MLB Steroid Scandal Continues - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

JiriHrdina · 06-07-2006, 11:44 PM

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/news_story/?ID=168125&hubname=mlb

Less significant is Grimsley himself and more the fact that he has apparently "named names". The American media is going hog wild with speculation about who could be those names.

Sad really - this is doing incredible long-term damage to the sport.

KevanGuy · 06-08-2006, 12:03 AM

I don't follow baseball at all but I watch things like this because decisions can affect all the other major leagues. Jiri, how do you see all this ending? Is it something serious enough to blowup the entire league? And by blowup I dont mean the end of MLB I mean mandatory drug testing and the loss of X amount of players?

JiriHrdina · 06-08-2006, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

I don't follow baseball at all but I watch things like this because decisions can affect all the other major leagues. Jiri, how do you see all this ending? Is it something serious enough to blowup the entire league? And by blowup I dont mean the end of MLB I mean mandatory drug testing and the loss of X amount of players?

Good question...

The way I see it going down is a few more player suspensions and admissions post-retirement by some of the bigger names. And yes more drug testing but the problem is the cheaters will always stay ahead of the testing.

But MLB will just continue to sweep it under the carpet as much as they can and ignore the fact that the game has been damaged. But from a historical perspective this era will go down as a dark one for MLB and any records set in it will be not held in any regard. And that's the real shame of it - baseball is the ultimate numbers game and now a lot of that has been ruined.

The best thing MLB could do right now from an optics perspective is to can that buffoon Selig and bring in a new guy to supposedly "clean up baseball". Whether or not he does is somewhat irrelevant...the apperance of a hardline commish would do wonders for the sports' credibility.

KevanGuy · 06-08-2006, 12:57 AM

So if they continue sweeping it under the carpet then will things ever change? If not then I guess the * beside the records being set these days will probably mark the start of dope condoning instead of representing just an era? blech, that was a poorly constructed sentence.

shoestring · 06-08-2006, 01:17 AM

MLB has kidded themselves through the whole aspect of drugs,now they are so far out of the loop they can't find a way to redeem themselves, ( short of a hall of fame for Pete Rose) but that opens a new problem that the MLB has kidded themselves about for far too long.
Selig leaving would help,but the problem might be deeper.

albertGQ · 06-08-2006, 08:56 AM

Isn't Selig still the "interim" commisioner?

I say its time MLB get a new one.

Bobblehead · 06-08-2006, 09:12 AM

I heard about this yesterday. So Grimsley was caught with HGH, and the only testing that can catch HGH is a blood test. But the Players Union will not allow blood testing (only urine testing) so this cannot be caught by currently approved methods.

JiriHrdina · 06-08-2006, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

So if they continue sweeping it under the carpet then will things ever change? If not then I guess the * beside the records being set these days will probably mark the start of dope condoning instead of representing just an era? blech, that was a poorly constructed sentence.

And the * will merely be an invisible one held by fans, but not recognized by baseball. There's no way for MLB to go back and strip guys like Sosa and Mac of their records so they will stay in the books until someone legitimate (cue Albert Puljos) comes along and re-writes those records.

As for whether things will ever change - probably not, because of continual advancements in drugs that will allow them to stay ahead of testing, and more disturbing because of the player's association unwillingness to allow full and proper testing.

The only thing that will change or perhaps better phrased continue to deteriorate are fans attitudes towards MLB players.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Alberta Puljos really is the guy that can "save" the sport. He's got the ability to break the signle season HR record (not the season b/c of his injury), capture a triple crown and mount a charge on some all time records....and I believe he's doing it all clean.Baseball desperately needs a guy like him, who the fans do trust, to throw up some records so that they can forget about the Sosas, Macs and Bonds of the sport.

Resolute 14 · 06-08-2006, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoestring

MLB has kidded themselves through the whole aspect of drugs,now they are so far out of the loop they can't find a way to redeem themselves, ( short of a hall of fame for Pete Rose) but that opens a new problem that the MLB has kidded themselves about for far too long.
Selig leaving would help,but the problem might be deeper.

Not just MLB. The union, and the fans. We all watched McGwire and Sosa duel eachother the record, fully believing that both were juicing, not caring.

I believe this is only an issue because Barry Bonds is a collossal jackass, so he doesnt get the same free pass that someone like Jason Giambi gets. Nobody else has had the scandal dog them personally.

Frankly, I doubt the steroid scandal will affect MLB much at all in terms of popularity. It'll become like the Olympics. Every once in a while we'll get shocked as a big name gets caught cheating and tossed out, then life returns to normal the next day.

Bobblehead · 06-08-2006, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

Frankly, I doubt the steroid scandal will affect MLB much at all in terms of popularity. It'll become like the Olympics. Every once in a while we'll get shocked as a big name gets caught cheating and tossed out, then life returns to normal the next day.

And that is sad. I hope Albert Pujols is clean, but because 'roids seem so pervasive in MLB I have to wonder.

Same as the NFL. National Felons League. Assault Charge? A few Battery charges? Well, you're under contract now so don't so that any, m'kay?

Win a medal at the Olympics? Don't celebrate until the drug test comes back. Even then, it may be years before it gets sorted out (a la Beckie Scott).

I hate feeling jaded, but almost any accomplishment anymore seems to have a lingering doubt. The fact that the Players Associations are so against drug testing seems to me to make all the players complicit inthe problem. Some players will always try to cheat, but until the leagues, associations and players all decide to work together to try and catch the cheaters, it is all a competition between chemists.

habernac · 06-08-2006, 01:21 PM

I still believe if Congress hadn't threatened to intervene, none of the present drug testing would be taking place. Selig was more than happy to see the fans following the slug fest. He's been a joke of a commisioner from day one.

CaramonLS · 06-08-2006, 02:26 PM

Pretty easy to point the finger at MLB on this one, but Donald Fehr is the one really running the show here for the players.

He is the head of the most powerful union in pro-sports, the only reason he has taken a step back recently is because he got punched in the balls at the congressional hearings, and even then Bud Selig tried to defend him.

Bud should have let them continue to rip Fehr apart, too bad he has Selig's balls in his hand.