But Pos, what's your point? You say you don't care about the issue, but you care that he wasn't being honest? That doesn't make sense.

Aren't there about 103 other players you should be more upset with? Not too mention those who illegally leaked A-Rod's name?

I don't believe Alex is telling the whole truth here, but quite frankly I'm tired of the blaming and moralizing. There are no clean hands here and we can't go back and change the past. Just have strong testing from now on, and make it clear that users will be punished severely.

It's pretty sad to see all of Roberts' friends and colleagues close ranks around her in spite of the facts. Not only does she have a history of shady journalism, but her actions in this story were reprehensible. If she is an example of good reporter, then the profession has in deed gone down the drain.

Basically, JoePo's outrage stems from the fact that he doesn't like that Arod criticized his friend and colleague. I guess it's ok for "reporters" to attack players, but when the shoe is on the other foot, they develop think skin.

Roberts behavior was shameful...and SI's community reaction has been equally despicable. When will their apology be forthcoming?

I agree with Pos' piece 100%, it was human nature and I understand it, and I won't judge anyone for doing that. But, the apologies and backlash that comes afterward I can make a determination on and see if they are contrite and honest.

I think in the end, pretty much all were sorry they got caught, but given the chance to do it again, would they still make the same decision? I think they all would. Including ARod.

We have 9 more "fun" years of Alex, I don't see it getting any better with him. I just see it getting worse. It's not about the roids, it's about all the attention the damn guy attracts. Just so freaggin annoying.

I heard Selena Robert on Micahel Kay yesterday, I know, I know....Kay is a windbag but it's on my iPod podcast and I'm on the train. She made a good point about ARod, he's not a guy who has done damage to others and, in all honesty, she's absolutely right. He didn't shoot himself in a club, he didn't make it rain like Pac Man, he's not a bad teammate like T.O. He's just a guy that requires so much attention paid to him, it is something he has created and brought on himself. He makes himself sound so "great" - "I wake up at 5 in the morning while others are getting their kids ready for school" - that people feel really repulsed by him. I can't identify with him at all. It pains me even more cause he's Dominican, he was born in the Heights, he was raised by a single mother. I guess since we share that, I feel he should have more humility. I just don't feel he's a humble guy.

I guess when I watched the interview, I was trying to find Alex Rodriguez but all I kept seeing was ARod. I know the ARod/he's-a-victim-here fanclub is in full force. They think he's great and believe everything the guy says. Me? Not so much.

[3] How was her behavior shameful? Aren't the sources behavior 'shameful' and illegal here, not hers? They were the one's that broke the law. Also, wasn't the story co-authored? Where's your outrage and utter contempt for the co-author?

Does ARod do any wrong in your world?

[5] But Dim, say that the sources got the information and just sat on it... did they break the law? But they gave that info to a reporter, who promptly published it in a report. Now the law's been broken, but does that mean the reporter has no responsibility, no complicity in the action? Whose rights are being trampled here, and how does one outweigh the other?

In for a dime, in for a dollar I say...

[5] Let's see...the sources of her story broke the law and she is benefitting from it. Apparently, Roberts thinks the confidentiality of the garnd jury system is ground to be trampled on in pursuit of a juicy story.

Also, regardless of how she tries to explain it away, she did follow Arod all over Miami (and was cited for an altercation with a security guard). Like the shock journalist that she is, Roberts was looking for a gotcha moment. If that is professional journalism, then it's no wonder the profession is held in such low esteem.

Finally, Roberts not only has a conflict of interest resulting from a book she has due out in May, but she also has a history of shameful reporting tactics. You can search for her Duke LAX stories as well as the hatchet job she did on Arod over his real estate holdings (see Shyster Ball for the details).

I don't know who Epstein is, but his name is on the article, so he deserves the same scorn if he had any editorial say over the contents.

As for Arod, yes, he was wrong to do steroids, but the transgressions of Roberts far outweigh what he did. The sad thing she and her employer are proud of their actions, which shouldn't be a surprise as I am sure the story will sell lots of magazines and books.

[6] Isn't THAT what our press is suppose to do? This isn't anything new, this has been going on for a very long time. We have freedom of the press in this country, now we are outraged at Selena Roberts for doing what reporters do, and what they are protected to do under the constitution. Now, if it's a matter of national security, like the Libby case then they get put in front of a judge and threatened to be put in jail unless they give up their sources.

If she gives up her sources, guess what? They go to jail. But then guess what? We have a press corps in this country that will never get another 'source' again for fear of retribution.

