The Hot Stove League

Yeah, Dizzy ruined a lot of lives, I'm sure!

Growing up near NYC, I watched a steady diet of NYY games. Rooted against them, but watched. Mel Allen, Red Barber and Phil Rizzuto called the games. The first two, oddly enough, were southerners. I can still hear Allen coming on the air before each game, bellowing out a hearty, "Hello there, everuhbody!!"

for me it was mid-70's, 5th grade or so, nyc, when i discovered... the mets !! been rootin' for them ever since. its been quite a roller-coaster ride so far -- mostly downers. ralph kiner's drunken "kiner's corner" wrap-up shows were funny as hell!

Meet the Mets!

I remember Kiner fondly, too, Region. Re the current Mets: it's sad how far they've fallen in a short period. Their rivalry with the Braves during the Bobby Valentine era was fun to watch!

Seems that they're destined to be in the Yankees' shadow for a long time...

remember that lame "the magic is back" thing? it quickly became tragic.

with apologies to my beantown brethren, '86 made all the other last place finishes worth while.

as soon as the metsies-metsies-metsies are eliminated, i'll be rootin' for dem sawks to reverse the curse! young theo skywalker will do battle with his (father???) nemesis, george steinvader.

'Tis devoutly to be wished, Region.

Well, it sounds like Maddux and the Cubs are a done deal.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BBN-Cubs-Maddux.html

[You just heard a huge sigh of relief.]

Anyone want to opine on how the steroid investigation may affect the coming season? I watched a little debate on ESPN last night in which several writers argued that fans like to see homers and could care less how juiced the sluggers are.

Opinions?

Opinion what about gator aid, vitamins, water, etc.

But, I do find it interesting that the suppliers are the only ones indicted, hmm Leave the treasured superstar alone.

OK, real opinion. This is a setup to start enforcing use in the future....... when - 2060

How deep does it go, steroid use 10 years ago

Afraid you may be right, Bill, re how long before any players (or should I say, any stars) are penalized for getting juiced (and I don't mean Gatorade).

Another reason for installing a real commissioner, instead of a figurehead...

I think alot of people don't realize how widespread steroid use is, and how long they've been around. For example, I have a friend who's a minor league ballplayer. He told me he only knew of 4 or 5 guys on his team last season that WEREN'T using steroids. And there was only a few guys on the team that were really "big." Most guys take them just to maintain strength and weight through the long season.

In pro sports, it's one of those things nobody can really candidly talk about in the public eye. Although many athletes welcome the drugs, they can't talk about them because of legal issues. The owners know how hard it would be to really test for them, and at the same time, they don't mind the athlete's increased physical attributes. So they're not going to push the issue too hard.

I don't think they're "ruining" sports. Steroids aren't going to make or break an athlete. You still have to have the skills only a handful of people in this world have to play at that level.

And this whole issue won't affect the upcoming season, and probably won't for a while until some big changes happen. Look at the NFL. All those substances are banned, yet those guys are still juiced up. Again, it's just part of the pro athlete's culture.

I don't doubt what you say, Slappy, but I do think something needs to be done. If for no other reason than steroids aren't good for folks who do it long term. And younger guys are doing 'em, another red flag.

I'm not a purist re recreational drug use, but I do draw the line on the performance-enhancing stuff..

read or heard a quote from a baseball guy who basically said, unless the players are injecting the steroids directly into their eye balls, steroid use will not make someone a better hitter.

as long as players are aware of the health risks, and/or until MLB gets serious about enforcing their drug policy, i'd say its a non-issue.

It definitely doesn't make someone a better hitter. But when you take an already great hitter like Barry Bonds who's getting up there in age for a pro athlete, and he takes growth hormones and steroids, which help him recover from workouts+injuries, and build up some big muscle, it makes a difference in performance.

Most of these guys are well aware of the health risks. The smart ones have pros working with them to determine drug schedules, evaluate physicals, ect. Besides, the media blows the "health risk" issue up pretty big.

As I understand it, steroids help a 350-foot flyout become a 385-foot home run. That's significant when players are breaking records.

More important, it screws up the game. Pitchers, I don't think, use 'em, since the don't drugs help them much. So the games are higher scoring. I dig well-pitched games. The ones that end 13-12 last forever, but maybe that's what people want...

The problem is that steroids are designer drugs; ie, whenever one is discovered - another one is designed. Actually, the designers are usually one or two steps ahead of the detection.

One thing I don't understand is why any/all drugs don't leave a trail. Its just proving what that trail is, documenting it and then making its use illegal. If this is the case, why can't they say it is prima facia evidence that someone was doing something?

I don't care either way, just have a fair playing field. I do understand that it is bad for kids and makes players over aggressive (er, code word for arrogant a**holes, oh, they are already that anyway ).

Until there's a substantial penalty for being caught using them, nothing much will happen. I have a hunch that the powers-that-be aren't sure what to do. Homers sell tickets, I guess, and the owners will be reluctant to do anything to cut offensive production...

"Juice the ball or juice the player, oh what shall we do, hmmmmmmmmm?"

Thoughts from Baseball's Executive Board meeting

Besides the union will fight it all the way. I'm pro-union, more or less, but the baseball union is way too powerful, IMHO: No salary cap, no drug testing, no A-Rod trade to Boston.

It's hard to think of the owners as progressive, but the union makes it seem that way sometimes!

thank gawd



http://www.wpxi.com/sports/2856035/detail.html

Ah, a happy ending. Er, that's the other part of the Phanatic.