Gordon: McGwire needs to come clean

Two words: baby wipes.

He'll get an opportunity to discuss this in February.

Mark and Me: Mark Mcgwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret by Jay McGwire

That book wasn't fake?

Mark and Me: Mark Mcgwire and the Truth Behind Baseball's Worst-kept Secret by Jay McGwire

I'm going to assume that Triumph Books is supposed to be an ironic name.

That book wasn't fake?

Apparently not.

It should be good for a laugh. I look forward to Jose Canseco and Jay McGwire fighting it out on PPV over who first taught Mark to use steroids.

This is so darn touching, I could almost cry. Paul Bunyon and baseball's Me Worry Kid reunited at long last in the dugout, and the entire sport can party like it's 1998.

I'm looking forward to Remember Me? I was on those teams too, and I was the one who didn't look grumpy all the time. Just wait until you find out what drugs I was on, by Dave Henderson.

I'm not here to talk about this putz.

I'm looking forward to Remember Me? I was on those teams too, and I was the one who didn't look grumpy all the time. Just wait until you find out what drugs I was on, by Dave Henderson.

Hey, this made me laugh. HENDOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

There is a very good reason why Gordon articles are rarely linked here, he is a typical fan level writer, he offers no insights and doesn't ever say anything resembling analysis or provocative enough to tick off stat guys. He is basically an 8th grader with a writing beat.

What does McGwire have to come clean about? he's the hitting coach, he comes clean about his techniques and how he thinks he can help the team. That is his job, coming clean is not a necessity for the job(how many hitting coaches in baseball have come clean about any type of their drug use? do you really think they were all clean? has Fernando Vina ever come clean about those allegations?)

Gordon: McGwire needs to come clean

Or else ....?

Or ELSE!!!!

Or else ....?

Or else we'll keep having to read more articles about how he should come clean.

McGwire must air out the performance-enhancing issue once and for all. Only then can he go about his new job in relative peace.

In other words, a sportswriter threatens that if McGwire doesn't give sportswriters what they want, they'll try to make his life miserable.

However, is there any reason to believe that they would actually leave him alone if he confessed to something? It seems to me more likely that they would start claiming (whether or not they had any evidence) that he hadn't told the whole truth and was still concealing something. Look what happened to A-Rod.

If I were in McGwire's shoes, I would just do my job coaching and blow off the media entirely.

Or else we'll keep having to read more articles about how he should come clean.

That seems more of a punishment for us.

#14 is exactly right, IMO. He can't win so he may as well just stonewall the press and do his job. They'll get bored, eventually.

If McGwire unburdens himself and dumps all the baggage

Doesn't this belong in the Steve Phillips thread?

They'll get bored, eventually.

Only if we find them something else to occupy their time.

Only if we find them something else to occupy their time.

Well, there are, you know, the actual games they could preoccupy themselves with. Pujols and Carpenter and those guys and such.

However, is there any reason to believe that they would actually leave him alone if he confessed to something? It seems to me more likely that they would start claiming (whether or not they had any evidence) that he hadn't told the whole truth and was still concealing something. Look what happened to A-Rod.

Are guys still pestering Arod about steroids? I see the occasional column posted here how you shouldn't root for the cheats, but is Alex still facing these questions in the clubhouse/at press conferences? That hasn't been my impression, though I don't really follow that stuff terribly closely.

If he's hired it seems reasonable to assume the team asked him how he was going to deal with it.

Seems to me he's quite capable of endlessly repeating, "I'm not here to talk about the past." (and he'd mean it)

Well, there are, you know, the actual games they could preoccupy themselves with. Pujols and Carpenter and those guys and such.

bahahahaha

Jingling car keys doesn't work when these guys have their mind set on pestering ... PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUG USERS (dun dun dun). The PED issue is the sportswriters' Ritalin.

Are guys still pestering Arod about steroids? I see the occasional column posted here how you shouldn't root for the cheats, but is Alex still facing these questions in the clubhouse/at press conferences? That hasn't been my impression, though I don't really follow that stuff terribly closely.

off of memory, I'm pretty sure there were a couple of columns about 'who knows if Arod hasn't gone back to juicing' when talking about his post season success... I know at least one of those was tongue in cheek type of article.

If he's hired it seems reasonable to assume the team asked him how he was going to deal with it.