I like this policy, this is not about ARod here, this is about basic and fundamental rights of the press. It's what allows there to be checks-and-balances, there are many instances where this doesn't work out well. But should we do what they do in Russia and start arresting reporters?

[6] I've heard some people compare this to watergate and government corruption, which, of course, is absurd. Even making the comparison exposes the arrogance of the reporters involved.

While it is one thing to break the law to expose something that does great harm to the greater good, Roberts exposed information that only did harm to Arod. She didn't even break any new ground on the macro issue of steroids and baseball...she basically trampeled on the grand jury system to create buzz. If that's not shameful, then I don't know what is.

[7] Did you even listen to her explanation? She went to the gated community and they didn't want to let her in, she had checked with Miami-Dade police and they said she had every right to go in as long as she gave her name to the person at the security gate of the gated community. Not ARod's security, but the security of the community. She did that. She followed procedures and wanted an answer from ARod before she printed the story.

I don't like what occurred in the Duke story either, but her writing was emotionally inspired then, who knows, maybe she had a similar experience and was reacting to that. I don't effen know, but she should have at least apologized to the Duke Lacrosse players. She didn't, does that mean everything she does is wrong? Hardly.

She didn't want to publish before letting ARod answer to what was about to be rewritten. Looks like it was done on the up-and-up to me.

If I recall correctly regarding a co-author, in most professional journalistic circles the person who gathers the most and/or compiles the information into a cohesive article is the main author or author credited first, and a co-author is often someone who helped gather information for the article to be compiled by the main author. Other reporters who assisted in gathering quotes, pics or references may or may not get credited. This is especially true with by-lines, as they signify either seniority or earning capacity (readership).

Bottom line, her name came first, so she gets either the major credit or scorn for the report.

[9] What I find hilarious about your love for ARod is that if this were Varitek's name that was leaked, you wouldn't be outraged at all. So, it makes your outrage a bit disingenuous in my book.

I was always outraged with how the stuff was leaked out about Giambi, Bonds, Marion Jones, from sealed testimony. I was outraged that our basic rights were ok to be violated, as long as the President states in his state of the union to rid 'baseball of steroids'. It is not his place, but the timing was interesting because 10 months later the Balco labs are being raided and it felt like a witchunt against Bonds. Where was your outrage then?

Is it wrong just for ARod? Or only the players you don't like?

[10] I did hear her explanation, and she presented it as an amiable conversation with the security guard. In the incident report, however, the police called it an "alteraction". They chose the word, not I.

Let's assume that she and the guard played checkers while waiting for the cops. She still:

1) Followed him all over Miami needlessly. The article was going to press. She had her sources. There was nothing to do that a simple phone call wouldn't have accomplished. Instead, being a sensational journalist, she decided to confront him by tracking him down. That's shameful.

2) She still built the story off of people breaking the law. I am sorry, but I have a hard time believing that whistle blowers concerned for the public good tracked down Roberts to do the nation a service. Considering her past and her future (the book), it seems kind of obvious that Roberts solicited the information and then selectively used it for her own gain. Again, shameful.

3) Finally, Roberts has a well deserved reputation for being irresponsible (at best) in plying her trade.

If you want to give Roberts a pass for her past mistakes, I guess I don't understand why Arod doesn't deserve the same pass. At least he apologized. Besides, even if he hadn't, would it mean "everything he does is wrong"?

As far as Selena Roberts goes I think the fact that she has the book coming out casts some doubt on her motives, not her findings.

I completely expect the book to be more along the lines of a hit job than an in-depth analysis, more Jeff Pearlman than Richard Ben Cramer. And I say that as someone who enjoys the good hit piece now and then, but I'm not gonna make this woman out to be Bob Woodward.

A-Rod misspoke when claiming Roberts was "cited" at Star Island, and thats totally on him. But the fact of the matter is that the police were called...and I don't know about you, but I don't feel the need to call the NYPD every time I need a casual disagreement settled. So her downplaying of that incident leaves me a little suspicious.

I believe everything in her report, I just don't buy the line that her reputation is "impeccable." Because it simply is not. And I don't think acknowledging that is "shooting the messenger."

He’s just a guy that requires so much attention paid to him

So, who's the bigger fool, the one that requires attention or the ones that give it to him?

[15] He's on the team I root for dude, pah-lease.

[13] An altercation is not a legal term, it's either a complaint or an arrest report that gets processed. An altercation that would involve stalking, fighting or some aggression action against another person would require police to process a complaint report and/or followed up with an arrest. From my understanding, none were processed.

