Pop goes the world…

Well, if Sports Illustrated is to be believed, Alex Rodriguez has been busted for anabolic steroid usage.

I’m not surprised myself if it’s true and if the contents of the article (to be dealt with shortly) are to be believed, it certainly sounds like the home run record will remain shrouded in controversy.

My lack of shock has nothing to do with any perceived moral failings on the part of the Yankee third sacker--it’s just that steroids were a major, major part of the sport for a lot longer than folks care to admit. We already know that people will do a lot of god-awful purulent things for even a small pittance yet alone when there are hundreds of millions potentially at stake.

Our global economic crisis was largely caused by people’s lust for wealth without any consideration or conscience toward others or the greater good. Major league baseball is an entity that devours its young without pity and the competition for roster spots is often a no hold barred event where the darker side of natural selection takes place.

I tend to be more surprised when somebody is completely above reproach or suspicion rather than otherwise--the culture of getting any kind of edge in the sport is as old as the game itself and it’s largely a myth that MLB reflects the best in America; to the contrary, it reflects America as it truly is: winning isn’t everything it’s the only thing, nobody remembers who finished second, if you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’ and as Albert Einstein once said “Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves.”

“Sports do not build character. They reveal it.”--Heywood Broun

For what it’s worth, the alleged reactions of A-Rod and MLBPA No. 2 Gene Orza are what I find especially damning:

"You'll have to talk to the union ... I'm not saying anything."--Rodriguez

When asked about A-Rod being tipped off about an upcoming drug test, Orza stated: "I'm not interested in discussing this information with you" and Don Fehr isn’t returning calls. We recall that John Rocker stated that the Rangers and the MLBPA made Rodriguez part of a meeting discussing the safest way to use steroids and that Jose Canseco also made noises about him being a juicer.

Again, the sport’s dirty secret is gradually becoming known as we’re seeing that it was (and is) as likely as prevalent as some players initially stated before being pressured to recant.

For a little perspective, how many recall the Yankee third sacker’s interview with Katie Couric a couple of years ago:

Couric: "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?"

Rodriguez: "No."

Couric: "You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball?'"

Rodriguez: "I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no."

Rodriguez said the following about the Mitchell investigation: "Katie, you're putting me in a tough spot. I mean, these are guys that I play with. They're my teammates. If anything comes of this, I will be extremely disappointed. And it will be a huge black eye on the game of baseball." (bolding and italics mine)

Ouch.

Obviously (and fortunately) Couric isn’t a grand jury but if S.I.’s report is to be believed but what is the difference between Barry Bonds and Rodriguez? I mean both are inner circle Hall of Fame level talents, both used anabolic steroids and lied about it.

I think it’s time we simply acknowledge that a chunk of the game’s history involved the use of both amphetamines and anabolic steroids. Our indignation at a small minority of players singled out by the media (that were every bit as complicit in the scandal as anyone) is misplaced. This was something that permeated the entire sport from the commissioner on down and should be viewed as such--to slag on a few convenient scapegoats says more about us than it does about them.

Probably the saddest aspect of all this is that a bigger scandal will go largely unremarked upon: The player's union only agreed to the 2003 tests--the source of Rodriguez’s sample--in the first place on the condition that the results remain strictly anonymous. If the players and their union ever needed another reason to never, ever trust anything management ever promises--well, here it is in bold relief. Also, the fact those very results were seized and are now being made public is a scandalous abuse of government power (if you don’t think this effects you--guess again; ever give a urine or blood sample for insurance purposes or as part of your job? Well, if you thought the results would be kept private you could be in for a nasty lesson) and this is far more worrisome than some ballplayer trying to get an edge in his profession.

(Thanks to my fellow Primates at Baseball Think Factory for their diligence and digging.)

Best Regards

John