without a jot of blood

Well, with exactly one month and one day until pitchers and catchers report (Yippee!!!), I figured now was as good a time as any to jump back into this whole blogging thing.

Actually, I've started countless posts over the last couple of months, but just couldn't finish one, at least not satisfactorily.

Not that there hasn't been anything going on.

Heavens, no. It's been busy. And a little loco.

Of course, you don't need to hear from me that the Cards signed Matt Holliday for $119-120 over the next seven years, or that he inexplicably changed his number to #7 (and no, the, "Jim Edmonds wore #15 and I want to set myself apart, blah, blah," nonsense is not an acceptable explanation), or that no matter how hard he tries (and he will try), he will never usurp Albert's throne, or that there was absolutely no factor in his decision more motivating than all those zeroes (no matter how the idiots on KSDK try to spin it). So I won't tell you.

I also won't tell you that somehow, someway, we let Mark DeRosa get away to the Giants, and no one in the front office even hiccupped. That was disappointing for me. I mean, I had a feeling he wouldn't be back, but I didn't expect him to get the Aaron Miles treatment, for goodness sake.

And, finally, I most definitely will not tell you about the long overdue confession/explanation/apology we all heard from Mark McGwire. I believe I've made my feelings about Big Mac pretty clear, so there's little reason to continue beating that horse. It's dead.

Want to know the truth? I didn't even watch it. Why should I? I know the plot. I know the characters. I know the outcome. His words, no matter how well-rehearsed, were predictable and pointless.

Heck, yes, he took steroids. Heck, yes, he would have taken anything to improve his performance. Why? Because baseball is hard. Because it's all about appearance. Because he was getting old. Because everyone else was doing it. And mostly because there was no risk of getting caught.

See. What else is there to say?

No one is going to stand in front of a nation of baseball lovers and say, "I did it because I have no respect for the game." Or in front of a nation of people struggling with unemployment and debt and say, "I did it because the millions of dollars I already had weren't enough."

Don't get me wrong, though. I love the man. His pedestal is almost as high as Albert's for me.

Sure, he should have said it long ago. 

I have heard all the arguments, and I understand people's outrage and disappointment. But in the end, how do you justify cheating? You don't. You come clean and move on. You can't make it right. You can't give back the home runs. You can't undo the damage. So what exactly do we want from him? A pound of flesh?

It's time for us to move on, too. Move on from this, and from the whole steroids scandal of the 90s in general. We need strict rules, strict testing, and strict punishment, and that way, 10 or 15 years down the road, we won't be subjected to another generation of apologies.

Did I mention that pitchers and catchers report in 32 days? Does anything else really matter?

over-thinking again

Here's my question: Since the Skip Schumaker experiment isn't working out like we'd hoped, do we continue the seach for a second baseman within the ranks, or do we start looking for a trade?

Follow-up question: Does the need for a 2Bman now take precedence over the need for a "sixth" starter, and if we have trade bait, do we use it to bring in a middle infielder?

Related question: What about Mike Avilés? I wasn't familiar with this guy until seeing his performance in the WBC, but he seems like a good SS, and has spent some time at second. Think we have anything the Royals need?

I'll try to figure all this out as I listen to the game on the radio this afternoon.


Albert has made news again, sort of, as he is the focus of an article in Sports Illustrated written by sports writer extraordinaire Joe Posnanski. (He's the kind of writer who makes me look at my own blog and wonder, sometimes aloud, "why do I bother writing when there are people out there doing it so much better?") It's a wonderful examination of Albert's unique situation, and I highly recommend it to anybody who really loves baseball.

I had this whole shpiel planned in which I would announce that I respectfully disagree with anyone who retains even a shred of doubt about Albert or his integrity, and then defer to other bloggers who have summed up the situation nicely. Then I started typing and, well, things happened. I realized I feel more strongly about this than I thought, and so I decided I owe it some (more) time.

1. I hate to be stubborn, but you will never, ever convince me that I'm wrong about this. There are a lot of things that I will give in to, and a lot of arguments that I can be persuaded to change my mind about, but this is not one of them. Albert is a special kind of player and person in my eyes, and you may call it "blind faith" but it's faith nonetheless, and I don't need test results or empirical evidence of any sort to affirm my beliefs.

