DLD 2-7: O-Cab Interviews, A-Rod Steroids
by notsellingjeans on Feb 7, 2009 7:51 AM PST
134 comments
Reading other people's opinions about a player is valuable, but I think you can often learn something new about a player when you hear him speak. When I find out that one of my favorite teams is considering a player, I like to try to find interviews that he's done in the past online.
Here is an interview Orlando Cabrera while he was with the Angels.
Here's an interview he did with the White Sox.
What I learned: Cabrera has an excellent command of English, is very polite and attentive in interviews, has an incredible passion for winning, and loves to read - he's read three Fidel Castro biographies and "just finished 100 Years of Solitude" at the time of the Angels interview. He also skillfully evaded several loaded questions about Ozzie Guillen, remaining positive.
Anway, they're worth a click if you've never heard him speak and you have a few minutes. I came away from them impressed.
Elsewhere in the blogosphere...
Dave Cameron just finished up a terrific series on replacement-level position players over at fangraphs.
A-Rod allegedly tested positive for steroids during his MVP season of 2003.
The Suns have placed Amare Stoudamire on the trade block, 12 days before the NBA's trading deadline of Feb. 19.
Link away.
3 recs |
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Never surprised anymore
But I thought A-Rod was clean.
by HigherPie on Feb 7, 2009 8:09 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
My friend sent me a text message this morning about this.
I just laughed because I don’t care anymore…
"God made Majnun love Layla so much that just her dog would cause confusion in him."
The Many Wines-Rumi
by mrod on Feb 7, 2009 11:27 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I dont care if he knows english
I dont care if he’s polite, I dont care if he’s a locker room virus, I don’t care if he reads
Can we get him now? Can he hit?
Clear its radiance shine...
by ATarHeel on Feb 7, 2009 8:19 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
As for Amare Stoudamire
What Im hearing is he going to the Kings (hopefully)
John Salmons, Jason Thompson, Bobby Jackson, this years 2nd 1st round pick and a protected future 1st round pick could get it done.
Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Amare Stoudamire, Brad Miller/Spencer Hawes
That could be the Kings lineup next year.
Oh wait, this is a baseball blog
Clear its radiance shine...
by ATarHeel on Feb 7, 2009 8:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
replace
JT with Hawes and i’d go for it.
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. .
by shadow1480 on Feb 7, 2009 9:07 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
i'd fall out of my chair if that happened
a) Amare is going to HATE going to Sactown because, well, they royally suck right now.
b) I think the Maloofs are trying to tank so they can move to Las Vegas.
"I'm on hold for now"- Bobby Crosby
by DyeLongJustice on Feb 7, 2009 9:14 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The Kings
aren’t moving to Vegas. Bank on that.
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. .
by shadow1480 on Feb 7, 2009 9:18 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I see what you did there
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Feb 7, 2009 9:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
can't
get anything passed you!!
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. .
by shadow1480 on Feb 7, 2009 9:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
yes, for a little money both could happen
"Whom the Gods wish to destroy they first call promising."--Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise
by WhiteElephant on Feb 7, 2009 1:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Didn't Canseco call this one?
"RIP: UserID: 553"
by Masaryk on Feb 7, 2009 8:19 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Yep
He may be a dirtbag but it sure sounds like he has not made stuff up
by easyraider on Feb 7, 2009 10:42 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
canseco was indeed the truth-teller
that nobody wanted to hear. how many names has he been right on now? quite a few…
by guy incognito on Feb 8, 2009 4:46 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Can we just get a list of who HASN'T taken PEDs at some point?
I mean, really. I just don’t care anymore.
For the record, I’ve done a complete 180 on this. I wanted Bonds strung up, but it was probably more my Giants hatred than Bonds.
When the Mitchell report came out, it was like “Wow, they just name anybody for any reason.” It’s pitchers, it’s hitters, it’s all stars, it’s HOF caliber guys, it’s guys who barely are on the fringe of staying in the bigs. So what.
The people who say steroids are tainting the game are wrong. It’s just another form of cheating, only it’s not under the guise of “gamesmanship” so it’s a bad thing
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
by mikev on Feb 7, 2009 8:27 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
List:
Craig Biggio
Steve Phillips
Amare Stoudamire
Brad Pitt
Yah…that about sums it up.
