I suppose I should at least broach the steroid topic…I’ve been discussing it enough with friends.
I’m a chick…and I act like a chick sometimes. So I can admit, I cried when it was verified that Palmeiro was, indeed, suspending for violating the league’s steroid policy.
I was at Fenway Park the night he hit his 300th homerun. I was "watching" the Orioles game on my cell phone and I knew that I might be able to time it right so I could see Raffy’s 3000 hit. I did. The Sox game ended (I actually almost left early to get home to see the game!) and I jumped in a cab, furiously refreshing the browser on my cell phone, looking for info on Raffy’s next at bat.
I’ve just always liked him. Heck, anyone brave enough to do those Viagra commercials while he’s still an active player is all right by me. He has always come across as a good guy, kind of understated and soft spoken.
How could you NOT like the guy? He went and did his job and did it pretty well.
Then Canseco’s book came out. And I’m ashamed to say I read it. Regardless of what comes out -ever – Jose Canseco is, in my mind, the biggest piece of garbage to ever walk onto a major league baseball field. I despise him.
But I digress. 🙂
I didn’t believe half of what he wrote…and when they all went in front of Congress and Palmeiro was so adamant about not using steroids – I believed HIM.
And now, I don’t know what to believe. I DO know that today I am less emotional about it than I was yesterday. Today I can look at Raffy and realize he’s just a man. And either he’s telling the truth about not realizing he was putting something "illegal" in his body, or he’s just another player who truly believes he needs the steroids for that extra edge. Can I blame him? I don’t think so.
While I hate that steroids are or were so prevalent in baseball, how can I blame a player for wanting that extra edge? The competition is so stiff…heck, some HIGH SCHOOL coaches encourage their players to juice just to compete at THAT level.
I’d love to be able to writing something beautiful and prolific that could explain all of this. But what the heck do I know? I’m a baseball fan. I know I love the sport. I love to watch ALL the teams play…and a little piece of my heart broke yesterday when I heard the news about Raffy. I was sad for baseball fans…and especially sad for Orioles fans. They deserve better than this. We all do.
And then today…Ryan Franklin gets suspended. This guy is 6-11 and using? There goes the argument that steroids improve your play. 😛
So who is next? I know a HUGE part of my heart will break if it’s a Red Sox player…but it’ll hurt no matter who it is. And how many of these players will use the "I didn’t know what was going into my body" excuse?
At some point, that becomes incredibly difficult to believe.