2. No amount of testing is going to change anything. I was having a hard time putting this into words, but then I read C70's latest post and found that he had already done so quite well. The fact is, even if Albert were tested every day from now until he retired, people would still doubt him. There is no way to go back in time and prove him innocent for all those seasons that are over, and as C70 said (regarding people's insistence that he have himself independently tested),

Taking a test will only have people saying, "Well, yeah, he passed, because he chose when to take it. All a publicity stunt, if you ask me."

3. Albert should not have to prove his innocence. There is a reason the justice system doesn't work that way and never will. Something about a town called Salem and some poor women being burned alive because they couldn't prove they weren't witches. Something about a Senator named McCarthy and a Red Scare. Something about basic human rights and fear of persecution. It's a terrible shame that he plays in this era with the weight of suspicion hanging over everyone who takes the field, but it is not his fault that others have tainted the reputation of America's past time, and it should not be his cross to bear.

4. You are free to disagree with me, and I'm sure there are those who will. I just hope there are no hard feelings.


Now, back to baseball. The Cardinals just finished taking care of the BoSox down in Jupiter (thank you, KTRS 550), courtesy of a Joe Mather 2-run (walk-off) home run. Picture me smiling.

talk it through

Well, I can't stop thinking about steroids now....

I actually wrote a paper about AAS (Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids) a year or so ago, but I didn't get into HGH. (Of course, I mean that I didn't write about HGH or research it, although I didn't use it either.) Some of the adverse effects are pretty scary.

It's such a complicated subject--performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports--that I can't imagine it being neatly or agreeably resolved anytime in the foreseeable future.


ME: Poor A-Rod. (heh heh)

Someone Who Is Not Me: Okay, so we've established that you don't like Alex Rodriguez.

ME: It's just that he's so plastic. So shallow, at least on the surface. (cough) Way too metro-sexual for the likes of decent American get-your-uniform-dirty-or-it's-not-really-a-sport sports. And then there's the fact that he and his distracting personal life have tarnished what I am proud to consider one of the defining characteristics of baseball--that for whatever reason beisboleros aren't subject to the same intense scrutiny by the celebrity-stalking gossip-mongering media as other factions of the rich and famous--and just generally nauseated me....

SWINM: Right, right. We get it. No A-Rod fans here. But beyond how you feel about the man personally, you have to admit that the whole business stinks. I mean, in 2003, when the tests were done, players were promised anonymity. They were assured that the results would be confidential. Coming back 6 years later and revealing those results is a complete violation of his rights.

ME: True, but if he hadn't been using the steroids in the first place, it wouldn't even be an issue.

SWINM: But there are apparently 103 other names on the list for whom it isn't an issue. Their names weren't released. This is obviously an attempt to tarnish one player's reputation in particular.

ME: Yet. Their names haven't been released yet. But are you suggesting they should release all the names?

SWINM: No, of course not. I'm suggesting that no names should have been released. It was deceitful and wrong.

ME: You can't unspill milk.

SWINM: Well, no.

ME: So what's the solution?

SWINM: There is no solution. You said it yourself, you can't unspill the milk. The damage is done. However, if you look back at the situation in 2003 (and before), the players who were using were using, and maybe it gave some of them an advantage, but it's over. The records are set. History has been written. You can't unspill milk. What I suggest is that we let it all go.

ME: Those players were breaking the rules and the law. You can't seriously want to let them off the hook, can you?

SWINM: That's exactly what I want. Drop the charges against Barry, forget about Jose's book, let McGwire get on with his life, and lock Clemens in a small room with something angry and hungry. Putting any of these guys in jail isn't going to change a thing. Baseball doesn't need asterisks and whispers and question marks about the past. Baseball needs clearly defined restrictions. Players and their representatives need to know exactly what is acceptable and appropriate and what is not. The league needs to implement strict testing and unequivocal punishments. That's the only way we'll get beyond this. We have to move on and there has to be a plan.