"I'm on hold for now"- Bobby Crosby
by DyeLongJustice on Feb 7, 2009 9:16 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Phillips could have used em.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
by mikev on Feb 7, 2009 9:17 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
MAJOR BLUNDER ALERT!!!!
I didn’t freakin’ add Pujols. While it’s hard for me to be surprised anymore with who did steroids and who didn’t, I’d be hard pressed to believe that Pujols has doped. I really hope he hasn’t. I mean that, I really really do. He’s probably one of my favorite players in the last 2 decades. I kind of think of him as the Tim Duncan of baseball.
"I'm on hold for now"- Bobby Crosby
by DyeLongJustice on Feb 7, 2009 12:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I can't stand Duncan's whining about calls
with his look of disbelief that he wears 10 times each game. That and Ginobli’s ridiculous flopping make the Spurs an odious team.
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 12:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Everyone forgets Duncan is the best player in the NBA
His supporting cast, outside of David Robinson have not been very good. His stats aren’t overwhelming. Duncan has: Four rings, Three finals MVPS, Two regular season MVPS.
EVERY NBA PLAYER WHINES TO THE REFS. It’s part of the game.
by deathby9 on Feb 8, 2009 12:39 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You can’t forget what you don’t know and not only is the level of whining radically different among players, but NOT EVERY PLAYER WHINES TO THE REFS. And Duncan whines when he is wrong. He’ll claim that his team should get the ball out of bounds or that he didn’t hook a guy or whatever and then the replay will show that he did, sometimes egregiously.
by Lovejoy on Feb 8, 2009 5:06 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't know, man...
No one’s above suspicion. And Pujols is a mountain of a man with ungodly numbers. I certainly hope he’s not juicing, because I’d like to be able to look back and point to one dominating player who did it clean. But I wouldn’t be shocked.
Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.
by Joey C. on Feb 7, 2009 1:30 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Frank Thomas could be one
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on Feb 7, 2009 1:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I think he was mentioned as a juicer
by someone sometime on one of the various lists
"Sweeney's a white Andre Ethier."--a white, drunk Billy Beane
by Cutthemullet on Feb 9, 2009 4:24 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I mustve missed that one
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on Feb 9, 2009 10:03 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
source?
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
by xbhaskarx on Feb 9, 2009 12:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
right now, me myself and I
let me see if I can find anything
but at this point, do we even need sources?
"Sweeney's a white Andre Ethier."--a white, drunk Billy Beane
by Cutthemullet on Feb 9, 2009 6:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I was wrong
See, I remembered his name being brought up in conjunction with a steroid story, but it was for a different reason than I suspected….
Advocate for drug testing
As early as 1995, Thomas was advocating drug testing for professional baseball players.25 After hitting his 500th home run, Thomas stated, “It means a lot to me because I did it the right way,” alluding to Barry Bonds’s then-present pursuit of Hank Aaron’s career home run record.26 Thomas was the only active baseball player to be interviewed during the preparation of the Mitchell Report. He did so voluntarily.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Thomas_(AL_baseball_player)
I think this is a guy we can put in the “clean” category.
"Sweeney's a white Andre Ethier."--a white, drunk Billy Beane
by Cutthemullet on Feb 9, 2009 7:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He’s got that weird way of running hunched over. He seemed pretty sincere when he denied it when the allegation appeared. I think I’ll need to see a few more episodes of Lie to Me and see the tape again.
by Lovejoy on Feb 7, 2009 4:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
IMHO
Pujols HR totals look more like Hank Aaron’s in that he doesn’t have any one season that is ungodly (unlike Bonds’ 73 or Mac’s 70 or Sosa’s 66). Instead, he just plods along every season as one of the steadiest hitters in the league. I mean, I know anything is possible, but I’m hoping he’s clean.
"I'm on hold for now"- Bobby Crosby
by DyeLongJustice on Feb 7, 2009 5:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
so does ARod though
Dogfood Gangstas
Canned or Dry,
We Neva Die.
by Zonis on Feb 7, 2009 7:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The problem with the younger players of today...