[12] Oh yes..the ad homenim attack...always an ace in the hole. Besides the fact that I am often critical of Yankee players, I am not sure how that argument explains my similar defense of Barry Bonds (maybe I am a closet Giant fan too)?

[10] "I don’t effen know, but she should have at least apologized to the Duke Lacrosse players. She didn’t, does that mean everything she does is wrong? Hardly."

Then why does that not apply to Rodriguez? He did apologize. Is everything he does from hereon out still wrong? I think that the main point is they are both under suspicion, and while both sides think that's absolutely wrong for whomever they support, it's the way it is because of how it came about.

But then what would have been the right way to find out? If A-Rod, under no compulsion whatsoever, came out of nowhere and admitted using steroids to Roberts or some other reporter, or said that his name was on the list, would any and/or everyone believe him (given his "phoniness") and would any/or everyone believe Roberts (given her "transgressions")? Would that nullify the grand jury's suppression of the evidence? Would any/all be up in arms and pointing fingers as much as they are now?

Because I think with all the moralizing and finger pointing, that's ultimately either what everyone wants (complete and un-compelled disclosure), or they want none of this to have ever happened in the first place. Perfection in either case...

I really can't wait till we're all just bitching about Burnett and Melky every day

[16] Right, it's not a legal term, but it has a definite meaning. Maybe the police didn't mean to write altercation, but they did. You can explain it away, but that his how the cop decided to describe the situation. I wasn't there, so I'll take his/her word for it.

[12] By the way, you can search the archive for my screen name and Barry Bonds and see how I have felt about his case (at least instead of guessing and accusing me of a double standard).

Through all this, Letterman did it best with "the creme clip" last night, reusing part of last year's footage from when Biff went to Spring Training.

Enjoy!

;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz-LuEuCV9A

[19] Read my peanut butter story, that might wash away some of the grime >;)

[16] "Pah-lease" is right. Especially in light of the coverage Rodriguez has received since he arrived. Remember, when he made headlines for sunning himself in Central Park? He doesn't require attention so much as people are willing to give it to him.

I just came across another Serena Roberts explanation of her dogged pursuit of Arod. Apparently, she wanted to get a feel for what it was like to be Arod, walking around with paparazzi, that she decided to stake out his NY apartment building. Interestingly, no one else was waiting for or following Arod, but Roberts herself. Of course, instead of walking away having erred in her hunch, Roberts felt the need to shout out a "hello Alex".

I don't know...there doesn't seem to be much "reporting" in that escapade.

[21] I wasn't accusing you, I was asking you. But, I can see how you can take it that way. I apologize.

[20] Reporters contacted Miami Dade Police, they have no incident report. Those reports would be taken care of via a formal complaint and/or arrest records.

Roberts felt the need to shout out a “hello Alex”.

Maybe that's what the paparazzi would do? :)

[23] I thought the "sunning himself" wasn't news and I knew that was overboard. How it may look to the alpha male newspaper public is another thing?

Again, I think we are splitting hairs here. I'm not questioning ARod's apology, just questioning his believability. Just like Pos' said in the piece Alex posted. I didn't find him to be believable, except for the apology. I felt he was real sincere, probably as sincere as when he said "I do".

In other news, Dunn has reached an agreement with the Nationals and Abreu is closing in with the Angels. Demand should now increase for Nady and Swisher.

On a lighter note, the Angels are thinking of offering Abreu a ONE year deal for $6m. The Nats are working on a 2 year deal for Dunn. No $$ mentioned. Any guesses? 2/$25m?

The are some serious bargains to be had over the next 12-18 months.

[8] "Isn’t THAT what our press is suppose to do? This isn’t anything new, this has been going on for a very long time. We have freedom of the press in this country, now we are outraged at Selena Roberts for doing what reporters do, and what they are protected to do under the constitution."

I have a major problem with that line of thinking and it applies to the BALCO grand jury testimony that outed Bonds, Giambi and Shef as well as here and in many other places.

The problem is this: Freedom of the Press does not give anyone carte blanche to break the law. In the case of the BALCO grand jury, that testimony was sealed for a reason -- because without it being sealed, no one would have talked. That's a fundamental part of our grand jury system -- you can't plead the Fifth to avoid testifying once you are granted immunity. And the transcripts can be sealed so that every witness called will be "free" to tell the truth when a judge determines that getting the truth is more important than prosecuting (or persecuting) a few other people for what are relatively minor offenses. Every time someone breaks that grand jury seal, our entire judicial system takes a major hit. Eventually, someone is going to argue that based on anecdotal evidence, grand jury testimony cannot effectively be sealed as it always leaks out -- therefore, they cannot be forced to testify.

