Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003?

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by socalwingfan

Little OT but I've asked this question on other websites - why does baseball get crucified when a player tests positive, but NFL players are given a 5 game suspension and maybe mentioned in the bottom of an ESPN scroll? Yesterday you couldn't turn the channel without seeing a discussion on A-Rod, but Shawn Merrimen gets busted, sits out a few games and comes back like nothing ever happened. I turned from the MLB network where everyone was killing A-rod to the NFL network where some offensive lineman is benching 225 pounds (i'm guessing never saw the actual weight displayed) 40 times to win a strength contest.

Are you suggesting Larry Allen is on steroids?

Baseball gets crucified because steroids resulted in the complete destruction of the record book, which baseball purists hold sacred. It's the most stats driven, obsessive sport and fans debate statistics and what they mean more than any other sport.

Plus, baseball sucks.

[malcolmk14]

From the article:

All four sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the evidence.

I hate this. If you're going to come out and say something like this and attempt to ruin someone's life, put your bloody name on the quote.

[fredr123]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3891548

Some more explanation on the testing/coding procedure and the Union's opportunity to destroy the results.

[habernac]

A-Rod admits it?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/200...arod_steroids/

[habernac]

a better link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami Beach, Fla. "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time.
"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

[mcsaxo]

also:

http://tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=266467&l...=topStory_main

[browna]

Good for him, I guess.

Just one look at the year+ long soap opera with his former teammate Clemens (let alone Bonds), that will drag out for years to come, probably influenced him coming clean like this sooner then later, even though he's denied it up until this point.

The constant dogging of the media and investigators etc maybe one thing when you're retired like Clemens, Bonds, McGuire, Palmero etc, but when you're still in the prime of your career with 5+ years left in a high level career, things get off track pretty fast with constant questions and scrutiny and distractions every city you hit.

That, and if his timeline is correct, he was well on his way to these type of power and all around stats when he played in Seattle, before Texas and whatever he took.

Baseball has no one else to blame but themselves...back in 2003, he technically was in a grey area with the rules by taking whatever it was he took.

[malcolmk14]

Sad to hear, as I'm a huge A-Rod fan. I'm glad he came clean and made it easier on himself, but man it just sucks that this is the way baseball went in those years.

Is Pujols the best "clean" hitter of the last 10 years then?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Sad to hear, as I'm a huge A-Rod fan. I'm glad he came clean and made it easier on himself, but man it just sucks that this is the way baseball went in those years.

Is Pujols the best "clean" hitter of the last 10 years then?

That depends. Who are the other 104 players who tested positive? Selig and the PA are idiots for not getting this under control long before all the crap hit the fan.

Pro cycling gets vilified for this sort of thing, but at least they've been working to get rid of it. If not for the intervention of the US govt, MLB would still be turning a blind eye.

[Lil Pedro]

Originally Posted by socalwingfan

Little OT but I've asked this question on other websites - why does baseball get crucified when a player tests positive, but NFL players are given a 5 game suspension and maybe mentioned in the bottom of an ESPN scroll? Yesterday you couldn't turn the channel without seeing a discussion on A-Rod, but Shawn Merrimen gets busted, sits out a few games and comes back like nothing ever happened. I turned from the MLB network where everyone was killing A-rod to the NFL network where some offensive lineman is benching 225 pounds (i'm guessing never saw the actual weight displayed) 40 times to win a strength contest.

Sorry man, i don't mean to be a ###### here, but heres the difference.
1) the NFL or any other league doesn't have to do a "Mitchell Report" regarding all its players using performance enhancing drugs
2) Baseball is the only league where players, under oath, have lied to about using Performance enhancing drugs to the Supreme Court (Palmeiro, McGuire, Bonds)

I agree, that the NFL and other leagues get off pretty easy when there players get busted with steriods. I think baseball gets a bad rep for it because of the sheer volume of players that actually use it tho.
I think A-Rod is a hell of a player. Im a Jays fan and he swats homers on my team like theres no tomorrow. But the sad thing is now, no matter how good this guy is, he still lied, and used performance enhancing drugs.Everytime he gets a homerun, and becomes closer and closer to catching Bond's record, everyones gonna say "he's probably on the juice again". He might have a tough time getting into the hall of fame now.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Sad to hear, as I'm a huge A-Rod fan. I'm glad he came clean and made it easier on himself, but man it just sucks that this is the way baseball went in those years.

Is Pujols the best "clean" hitter of the last 10 years then?

Hasn't Pujols name come up numerous times in these various steroid reports?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Hasn't Pujols name come up numerous times in these various steroid reports?

I don't think so.

[transplant99]

Just watched a part of the interview with peter Gammons and A Roid.

Now....at least he came clean and admitted what is so obvious too everyone paying attention. Unlike the Clemens, Bonds, Sosa and McGwire's of the world.

BUT

now....how does MLB handle things as far as his HR totals etc go? They now have a guy that admittedly cheated as far as performance, even if the roids were not on a banned subtance list, so do his totals from at least the 3 years of admitted cheating...get stricken from the books?

What a cluster you-know-what this whole thing is and its only going to get messier.

[metallicat]

Were steroids or any currently banned substance (specifically those that A-Rod has tested positive for) banned back when he has admitted to use? If not, what can be done about his records? I mean you bring up HRs, but if you're going to strike those from the record books, shouldn't everything be eliminated?

I am glad he has admitted fault. Jim Rome is right, in that sports fans are more forgiving of people who admit and move on, than those that repeatedly deny deny deny.

[Bobblehead]

Wasn't there some sort of a policy back then, but a very weak one?

I though I read something along the lines of how it wasn't allowed, but it wasn't specifically disallowed, either.

Something like, since '91 steroids were banned, but not growth hormones.

[troutman]

It shouldn't matter if 'roids were banned by MLB. It was illegal to take 'roids.

[malcolmk14]

I believe in '91 Steroids became illegal, but the MLB had no official policy on them until 2005.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

I'd like to know why ARoid is apologizing to Texas fans? Shouldn't those be the last fans he should be apologizing to? He should start by apologizing to all the fans of the teams he helped beat by juicing up!

[metallicat]

A-Rod is wearing the goat horns here, but are we really to believe there are very few people that have taken performance enhancing drugs? This talk of keeping him out of the HoF because of this is ridiculous.

[OzSome]

Wow, what a surprise.... NOT!!!! I knew it all along that the guy is on juice in 2003. He was way too good that season. I never like the guy even when he was playing for Seattle but he was too cocky. I even hated him more playing for the evil Yankees.