August 2007
America’s Team
USA Today recently did a story on the famed Red Sox Nation, a fairlynew phenomenon that started in 2003 when the Red Sox made the playoffs
for the first time since 1999 and was cemented in 2004 when the Bo-Sox
won the World Series for the first time since 1918. It chronicles how
the Red Sox Nation (the group of fans that follow the team from city to
city, as well as those fans that live across the country) have become
quite the intense attraction for the team on the road. The Red Sox have
the highest road attendance average of any team in baseball, averaging
31, 136 people a game. This is approximately 1,300 more than the
Yankees draw and around 2,000 more than Boston drew in 2005, when it
was defending its World Series title.
The Red Sox players have
been elevated to what many consider "rock star status" due to the
number of fans that stake out their hotels and follow the team around,
similar to band groupies. This is, however, not an entirely good thing
for the Bean town stars. Numerous stories have been chronicled about
off the field confrontations between members of the team and their
adoring public, both positive and negative.
"We’re told to leave
it all on the field," Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis says. "But
with the fans around so much, it becomes a 24/7 thing. You can’t escape
it. The hardest time is at the hotel. Sometimes that takes away from
the whole experience."
According to the USA Today article,
The
Red Sox don’t reveal the hotels where they stay on the road, but it’s
hardly a secret among their fans, who share the information on blogs
and Internet message boards.When the Sox
came to this area to play the Devil Rays this year, the team — seeking
a little privacy — switched hotels from the Renaissance Vinoy in
downtown St. Petersburg to the Don CeSar Beach Resort, 10 miles away."There
were people staking out the floors" of the Vinoy, says Red Sox
traveling secretary Jack McCormick, who handles the team’s travel
arrangements. "If they can’t control it, the players can’t even come
out of their rooms."And yet, when the Red Sox went to the Don CeSar for the first time for a series in late July, hundreds of fans found them.
Red
Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing Sam Kennedy, a Boston
native, remarks about one Red Sox game from when he was working with
the San Diego Padres.
"I remember the first time (the Red Sox)
came to San Diego (in 2002) for interleague games, and I’m not
exaggerating when I say the stadium was half Red Sox fans," says
Kennedy.
This has prompted a new debate as to which team is
America’s team. Is it now the Red Sox? Or is it still the Yankees? And
while they have not been part of the debate, I do not think we can
leave the Braves out of the discussion. Does the emergence of this Red
Sox nation mean that they are now the most popular team in the country?
I do not think so. I believe that the Red Sox are a very trendy team; a
team whose bandwagon lots of people are jumping on. But I do not think
Red Sox nation is full of tride and true die hard fans.
The
Yankees have had fans all over the country for many many years. This is
certainly due to their being the most successful pro-sports franchise
in history with 26 World Series titles and if Boston wins several more
titles it would probably cement their support as well. However, if the
Red Sox don’t make the playoffs for a couple years, or go out in the
first round repeatedly, this Nation will shrink to just a region again.
The
numbers that were used in the USA Today article to support the claim
that the Red Sox are the most popular team in baseball are skewed
somewhat. Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham did some simple math, which
was supported by and expanded upon by a fellow blogger. Abraham claims
that the Red Sox road average of 38, 802, compared with the Yankees’
average of 37,906, is skewed because they play in tiny Fenway Park.
That is a difference of 896 people, which as Abraham remarks, "I’m not
quite sure 896 people means one team is more popular than the other in
the entire nation." Another interesting point is that when the Yankees
play on the road they fill 84 percent of the seats, the Red Sox only 82
percent.
The most intriguing point of the article is that what
the USA Today article fails to point out is that when the Red Sox play
in New York they are playing in front of 55,000 fans. When the Yankees
play in Boston, they are playing in front of just 36,000. The Red Sox
obviously benefit in the attendance draw numbers from that difference.
To expand upon Abraham’s article, a fellow blogger delved into the numbers, which can be found here.
The Red Sox
- The Red Sox are averaging 38,802 fans a game in 64 road games, which is 2,483,328 fans a game.
