After reading Bill Simmons' latest column, I figured I'd offer my two, un-performance enhancing cents.
The 2004 were the most potent offense in history. Even better than the '27 Murderer's Row Yankees and any other team you can think of. Was it all due to hard work, sweat, blood and tears? Almost certainly not.
You have a singles hitter and stolen base threat who gets bigger and hits 20 HR's with one hand and almost drives in 100 runs from the leadoff spot?
A DH that before his emergence in Boston had never hit more than 20 round trippers? Anyone that thinks he was just a diamond in the rough is simply fooling themselves.
A loveable first baseman that was known as an OBP guy drops 20 homers?
A Boston icon in Nomar that although he got traded was clearly on the monumental decline from off-cycling?
Want more?
How about a 5'10'' Dominican that has a 3yr reign during the height of the "Steroid Era" as the best pitcher in baseball and then all of a sudden starts getting nagging injuries and can only top out at 88 mph on the gun? Normal aging process? Fat chance.
The question is: does this taint the World Series in '04 and essentially '07? NOT AT ALL.
Pardon my 4th grade playground retort but, "Everyone was doing it."
Do the 2 HR's that Giambi hit in Game 7 against the Sox in '03 get thrown out? Nope.
Does the production from: Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettite, David Justice, Jason Grimsley and Jose Canseco from the 2000 World Series Champs get discredited? Anyone? Bueller? NOT A CHANCE!
So Pipe down with all this, "you won by cheating" garbage, because atleast one person from every World Series winning team from the time the Sox won theirs has had at least one doper. Don't believe me? Check this out.
1995 Atlanta Braves: David Justice
1996 New York Yankees: Andy Pettitte
1997 Florida Marlins: Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown
1998 New York Yankees: Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte
1999 New York Yankees: Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte, Jason Grimsley
2000 New York Yankees: Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Andy Pettitte, Jason Grimsley, David Justice
2001 Arizona Diamondbacks: Matt Williams
2002 Los Angeles Angels: Troy Glaus
2003 Florida Marlins: Pudge Rodriguez (named in Canseco's book).
2004 Boston Red Sox: Manny Ramirez
Recently, Lou Merloni (former Red Sox) spoke of a closed-door meeting about the proper use of steroids from an unnamed doctor. Of course Dan Duquette is going to refute this with his timeless rhetoric (already did). Whom do I believe? Framingham Lou of course.
But, by this point it was too late. The game was so engulfed in steroids that you had to embrace it. "If you can't beat 'em, join em." And the Sox most likely did exactly that. The doctors showed them how to use them. Although Duquette has professed that this meeting didn't happen it only makes sense that he would at the very least protect his investments whether they were doing something illegal or not. Never mind the ill-effects it could have on your body just make sure you could do it clean. Beantown was supposed to be immune to this sort of conformity right? *NAHT* Borat voice
The question now is: Where do we go from here? It doesn't start at the Major league level it starts at the Little League, Babe Ruth and High School levels. We have to start showing our kids that success and greatness comes from hard work and repetition, NOT a syringe. Maybe this way the next crop of big leaguers will respect the mystique of this game and stop jeopardizing its integrity.
Stay Tuned
Ryan
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