Is that they started the roids early and so they don’t have the same kind of spikes in performance.
by IM4Oakgal on Feb 7, 2009 7:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
kinda like Bernie Madoff's performance...
consistent overperformance. Just sayin’…
Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right...
by FoolshGame22 on Feb 7, 2009 9:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Juiced Balls
Bonds’, Mac’s and Sosa’s ungodly numbers are more likely from MLB messing with the balls than those guys being on some kind of steroid perked season. If they were roiding year after year they should have some more of those “ungodly” seasons.
by methodrampage on Feb 9, 2009 10:12 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Pujols has had steroid rumors swirl around him since High School.
by IM4Oakgal on Feb 7, 2009 6:40 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Grimley's trainer
Dogfood Gangstas
Canned or Dry,
We Neva Die.
by Zonis on Feb 7, 2009 7:09 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
No, it's not just another form of cheating
Most other forms of cheating don’t cause health problems. (Has anyone had their nuts shrink from stealing a catcher’s signs?) One problem with steroids is that it creates an environment where those who are not taking health-altering drugs are at a disadvantage, which creates a lot of pressure for non-users to consider using so they can keep their jobs.
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Feb 7, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Greenies don't cause health problems?
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
by mikev on Feb 7, 2009 9:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't say that
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Feb 7, 2009 9:54 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
But greenies are an important point here because everyone agrees that there were ubiquitous since the early 1960s or late 1950s.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 7, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
you mean widespread?
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 2:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I mean ubiquitous
In the world of baseball, greenies were present on every team and easily available to every player (at least at the ML level).
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 7, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Just because something like that was used back in the day
and players largely got away with it, doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to wrongdoing now.
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Feb 7, 2009 9:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
But it does mean that we shouldn't indulge in Golden Age nostalgia and cries of "o tempora, o mores!"
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 8, 2009 6:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It does sort of kill the "they ruined the records!" argument
Though I agree that efforts should be made to get rid of all that stuff.
by thejd44 on Feb 8, 2009 4:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Tarheels play Virginia today
As Im reading the preview, I can’t stop laughing at the picture tarheelblue posted with it.
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020609aac.html
seriously what the hell
Clear its radiance shine...
by ATarHeel on Feb 7, 2009 8:27 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
haha
"I think people in this state like BOTH teams," proclaims Nick Aliotti, the Ducks' defensive coordinator. "Except for our hard-core fans, I don't think most Duck fans would have been terribly upset to see Oregon State going to the Rose Bowl."
Another reason he needs to go.
by diehardoaklandfan22 on Feb 7, 2009 5:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
A-Roid
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
by Flashfire on Feb 7, 2009 9:09 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
+1
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Feb 7, 2009 9:30 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It looks like "ASTEROID" with some letters missing
As in “a doping Asteroid just landed in your baseball career and put a huge crater in your legacy.”
Play more Conan!
by oaklandSMASH on Feb 7, 2009 10:05 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
paranoid android?
"It's like déjà vu all over again." -yogi berra
by Cheezombie on Feb 7, 2009 1:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Now
that A-Rod comes out as A-roid ….. should I take him #1 in my fantasy baseball draft??
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. .
by shadow1480 on Feb 7, 2009 9:51 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Hanley Ramirez.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Feb 7, 2009 10:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
that's who I
plan on taking. Him or Pujols.
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means a whale's vagina. .
by shadow1480 on Feb 7, 2009 12:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Not a good day for baseball...
Ugh, hate to see that news.
Bring back Hammer.
by OaktownPower on Feb 7, 2009 10:15 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Wasn't 2003 the year they did not penalize?
If I remember correctly, this was the year they tested w/out penalty for a positive test. However, if a certain percentage of players tested positive, a stricter policy would be put into place (which of course would have hapened regardless).
I remember thinking at the time that only the most selfish pieces of shit would continue taking steroids, knowing they were testing, just to get one more year of inflated stats and add to their pocketbooks, regardless of the consequences for the rest of their peers.
I have zero respect for those 100+ payers.
by easyraider on Feb 7, 2009 10:51 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
You are correct.
The results of those tests were also supposed to be sealed and confidential, so apparently there are four independent douchebags out there that have no respect for the law, too.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
by jeepers on Feb 7, 2009 3:01 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
No respect for the agreement, anyway
The testing and sealing of ‘03 was an MLB-Player’s Union agreement; keeping the results confidential was a matter of contract, not a matter of law, which is why the possible public release of those results as part of actual court proceedings has come up several times.
