A-Rod, PEDs, and a Shocking Conclusion!

As I'm sure you've heard by now, New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been banned from baseball for the entire 2014 season (post-season included, if the Yankees make it that far) for cheating, lying, and being a jerk (OK, those aren't the official reasons, but they describe A-Rod in a nutshell).  Rodriguez was involved in the Biogenesis scandal where 13 Major League Baseball players were suspended last season for having used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).  A-Rod was the only player to appeal - all others admitted their guilt, served their punishments, and moved on.  Not only did Rodriguez deny having been injected with PEDs by Anthony Bosch of Biogenesis, but he's gone on to sue everyone from his doctors to the Yankees to Major League Baseball.  It's one of those cases where the more you lie, the more you start believing that those lies are true.

What's my take on the A-Rod situation?  Honestly, I just don't care.  I have never liked "A-Fraud" (especially after reading Joe Torre's book), and I find the whole PED thing very disappointing.  I was heartbroken when Lance Armstrong fessed up to using PEDs (about as heartbroken as I was when I read that Sports Illustrated article depicting Kirby Puckett as a wife beater and women-groper).  Finding out that a previously-superhuman athlete is really a fraud is very deflating and discouraging.  I never felt like that about A-Rod (I just want him to go away), but there's a certain part of me that is expecting to feel like that in 2017 when my idol, Iván "Pudge" Rodriguez, is eligible for a Hall of Fame nomination.

While Pudge's turn won't come for another few years, this whole A-Rod thing has me thinking.  When an elite baseball player retires, the question of whether or not he will be elected to enter the Hall of Fame comes up. In the case of Pudge, the answer to that question is a bit complicated. Based on Iván's merits and statistics alone, he's a shoe-in.  He has the most games caught of any catcher, finished his career with almost 3,000 hits, won an MVP award, a World Series MVP award and was arguably the best defensive catcher of all time (go ahead, argue that one with me!).

But then there’s the PED problem (I know, I hate talking about Pudge and his possible use of PEDs!).  As we’ve seen in recent years, players with any PED associations are basically blackballed from Hall of Fame consideration no matter how strong their on-the-field performance was throughout his career.  No Bonds, no McGwire, and no Sosa in the Hall, but yes to Frank Thomas, who was never implicated in any PED scandals despite hitting a ton of home runs.  Basically, if the members of the BBWAA have morals and think you don't, you’re not getting into the Hall of Fame.  As someone who longs to be a member of the BBWAA, I have to agree.  The Hall of Fame is for the elitest of the elite; if you did something dirty that affected your performance, you don't belong in the Hall of Fame.  Like Pete Rose, who did not deserve to be banned from baseball for life but does not deserve to be in the Hall.  Sorry; Rose also wrote a good book, and I like the guy, but betting on baseball while you're an active participant is a no-no.

So where does Pudge Rodriguez fall in the PED-scheme of things?  He was not named in the Mitchell Report or as part of the Biogenesis scandal.  He has not been revealed to be on the famous list of 103 ballplayers who tested positive during baseball’s pilot testing program in 2004 (which was supposed to be anonymous but wasn't).  He has not admitted to any PED use.  So doesn't that make him a first-ballot shoe-in?  Not so fast.  Former teammate José Canseco wrote in his book (one book I actually don't care to read) that he personally injected Iván with steroids (even though we all know that Canseco is a big fat liar).  And when asked if Canseco's statements were true, Iván just said "Only God knows!"  What's THAT supposed to mean?  Hmmm...  Then there's the first team he played for, the Texas Rangers, where he played with known juicers Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, and A-Rod himself.  Plus, those of us who have paid close attention to Pudge's body over the years (for different reasons!) noticed that he was beefier before the drug testing years and noticeably smaller once testing was implemented in MLB (not that it ever bothered me!).

All of this is circumstantial evidence at best, inadmissible hearsay at worst.  In the world of baseball, any more or less reasonable suspicions that Pudge did, in fact, take PEDs are more than enough to get writers to withhold votes.  So would I vote for Pudge if I was on the BBWAA?  I know some of my posts tend to be shallow and you all know how much I love Pudge, but since I would take my vote as seriously as everyone else, I'm not so sure I would vote yes.  At least not in his first year of eligibility.  Surprised?  I know; I shocked myself as well.  But unless something happens to change the current pattern of Hall of Fame voting or Iván does a better job of denying his use of PEDs, I think he will be on the outside looking in for some time, and I will no longer wish to join the BBWAA.  Sigh!