Your argument that Roberts should be allowed to break the law in pursuit of a story under the guise of 1st Amendment rights is a very slippery slope. What's allowable here? Breaking and entering? Hacking someone's email account? What about water boarding? Is it OK to water board someone in pursuit of "the story?"

Again -- the 1st Amendment does not guarantee anyone immunity from prosecution for breaking the law in pursuit of a story. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that Freedom of the Press does not grant a member of the press the right to refuse a subpoena from a grand jury. In other words, you cannot hide behind Freedom of the Press if subpoenaed to testify about another crime.

Whoever leaks these sealed transcripts should be brought before justice, and the reporters who received the leaks should be subpoenaed to testify how they got them. If they refuse to comply, they should be thrown in jail just like anyone else who is in contempt of court. If it's a "Watergate-type" issue, then more power to them for standing up for our country. If it's a "who's on the steroid user list" issue, they are stupid and deserve exactly what they get.

Freedom of the Press has become a convenient bugaboo for people without ethics to hide behind.

[26] Which she shortened to "HA!"

Soooo. . . .

Who's everyone's pick for getting the starting CF job?
Melky? Brett? Someone else?

I'm betting that it's Melky. I think he has a higher upside than Brett.

[30] Reports have the Dunn contract at 2 years/$20 million: http://tinyurl.com/cunkvx

The latest I've seen on Abreu is 5-6 million with up to 8 million in incentives: http://tinyurl.com/csodzl
I still think that he would have turned down an arbitration offer from the Yanks.

[31] I'm with you, right up until the last sentence - that one, I'm not sure I agree 100% with.

But the rest is spot on. Whoever leaked these names isn't Ellsburg giving the Times the Pentagon Papers, or Felt exposing Nixon's Watergate cover-up. Those issues were just a bit more weighty than who used survey testing.

What's worse is what Derek Jacques pointed out in the comments at BP on Sheehan's article about this mess. The government obtained the test results (and the list linking names to the results) by way of a search warrant that was limited to people they were investigating in relation to BALCO. That the government clearly went beyond the scope of that warrant is horrible. And not surprising, given the administration at the time and those running it, particularly the DOJ.

So let's see - of all the people who did wrong here: whoever in the government that went beyond the scope of the search warrant; the leaker(s); Roberts and Epstein; and A-Rod, the two entities who did the most wrong - the government employees and the leaker(s), are the two who are, to me, getting the least amount of coverage and the least amount of hassle. I reserve my focus and disgust for them, not A-Rod and Roberts/Epstein. (I won't even get into what fools in MLB/thePA decided that there was even a need in the first place to have a list of names that corresponded to the codes. It was susposed to be anonymous for crying out loud - the only question was the total number. Who was irrelevant! But that's another issue.)

[30] On that happy note, hooray - a two year deal for Dunn is welcome news, 'cuz the Yanks are going to need to OF/DH help in 2011 for sure. A one-year deal would be even better.

I’m betting that it’s Melky. I think he has a higher upside than Brett.

That and he's out of options.

[34] Don't the Yankees have one of the worse starting OF in the majors? Damon, Melky/Gardner, Swisher/Nady. YUCK!!!

Does any one of those guys instill fear in the opposition? Damon is a pretty good leadoff hitter, but wouldn't and shouldn't the Yanks have more production in at least one of corners?

I swear, the one thing more tiresome than A Rod right now is the indignation at Selena Roberts. I mean good god all mighty. You have to literally be in love with A Rod to have that big of a chip on your shoulder, where this woman has somehow become Satan incarnate ... She, Woodward and Bernstein I guess.

So, why didn't Gammons ask tougher and/or follow-up questions?

Because he works for ESPN, which has a huge contract with MLB to broadcast its games, perhaps?

Just speculating ...

On one hand we have this story: Baseball's biggest star and "clean" heir apparent to the HR throne is found to have cheated.

On the other hand we have this one: A reporter publishes leaked confidential information.

Certainly they're both worth discussing on some level, but I can't understand choosing the second as the "real" story unless there's some motivation to get away from the first.

[38] Hawk, can I just contact you to write my posts for me? I'll pay you. It'll save me more energy and it's so much more eloquent.

Exactly!

[36] If you want to instill fear in the opposition, sign Jim Rice.

