that ballplayers are OK cheating as long as they don’t use mechanical, man-made tools. Cheating, aka gamemanship, will always be in Baseball. I just wish the Commissioner had taken steps in 1995 to clearly state that man-made-hormones were not a form of gamesmanship and wouldn’t be tolerated.
4. Your comment about Andrew never having seen a clean game is S-A-D sad. Hang in there, men. Baseball has fallen down again. But it will pick itself up and walk straight again, I’ll be you that.
By garmida on December 18th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Thanks for checking in athomeatfenway. Great thoughts as usual. You make a great point about gamesmanship. I, too, wish Baseball responded in the 90’s to all of this. I guess they felt that the obscene power was needed to get baseball back on the map after the strike of 94 costing the World Series. Buster Olney has always said that the media did a poor job too. He always calls himself out on that as well. I guess we didn’t want to believe it at the time.
I do agree that baseball will survive. I just can’t wait for pitchers and catchers to report as there has been zero news lately…all this stuff.