- The total attendance for the Yankees/Red Sox games played in New York was 329,704.
- The Red Sox’ total road attendance everywhere but Yankee Stadium was 2,153,624.
- In those 58 games, the total average attendance was 37,131.
The Yankees:
- The Yankees are averaging 37,906 in 62 road games, which is an average of 2,350,172 a game.
- The total attendance for the six Yankees/Red Sox games played at Fenway was 219,905.
- The Yankees’ total road attendance everywhere but Boston was 2,130,267.
- In those 56 road games, the Yankees average attendance was 38,040.
That
means the Yankees are averaging 909 more fans a game than the Red Sox
in games played outside the Bronx and Boston. That number is just as
negligible as the 896 more people the Red Sox are averaging overall.
Either way, both the Yankees and the Red Sox are huge draws on the
road, selling out stadium after stadium.
So who is truly
America’s team? I still think it is the Yankees. I think if you did a
national poll, you would find that there are more Yankees fans all over
the country than any other team. America loves winners and the Yankees
are winners. The Red Sox are not. One World Series in the last 80+
years is bad. It is almost as bad as one World Series total in 130+
years, ala the Phillies. If nothing else, the Yankees support has
swelled this decade after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center in 2001. It became very chic to root for New York the city, and
the Yankees are New York City. It is my belief that the Red Sox
swelling of support will taper off in a few years. Sox fans are forced
to travel the country to see their team play as it is almost impossible
to get a ticket to see a game at Fenway and their fans are frantic
because of their recent success. Yankees fans are so used to winning,
being frenzied over their team is almost beneath them.
Since
Boston fans have to travel so much, it gives the appearance that there
are more Red Sox fans around the country than there really are. I think
rather than there being more Red Sox fans, it shows that the Red Sox
fans are dire hard more than anything else. Nevertheless, I believe
that now, more than ever, the Yankees are America’s team, for better or
for worse.
To Live The Dream
Deep down, the dream of any die hard baseball fan is to complete"the tour" of every Major League Baseball stadium in America; to save
up some money and take a summer off (a dream only to be realized by
teachers and students?) and drive from city to city taking in what each
team has to offer. This is something that most people will never get to
do, especially not all in one shot.
However, one lucky fan has
gone out on his own and is currently on tour. He has a blog on
MLBlogs.com journalizing each city stop (although he is a little
behind). But it is definitely worth a read, as it provides a wonderful
insight into baseball in our cities and our regions of the country.
His trip schedule:
Here’s a list of the games I’ll be going to this summer. My
home is outside of Philly and I’m a Phillies season ticket holder,
which should explain some of the way the schedule was built and the
extra Phillies games on my list. Home team on the left:
Here is an excerpt from his opening post:
Today at 1:48 p.m., I turned in my final paper of the semester. My life is now officially baseball. For the next two months I will literally eat, sleep and dream baseball as I travel across the country and begin writing my book. I will be eating at ballpark concession stands and airport food courts. I will be changing cities more frequently than a major league team. And
I will be spending every “spare” moment researching the next day’s
pitchers, looking over statistics, and talking to anybody I can about
baseball.
I have no idea what to expect over the next two months, but I think that’s part of the excitement of the trip. Like a team on Opening Day, there are countless directions in which my season can go. While
I look forward to seeing so much baseball, I think part of the charm of
my book centers on the fact that I’m a 20 year-old college student
traveling all over the country by myself. I am excited for the adventure and can’t wait for it all to start tomorrow night in Baltimore.
I hope you guys all check this site throughout my trip, and that you’re as excited as I am to follow along.
The link for his blog is
http://anincavigliatruth.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/
It’s a great read and I suggest you give it a look. Ahh, to live the dream….
The Evolution of Father Time
Last week the Braves released 48-year-old Julio Franco. SportsIllustrated recently did a small expose timeline on his career which I
found very interesting. Hope you like it.
June 23, 1978 The Phillies sign 19-year-old Dominican shortstop Franco as a free agent.