Swisher's OPS+ was 125 in 2006 and 127 in 2007. Nady's was 128 in 2008. Those aren't hall of fame credentials, but I am quite sure that they are above average, even for a right fielder. Considering Abreu's decline in power, patience and (especially) defense, the team has upgraded.

[37] I think Gammons' hands were tied...he also is not a confrontational personality. You can't ask him to be what he is not.

[38] Again, disregard for rights guaranteed in criminal justice system is far more serious to me than what Arod ingested between 2001 and 2003. Everyone is free to have their own priorities, but I think this country would be much worse off with a weakened grand jury system than a weak drug policy in baseball.

[30] Great bargains all around...Abreu for 1 year/$5mn and Dunn for 2 years/$20mn. I am surprised by how low those numbers are.

Don’t the Yankees have one of the worse starting OF in the majors?

Using what metric? I doubt it, anyway. An OF of Damon-Melky-Swisher will be adequate.

[41] I should have added that Abreu's OPS+ was 126 in 2006, 114 in 2007 and 120 in 2008 with initially poor and now horrendous defense. And he's 35. If Swisher can come close to bouncing back or Nady can come close to repeating his last year's performance, right field is a clear upgrade.

I am surprised by how low those numbers are.

Looking @ Fangraphs, Abreu was worth $6.8M and Dunn was worth $5.9 last year. Dunn seems about right, Abreu is a bit low, especially considering 3 year averages.

[41] We don't know for sure the federal government leaked the information. There are other parties involved.

Other than that, I can only disagree flat-out with you. I don't give two shits about the criminal justice system or that my or my fellow citizens' rights are upheld and unviolated. In fact I don't care about civil liberties in general. ALL I care about is PEDs. They must be stopped!

BTW, who in the government has the list of 104 names? Is it indeed part of a criminal investigation?

Excuse me I'm going to go to my favorite legal blog and talk about the sins of grape-aid, then stop by a comic book blog to rail about the Iraq war.

Just to beat a dead horse a little bit....

as per today's NY Observer

“I am going to continue to work on this book,” said Ms. Roberts when asked if she’s got more news coming. “And that’s where I’m going to leave it.”

“The book is still a work in progress,” said her book editor, Mr. Hirshey. “I assure you she has more drug revelations as well as other news. Not everything that Selena has on A-Rod’s steroid participation has come out yet.”

Again, I don't recall Woodward and Bernstein "saving it for the book"...but maybe thats just me.

Peter Gammons has always had a player friendly strategy to his reporting. That's why they he's garnered so much trust through the years. Consequently, he gets the big stories.

That said, working for ESPN does have its limitations for all the reasons Diane intimated. You don't bite the hand that feeds you... unless you're Neyer or Klaw.

[39] "On one hand we have this story: Baseball’s biggest star and “clean” heir apparent to the HR throne is found to have cheated."

It's a signficant story only as much as it demarcates our loss of innocence. We all know that somewhere between 10 and 70 per cent of players were using PEDs to some degree in the early part of this decade, and we all new that the Texas clubhouse was more juiced than most. But we wanted to hold up A-Rod on a pedastal as The Natural.

A-Rod hasn't changed. We have. Let's suck it up and move on.

The 2nd story is more significant. Government leaks are scary.

Another significant story line is that MLB and the MLBPA averted a strike at the 11th hour in 2002 and came up with a testing program that has worked remarkably well until now, and now this government leak has blown it to bits.

[45] That would definitely explain a lot ;)

I don't understand why anyone thinks that A-Rod owes anyone more than an admission of steroid usage, which he offered.

Should he have stopped at the admission? Maybe, but the pop psychology and moralizing from every sportswriter with a blog or a column (this is not directed at you Alex) is every bit as offensive as A-Rod's obfuscations of secondary facts.

[47] When you get to the comic book blog, could you ask about the NBA taking LeBron's triple-double? For me??

(and what you call Grape-aid, I call schnapps after a week or two in the cellar, aka my kitchen cabinet >;)

[31] Also agree 100% but think your last staement is an understatement. I think the concept of Freedom of Speech was to make sure we could speak out against the government and other 'greater powers' without fear of reprecussions. And while this right extends downward, I can't root for reporters hiding in the bushes, to get a salacious story, where they can exercise their 'freedom'.

It's a right... not an excuse.

However, we, as people, are self-serving by nature, so it's hard to call someone out on that. In Kennedy's day, many in the press knew of his affair with Monroe (and others) but kept it quite. It was a different time with different ethics. Unfortunately, 90% of today's 'News' would have been National Enquirer fodder 40 years ago.

