New York Yankees 1, Boston Red Sox 0
Yes, the Stat Man watched the same game as you yesterday. Yet once Cleveland lost and the game’s meaning went bye-bye for the Bronx Bombers, only one score mattered. And that was the final score of a game played last month in Yankee Stadium when Randy Johnson “out dueled” Tim Wakefield 1-0.
That game was decided by a home run by Jason Giambi, admitted steroid user. He hit said home run off his front foot, badly fooled by a rare Wakefield curveball, and with one hand on the bat. The ball barely cleared Yankee Stadium’s version of Pesky’s Pole some 314 feet away. Nuff said. If Major League Baseball had a genuine steroid policy, the Boston Red Sox probably would have finished one game ahead of the New York Yankees, clinching their first AL East title championship since 1995.
We won’t even get into the contributions of the Yankees’ other cheater, Gary Sheffield. The numbers he and Giambi put up this year make Commissioner Bud Selig’s attempts at a steroid policy a joke. Especially after Giambi can suffer through a miserable season last year without the help, then all of a sudden get it back this year. Can you say human growth hormone?
The 2005 season will go down as one of major embarrassment and shame for the national pastime. Canseco’s book. Hearings before Congress. Raffy’s finger. McGuire only talking about the future. And Bonds not being able to take the field until September because, without help, his body couldn’t heal that quickly. Now, the Yankees winning the AL East largely because an admitted user somehow regained his strength.
The Commissioner really must take a long hard look at his steroid policy. Ten games? Is the strength a cheater builds up completely gone after 10 games? Can you really test players without a taking a blood sample directly from the horse’s mouth, er, player’s vein? We all know the answers to those questions. And the only real solution is to suspend anybody who fails a blood test for unprescribed steroid and human growth hormones for one entire year. Period.
Sure, the Red Sox made the wild card and, in the grand scheme, winning your division doesn’t count for a whole heck of a lot. But when the game has been tainted to the extent that Major League Baseball has, it’s time for some outrage. Even for somebody like yours truly who plays by the numbers.
That game was decided by a home run by Jason Giambi, admitted steroid user. He hit said home run off his front foot, badly fooled by a rare Wakefield curveball, and with one hand on the bat. The ball barely cleared Yankee Stadium’s version of Pesky’s Pole some 314 feet away. Nuff said. If Major League Baseball had a genuine steroid policy, the Boston Red Sox probably would have finished one game ahead of the New York Yankees, clinching their first AL East title championship since 1995.
We won’t even get into the contributions of the Yankees’ other cheater, Gary Sheffield. The numbers he and Giambi put up this year make Commissioner Bud Selig’s attempts at a steroid policy a joke. Especially after Giambi can suffer through a miserable season last year without the help, then all of a sudden get it back this year. Can you say human growth hormone?
The 2005 season will go down as one of major embarrassment and shame for the national pastime. Canseco’s book. Hearings before Congress. Raffy’s finger. McGuire only talking about the future. And Bonds not being able to take the field until September because, without help, his body couldn’t heal that quickly. Now, the Yankees winning the AL East largely because an admitted user somehow regained his strength.
The Commissioner really must take a long hard look at his steroid policy. Ten games? Is the strength a cheater builds up completely gone after 10 games? Can you really test players without a taking a blood sample directly from the horse’s mouth, er, player’s vein? We all know the answers to those questions. And the only real solution is to suspend anybody who fails a blood test for unprescribed steroid and human growth hormones for one entire year. Period.
Sure, the Red Sox made the wild card and, in the grand scheme, winning your division doesn’t count for a whole heck of a lot. But when the game has been tainted to the extent that Major League Baseball has, it’s time for some outrage. Even for somebody like yours truly who plays by the numbers.
posted by Joe D' at 6:37 PM
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