I Don't Care That A-Rod Used Steroids

Wow...that feels so good to just come out and say that. I don't know how many people have asked me the past few days of what I thought of the news that came out Saturday afternoon that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. The truth is that I couldn't give a hoot. Some say that this era is forever tainted. Some say that this guy was using or that that guy was using. Some say these guys should be banned from the Hall of Fame. Some say that this has ruined the sport. I don't agree.

Let me throw a scenario out there. There's two guys in a sport, let's call it football. One tested positive for steroids and was suspended for a few games. Regardless of the punishment, he still got to play in the league's all star game. Another player was found to have taken HGH. He played on a team that went undefeated. That same team was found to have cheated in more ways that that, so badly in fact that they had a first round pick stripped from them. Let's stop pretending this didn't actually happen. Let's stop pretending that this problem with "cheating" is only in baseball. Were people going to put an asterisk at the end of the Pats season if they finished 18-0?

It's easy to take A-Rod and call him an A-Fraud on A-Roids who needs to issue an A-pology A-sap. He's the heir to the home run throne, a record that is probably the most cherished in sports. He's a magnet for poor press. The guy will make over half a billion dollars playing baseball, his marriage went up in flames, he went from that on to a steamy relationship with media-whore Madonna, he's way too eager to be liked and he doesn't perform on the biggest stages (I guess steroids can't help you do better at that!).

So let's take his name from a list of 104 people and hang him out to dry. Don't forget, he's a Yankee. Yankees were big stars in the Mitchell Report as well. Which I'm sure didn't have anything to do with George Mitchell working as an employee for the Red Sox while he was writing the report. It was also probably a coincidence that Paul Byrd's name was leaked from the report the day he was scheduled to pitch a Game 7 ALCS against the Red Sox. Just a lot of coincidences that bring my Red Sox rooting friends to determine that because no Red Sox player has been named in the Mitchell Report (besides Eric Gagne) or has been tested positive for steroids, that none of them had done it and therefore they are the only clean team of the steroids era.

Yeah, right.

How about the fact that we don't know the other 103 names from that list? Or the fact that HGH is still undetectable and probably used by a majority of players? Or the fact players seemed to be tipped to the tests so that some could find a way to pass? Let's put those Sox teams (and this from the team that tried to acquire A-rod like hell in 2004) all under the steroids microscope: Big Papi seemed to bulk up and figure out hitting in 2003 and now he's deteriorating: steroids! Curt Schilling pitched the "bloody sock" game: HGH injection in the ankle! MannybeingManny, Pedro, 'Tek: all look like users! Trot Nixon: No doubt! Kevin Millar: How do you think he "Cowboyed Up"?!

See that's the problem: we just get caught up in this game of trying to figure out who did what and in the end, we know next to nothing. Of the baseball-reference.com's Hall of Fame indicators for people not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame, the top two hitters are always A-Rod and Barry Bonds and the top two pitchers are always Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux. Does only Greg Maddux make it because we assume he didn't do steroids? If so, how the hell is that fair?

The truth is that people need to decide: they're either all in or all out. Every era has its cheaters: we had the spitball, sandpaper, corked bats, pine tar, sign stealing, etc. so we can't turn a blind eye to Gaylord Perry and admonish the Rocket. We can't say George Brett's a cool guy but we're going to forget he illegally applied pine tar to his bat but say A-Rod's crime is worse? We just can't. How do we know that every pitcher A-Rod faced wasn't juicing? We don't. How can Red Sox fans say the Yankees should give back their 2000 World Series because they had guys who cheated but not ask the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" Giants to give back their pennant because they were stealing signs? They can't. So let's just assume everyone was doing it. Let's say "if you were best players of this era, we're putting you in the Hall of Fame". Because in the end it is the Hall of Fame and not the Hall of Good Guys or the Hall of Guys Who Respected the Game or Hall of Non-Steroids-Users. Because in the end, every guy was doing something to get ahead: the cream, the clear, testosterone, steroids, HGH, amphetamines, greenies, etc.

Is that a depressing thought? Yes...but the truth is that we want our players to do anything they can to get ahead and to succeed.

Here's the final question: If Carl Pavano decided instead of being a bum that he wanted to do steroids and HGH. And because he did those things, he was able to pitch and won 20 games a year and led the Yanks to four consecutive World Series wins. But this offseason we then found out that he had been cheating all those years...would we like him worse than we do now as Yankee fans? or better? Think about that before you get on your high horse and claim that all PED users are bad for baseball...

 

I do have a lot of articles from all over the place on this A-rod thing, so I figured, despite my feelings, I'd post: First, how huge was it that MLB Network got Bob Costas on the day this hit...not only that, they got him to sit down with Selena Roberts? Amazing serendipity? Or did Bud Selig plan this? JK...Ok now: Shysterball's Ominbus A-Rod Post, Buster Olney on the lack of accountability, Pinstriped Bible on 11 reactions, Rob Neyer's Monday Mendozas: Special A-Rod Edition, Sweeny Murti's wondering about the effectiveness of an A-Pology, Jack Curry on the apologies being the spring Yankees M.O, Bob Klapisch hopes Derek Jeter doesn't fail us now, Bugs and Cranks on how someone can be so upset on something they understand so little, Bill Madden on how he thinks this ruins A-Rod's chances for the Hall of Fame (I disagree...but who knows), The Big Lead on A-Roid (including a GREAT point that two of the sources could be Joe Torre and Cynthia Rodriguez), Lisa Olson on the latest worm in the Big Apple, Curt Schilling on releasing ALL the names, Reggie on the same topic, Shysterball on firing Orza, Deadspin on A-rod ruining things for the rest of us...again, Baseball Musings on reporters' views, and Pete Abraham on the worst of times.