You never have far to
look to find a reason, or reasons, to be thoroughly disgusted with MLB.
Next spring we will be
treated to the Hall of Fame induction of Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre,
three managers who thrived and prospered during the heydays of baseball’s PED
epidemic.
ESPN.s Rock Reilly
summed it up perfectly. “You could build a wing with the admitted and suspected
drug cheats they won with: A-Rod, Roger Clemens (Torre), Jason Giambi (Torre
and La Russa), McGwire, Jose Canseco (La Russa), Melky Cabrera (Torre and Cox),
David Justice (Torre and Cox), Andy Pettite (Torre), Manny Ramirez (Torre, with
the Dodgers) and Sheffield (Torre and Cox.)
“If we get really lucky,
maybe disgraced HGH pitcher Darren Holmes will show up. He played under all
three of them!
“It's just another year
in the Hall of Farce, where the codes of conduct shift like beach sand; where
the rules for one set of men are ignored for another; where PED poppers can
never enter, but the men who turned their backs to the cheating get gleaming,
bronze plaques.
“Hail The Great
Enablers!”
Cox, LaRussa and Torre
are far from alone in pulling off their great Sgt. Schultz cabaret act
pleading, “I see nothing!” while Hogan’s Heroes befuddled stalag commandant
Col. Klink, the equivalent of MLB’s ever so astute owners.
Their denials of never
having seen any evidence of PED use doesn’t pass the most minimal sniff test as
players ballooned into Hulks, baseballs soared out of stadiums in unprecedented
numbers, and when questioned by congressional committees, Sammy Sosa forgot how
to speak English and Mark McGwire refused to talk about the past. I’m sure the
complete lack of awareness, or abject stupidity, of both managers and owners had
nothing to do with the enormous spike in attendance and revenue they enjoyed
during the epidemic.
Reilly got it right,
“Remember, kids: If you play the game under even a single cloud of suspicion,
you're out. Manage it under one? Come on in and pull up a plaque!”
SHOUT OUTS
Hey Randy…
With typical Yankee
condensation, Yankee team president Randy Levine said he feels bad for the
five-time All-Star second baseman, who this week finalized a 10-year, $240
million deal with the Seattle Mariners,
because I think he's disappointed he's not a Yankee. Yo, Levine, Cano has 70
million reasons to be a very happy guy.
Dear Dwight, Janice,
et al…
Dwight Perry, Janice
Hough and several dozen sports writers, bloggers and “humorists” have had a
field day ridiculing MLB for proposing a rules change to eliminate violent home
plate collisions. I wholeheartedly support their clever efforts. There’s
nothing like a little bone-crushing, career-ending violence to spice up an
event and take our minds off the wave of violence inundating our culture.
Thanks for the comic relief.
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