October 24, 1981 Nationals reliever Beltran Perez is born.
April 23, 1982 A 155-pound Franco goes 1 for 4 against the Cardinals in his big league debut.
April 25, 1982
Franco walks against Jim Kaat, who faced Ted Williams on the final day
of the 1959 season. (Franco was the last remaining player to face a
pitcher who faced Williams.)
December, 1982
After being traded to the Indians, Franco arrives in Cleveland with no
coat, $5,000 stuffed into a sock and one questions, "Where are the
casinos?"
1984 Finds a Muscle magazine in the Cleveland clubhouse and soon becomes a fitness fanatic.
April 19, 1985
After beating the Yankees with a homer, Franco repairs to a friend’s
joint in the Bronx: "The next day was my brother’s birthday. After the
game, we began to celebrate." Franco misses the next day’s game. "Back
then I was wild," he says years later. "Very wild."
1989
Mild-mannered Tribe manager Doc Edwards tells the team he won’t return
in 1990 if Franco – who has a habit of bringing his rottweiler and
snake to the stadium – is still on the team. Franco is soon traded to
the Rangers.
August 13, 1991 Ron Kittle plays his last game.
December 29, 1991
Attends church with his brother in the Dominican Republic and becomes a
born-again Christian. He soon swears off booze, cigarettes and the fast
life: "I didn’t think I’d live to be 30."
December 28, 1994
Signs to play in Japan. He plays five seasons in japan, Korea and
Mexico, costing himself a shot at 3,000 big league hits. Still he has
no regrets about his time in Japan: "People [there] respect their
elders."
August 31, 2001
Braves G.M. John Schuerholz signs Franco, who had been hitting .437 in
Mexico but had just one major league appearance since 1997. Manager
Bobby Cox’s reaction: "My God, is he still around?"
April 6, 2004 Still a Brave, Franco becomes, at 45, the oldest regular nonpitcher in history, surpassing Cap Anson.
February 28, 2006 During a breakfast interview with The New York Times,
Franco ingests 20 egg whites, part of his six-meal, 5,000
calorie-a-day, junk-food-free diet: "I walk by bakeries, see things
that look good, smell good, but I know I don’t need that cheesecake."
April 20, 2006 Now a Met, Franco becomes, at 47, the oldest player to his a major league homer.
September 30, 2006 A sculpted, 210-pound Franco homers off Beltran Perez.
Why the hits record is the dumbest record in all of sports.
All this talk about Barry Bonds has got me thinking about Pete Rose.
One
look at Pete Rose’s career stats, and you will be surprised about how
pedestrian they are when compared to the legend he is made out to be.
160 HRs, 149 SBs, 1314 RBI are nothing special.
That’s not to
put him down completely. His career OBP was .375 over 24 seasons.
That’s nothing to sneeze at, especially since in my opinion OBP and SLG
are the two most important baseball statistics.
Rose’s fame
centers around the hits record. In my opinion, the hits record is one
of the dumbest records of all of sports. Leading the league in hits
likely means you don’t walk enough. If Rose had a better eye and had
taken more pitches, maybe he would’ve had an OBP above .400 like Rickey
Henderson. That wouldn’t have gotten him a fancy record, but would’ve
helped his team.
From a personal perspective, Rose was a
legendary cheater and jerk. Unlike Barry Bonds, Rose broke a baseball
policy that had been clearly in place and clearly enforced since the
Black Sox scandal. And if the stories are believed, Rose was such a
jerk that he would leave supposed "friends" at the mercy of the mafia
for his personal gambling debts.
Why do I bring this up now?
Because to me, Barry Bonds was ten times more talented than Pete Rose,
while being one-tenth the cheater and one-tenth the jerk. Why do so
many that hate Bonds laud Rose?
~Joe Paradise
RIP Phil Rizzuto
Yankees great Phil "The Scooter" Rizzuto passed away today at the age of 89.