We don't really get much news these days. We get print that sells papers and generates blog hits. It is almost always agenda driven BS.

[45] You are joking... yes???

[50] There is no reason to pit the two stories against each other. Even if we accept that the leaked info is the "bigger" story, "more serious", etc., that does not mean we cannot or should not discuss the first story (A-Rod + PEDs) as significant within the context of the sport.

On the grand scheme, nothing to do with ball-and-bat is of much significance, but within the context of the sport, that about half of the top 12 all-time HR leaders have been implicated in one way or another with PEDs is worthy of discussion.

And after all, this is a baseball blog.

[56] It's fine for us to discuss it, but that the media's attention has been completely skewed toward the person who merely did steroids (which may not even confer a competitive advantage on a baseball player) as opposed to the person(s) who may have violated his 4th Amendment rights (and the person who may have knowingly used that criminally obtained leak against him by revealing it in print), is beyond outrageous.

[57] I agree...but *which* media? It seems to me that sports media unsurprisingly focuses on the sports angle.

really dissapointed with Joe Poz' article..prepared or not, he openly admitted "yes, i took steroids"..the media is really nauseating in their coverage of A-Rod and the whole steroid issue..

Can we have more Melky posts please, Alejandro? :)

Nomaas' new one nailed it btw..

[58] Yes.... but 'non-sports' media doesn't really cover this, so it is up to the sport writers to put 'A-Roid' in context with the rest of reality. Saying this event with 'destroy baseball' or similar strong language, without mentioning the serious breach of confidential/protected information, seems to imply that the rest of life outside of baseball doesn't exist.

I agree with [56] in relation to baseball blogs. And 2 wrongs don't make a right. One person's breach doesn't rationalize anothers. But this story really does have implications greater then baseball, and the mainstream media should be on that.

[53] Well played, sir.

Doug Glanville had a very interesting and, I think, accurate take on this. In the NY Times a few days ago..can't find link now, sorry...

[62] A toast to you, my good fellow!

[63] Was this what you were looking for, Jazz?

[65] as always, you are the man Sir Chyll. I've got a first-run A-Rod LipStix chapstick balm for you, Purple edition, next time I am in NYC..

see the Daily News today? "Jeter Fed Up" headline, with a grumpy picture..and I fell for it yet again..D'oh!

At least Brett Favruh is retiring..Michael Vick up next?

I just went to a few Red Sox blogs to get a feel how Yankee fans would react if it were Varitek's, Ortiz's, Schilling's, Beckett's, or Manny's name that came out. Yeah, I am more than sure that the majority (99.9%) wouldn't be rushing to trash Roberts if it were their names that came out. Ha!

I find it disturbing that so many Yankee names have come out during this "era", but I do find solace that Red Sox fans will have to swallow their spit eventually. I really hope the entire 2004 Red Sox team is named in the other 103 names remaining, that would make me happy - A LOT!!!

I think there are parallels between both rabid fanbases. He did it, he admitted it, all the rest is just noise. Let's go Yanks!!!

Red Sox blogs I visited:
joyofsox
survivinggrady

[63] Excellent piece, btw. Which brings up another important question: how many of the current players do you believe may agree with Doug, feeling that the sanctity of their anonymous tests have been violated, thereby causing a perhaps natural distrust of news gatherers and testers in general? If I put myself in a ballplayer's shoes for just a moment, do I want to talk to any of these reporters beyond a cursory "hello" and "nice game" (the Jeter School of Media Relations) in terms of what's going on, on and off the field? Especially after a reporter like Roberts is perhaps being hailed as a cause celebrie within certain media circles (particularly the bigger ones)?

I don't think these same reporters have any concern that their access will be limited or curtailed in light of this event, but they should not be surprised if there does become a growing or obvious lack of cooperation from players in terms of getting in-depth observations or juicy details beyond the field. From the player's standpoint, I would not be surprised if they all just clammed up when the pads and recorders came around, or if they were selective about who they spoke to at all. In a fight between the First Amendment and the Fourth, who's the winner?

But I'm speaking hypothetically.

[66] I guess I can't say no to a first edition. I'll let you have a Grape-Aid schnapps to take back with you >;)

Nah, I'd be shocked if they brought in Vick, not because of his record, but because he's got to be more than a little rusty coming back (if he does). You might as well start Ainge if you think Vick would be a starter in his first year out.

oh, um baseball. Word is Boras is salivating at the prospect of making the Dodgers pay for their crimes against Manny. If he wanted to do that, he should have found a way to force Abreu on them...

