I hate steroids. I accept that in some medical instances, they're awesome. But within the context of professional sports, I HATE STEROIDS!
Now, the following comments might come a little late after the mention by a sports writer in Toronto that Jose Bautista must be on the juice, or at least should be considered to be drugged up until he proves otherwise. Well, I didn't have internet for a while, was too busy to sleep, then got my ass kicked by a cold. So, forgive my tardiness.
Before I get into the heart of my post, let me just say that this isn't going to be about whether or not using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) is cheating. That's a whole post by itself. It's more about what the public acknowledgment of PEDs in professional baseball has done to us as fans.
First some basics statements to get us started.
- Whether we as fans like it or not, PEDs have played a role in the history of professional baseball. Hell, illicit drugs and alcohol have played a part as well.
- The guys who play the game are only human and can make questionable decisions like the rest of us.
- We can all agree that they work in a more highly competitive environment than a huge portion of the population.
- In every kind of competition some individuals will look for any way to get a leg up, or in baseball's case, production numbers up.
- If someone was so inclined to research it, I'm sure there could be a direct correlation found between the rise of PED use and the importance placed on power numbers in both pitching and hitting when negotiating salaries.
I'm not naïve enough to think that there hasn't been circumventing of the rules in professional baseball since it started over 100 years ago. I think any fan who has lived through the steroids era and the Mitchell report release looks at most (or all) records and stats with a grain of salt; still in awe of them, but realistic enough to know that there might have been some help along the way.
Skip ahead some decades, and now we're living in the post-steroids era.
It's sad for me to think that a time in baseball where more fans are watching and attending games and the players and teams have a strong agreement, that we're still overshadowed by drugs. All of the things that have come out since the League (and Congress) started cracking down on this whole mess have served to shake the integrity of the game of baseball and the faith/confidence fans had in the professional sport as a whole. Sure, it's more than likely that the additional interest in pro ball is the result of the crazy offensive numbers put up throughout the '90s and the early part of this decade. Which, let's be honest, in a lot of cases (some confirmed and some not) are a direct result of the use of PEDs or some type of substance that wasn't banned at the time. I believe that and even accept it.
But now what I seem to be left with is the constant question: When will it end? When will the stale taste of the steroid era be allowed to leave the game of baseball? By no means forget is happened; it IS A PART of the game now. But will there ever be a time when a guy can put up a career year, and he's not marred with the mention of PEDs?
Don't get me wrong, if a guy is using and it comes out, that's his own damned fault. But are we now, as fans, spectators, commentators (even bloggers) conditioned to always question whether a player having a good year is using? Is that the view we're forced to take now? I hope to hell not. I want to believe in the integrity of the game again. I want to have faith that players and the League are doing their best to respect the idea of fair play, even if there might always be a few who don't. I have blogged about some of these sentiments before, and they seem as true now as they were then.
But this is where I'll stop because I'm starting to get into the murky waters of the game's integrity and whether PEDs are cheating. And it is incredibly murky. Steroids, banned substances and performance enhancing drugs have stirred up the muck something fierce, and it still hasn't settled back down again. I do plan on writing about this, but the post is currently brewing in my slightly-still-cold-foggy brain.
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Brandon Morrow makes his last start of the season against the Yankees tomorrow. I don't completely disagree with the notion of shutting him down. He's been a very pleasant surprise and addition to the starting rotation this year. No sense pushing him too far this season and risking his possible contribution next year. Of course, if the playoff picture in Toronto was more realistic, this would probably be a moot point.
Enjoy the long weekend Jays fans. Tampa's in town starting Monday and is should be a great series.
JaysGirl5
P.S. Anyone else not that shocked that Strasburg has to have surgery? Can we say "rushed to the majors?"
The disclaimer that now appears in the HOF records room.
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