Despitehis fairly illustrious playing career with the Yankees, which included
the 1950 AL MVP award, most fans in New York, New Jersey, and
Connecticut will remember him as the man on WPIX-11′s Yankees TV
broadcasts for 40 years. All of America can remember him as the voice
that called Maris’ 61st home run. Not known for his skills of
observation (he once created the box score designation "WW" for "wasn’t
watching"), Rizzuto endeared himself to the fans with his down-home
attitude. Whether it was discussing the restaurant he had eaten at last
night, giving messages to his wife Cora on the air, or joking about
having to leave the game early to beat the George Washington Bridge
traffic back to New Jersey, everyone knew Phil Rizzuto was a genuine
local. Perhaps my favorite Rizzutoisms were the incessant shout-outs to
friends in super-Italian New Jersey enclaves on their birthdays. Hardly
a game went by where he didn’t have a happy birthday for someone with a
last name with plenty of vowels living in Roselle Park.
He was
the ultimate homer, never coming anywhere close to being impartial.
Being a true local, born and raised in Brooklyn and spending most of
his life living in New Jersey while playing his entire career for the
Yankees, we accepted that.
Misjudging batted balls was another one of his specialties:
- "Uh-oh, deep to left-center, nobody’s gonna get that one! Holy cow, somebody got it!"
- "Bouncer to third, they’ll never get him! No, why don’t I just shut up!"
- "All right! Stay fair! No, it won’t stay fair. Good thing it didn’t stay fair, or I think he would’ve caught it!"
But we all loved every moment of it. His trademark,"Holy Cow!" made it all ok.
On
a more serious note, while working in the offseason in Bayonne (players
used to work in the offseason back then), Rizzuto met a boy who was
blinded by a baseball. He took an interest in the boy and his school,
St. Joseph’s School for the Blind. Rizzuto spent the rest of his life
as one of the school’s biggest donors and fundraisers.
Phil
Rizzuto was a great Yankee, a great ballplayer, a great announcer, and
a great New Jerseyan (despite being born in Brooklyn). He will be
missed.
Bonds Debate Continued
G:
Again, pitchers, and
Clemens, are completely irrelevent when discussing the fact that Bonds
cheated. Do I suspect Clemens? Sure. Honestly I am suspicious of pretty
much every player that has played or continues to play throughout the
"steroid era". This includes Arod who’s body shape has also changed
significantly. But Clemens steroid use did not make a great pitcher
into a nearly unstoppable one.
I also notice a certain dichotomy
in support of Bonds here. Is it steroids or the improved and admittedly
insane workout routines. Arguably Clemens is able to maintain his pace
by taking half the season off. Regardless, Clemens is still one of the
better pitchers of this generation, but his steroid use would be
cheating and his numbers scrutinized accordingly.
Also, steroids
were illegal in baseball in 1991. Fay Vincent sent out a memo saying
that use or possession of any illegal drugs, including steroids, was
illegal under the rules of baseball. Did it have teeth? maybe not, but
to say they weren’t breaking the rules is total BS.
Although I
will never support the way the league handled this, the players are
just as responsible (at least if you consider the MLBPA and Donald Fehr
to be the true representatives.) You have a Commissioner whose
interests, until Congress got involved, were more aligned with the rest
of the owners, and a Players Association that threatened STRIKE at
every advancement of testing. That is not a good combo, but lets be
honest…the players association had the upperhand in this battle due
to the damage the strike did in the 90′s and their ability to exploit
the owners weakness.
G:
Do
I think Bonds or any of the other players should have taken steroids?
Absolutely not. Do I blame them for doing so? Absolutely not. They took
advantage of all the options open to them at the time.
Your
libertine attitude towards sports is somewhat troubling. Maybe I’m
being obtuse, but that statement is rife with contradiction and to me
is an approval of cheating. No matter how you look at it, steroid use
was cheating. Sometimes people must stay within the rules to do things
right. I doubt anything you did that was outside the bounds of fairness
or the rules would be given such lenient analysis.
The
modern game is about home runs and scoring. It isn’t about bunting and
strategy anymore. This is true for all sports. Players adapted to meet
that need. It was the league’s responsibility to stop this, or to at
least guide this transition, and they failed disastrously.