ME: If there's a product out there that can enhance performance--be it steroids or some new designer drug--there are and will always be players who would risk their reputation and the consequences in order to have that advantage.

SWINM: It's human nature, I know. And I'm no scientist, but I'm aware that the testing is always one step behind the science. If you want to protect the integrity of the game, though, you either have to establish a blanket definition of performance-enhancers and prohibit anything and everything likely to fall under it, or you have to be able to trust players.

ME: There's also been talk lately of the increasing instance of players taking drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder (and doubt as to whether the majority of those players actually suffer from the disorder). If a player has a medical diagnosis and is being treated with prescription drugs, where is the line that separates "unacceptable and inappropriate" from medically necessary? And what if those categories overlap? Would you deny a player reasonable medical treatment if that treatment happened to enhance performance? Would you require him to leave the profession in order to get medical treatment?

SWINM: That's a tough question. In setting the rules, MLB would definitely have to take such concerns into consideration. I don't have the answer.

ME: Me either.

SWINM: So what have we decided, as far as A-Rod, that is?

ME: Well, despite my great dislike for him, I have to say I feel bad for the man.

SWINM: Me too. He's obviously going to have to deal with this for a while.

ME: Poor A-Rod. (snicker)

SWINM: Oh, just stop it.

no comment

Yes, I know this picture has nothing to do with steroids or PEDs or doping or baseball, but it's my favorite picture of the guy. I don't think it's fair that the test results were made public after players were assured it was anonymous, but I don't like A-Rod enough (or at all, for that matter) to really get upset about it. I'll save my views on performance-enhancing drugs for another time.

will big mac land again?

I don't condone the use of "performance-enhancing" drugs. For one, I don't think they really give athletes the edge that everyone believes. For another, they are dangerous and harmful to your body. Add to that the fact that young kids are using them because they see their idols doing it, and it all stinks. However, I am willing to forgive those who have used steroids or human growth hormone or both because it's in the past. As long as it stays in the past, there's no problem.
Having said that, I would love to see Mark McGwire back in baseball. There are rumblings that he wants to return to the game in a coaching capacity--batting coach, specifically. He has long participated in various aspects of the Cardinals' spring training and other off-season activities, and Chris Duncan, Skip Schumaker and others spend time every off-season weight training with him and getting his advise on hitting. He is undoubtedly one of the most well-known figures in Cardinals history, mostly because of his ability to go yard, but at least partly because of his association with Jose Canseco and the steroid scandal. He was called to testify in front of Congress for the Mitchell investigation, and basically said he had no comment. The "experts" on ESPN believe he should come clean and hold a press conference to confess and apologize to the American people before being allowed to return to the game. I believe that we should let it go and move on with our lives. I want to see him coach (especially if it's with St Louis) and think he would be a valuable addition to any staff. Everybody's got baggage, people. That shouldn't stop him from contributing.

my thought(s) on "jock itch Rocket" Clemens

I find all the controversy surrounding Roger "the Rocket" Clemens highly amusing. I watched bits and pieces of his testimony to Congress, and the fact that I didn't (and couldn't) believe a word he said does not mean I care one way or the other whether he's convicted of perjury or stupidity or whatever it is they want to convict him of.

I don't care if he used steroids or HGH.

I don't care if he ever admits it.

I don't care if he corners McNamee in a dark alley and violates him with a pool cue.

And I sure as hell don't care if he cheated on his plastic wife with a plastic country singer (ed. note: may she rest in peace). All I care about is the fact that he made a mockery of baseball, not by allegedly using performance-enhancing substances (or having his arm replaced with a bionic arm, or whatever), but by "retiring" from the game and then sitting around waiting for the highest bidder to lure him back to the mound.

I am well aware that baseball is a business for the owners and a job for the players, but it's much more than that for the fans.

For us, it's an art. It's an escape from the grind. It's an American tradition. And maybe most importantly, it's 25 guys getting the chance to do something the rest of us can only dream about. So forgive me if I'm offended that someone lucky enough to be a part of that could ever sell out so unashamedly. Roger Clemens may be a lot of things to a lot of people, but to me he'll never be anything but an arrogant pendejo who doesn't deserve a second thought.