Alex and Diane have done such a great job covering the Alex Rodriguez fiasco that I’ve been loathe to chime in with my, largely identical, reactions, but in light of Rodriguez’s confession to Peter Gammons last week, I wanted to take a look at the seasons during which Rodriguez admitted he had experimented with banned substances to see what impact, if any, those substances had on his on-field performance. The result was an article published over at SI.com at the end of last week.
Spoiler alert:
. . . if he is indeed telling the truth about his drug use being limited to his three years in Texas, the only noticeable benefit that Rodriguez derived from his experimentations with banned substances was his ability to play 485 of the Rangers’ 486 games during his three years with the club. That’s no small thing. There are some who believe that the most undervalued statistic in baseball is games played. It’s irrefutable that Rodriguez’s ability to take the field every day as a Ranger enabled him to put up the remarkable counting stats he compiled in a Texas uniform, chief among them his 57 home runs in 2002. Still, there’s no evidence that the drugs made him any more powerful, and significant evidence that his rate of production actually declined during what he claims were his doping years.
Meanwhile, feel free to use this post as a disussion thread for Alex Rodriguez’s Tampa press conference set to begin at 1:30 pm today.
Why do I have this stuck in my head?
Q: Why do I have this stuck in my head?
A: Why do you ever have any song stuck in your head? Because it's a great tune!
(And because A-Rod is such a sweet talkin' guy...)
You're right on both counts.
Good stuff Cliff, thanks.
The next step would be for someone to look at Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, et al., who're suspected of using to see their games played prePED and during use. Though without confirmation from them of when they used it may be harder.
Helping him get through the rigors of a 162-game season is an effect that he could have achieved with amphetemines as well. So if A-Rod is a "cheater" for artificially boosting his stamina, so are the hundreds (thousands?) of MLB amphetemine users since the sixties.
Cliff, thanks for a useful analysis, bearing out instincts that park factor was a likely (THE likely) element in the apparent power surge in Texas. I do have a query as to why you so flatly say that it WAS steroids that let him take the field every day in Texas.
"Rodriguez told Gammons on Monday that a large part of his motivation for experimenting with banned substances was his desire to be able to play every day through the hot Texas summers. In helping him achieve that goal, the drugs clearly worked."
Isn't this taking known data and assuming causality? (He took steroids, he played every day, therefore the steroids CAUSED him to be able to play every day.) Just as the park plays into power, so do other things come into assessing WHY he played every day (grimly determined to prove worth the money, lucky with no injuries) and we also need more, don't we, on what steroids DO in terms of endurance, beating the heat. As far as I always knew, it was greenies that helped players through the dog days of summer.
This is NOT to deny that the steroids might be an element in his endurance, only to suggest that in logic the certain connection you are offering doesn't seem to hold.
_______
I want to shift ground a bit because I've been puzzling over that scientific analysis link offered here the other day on how steroids don't add power. (Four FEET of power was the number that jumped out at me.) I've been really dubious about it, and I have figured out why. Bonds and Clemens. What we saw.
The best take on what happened to BB that I have seen was that the best player in the game got pissed off seeing McGwire and Sosa get all the love, and decided, since he knew they were juicing, he'd do the same and show everyone what a real player could do. His body changed and his power numbers went insane. In his late thirties, into his forties.
Roger was DONE when he went to Toronto. Red Sox had let him go. He started using steroids (yes, I am accepting the allegations about him), won two Cy Youngs there, and had an astonishing late resurgence YEARS past normal effectiveness, and years past his own obvious decline.
When I think about these guys, look at the career arcs, it gets a lot harder to simply live in the abstract science world of 'they don't help'. I'm wide open to counter arguments, though.
What has angered me most about the A-Rod/Steroids circus is how mlb.com, espn.com and usatoday.com (and other media outlets as well, I am sure) posted graphics last week highlighting A-Rod's power surge during his Texas years. That's pure journalistic irresponsibility.
[5] You're making a bit of a leap regarding Clemens. First of all, plenty of power pitchers of had late-thirties rennaissances. Secondly, he has been accused of taking steroids only in late 1998, late 2000 and late 2001. While he indeed experienced surges in these periods (especially the 2000 postseason), the accusations do not explain the 1997 Cy Young season or his remarkable 2004 and 2005 campaigns in Houston.
[6] But couldn't both Bonds and Clemens also both be grimly determined to show that they weren't done, and thus increased their workouts, nutritional intake, sleeping habits.
Steroids didn't turn mediocre Neifi Perez into a star. The talent has to be there first.
well this oughta be a bucket of laughs...
Erps, [8]'s [6] should be [5]. I blame a lack of PEDs.
long awkward pause there.
cousin? can't even pronounce the street name for the drug? jeesh...
[11] i'm sure there were interjections written into his script, like [look at crow] or [pause], etc...
"There was more energy." Consistent with playing all those games in the Texas heat.
Injected. Very interesting.
Well, this wasn't so bad. He really needs to stop saying "Young and stupid" though.