I
had a very poignent response to this but it got cut off from the
previous post. Basically it disussed the smaller strike zones, smaller
ball parks and lower pitchers mounds and how a good player could
"adjust" to the game in numerous ways other than steroids. One of which
would be patience and strike zone control… and Bonds is the perfect
example of this. He was the result of great command of the pitches, a
great swing, and steroids. I’d argue that with 2 out of the three of
those, you could be a very successful ball players in this new league
you speak of.
G:
The modern game is about home runs and scoring
The
game is still about the same things it was back in 1903. . . winning
the World series. If it was all about homeruns and scoring, the
Phillies would be perennial champions. Small ball can still be useful
(White Sox).
J:
It’s
not about the World Series. That may be the end game for some or most
players, although for many players the end game is the paycheck and the
notoriety. But the game is about the performances during the game.
Fans, with the exception of die hard fans, watch their teams because
they want to see home runs and flame throwing fastballs. If their team
gets into the World Series, that’s great. But if they don’t, well it’s
not the end of the world. Fans want to see an exciting game with lots
of action. That’s the most important thing. The now. And I’m not saying
fans don’t care if their team wins the World Series or makes the
playoffs, they just care way more about the big plays.
And I
don’t want you to think I am condoning steroids or I think they are
good or I like this new era of big home runs and all. When it comes to
sports, I always favor strategy, matchups, and defense. This is why I’m
so drawn to baseball, as baseball has more strategy in it than any
other sport. I am one of the die hard elitist fans who thinks the new
NHL is worse now that it is way more about scoring and speed, rather
than gritty defense and hard hits. Whenever a sport adjusts to become
higher scoring and more "exciting," I think it loses something. And I
don’t think it’s good that players took steroids, and I was wrong to
say you can’t blame them for doing so. What I meant was that you can’t
be surprised. Players, and people for that matter, throughout history
have always looked for an advantage, a leg up. Does that make it OK or
good? No. But we certainly can’t be shocked and outraged to discover
that it was happening.
I still contend that it was the league’s
responsibility to face it and stop it. And I understand the MLBPA may
have had the upper hand, but if we are talking about doing the moral
thing even when doing the wrong thing is much easier, then the league
needs to be faulted as well. The hit baseball would have taken for
another strike would not have been anywhere near as bad as the stigma
it has now.
G:
Cincinatti, Florida and Tampa Bay are among the highest HR hitting
teams, yet have low or extremely low attendance. Meanwhile, boston is
slightly below average in HRs but has the highest attendance. Same with
the cubbies. People want to see their team win. Plus, teams make easy
money through media contracts, maybe over half their total revenue
(excluding revenue sharing). I doubt people tune in to watch home runs
on TV, but rather to watch their home team beat a rival, or even just
to enjoy a heated pennant race. Agree to disagree I guess.
The hit baseball would have taken for another strike would not have been anywhere near as bad as the stigma it has now.
Stigma,
sure. . . But I doubt the owners and MLBPA care much about stigmas and
that is the problem. Thats why Selig was a bad commissiner for the
steroid era. He is an owner and so long as the league, and his teams
and buddy owners’ teams, are making money, there is no real incentive
to do anything about it. Even this "stigma" hasn’t really hurt the
bottom line, so in their eyes all is well. i blame them both (owners
and players) wholly together.
J:
And
yet baseball has set attendance records for three straight years. The
average fan may tell you that he despises steroids and thinks Bonds is
a fraud. But he continues to watch the game regardless. He continues to
go and I argue it is partly because of steroids that he goes. The game
has gotten more exciting. More home runs, more runs scored, faster
fastballs.
The average fan will tell you that Bonds cheated and
that he has no respect for him. He’ll tell you that Hank Aaron is still
the real home run record holder and that Bonds’ record should have an *
next to it. And yet, that same fan almost certainly stayed up late last
Tuesday to watch the * happen.
