Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Steroids Abound

It should mean something
But the league waited too long
A-Rod did no wrong

(A Haggy Haiku)

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Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday to steroid use for three seasons after accusations arose that he tested positive for the now banned substance in 2003.
The news prompted a Yahoo! Sports columnist to write about the travesty of the game as another one of its bigger than earth stars was caught in the drug scandal.
The game will forever be tainted, yes, but what's done is done.
Baseball could have implemented stricter rules long before Mark McGwire blasted 70 home runs on the juice to oddly enough save baseball from its post strike years of depression (see a contradiction?). And Players could have avoided the stuff out of the kindness of their hearts.
Neither happened.
Instead A-Rod, the biggest name to confess to his wrongdoing (occurring from 2001-03 with the Texas Rangers), played "20 Questions" with Peter Gammons while the entirety of the sporting world looked on with disgust. Admitting wrongdoing has to count for something (ask Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds).
No matter, it was legal at the time AND pitchers bulked up with the same product.
Whatever happened to all things being equal?
Catch these cheaters, whatever the cost. It's all for the purity of the game's sake -- that's MLB's new mantra.
What in the world is pure anymore -- if that word is even relevant today? People, for the most part, aren't, so why should a game played, managed, owned and watched by them be?
A-Rod made a mistake. Steroids are bad for the game and worse on the body.
Baseball is never going to be the same, just as the past cannot be changed, but learning from it can help shape a better future.

1 comment:

Deirdre Hagstrom said...

hi talk more about the pitcher comparison