"There is a sense of tragic destiny associated with people who have large noses." --Bucky Wunderlick
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 7, 2009 3:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
For as polite as Cabrera might be, everything I hear is that he's a raging rectum
He’s pretty good at wearing out his welcome with teammates and coaches, and him calling the press box multiple times to yell at the official scorer for giving him an error last year really soured my opinion of him.
by thejd44 on Feb 7, 2009 11:31 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Well how much of that is related to his ongoing spat with Renteria?
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 3:01 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe it's because so many people revile Fidel
To me, Cabrera’s reading list is a huge feather in his cap in my eyes.
Then again, Miguel Batista is well spoken, reads poetry and has published a novel, and I wouldn’t want him anywhere near an Oakland mound wearing white cleats.
"There is a sense of tragic destiny associated with people who have large noses." --Bucky Wunderlick
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Feb 7, 2009 3:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
considering the juvenile level of discourse in clubhouses
I’m guessing that many players don’t like his politcs. So, yeah, whatever, if he can hit sign him up.
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 3:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Aside from the fact that he can't really hit
I don’t know if his politics have anything to do with it. I don’t think the official scorer gave him an error because he likes Fidel, or something.
by thejd44 on Feb 8, 2009 4:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
i'm pretty sure the official scorers
are not even aware that cabrera is reading a book about fidel.
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
by xbhaskarx on Feb 8, 2009 6:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Great news for Bonds!
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 11:39 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
That was one of my first thoughts
Bonds has been held out as the Evil One. A-Rod, personality flaws and all, was the guy who didn’t use steroids – or at least had plausible deniability.
No more.
When A-Rod breaks Bonds’ record, it will just be one ’roider passing another.
by bear88 on Feb 7, 2009 12:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
For the first time...
I am leaning in favor of the asterisk.
by easyraider on Feb 7, 2009 12:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
great news for hank aaron and roger maris
A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05
by xbhaskarx on Feb 8, 2009 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Fuck
I wanted A-rod to be clean and break bonds record.
Damn it
by supermarc589 on Feb 7, 2009 11:48 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
he still can
have the most HRs of any steroid using egomaniac in baseball.
"Whom the Gods wish to destroy they first call promising."--Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise
by WhiteElephant on Feb 7, 2009 1:17 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Same.
As much as the guy is a jerk, I really, really wanted him to be clean. I wanted to be able to point to him and say, “We don’t need Bonds, we got this guy as the future.”
And I hate Jeter.
"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."
by Kyli on Feb 8, 2009 9:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Actually, the only Yankees I like are Jeter and Rivera.
And, of course, now that he’s a Yankee…..The Swish!
"God made Majnun love Layla so much that just her dog would cause confusion in him."
The Many Wines-Rumi
by mrod on Feb 8, 2009 12:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Approximately as significant as revelations of A-Rod's PED use:
Hilary Duff and Faye Dunaway trade barbs over Bonnie and Clyde.
“Couldn’t they have at least cast a real actress?” Dunaway said last week.
Duff retaliated against Dunaway Tuesday.
“I think that my fans that are going to go see the movie don’t even know who she is, so you know….” she told E!.
“I think it was a little unnecessary but I might be mad if I looked like that now too,” Duff added.
Hopefully this will open the same weekend as the Moneyball movie, so I won’t have to shoot myself in the head twice.
by 74mk on Feb 7, 2009 11:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Dunaway was probably just saying that she thinks of Duff as a singer
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 12:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That's funny
I don’t even know Hilary Duff has a fan base anymore. My older daughter used to like her when she was younger, but couldn’t care less now.
That photo of Duff has her made up to look exactly like Dunaway in the movie. That will make the comparisons more obvious.
Duff is unwise to pick a fight with Dunaway over a classic movie. It will give critics an easy hook to mock her.
Duff hasn’t been in a successful movie in a long while, and then only as part of an ensemble cast. She is almost irrelevent, so am a bit surprised she got the part.
by bear88 on Feb 7, 2009 12:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
She doesn't strike me as a very plausible bank robber.... seems like they're going for something a little different than the original....