Oh Dimelo, you're such a rude bwoy >;)

[69] Abreu a great signing for the Halos, they need some OBP magic.
This Manny thing is insane..he's one of the top three RH batters of our generation and he can't get signed..i just don't get it! Looking at the shite that teams like KC signed..just shell out the 30mil for one Manny and then bring up your AAA guys..at least the fans will come out.

"rude bwoy"..Peter Tosh on the system as you typed that!

Oh wow, I just saw this headline "A-Rod strikes out: Cops say no record of trouble with Selena Roberts". Yeah, ARod's credibility is right now about as good as Bernie Madoff's credit score.

Let's have him fer dinner! Fried, BBQed, slather him in sarcastic peanut butter, whatever! And wash him down with some evil Grapeade. Bibs, ladies and gentlemen? This could be messy... >;)

RLYW refers to a SF Gate article about Tom House, a pitcher in the late 60's/70's who admitted to using steroids. Here are a few quotes:

House... said performance- enhancing drugs were widespread in baseball in the 1960s and '70s. He and his teammates laughed and rationalized losses by saying, "We didn't get beat, we got out-milligrammed. And when you found out what they were taking, you started taking them."

House described the dynamic as similar to the majors in recent years: Players knew their competition had chemical help and felt compelled to keep pace. He said he and several teammates used amphetamines (known as "greenies"), human growth hormone and "whatever steroid" they could find.

"I pretty much popped everything cold turkey," House said in a phone interview. "We were doing steroids they wouldn't give to horses. That was the '60s, when nobody knew. The good thing is, we know now. There's a lot more research and understanding. ...

"I'd like to say we were smart, but we didn't know what was going on. We were at the tail end of a generation that wasn't afraid to ingest anything. As research showed up, guys stopped."

House estimated that six or seven pitchers on every staff were "fiddling" with steroids or growth hormone. He said the drugs and devoted conditioning improved his recovery, but his velocity didn't budge.

"I tried everything known to man to improve my fastball and it still didn't go faster than 82 miles per hour," House said. "I was a failed experiment."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/03/SPGSTCJ0SK1.DTL

This thing is far, far, FAR more widespread then anyone is talking about. At this point, singling out any ONE player almost seems to be contributing to thecoverup.

A-Rod needs to embrace his role as the ultimate villain. So many hate this guy, including Yankees fans. Why does he insist on being such a wuss? Nobody's perfect especially A-Rod, but the guy must realize by now that at least some people are out to get him. I wish he could get pissed about that and play with a chip on his shoulder instead of a vagina or something on his shoulder.

[73] Your conclusion is probably correct, but you can't push the evidence that House presents too far. First of all, there are internal inconsistencies: he claims that people were trying everything, but then says that a number of pitchers on the team were "fiddling" with PEDs. Second, his anecdotes (as the author notes) are self-serving: he and his teammates "rationalized" losses by blaming it on the opposing team's assumed PED use (rather than accepting they were beaten by better players).

In the end, all he can really confirm is that HE and a few teammates used steroids. The rest is assumption and guestimation.

This one's for you, Dimelo... >;)

[78] You're on fire, Chyll.. but where is thelarmis? P&C countdown has begun, need you two night-owls for company on the Banter..and for more debates on who was funkier, Idris Muhammad or Billy Cobham..

I don't get why Griffey and Thomas get free passes as the "only two clean great hitters" of our era....

Uh...Isn't Griffey's body a shell of its former self? Seems like steroids breakdown to me....And Thomas? How much DL time has he had?

I'm not WISHING they did it, but I'm sick of everyone assuming they are clean. And why would they be the only ones?

[78] That's hilarious!!! Thanks, Chyll

[75] I definitely agree that steroids have been around for a very long time. I think it puts into question many records, not just the recent ones, but I doubt anyone from the distant pass will ever admit to anything.

Wasn't it Mantle who got infected when some Doctor gave him horse steroids? I thought Mel Allen talked about this in a book of his, though I can't remember for sure where I heard/read about Mantle experimenting with roids.

Anyhow, the discussion about who steroids gives a positive effect or a negative one is a bad road to go down. I think steroids, in conjunction with a great work ethic, and an already existing good talent for hitting a baseball, will more than likely improve your fast twitch muscles. You have a lot of players it probably didn't help, but you just can't say they took it and it didn't help them therefore the "performance enhancement" in PED is misleading.

I do think there needs to be more scientific experiments that need to be done on the subject.

