Hey, I'm in that picture! First interleague visit to Wrigley, 2003. Flew out for the weekend, couched it with friends, got bleacher tix. June 6-7-8 (thanks Retrosheet). David Wells hit a double and nobody believes me.
Davidff's piece is horseshit. Take this, for example:
To wish for a perfectly "clean" playing field is to strive for an impossible goal. It simply will never happen, no matter how much we increase the frequency and toughness of testing, increase the penalties or increase the social pressure of getting caught.
So, because we will never achieve the idea, we should stop striving for it. Let's replace the terms with something like "freedom of speech" or "crime" or "equality." Well, we'll never eliminate crime, so let's stop viewing things through the lens of guilt or innocence. Let's stop trying to eliminate crime. Yeah, I'm going to stop worrying about inequality because we'll never achieve pure equality. If you wring your hands about freedom, you don't get it.
Seriously, it's high school level thinking at best. Lazy high school level thinking.
[5] You equate the issue of PED/HGH usage in sports with ideas like 'freedom' or 'inequality'? Sorry MP but I don't get your point here.
Baseball is a game, would be nice if people stopped treating it differently. Imagine if the mainstream media in America ahd as much outrage about drone bombings as they did about ballplayers injecting themsleves!
[7] Gotta agree with MP (although you don't need politics here to back up a point). The idea that "since we can't fix everything with an issue, we shouldn't try to fix anything with that issue" is highly flawed thinking (sorry Wayne LaPierre).
Furthermore, I propose people think about this...
Players are obviously financially motivated to use PEDs.
So if (and I know the MLBPA will never allow it)
1) It takes (only) a preponderance of evidence to declare someone guilty (and)
2) ONE strike and you're out. First offense is a lifetime ban from ALL MLB acrtivities (playing, coaching, any employment in MLB at all).
This won't absolutely eliminate PEDs, but I guarantee it will decrease it dramatically.
I'm not an extremeist, but the truth is, if you really want to enforce a law, you have to employ serious reprocussions for breaking the law. I mean... how does MLB allow a second offense? Isn't GETTING CAUGHT ONCE enough of a warning for a player? How was Manny allowed to play after the idiot got CAUGHT TWICE?
[3] I was at that game. Pettite started that game if I'm not mistaken, I think it was the Sunday night game that Gipson got caught on first base.
On Saturday, Clemens was going for his 300th win, but I remember in the early innings seeing Hee-seop Choi crash into Kerry Words during a routine pop-up.
If my memory serves me correct, Wells started the Friday game, Clemens the Saturday game, and Andy the Sunday night game.
[9] yeah I remember that whole weekend very clearly, the hype around the Clemens game was insane. Who was it that gave up that home run to Karros? Juan Acevedo?
and I'm pretty sure they released Gipson before the team plane even left Chicago
Is that DJ watching Soriano bat?
Yeah I picked that up too. That's Sori!
haha, remember that was the weekend of Charles Gipson?
Hey, I'm in that picture! First interleague visit to Wrigley, 2003. Flew out for the weekend, couched it with friends, got bleacher tix. June 6-7-8 (thanks Retrosheet). David Wells hit a double and nobody believes me.
Davidff's piece is horseshit. Take this, for example:
To wish for a perfectly "clean" playing field is to strive for an impossible goal. It simply will never happen, no matter how much we increase the frequency and toughness of testing, increase the penalties or increase the social pressure of getting caught.
So, because we will never achieve the idea, we should stop striving for it. Let's replace the terms with something like "freedom of speech" or "crime" or "equality." Well, we'll never eliminate crime, so let's stop viewing things through the lens of guilt or innocence. Let's stop trying to eliminate crime. Yeah, I'm going to stop worrying about inequality because we'll never achieve pure equality. If you wring your hands about freedom, you don't get it.
Seriously, it's high school level thinking at best. Lazy high school level thinking.
[5] You equate the issue of PED/HGH usage in sports with ideas like 'freedom' or 'inequality'? Sorry MP but I don't get your point here.
Baseball is a game, would be nice if people stopped treating it differently. Imagine if the mainstream media in America ahd as much outrage about drone bombings as they did about ballplayers injecting themsleves!
Alex B, sorry for my comment in [6] which is perhaps a bit too political for the Banter. Please ignore and/or delete!
[7] Gotta agree with MP (although you don't need politics here to back up a point). The idea that "since we can't fix everything with an issue, we shouldn't try to fix anything with that issue" is highly flawed thinking (sorry Wayne LaPierre).
Furthermore, I propose people think about this...
Players are obviously financially motivated to use PEDs.
So if (and I know the MLBPA will never allow it)
1) It takes (only) a preponderance of evidence to declare someone guilty (and)
2) ONE strike and you're out. First offense is a lifetime ban from ALL MLB acrtivities (playing, coaching, any employment in MLB at all).
This won't absolutely eliminate PEDs, but I guarantee it will decrease it dramatically.
I'm not an extremeist, but the truth is, if you really want to enforce a law, you have to employ serious reprocussions for breaking the law. I mean... how does MLB allow a second offense? Isn't GETTING CAUGHT ONCE enough of a warning for a player? How was Manny allowed to play after the idiot got CAUGHT TWICE?
[3] I was at that game. Pettite started that game if I'm not mistaken, I think it was the Sunday night game that Gipson got caught on first base.
On Saturday, Clemens was going for his 300th win, but I remember in the early innings seeing Hee-seop Choi crash into Kerry Words during a routine pop-up.
If my memory serves me correct, Wells started the Friday game, Clemens the Saturday game, and Andy the Sunday night game.
Wow. Is it really possible that the Yankees will get out from that albatross of a contract?
[9] yeah I remember that whole weekend very clearly, the hype around the Clemens game was insane. Who was it that gave up that home run to Karros? Juan Acevedo?
and I'm pretty sure they released Gipson before the team plane even left Chicago