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 12:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
A musical?
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on Feb 7, 2009 1:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It's been done.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
by iglew on Feb 7, 2009 6:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
wow..
Dunaway ripping on Duff is unnecessary at best., but Duff’s response would be like Jack Hannahan ripping on Mike Schmidt…
Ellis for President
by tosk on Feb 8, 2009 6:25 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Way overblown
Google turns up a gazillion stories about this, but you can’t find the source of the quote in any of them. One of the earlier stories attributes it second-hand to “Hollywood sources”, and all of the rest copy it from there and from each other.
In other words, Dunaway made the comment casually in private conversation. Somebody who was there remembered it (or perhaps misremembered it) and passed it on to a reporter, and then it spread like wildfire through the gossip rags after that.
You can hardly blame Dunaway for this.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
by iglew on Feb 8, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I advise against taking stuff like this seriously enough to hunt through Google results for original sources. “Star A snipes at Star B! Tonight on E!” stories are always overblown, always stupid, and always at least partially erroneous.
Sort of like steroid revelations, is what I was attempting to convey.
by 74mk on Feb 8, 2009 11:48 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I hope they cast Zito as Clyde
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 12:17 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Lessons
1) Don’t participate in “anonymous” drug testing.
2) Don’t believe elite athletes avoid performance-enhancing drugs, even if that’s what you would prefer to believe.
3) Assume Jose Canseco is right about PEDs and who used them.
by bear88 on Feb 7, 2009 1:00 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Good point on #3
How many times is this guy going to be proven right?
Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.
by Joey C. on Feb 7, 2009 1:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Jose to the HOF!!!!
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on Feb 7, 2009 1:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I believed Canseco from day one...
but, maybe that’s just my cynical personality. And, the 104 who didn’t quit in 2003 when they knew “anonymous” testing was coming? They fit the definition of “stupid.” Personally, I believe it would have been closer to 50% if they’d tested them a year earlier by surprise.
Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right...
by FoolshGame22 on Feb 7, 2009 10:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
"Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right..."
“Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.”
Truer words were never spoken…..
"God made Majnun love Layla so much that just her dog would cause confusion in him."
The Many Wines-Rumi
by mrod on Feb 8, 2009 1:16 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
you're seeing it acted out in real life...
as I type.
Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right...
by FoolshGame22 on Feb 8, 2009 1:19 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The steroid news just makes me want to start another round
of “why doesn’t anyone scream about PEDs in other sports?”
There no question that PEDs have been in the NFL since the 1970s, and it’s pretty reasonable to think that they were around in the 1960s. Top NFL players, like Shawn Merriman and Deuce McAllister, continue to test positive — and for the most part no one cares.
I know that the NFL isn’t as interested in records as baseball is, but if ARod or Bonds was roiding up, the most that happened was a few more homers than they would have otherwise hit. But a football player on roids can actually maim someone — say, like Bill Romanowski did.
All of the usual reasons people complain about steroids in baseball — it’s cheating, it sets a bad example for kids, it compels guys who want to be clean to do something dangerous just to keep a job — apply just as well to football (or basketball or hockey, for that matter). So why does baseball take so much more heat over this than other sports?
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 7, 2009 2:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Yep, this
Shit, nobody cares about the roided out pork they are consuming at the favorite local chinese restauraunt? Or how about the roid raged cop that beat the shit out of somebody (or worse) because they made a smart ass comment at a traffic stop?
The thing is we just have an awful lot of more important shit to worry about than Bonds and A-rod. Bottom line, they will pay for cheating in the end. Think Lyle Alzado’s regrets.
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 3:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Romanowski
The guy he maimed was his own teammate, in a fight during practice. There are a lot of douches in sports, but it’s hard to be much douchier than that.
Is he still coaching at Piedmont High? I wonder what he tells the kids about PEDs.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
by iglew on Feb 7, 2009 6:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I think he recently got an NFL job
"Sweeney's a white Andre Ethier."--a white, drunk Billy Beane
by Cutthemullet on Feb 9, 2009 8:26 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You already said it
It’s the records, which is a reflection of the fans. I consider myself a fan who is equally interested in baseball and football—which is to say a lot—but baseball numbers, and therefore records, are just more highly regarded. Really, about the only record in the NFL that is consistently talked about is the career rushing record. And it seems like somebody every other year has a shot at breaking it. It can’t even touch the sanctity of, say, the hit streak record in baseball.