(I hope my priest reads this so he knows the extent to which I will uphold my morals.  Not even hottie Iván Rodriguez can sway me from trying to be fair and honest!).

To Err is Human; to Lie is Stupid

As you may have heard by now, Milwaukee Brewers left-fielder Ryan Braun has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs and has accepted an immediate suspension from baseball for the rest of the season without pay.  While this seemed a little sudden for fans like myself, it wasn't totally surprising, since Braun's name kept popping up in Major League Baseball's ongoing investigation of players linked to the Biogenesis lab in Florida, which allegedly provided PED's to dozens of players. 

A five-time All-Star who won the 2007 National League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2011 NL MVP Award, Braun is in the middle of a club-record contract that runs through 2020.  He is earning $8.5 million this season and will forfeit nearly $3.5 million during his suspension (which won't exactly put him in the poor house).

What annoys me the most is that for the past year-and-a-half, Braun has denied any wrongdoing and even had a previous suspension overturned because his drug test supposedly wasn't done correctly.  Basically, some poor urine collection guy was fired last year because of Braun, who claimed that the guy didn't handle Braun's pee the right way.  Well apparently Braun's pee WAS tainted back then, but his legal team was able to get him off on a technicality.  In the meantime, poor urine collection guy can never go back to work collecting pee.

So what's better - to have an athlete come clean on his own and admit wrongdoing (like Braun and Lance Armstrong) or to have him caught with his hands in the cookie jar and then be forced to read a lawyer-written statement admitting his guilt?  For me, that's a tough one.  I remember being devastated when former track star Marion Jones admitted to using PEDs after the 2000 Olympics.  It was like a slap across the face; not only had I (and many other fans) been betrayed, but she lied in front of a grand jury, and I just couldn't imagine doing something so legally and morally wrong.  The longer us fans are strung along in an athlete's denial, the worse we feel when he or she comes clean.  In other words, if we had found out about Armstrong's PED use after only his first or second Tour de France victory, we wouldn't hate him as much now and we wouldn't have spent thousands of dollars on little yellow rubber bracelets.

Then there are the athletes who still won't come clean - the Barry Bondses of the world - and deny it for so long that when they do eventually come clean (Bonds hasn't), it's like "Duh!  It's about TIME you admitted it, you idiot!"  These are the ones who say they never "knowingly" took anything and end up blaming it on a trainer or coach or other previously-trusted person who did them wrong.  They make themselves out to be the poor victim and place the blame on someone else.  Really?  Shouldn't you be aware of everything that goes into your body?  Wouldn't you wonder how you went from weighing 185 pounds in the beginning of your career to 230?  How can you stare directly into a camera and tell everyone that you undeniably didn't do anything wrong?  Or go before a grand jury like Mark McGuire did and say you "mis-remember" everything?  Is it because you've been so awesome your whole life that things have always gone your way and you see no reason for that to change?  Well guess what, Roger Clemens - your poop DOES stink, and the fact that you won a million Cy Young Awards does not put you above the law.

Some people think we need to ease up on athletes who do wrong because it's our fault that we idolize them and see them as perfect.  We do tend to see them as super-human, but the decision to take PEDs is not a simple mistake like forgetting to turn off the iron or lying to your kids about the playground being closed because you don't feel like taking them.  Their decision directly affects their performance, which impacts the amount of money they make (until they come clean or get caught) and turns them into fan-favorite superstars with endorsement deals and lucrative contracts.  Other bad decisions, like when Mike Tyson decided it would be a good idea to bite off part of Evander Holyfield's ear, don't affect an athlete's performance in such a direct manner.  Changing your name from Ronald Artest to Metta World Peace was a stupid decision, but it didn't affect the way one basketball player performed on the court.  But taking PEDs does directly impact being able to hit 60 home runs in a season.

So what now?  As far as Ryan Braun is concerned, he can go back home to enjoy some time off and prepare for next season, if he's man enough to return and play despite the boos he's surely going to get.  And as far as MLB, they're still investigating the Biogenesis case, with players like Alex Rodriguez and Jhonny Peralta in the mix.  Will they really suspend about 20 players, like they say they might?  Maybe.  Will this impact the game of baseball?  Probably, in the short-term.  But despite labor disputes, player strikes, and drug scandals, baseball always makes a comeback, because fans (me included) just want to watch baseball.  Just don't lie to us about why you play the way you do - keep your nose clean, work hard, and don't always swing at the first pitch.  I don't think that's too much to ask.