Names Have Been Named

Well, names have been named and fingers have been pointed. Also, I admit I was wrong when I said this report was pointless. It was completely worth the reported $20 million it took to compile as the sheer entertainment value of this thing was off the charts. Maybe I would not feel this way if it had been laden with more prominent Mets than Yankees, but I do not believe in playing the ‘what if’ game. The fact is, the Yankees had a lot of guys named and it is swellicious.

As for the effects of steroids and player performance, can we just stop all this silliness that it has not been proven to enhance anyone’s performance? Hundley never hit more than sixteen homers and tops forty the year he starts taking steroids? Todd seemed to think that was the reason because he took Radomski out to dinner afterwards.

However, the highlight of my day was this quote:

“I’ll continue to use Mac [McNamee] to train me. He’s one of a kind.”
~ Roger Clemens

Of course, ‘Mac’ is the guy that Clemens had inject him with steroids in Toronto and was then hired by the Yankees in 2000 after Clemens had persuaded them to do so.

Brandon Smith, an apprentice trainer with the Yankees, describes Roger Clemens’ day as follows: “He’s one of the first players in every morning, runs, does his program with Andy Pettitte, does the team program workout, goes to the weight room, leaves, plays 18 holes of golf and finally meets (trainer) Brian McNamee at 6 .. . . and a few other players – for another workout. It’s incredible how much energy Roger has.”

That one never gets old. However, his tune has changed today and McNamee has gone from ‘one of a kind’ to a 'troubled man'.

"I have great respect for Senator Mitchell. I think an overall look at this problem in baseball was an excellent idea," Hardin said in a statement. "But I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report. He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong.

"There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man.”

Let the spin begin!

Paul LoDuca was all over this report like AIDS on a Brazilian transvestite. My friend has told me that he was implicated in getting twenty players steroids with his contact. I have no idea if that is true or not, but I’m going to repeat it as if it is the truth anyway. Also, his portion of the report was one of the more telling ones for me.

Lo Duca was reported to have said: “If you’re battling for a job, and the guy you’re battling with is using steroids, then maybe you say, ‘Hey, to compete, I need to use steroids because he’s using them . . . Don’t get me wrong. I don’t condone it. But its a very tough situation. It’s really all about survival for some guys.”

According to the notes of an internal discussion among Los Angeles Dodgers officials in October 2003 that were referred to above, it was reportedly said of Lo Duca during the meetings:

Steroids aren’t being used anymore on him. Big part of this. Might have some value to trade . . . Florida might have interest.. . . Got off the steroids . . . Took away a lot of hard line drives. . . . Can get comparable value back would consider trading. . . . If you do trade him, will get back on the stuff and try to show you he can have a good year. That’s his makeup. Comes to play. Last year of contract, playing for 05.

First, this really gives some insight as to why it can start like wildfire. There was just so much at stake that some people probably felt compelled to do it. I mean, you had back-up catchers like Todd Pratt and Greg Zaun in this report. However, if the roids mean you get to be a $500,000 to $1,000,000 back-up or a minor league org guy for $30,000, you can understand why they took steroids.

In addition to that, that blurb by the Dodgers’ officials kind of lets us know that the team officials were aware of the steroid usage. There were other portions of the report that alluded to that, but this one is more implicit. That reads a lot like a scouting report and says getting off the roids took away a lot of his hard line drives. There was also a scouts comments about Gagne in 2006 that were pretty damning as well.

But all this could have been avoided if Selig listened to Gary.

In his book, Sheffield attributed the increase in home runs in Major League Baseball after the 1994 strike to widespread steroid use, and he claimed that at the time he asked the Commissioner to investigate the issue, only to be ignored. Selig denied that he ever received such a request from Sheffield.

* * *

You took a dump in my mouth.

You think Eckstein is sorry he did not take the Mets offer?

I am not one for platoons. In fact, I hate them. All they do is try and cover up the fact that you have not one, but two shitty players not good enough to start. However, the Mets should at least give Kevin Mench a look for a one year scenario. I think Church might be a decent player and open some eyes, but Mench is a nice hedge in case Alou goes down as well.

$12 million + for Fukudome for four years and $12 million a year for five years for Rowand? This Milledge trade looks worse and worse because he would have been giving some solid production at a bargain price for a while.

"Everyone has needs," Randolph said. "You just hope it falls into place where it doesn't tear up your minor-league staff and/or get in the way of the right people to play next year. Would we like to improve and get better? Yes. But I think you have to be smart and not overreact to what's out there because really, when you get down to it, you know what's out there. There's not a whole lot."

What is interesting about this statement is Willie’s desire to not tear up the minor-league staff. Why should he care who is down there if he refuses to use them?

A quick note on the new Royals manager:

While the Royals' three-year, $36-million investment in Jose Guillen raised these eyebrows, their hiring of Trey Hillman as manager drew full approval.

Hillman, 44, spent the past five years managing the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League. From 1990 through 2001, he managed in the Yankees' minor-league system, earning a great deal of admiration along the way.

The Arlington, Texas native credited three Yankees officials for helping him most. Mark Newman, now the Yankees' senior vice president of baseball operations, gave him the chance to manage when he was just 27. From watching Buck Showalter in spring training, he learned about preparation. And from watching Joe Torre in spring training, he saw "the simplicity and the honesty with the way [Torre] dealt with players."

That is a looooooong time of managing. One would have to assume he knows what he is doing and that is the type of guy I would like to see the Mets go after. I would tend to bet that he can out-manage Willie Randolph while on quaaludes.

But of course, how can the Mets sign someone with no name recognition?