Calcaterra…in maximum Alcubierre overdrive.
July 23, 2018
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP)
...“Perspective,” said Baseball Writers Association of America President Joe Posnanski. “An understanding of history. An appreciation that steroids, while altering our relationship with the game and its players, didn’t alter the game itself nearly as much as many of us thought 15 years ago.” Posnanski continued:
“As more and more information about what went on in baseball in the so-called ‘Steroid Era’ came to light, it became apparent that we didn’t have a situation in which evil cheaters preyed upon overmatched innocents. Far more players used than initially realized, the effects were scattershot at best, and it eventually became obvious to all of us that, while steroids brought some benefits, they didn’t make a Hall of Famer. Sure, 500 home runs doesn’t mean the same thing now as it meant when I was a kid, but if we can induct pitchers who threw off of 18-inch mounds, took amphetamines and scuffed baseballs in the ‘60s, we can certainly induct guys who took HGH in the ‘90s.”
...Let’s face the facts: Many, many ballplayers have used PEDs in recent years. So many, that the allegation that any one user had an unfair advantage is at risk of becoming obsolete. As I’ve said time and time again, rather than demonizing these guys, calling for bans and locking the doors of the Hall of Fame, perhaps we should simply acknowledge that PEDs are best thought of as a generation’s unique playing conditions like dead balls, segregated leagues, and giant strike zones. We have no problem acknowledging that 18 wins and a 2.50 ERA didn’t make a guy anything special in 1904, so why is it so hard to come to grips with and adjust to the fact that 400 or 500 home runs don’t necessarily make anyone special today?
Have PEDs thrown us so off our game that we can’t tell the difference between a Hall of Famer and and a non-Hall of Famer? I don’t believe so, and I think that eventually the writers and historians will realize this too.
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1. John DiFool2 Posted: May 08, 2009 at 02:01 PM (#3170501)By 2040 at the latest, Manny, Barry, Rajah et al. will all be in (Palmiero maybe not).
Selena Roberts is now reporting that a source saw Greg Maddux inject himself with horse steroids in the eye after Tom Glavine told him that chicks dig the long ball.
Her story has been corroborated by AL MVP Jose Canseco.
Honestly, I agree with the thesis behind this article. I think we have hit the tipping point in the sense that every new case led to more righteous indignation until this one. If that means we're going to follow a normal distribution curve of swollen, red faces and steam coming out of writers' ears, then Murray Chass will be all alone when Piazza finally comes clean in 2025.
Shawne Merriman was not nearly the superstar that Manny Ramirez is.
Call me when the NFL busts Tom Brady for PEDs.
Tom Brady is clean as a whistle.
http://bostonist.com/attachments/boston_caroline/010307-tom-brady.jpg
I gave him a couple seconds thought, but really, I don't see him in the Manny/A-Rod/Clemens/Bonds realm, do you? He's more like a Hanley Ramirez, no? Really freakin' good, came on like a house of fire, but not too terribly well-known among the masses.
That's a perfect analogy. When I read the Merriman reference, my first thought was "he's more like Hanley Ramirez" because he's a young MVP candidate who has to perform at or near that level for another 7-10 years before anyone whispers "hall of fame." Of course, players turn over much faster at almost every NFL position, so it may be harder to find a comp to the guys you mention, other than a famous QB.
That might explain Michigan's performance last season.
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