Maybe it’s backward, but I kind of like it. Baseball fans are more invested in these sorts of things (or so it seems), and so the PED debate means a little more.
This is the most subjective baseball argument I’ve made in a long time.
Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.
by Joey C. on Feb 7, 2009 9:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I know that records are part of it
but I just can’t believe that’s the entire motivation. I mean, football fans cared a lot about the Steelers winning their 6th Super Bowl, and the media covered that angle of the story a lot. Did anyone care that there’s good evidence that the Steel Curtain teams of the 1970s used steroids?
Another point I didn’t mention above: the NFL relies on betting much more than baseball does. Don’t folks who put a few hundred on a team want to know if their team’s opponents are using PEDs? Maybe they assume all the players are using, so it’s all a wash.
I think the official line is something like, “That was all in the past, back before anyone knew anything and before it was illegal, and the NFL has the best testing regime in sports so there’s nothing to worry about any more.” But top players continue to test positive, and no one raises much of a fuss.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 8, 2009 6:39 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'll echo that
Baseball is everyones favorite whipping boy on this, granted it very well is/was more abused in baseball since testing came in so late but baseball isn’t alone here, but if you listen to most media outlets, you’d think it is. I can’t imagine how many football players used steriods and still use enhancing drugs, surely some in the HOF right now abused or dabbled at least.
I’m frankly sick of hearing about this issue, alot of players used yadda yadda yadda.
Gas to Chicago- $23.87 A's/White Sox Tix- $28 Watching the A's whipping the Sox in July 05'- Priceless
by WiscoFan on Feb 8, 2009 9:41 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
!!!
ive been banned from pinstripealley for one innocent comment!!! bitches!!! hate em!!!
"Clayton Kershaw's curveball scares children"
by catfish4real on Feb 7, 2009 3:46 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
link?
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 3:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
deleted...
just asked why nobody comments hot post about a-roid
"Clayton Kershaw's curveball scares children"
by catfish4real on Feb 7, 2009 3:57 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
innocent enough I suppose
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Feb 7, 2009 4:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Apropos of a prior DLD entry, Milo and Molly have been adopted -- and by A's fans
I gave them free passes to fANfest.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Feb 7, 2009 3:51 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I am glad that you found them a primo A's family home!
Good work Dogdaddy!
by IM4Oakgal on Feb 7, 2009 6:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It's always the big names that take the heat.
Why do we only have Arod’s name? Where are the other 103 names?
by IM4Oakgal on Feb 7, 2009 6:44 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
That's not how witch hunts work.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
by mikev on Feb 7, 2009 6:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I'm an anti-anti-steroid person, but it might be noted that in actual witch hunts there weren't any witches
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 7, 2009 7:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
True.
Wait, how do you know? Were you there?!?!?
But, that’s still a valid point. There weren’t any witches, that meant that the mob could go after whoever they wanted to, pretty much.
Same as now — they want the high profile guys, the Bonds/McGwire/A-Rod/Pujols of the world. The FP Santangelos and Jason Grimsleys pretty much get forgotten.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
by mikev on Feb 7, 2009 8:31 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You might just as well say the Jack Custs
pretty much get forgotten.
Santangelo and Grimsley at least had the decency to come clean once they were caught.
"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk
by iglew on Feb 8, 2009 2:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
between the torre book and this news
a-rod/fraud/roid has had better weeks…
by guy incognito on Feb 8, 2009 4:49 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Plaxico Burress, meet Blackwater
This probably means my moral compass is way out of whack, but I think Blackwater marketing firearm training to professional athletes is a more compelling indicator of sociocultural deterioration than a bunch of baseball players taking steroids.
“They’re high-profile personnel, and high-profile people need to be able to protect themselves and their families,” said Jim Sierawski, Blackwater’s vice president of training. “A lot of times gun handling and gun safety is a big part of that protection package.”
High profile people really have no choice but to lug weapons around at all times. It’s a no-brainer. If you, as a famous person, want your children to be safe, the smartest thing you can do is beat feet to the gun shop. Duh.