Bonds Debate With A Twist
Below is a debate that Joe Paradise, our friend Grant, and I had overBarry Bonds and the issue of steroids in a message board over the
course of the past few days. I think it very much represents the
different feelings that people have on the issue. I hope you enjoy.
G:
Bonds is a coward. Many other words come to mind as well.
J:
How is he a coward? Even if he did do steroids, he is most certainly not the only one. Get over it. Hating Bonds is so old.
G:
I don’t hate bonds. But he is a coward. He is the most selfish player
in MLB history. And others have done it…so what. That excuses
nothing. I don’t feel bad for Selig having to fret over whether or not
to show up because he was very complicit in creating this situation,
but Bond’s record is ****.
He is a pain in the *** to watch,
especially because he tries to play the victim. Clearly he doesn’t
watch ESPN because they have been obsessed about him for the past 2
years.
He is a coward because he is a glory hound that turned an
incredible career in to a circus, only to fuel his megalomaniacal ways.
If there is any doubt in your mind that he used steroids you are a fool.
JP:
I still don’t see what any of this has to do with being a coward.
J:
He is not a coward. That is ridiculous. He is a megalomaniac. And he often times can be a total jerk.
But
he has been the victim. He is by far not the only player to take
steroids. Loads of pitchers have taken them as well. That would make
the matchups equal. But because Bonds is so abrasive and because he has
been chasing the home run record and now has broken it he has been made
the poster boy for the steroid era, which is completely unfair.
If
anyone is a coward it is Selig. He turned a blind eye to steroids until
he was forced to deal with it. And he now has the gall to act
self-righteous about it. Players throughout the years have tried to
find advantages. If steroids were as widely available when Babe Ruth
played as they are now, he would have shot up as well. It’s the job of
the league to make sure this doesn’t happen.
But if you are
going to complain about Bonds, then you have to ***** about McGwire,
Palmeiro, Sosa, Canseco, and of course Neifi Perez. Everyone who is
griping about Bonds is a total hypocrite.
G:
If steroids were as widely available when Babe Ruth played as they are now, he would have shot up as well.
This statement is ridiculous.
But he has been the victim.
As
is this one. Pitchers Cheated, yes. Pitching has changed very little
though. I don’t see a cadre of juiced up pitchers throwing 105 mph
fastballs. Ryan Franklin thrived on steroids. Juan Rincon was great. To
say things where even matchups is ridiculous.
And how is it
unfair that his chasing the all-time homerun record made him the poster
boy of PED’s?? Is it an unfortunate circumstance for Bonds? NO, he
cheated and his chase is a direct result of it. He would not have been
playing anymore, nor would he have anywhere near as many HR’s w/o them.
Aaron’s record was one of the greatest in sports, as well as the first
major record since the "steroid era" came under the spotlight, and so
it makes perfect sense. Remember, when Sosa and Mac were hitting HR’s
day and night the general fan population was ignorant as to any abuses
or cheating. **** even die hard fans were in the shadows. Andro was
advertised on the radio during games and it was considered just a new
form of Power shake or creatin.
That being said I was never a
fan of an overly inflated McGwire or Sosa or Canseco (Neifi Perez used
aphetamines which I find different in this situation…yet still
cheating). They were cheaters too. Bringing them up seems to be the
fall back argument for people trying to defend Bonds but it is really
irrelevant in this situation. I think they cheated and any record they
held was bunk, therefore I am not a hypocrite. Moving on.
The
problem with message board discussions is that it tends to lead to
literalization. While Bonds is not a "coward" in the sense that he
shows a shameful lack of courage or is a sissy, he is a coward because
I, subjectively, feel it is an deep insult. Just like Jon’s use of
hypocrite is not applicable here, but I get it.
JP:
Steroids didn’t make Barry Bonds a great hitter. He’s just flat better
than everyone else. He was better than everyone else in pre-1998 before
he allegedly started taking steroids as well.
Most people have
no idea of the effect of steroids in real life. Bonds didn’t just
allegedly take steroids as he got older, he also got serious about his
weight training and conditioning. This more than anything contributed
his his increased size and strength. It’s very similar to how Roger
Clemens had some of the best years of his career when he was already
"old" by baseball standards because of his outrageous workout routine.
