A-Rod tainted by players union's mistake; how will he respond?

[snoopy369]

At least ARod didn't tell a grand jury that he never used, despite vast evidence to the contrary... he just told the media, who exists to be lied to anyway.

But I have to think Bonds used steroids way more than ARod - but maybe not... we'll see I guess.

[-Jrabbit]

Who used them the most is hardly the point. They are all lying sacks of crap anyway, whether verbally or by omission.

I'm sick to death of everyone who gets caught saying:
"Oh yeah, I did it but..."
(select as many as you like from the following list)
A. I didn't know they were steroids
B. I didn't know what I was getting into
C. My personal trainer told me it was a legal supplement
(and my personal favorite)
D. I only did it a few times

Give me a break!

Remember -- there were 104 guys stupid enough to get caught in 2003. By then, a lot of others had already been scared straight. Clearly, there were HUNDREDS of habitual users on a regular program of illegal "supplements" before that.

We need to just accept that steroids were rampant for much of the 80s and 90s, and obviously declined as we moved into the 21st century. Naming names -- while very satisfying on the "pound of flesh" level -- gets us nowhere. In fact, it will allow many flagrant users to escape the broad brush of guilt, just because they had enough sense to stop before being tested.

Sure, we all want to know about Bonds and Clemens and Sosa and McGwire. But the sad truth is, not one of them is likely to be found guilty in court, and not one of them will ever come clean to the public.

All this public posturing, the Congressional hearings... they're just a huge waste of time and money. The only way anyone will ever admit the truth is if they are guaranteed that their stats will stand, and that they have full amnesty from prosecution.

MLB should just call it the Steroids Era, adopt a hard-line stance (constant and state of the art testing, brutal penalties) going forward, and focus on the future.

[Arrian]

1. He cheated. That bad. I'm not really surprised. There are very few names at this point, that would surprise me.
2. So did 103 others (not to mention other guys who have been caught before, after, or otherwise clearly used). Yet his is the only name released? Hatchet job.
3. Some anonymous test, huh?
4. If you read Will Carrol over at BP, you know that the cheaters have new & improved stuff that doesn't show up in testing (now). The only solution I see is to take samples and keep them indefinitely, so they can be tested later. In any event, doping is here to stay.

-Arrian

[snoopy369]

Meh, he's the biggest name, so it doesn't surprise me that his name came out first. I don't doubt more will come out soon.

[SlowwHand]

The best thing Alex Rodriques did is stop lying a lot sooner than many others.

I don't give a royal rat's ass if it's baseball, football, hockey, professional tiddley winks or whatever, it's wrong. It breaks the rules, it tears down a person's body.
It will take a LONG time for baseball to get over this, IMO. Some won't agree, and guess what? I don't care if people disagree. If it's not bad, there's no reason to lie.

Inadvertently, ball players are giving role model lessons, in spite of themselves.
Don't do things that you're ashamed of. Live so you have nothing to hide.

[DinoDoc]

He should be kicked out of baseball along with the 103 other positives.

[rah]

It wasn't really against the rules then (enforced anyway). It was a survey to prove to the players union that testing was necessary. The union would not have agreed if the results were to be published. They had their results on Nov 11th. and started the process to destroy the samples and results. On the 19th of that month the government served a court order so the process wasn't finished. Rumor has it that the union wanted to play with the results in an attempt to get the possitives below the threashold that would require testing so they didn't destroy them fast enough before the court order came. As a reslut the members were betrayed by the union. (wouldn't be the first time a union did that)

Having said that, I think now that one name has been released, they all should be. The players that were clean (or not stupid enough to get caught or were warned about the test as some claim) deserve to be said not on the list, and AROD deserves some company on the hot spot. I do have a tiny tiny bit of sympathy for AROD because of the circumstances but screw it.

[-Jrabbit]

The best thing Alex Rodriques did is stop lying a lot sooner than many others.

I am amused by your implication that now, suddenly, everything he's telling us is true.

This is just "stop the bleeding" PR spin. It's not like he woke up yesterday and decided to tell the truth. HE GOT OUTED, fair or not, and is simply trying to scrape together what little remains of his dignity.

I, for one, am confident that A-Rod is still not telling the whole truth. "Didn't know" what he was putting into his body? Come on! Next you'll be telling us you didn't inhale!

"Only 2001-03," "I was naive" and "I was lying to myself" -- it's all pretty transparent and desperate in my book. Why should I believe any of that crap?

I am insulted that he (and others) think they can dance around their blatant cheating and previous lies with yet another pack of lies -- and expect me to believe them.

[-Jrabbit]

It wasn't really against the rules then (enforced anyway). It was a survey to prove to the players union that testing was necessary. The union would not have agreed if the results were to be published. They had their results on Nov 11th. and started the process to destroy the samples and results. On the 19th of that month the government served a court order so the process wasn't finished. Rumor has it that the union wanted to play with the results in an attempt to get the possitives below the threashold that would require testing so they didn't destroy them fast enough before the court order came. As a reslut the members were betrayed by the union. (wouldn't be the first time a union did that)

Having said that, I think now that one name has been released, they all should be. The players that were clean (or not stupid enough to get caught or were warned about the test as some claim) deserve to be said not on the list, and AROD deserves some company on the hot spot. I do have a tiny tiny bit of sympathy for AROD because of the circumstances but screw it.

No sympathy from me. None.

I don't care what the rules were; I'm not asking for asterisks or HOF bans. But whatever degree of truth is available -- that I want, and the fans, who are financing all these 7- and 8-figure contracts, deserve.

Sure, I want to see the full list. Just like I want to see the original Mitchell Report list that Fox had -- the one with Pujols and Kerry Wood on it, that was mysteriously full of nothing but backups and has-beens the next day.

The simple truth is that MLB didn't act until things were so obvious they had to -- esp. with Congress getting involved. Similarly, the union refused to cooperate until they had no other way to turn. Everyone from the players and their union to the teams and the league itself had a lot to lose, and let it go on unabated for years.

Whether under legal definition or not, that, my friends, is fraud.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Is it really fraud if everyone basically knew the problem (ie, wasn't really a secret).

[rah]

But they all lied to the fans. So yes, fraud.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well if the fans were that dumb....

[-Jrabbit]

Give me a break from the sophistry, Imran. You know damned well what I mean.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If people are really that dumb to believe that their players haven't stretched the legal boundaries (in any sport), then they deserve to have the wool pulled over their eyes.

[-Jrabbit]

We were all here, we were all watching, and we all knew performance enhancers were in use. The question at hand is, how much and by whom. The fact that MLB, the players, the teams and union all stonewalled the public most emphatically does NOT excuse them from coming clean.

Attempting to use the fact that people are gullible as justification for this behavior is just plain ridiculous.