Seems to me he's quite capable of endlessly repeating, "I'm not here to talk about the past." (and he'd mean it)

the press conference to announce the TLR signing was riddled with questions about how the team is going to handle Mark McGwire, are they going to set up rules, is Mark going to make statements etc. TLR said that Mark will be available for interviews just like any other coach in the past, which means during practice when TLR is doing relatively nothing and is able to answer questions, the coaches are busy, but after games, etc. Mo claimed he talked with McGwire about potential interviews and that Mark was excited to be back in baseball again, but then Mo never really answered the question of whether Mark will approach the past or not. Mark seems to know that he will be asked a bunch of questions(he wasn't at the press conference) and Mo said they talked at length about it but never really clarified how they are going to approach it.

I imagine that sometime during the off season either Hummel or Bernie will get an interview with Mark McGwire to at least set the tone for what Mark will answer and not answer, while dealing with a writer that is more or less team friendly, and willing to let the conversation be directed by Mark. Of course if his brother book comes out, Mark may already be setting up a defensive posture or even a mea culpa in response to the book.

off of memory, I'm pretty sure there were a couple of columns about 'who knows if Arod hasn't gone back to juicing' when talking about his post season success... I know at least one of those was tongue in cheek type of article.

Sure, but that's different than people not leaving him alone. The relevant issue is whether McGwire would have to continue to deal with it every day if he addressed it once. Whether some columnist from San Francisco (to pick a random city) is still going on about McGwire and steroids is a lot different than if he's getting asked it about it before every game. As far as I can tell, Arod really doesn't have to deal with that problem that much (and Andy Pettitte, not at all).

My recommendation for McGwire:

"I'm not commenting any further. Now go F yourselves."

In other words, a sportswriter threatens that if McGwire doesn't give sportswriters what they want, they'll try to make his life miserable.

Yup.

However, is there any reason to believe that they would actually leave him alone if he confessed to something? It seems to me more likely that they would start claiming (whether or not they had any evidence) that he hadn't told the whole truth and was still concealing something. Look what happened to A-Rod.

Nope.

If I were in McGwire's shoes, I would just do my job coaching and blow off the media entirely.

Nope. He's in a no-win situation either way. Take the high road. Get it over with. It might worth a few more HoF votes, that's the main thing to me. Get that bandwagon moving. I think it will help.

As far as I'm concerned, every hit recorded by a Cardinal in 2010 will be illegitimate until Mark McGwire pisses into a plastic cup in Rick Reilly's presence.

"I'm not commenting any further. Now go F yourselves."

Ray, if I ever find myself in need of a PR person, I'm definitely not calling you.

My recommendation for McGwire:

"I'm not commenting any further. Now go F yourselves."

What do you have against McGwire?

As far as I'm concerned, every hit recorded by a Cardinal in 2010 will be illegitimate until Mark McGwire pisses on Rick Reilly.

Fixed that for you.

31:

I'll never be a Cardinal fan, but if anything were to convert me...

Its kind of strange that a guy who has fought for such low visibility in the last few years is now taking a highish-profile job. Plus, reuniting with Larussa, he's got to know what lots of people will be asking about.

5 bucks says Bud and the boys don't let this happen. Pete Rose for the
HOF.

My recommendation for McGwire:

"I'm not commenting any further. Now go F yourselves."

Nothing wrong there. McGwire's lived with the consequences of his actions up to this point, and I'm sure he'd be able to live with the consequences of that. And I'm glad that LaRussa hired him, not just because I think McGwire will make a good coach, but because I have to admire LaRussa for standing up for his beliefs.

Doesn't mean I'd want McGwire in the Hall of Fame, but that's a completely separate issue.

My fear is that at some point, McGwire is going to be photographed with Pujols. Then sportswriters will see it and think, "Man, I just got a GREAT idea for a column!"

McGwire was a freakin power hitter from day 1. Gave Maris a run for his money his rook year. Ever since the dumbass sportswriters got spunked on the homer story (largely a product of roids) they've been laying it all on McGuire's doorstep. McGuire's getting condemned for does. Smack homers with an uppercut, dispciplined, power swing that took him years to perfect. Mack may have been a confirmed roiddic but more likely did the soft stuff after experimenting with hard stuff, for health, performance goal reasons. Congress wasn't asking him if he did roids. Thry were asking something else.