“I don’t see any negative in learning more,” said Bob Myers, a sports agent with Los Angeles-based WMG, who estimated that up to half of the 14 NBA players he represents have guns and has at times suggested they seek out training in how to safely use and store them. “I certainly don’t think you can get enough training in that respect.”
Couldn’t have said it better, Bob. Given the totally obvious arm-or-die imperative athletes face, it’s a good thing they’ve got a civilian mercenary force they can turn to for expert safety training.
“A lot people don’t know us for those types of courses – they know us for tactical firearms courses – but in the world of CEOs and high-profile people, it’s pretty popular,” Sierawski said.
Well there you go.
1. Identify particularly stupid and/or gullible subset of rich people (CEOs, football players).
2. Convince members of said subset that their wealth and overall awesomeness makes them targets, sort of like Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire, and that the best way to counteract this threat is to stock up on pistols and train under the watchful eye of a twitchy musclebound commando in wraparound sunglasses, because after all, Denzel Washington will not always be around to save the day.
by 74mk on Feb 8, 2009 10:57 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
What's that saying about a fool and his money?
Of course that article mentions the Sean Taylor situation — IIRC, a good burglar alarm might have scared off the guys doing the B&E, since they thought Taylor would be out of town and just wanted his stuff, not him. And they also mention Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley, as guys who got into trouble with guns. But off the top of my head I can’t think of a single situation in which an athlete has used a gun to defend himself from someone trying to hurt him. And again, off the top of my head, here are the athletes who got themselves into big trouble with guns:
1) Jayson Williams
2) Plaxico Burress
4) Marvin Harrison
Even Jose got into trouble once for having a loaded handgun in his sportscar when he went for some medical tests or something at UCSF. Blackwater would probably respond that their course includes seminars called: “Don’t Accidentally Shoot Your Driver With a Shotgun and Lie To the Cops About It,” “Don’t Go Nightclubbing With a Loaded Semi-Automatic Tucked Into Your Sweatpants,” and “Try Hard Not To Have One of Your Handguns Used In a Killing.”
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
by Nick on Feb 8, 2009 11:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Didn't Reggie
Jackson stop a robbery with his ego? When he was with the angles?
by Future Ed on Feb 9, 2009 1:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
[Insert Easterbrook rant about security details here]
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
by nevermoor on Feb 8, 2009 1:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
He's not Plaxican enough
"You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy."
-Charles Manson
by kaweahkaweah on Feb 8, 2009 5:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Zito
haha:
So that’s the physical stuff. But with Zito, there is always more. He insists he has a new attitude this year. I asked him if he would enjoy less spotlight now that Tim Lincecum has won a Cy Young and future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson is here, and he said he’d previously figured this would be a different year.
"The first year I wanted to come out and wow everyone," he said. "Then last year I really wanted to make sure,’Don’t worry guys, it’s all good.’ Now I’m past all that and back to having fun and pitching because I love pitching. I’m done trying to please everyone and do all that. Everyone ends up getting their expectations met when I focus on what I love to do, which is pitching."
He goes on to talk about how he’s going to spend less time thinking about baseball and more time driving really fast in his car, cuz that’s awesome.
Kudos to jfletcher!
btf thread
hahahahahaahaha
With stout hearts, and with enthusiasm for the contest, let us go forward to victory. ----Hero Defector Montgomery
by mikeA on Feb 8, 2009 1:48 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
why does Zito consistently believe that a "new attitude"...
will overcome his 82 mph fastball?
Batting 4th for the 2014 San Jose A's: 26-year-old RF Justin Upton, in the 1st season of a nine year, $250M deal.
by notsellingjeans on Feb 8, 2009 2:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
How else can he get up in the morning?
God, that kid has to dread going back to work.
by IM4Oakgal on Feb 8, 2009 2:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
im pretty sure 126 million dollars makes it easier
"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT
by travdog6 on Feb 8, 2009 7:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Same crap every year with Zito
He’s always talking about this attitude change and how he chills on the off season playing guitar, what a waste of talent
Clear its radiance shine...
by ATarHeel on Feb 8, 2009 4:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OT,
This may be one of the best Grammy shows I’ve ever seen.
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
by lynnzgal on Feb 8, 2009 10:31 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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