What a Day

Ah the Mitchell Report.

What a day in baseball it was. So many teams, so many Mets catchers, so many members of the "Yankee Dynasty***."

I am really curious to see how America reacts.

Here are my immediate thoughts.

1. I think back to Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. For whatever reason, that game has always stood out as one of the most dominant pitching performances of all time. I remember Roger Clemens pounding the strike zone with what seemed like 98mph 2 -seam fastball after 98mph 2 seam fastball. NO ONE can throw a two-seam fastball that hard. I knew after watching Clemens throw an inning that the Mets would return to Shea down 2-0. It sucked. But at the same time I was in awe of Clemens' dominance.



Today, I know the guy was cheating.

A game that stood out in my mind as the best game I have ever seen pitched in my lifetime, a game that really mystified me and induced many a thought, wasn't fair.

I don't know how to react. But it kind of sucks.

2. My second thought was just as many of the baseball analysts confirmed: this report did not even scratch the surface of steroids in baseball. This was New York and Balco. It's the equivalent of having a presedential election and only counting the Northeast and California.

I can't even imagine how bad it really was.

3. I was pretty happy about the Mets who made this list. I was reminiscing with a buddy as we watched the 10-run 8th inning game on SNY on Tuesday night about how much character that Mets team had. And I remembered why I always loved the Mets. The character, the charm. They were lovable losers, but you know what. They were my losers.

When I saw Todd Pratt and Todd Hundley on that list I just laughed. It didn't bother me a bit.



It always pissed me off when some of my friends did cocaine growing up. There were some people who were meant to be druggy's and there were those who just took drugs. For the kids posing as drug addicts I always thought, "just drink a bunch of beer and have some fun."

But Hundley and Pratt were meant to be juicers. They were Mother Fucking ball players. They belonged chewing dip and starting fights. And they belonged doing steroids.

So did Lenny Dykstra.

I thought the Mets on the list were pretty cool. So I was happy.

4. But the Yankees on the list were a bunch of panzi's.

Clemens? It's one thing to rub on the cream or the clear. But it looks like this guy was shoving needles in his ass for the better part of my teen years. He's always been a prick and I am honestly happy that his career will be tainted.

Andy Pettitte. I'm kind of shocked. I don't remember seeing HGH in the bible.

Chuck Knoblach.



Didn't that guy look like a rat. Maybe he thought steriods would make him look normal so that he wouldn't have to beg 18-year-old Sacred Heart seniors to have a shot of Kamakazee with him at Dorians.

5. Who knows?

Here is one thing that I truly believe. If it was legal in baseball at the time, I don't blame anyone for taking the substance. So in 2001 if HGH wasn't illegal in baseball, I have no problem with anyone who did it. I don't care if it was illegal according to federal law. Athletes don't go to jail anyways. If they were caught, it was 200 hours of community service. But these things made them better ball players.

I kind of feel the same way about all the BALCO stuff. If you rubbed cream on your arm to get stronger, there are a million reasons why you could think you weren't cheating. I really do believe that.

Unless you heard the word "steroid" or saw a needle, there a lot of reasons why a baseball player can think that the is not cheating baseball.

BUT

Any person that shoved a needle in their ass at any time. They are cheaters. They actively and without question knowingly cheated.

A lot of people will disagree with me here. They will say that athletes should know what they are putting into their body more that anyone else. But this is where I stand.

I'm really looking forward to the backlash of all of this. Will attendance and ratings drop. Will home runs go down? Will velocity go down?

Or will it have no effect at all.

Anyone that says that this was good for baseball is 100% nuts in my mind. My feelings for the game have changed today and it's a little sad. How do you explain to your 5-year-old son what the Mitchell Report was.

Vaya,
Sip

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