The steroids, if he took them, may have provided a boost in these
efforts, but his increased strength/size was almost all directly
attributable to his hard work and determination.
JP:
I like what this guy had to say:
http://bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/barry-bonds/
G:
Steroids
allows an aging athlete to sustain such workouts and gain that size.
Without them he would not have been able to do it. Steroids greatest
benefit is in recovery time of the muscles, allowing him to maintain
that work out schedule, making his size and strength increase a DIRECT
result of his steroid use. That is why steroids has a lesser impact on
pitchers, because they are not focusing all on strength and size, but
on more durability. And at the same time it enabled Bonds to continue
his career, too far in my opinion. He should at least be a DH.
I
have never been in the Barry Bonds ***** camp. I know he was the
greatest talent in our generation, as I suggested before. I can
appreciate that he was pre and post-roids the most capable hitter with
the best command of the strke zone. Perhaps that’s why I dislike him so
much. Because he didn’t have to cheat to be a first ballot HoFer. But
he cheated, so screw him, and this circus was created by him and the
reason that he is where he is now is attributable to steroids or PEDs,
more than the increased workouts and determination that would not have
eisted otherwise.
G:
A few problems with that article:
1. at the end it assumes that every major leaguer in inclined to cheat. That may be true but would hope not.
1a.
it also assumes that everyone in the world that thinks bonds is not so
deserving of respect as the author assumes steroids is the font of his
ability. Every person I know will admit BOnds talent. Again, to me that
is really irrelevant in the discussion.
2. Saying that hand-eye
coordination cannot be learned may be true, but the research on these
synthetic drugs show that some of them, such as the stanizol (sp?) that
Bonds used, can either prevent deterioration and/or aid regeneration of
the neurons that are responsible for this. This would be irrelevent for
say, the single season record, but paramount in the all time HR record.
3.
There are dozens of elements of hitting that can be aided by PED’s
above mere coordination that cause concern regarding his cheating.
Increased bat speed (just for example…i am not privy to any studies
of Bonds bat speed so am not sure) would not only allow you to be more
selective on your pitches, but give you more time to identify the
incoming pitch. Also, increased strength would marginalize mistakes or
mis-hits.
Now I must go to the gym without steroids in hopes not
that my hat size or feet grow, but to perhaps be able to throw a
baseball for 45 minutes without my back and rear shoulder being sore
for 5 days.
J:
Pitchers
Cheated, yes. Pitching has changed very little though. I don’t see a
cadre of juiced up pitchers throwing 105 mph fastballs. Ryan Franklin
thrived on steroids. Juan Rincon was great. To say things where even
matchups is ridiculous.
Are you telling me you think
Roger Clemens isn’t juiced up? The man is 45, has played in the majors
for 24 years, and has arguably been more dominant in the past five
years then he was the previous five. His numbers in Houston are
certainly skewed when compared to playing in New York because he was
playing in the NL Central, but his numbers are still ridiculous. I am
not one of those that think he has been better in the latter part of
his career than he was during his peak, but the fact that he is 45 and
still just as dominant as ever (perhaps with the exception of this
year) seems to go to the very heart of the debate over Bonds. Without
steroids he never would have lasted this long. Neither would Clemens.
That
being said, for a long time steroids weren’t banned from baseball. How
can you continue to blame the players for engaging in something that
was technically not illegal within their given profession? Why is the
criticism not laid more heavily upon the league? Do I think Bonds or
any of the other players should have taken steroids? Absolutely not. Do
I blame them for doing so? Absolutely not. They took advantage of all
the options open to them at the time. The modern game is about home
runs and scoring. It isn’t about bunting and strategy anymore. This is
true for all sports. Players adapted to meet that need. It was the
league’s responsibility to stop this, or to at least guide this
transition, and they failed disastrously.
J:
On the lighter side:
http://bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/asterisks-are-forever-a-barry-bonds-movie/
jsatwood
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