Yesterday I heard Miguel Tejada's confession, he wasn't biting his lips, saying ambiguous words like "pretty much", he was balling and I felt he was genuinely sorry about everything. Not saying ARod had to ball like a girl who didn't get her pony for Christmas, I just didn't feel it was sincere and him going after Selena Roberts, no matter what evidence he had, was not the route to go. He got caught, keep the topic on being caught and why you are sorry. Tejada didn't say, "those evil senators".

[74]I don't want to roast ARod and humiliate him, that's not the point, I just don't want anymore humiliation or distractions coming to the Yanks in the future. I feel like there will be more coming out because of his stance, then we have to relive this nightmare all over again. At this point, you got caught, say it all and that's it. I'm not unreasonable, it's not about mistreating or crapping on ARod. Ultimately, with ARod or not, it is always about "GO YANKS" for me.

[82] I just watched the Tejada press conference and found it horrifying..this guy faces charges in Federal Court because he didn't want to admit to taking steroids and knowing about other team mates..what the hell is going on in the US that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT is dealing with this issue?? It's just insanity..the MLB created the conditions for these players to profit from juicing, now it wants to punish them??

Really can't wait for the season to start now..(yet addicted to the Banter and still read the endless posts on roids..)

[83] MLB has looked like the superhero throughout all of this, I was always troubled with the relationship Selig had with Bush - since he was a prior owner - and I always found it suspicious that a sitting President referenced steroids in a state of the union.

I think Selig was horrified at Bonds breaking the record, I wouldn't doubt if Selig asked Bush for help because it still bugs me that the balco labs were raided 9 months later, in December of that year players were asked to testify before a grand jury, a year later those names were being leaked out.

I hate Selig with a passion, he's a piece of shit and he presided over MLB during this entire era. Every time he speaks I am repulsed by him. F- HIM!!!

[83] "the MLB created the conditions for these players to profit from juicing,"

Slow down, daddy-o. Under what conditions would a player not profit from juicing, assuming that PEDs actually work? MLB is a professional sport, wherein excellent athletic performance is (generally) rewarded. This is no different from any other sports league. The mere fact that a professional sports league is established by definition creates conditions for a player to profit--from playing well, from working hard, from juicing, from cheating, from any behavior that leads to excellence on the field. So, your accusation is a bit tautological.

Now, if you want to say that MLB was complicitous in the steroid era, that everyone turned a blind eye--that makes sense.

[77] I was referring to [75], of course.

[80] For whatever reason, their names have never been associated. But what the heck, include them as well--then seven of the top 12 all-time HR leaders are implicated. That's the beauty of the steroid era, no one will be above suspicion.

And, let's take it further--[82] mentions Mantle, and [75] references an interview with Tom House that suggests steroids were widespread in the 1960s and 1970s. Well, I for one am pretty suspicious about that Aaron fellow.

This is great.

"This thing is far, far, FAR more widespread then anyone is talking about. At this point, singling out any ONE player almost seems to be contributing to the coverup."

I think OYF's on the ball here. I was trying to make this point (not nearly so concisely) about Bonds as poster-boy, scapegoat last year. It remains astonishing to me, and I expect that one day, maybe years down the road, someone will do a good study of how and why Rodriguez became so loathed. It started by being top dog in $ terms, of course (because he was a fan fav in Seattle) but there's more to it. I mean really ... purple lips? SHUN the dude! Extracurricular affairs? Uh-huh, baseball's such a squeaky clean sport when it comes to sex. A lot of it, as a few have said, feels like the era, the mood of the day. And that applies to the current steroid intensity ... I repeat (3rd time?) baseball, screwed up as it is, is a lot more on top of this than, say, football, and we never hear about basketball, do we? Think those guys needing muscle in the key and endurance for a long season weren't looking for a boost? I see no reason to doubt Tom House, or Jim Bouton. The only new thing House is adding (for me) is the presence of ugly, dangerous steroids in his day. The greenies have been known and written about for a long time. But ... those are revered heroes, close your eyes. I don't like any of it, I do not justify it (am on record here as most unhappy about guys who lost a ML job to someone who used PEDs) but I share OYF's sense that the piling on ARod is truly unseemly.

Oh, and Tejada is pleading guilty to a criminal offense in a court of law. ARod is doing a voluntary (first one ever on air, best I can tell) direct admission.

I just don’t want anymore humiliation or distractions coming to the Yanks in the future.

Good luck with that. Whether it's the shenanigans of Martin, Steinbrenner, Strawberry, Gooden, Wells, Peterson/Kekich, etc, etc, etc there will always be something going on.