And that crying or whatever it was was a little over the top.
college? most baseball players don't go to college. esp when he was coming up. for the most part... i went to a HUGE athletic college and knew some of the big players. they were basically pro athletes on a college campus. none really "grew up" or were mature people, fwiw...
[13] Wow, anyone else read that as "injections written into his script"?
[14] i thought so, too. when he mentioned it, i totally thought it was a pill...
[17] Nope. I doubt Alex is that good of an actor.
[17] injections are easier to swallow! ; )
"perhaps? but, not wrong." huh?!
This is not so bad so far
"Hannah Storm?" That's a real news anchor name.
[23] She should've been a meteorologist. Rip Fuel(?) wasn't illegal at the time.
rbj, if you read Torre's book, you'll know that Ripped Fuel almost never was actually Ripped Fuel
doesn't need any translation??? uh...wha?! me no understand!!!
Doesn't need translation? For some of us it does. [25] And whatever it was, wink wink, nod nod, it was commonly available to all. I wonder if Oswalt ever used it.
24/25/26, really isn't THAT young. esp since he had been in the majors for quite awhile already...
I caught Juventud. I sort of figured the jist of it and ignored the rest of the question.
oh, and no public apology to selena roberts before. it was put on a tee for him and i'm sure he knows she's there...
thelarmis, Its not young at all. He's a grown ass man at that point. He was older then than I am now.
he tested positive for testostorone and premubilin (sp. on both?), what is the 'proper' name for "boli" (sp?)???
[31] well, you ARE young, matt!!! ; ) enjoy, my friend!!!
"I laid my bed, I'm gonna have to sit on it."
[34] i thought that was funny too! he needs a book on idioms. maybe "idioms for idiots"!!!
I do have to say that I was older than 24, 25 when I sat in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium with a friend and smoked a joint.
By the way, Kirk Radomski tried to paint himself as someone who helped keep guys on the field, and he didn't seem the least bit remorseful about it.
(from his talk at the NYC chapter SABR meeting over the weekend)
carl pavano liking a-rod as a teammate, does NOT shed a positive light on alex in the clubhouse, buster!!!
Oh jeez, listening to Buster on ESPN. Trotting out Carl Pavano as someone who'll stick up for you is not helpful.
I think Carl should have used some of A-Rods roids ...
[37] how did the Todd Drew portion of the meeting go over? was there a moment of silence? did you alert his wife Marsha about the nice tribute you gave?
Griffey to sign with Braves ....
[40] Post of the day.
Content aside, starting this press conference 20+ minutes late was unpardonable.
Alex isn't a PR or media professional, but the people handling him are. Whether it's Zillo, Boras, Rubenstein or "Outside Eyes" (gimme some of THAT money, BTW).
I'm in PR, and I've managed press conferences. When a county politician starts late, it's no big deal, because the only people who care are already in the room and have nothing better to do.
But when you line up the national media to carry your conference live in HD, f*cking start it when you say you're going to start it. What, did Alex miss a bus connection on the way to the field?
Totally unprofessional, and someone should answer for it.
[41]
I think I knocked it out of the park ... I think I would have made Todd (and Marsha) proud.
I read his final Banter post aloud, and gave out copies of his YS memory.
People came up to me later and thanked me, and asked where they could read more of his stuff.
The moderator acknowledged that I would be a hard act to follow (he was doing a raffle).
I felt Todd in the room .... :-)
[42] yes, and i, for one, will be VERY happy to go watch him swing the bat! my FAVORITE swing of all-time!!! : )
Ya'know .... I wish 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' was still on the air .... they'd have a field day with this news conference.
[14][18][20] Didn't we already know that steroids are something you shoot in your butt?
[45] beautiful! thank you for that. wish i could've been there - for that and the memorial.
Griffey to sign with Braves ….
Good for him, bad for the Braves
[48] Yup. No idea why injection = news. I'm curious about the over-the-counter aspect, myself. This ain't designer stuff.
What bothers me is that, if A-Rod were to have contrived the story, this would have been a great story to contrive. I mentioned to someone this morning that if A-Rod was going to name a source, it was going to be Ken Caminiti. The "Dominican cousin" will be almost as difficult to track down.
[51] The DR (as far as I know) doesn't have any sort of FDA-like body. So everything, for all intents and purposes, is over the counter.
[48] & [51] I was actually curious about whether or not he injected it since Primobolan can be taken orally. I thought he might have taken the pill form and possibly didn't consider it a "real" steriod since he did not inject it. But, after hearing that he injected it, I guess that theory goes out the window.
Note to self...
Stay out of places in the DR with or without counters! Where is a mango tree when you need one?
That was very nice of A-Rod to take the time out of his busy spring schedule between workouts, reporting to ST on time, and rounds of golf, in order to visit with us! Since Derek Jeter is relatively new at golf and all, I wonder how many "shots" he gets from Alex when they play?
Anyone else remember/long for the days when Ricky Henderson was merely late for ST? I always thought that was because he was never sure which camp to report to in any given year...
;)