12/21/24
February 23, 2012
Manny Ramirez Down to His Last Chance: After retiring from baseball last April when he failed his second steroid test, 39-year-old slugger Manny Ramirez is back with the Oakland A's in spring training on a minor-league contract and could play again after serving a reduced 50-game suspension. "I know a lot of people are going to be not very happy about it, but then again, he's actually playing within the rules," said Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was counting on Ramirez to hit cleanup last season. "We'll see. I mean, this probably exceeds the number of chances you thought he would normally get, but still I think he's a likable guy." New York Times sportswriter Tyler Kepner's take: "A two-time drug cheat really has no place on the field."
New York Times sportswriter Tyler Kepner's take: "A two-time drug cheat really has no place on the field."
I'm wondering if he had the same response when Steve Howe was pitching for his favourite NY baseball team...
posted by grum@work at 03:29 PM on February 23, 2012
No, because Steve Howe was white.
Also, all sportswriters- but especially NY ones- are unbelievably disgusting hypocrites:
In defending his ballot [that omitted Pedro Martinez on his 1999 MVP ballot], King, the only writer to give Derek Jeter a first-place vote, is quoted by his Post colleague Tom Keegan as saying, "MVP is for everyday players. Pitchers have their own award."Fine, except that a year ago, Nov. 19 to be exact, King wrote a column in the Post decrying how Jeter had gotten jobbed out of the '98 MVP Award (which was awarded to Texas' Juan Gonzalez) and listed among the nine players on his ballot after Jeter, the Yankees' David Wells at No. 8 and the Rangers' Rick Helling at No. 10. The last time I looked, Wells and Helling were both pitchers.
posted by hincandenza at 03:51 PM on February 23, 2012
Tyler Kepner is 36. He was in high school when Steve Howe was unbanned from baseball in 1992. He was also a Phillies fan who started a baseball magazine when he was 13 and published it monthly for seven years, growing the circulation to 600.
I don't have a problem with the MLB giving players three chances instead of two under the drug policy. Losing 50 games is a pretty big penalty to a player who has so few seasons left in his body.
posted by rcade at 05:50 PM on February 23, 2012
Baseball doesn't care about drug use. They just want to give the impression they're really cracking down in an effort to keep the big-names on the field. Congress is more concerned about the problem than MLB is.
Now MLB is trying to act like they're totally against the Braun decision, when behind the scenes they're probably dancing.
posted by dyams at 07:17 PM on February 23, 2012
Not sure they're dancing. Braun getting off on this technicality just makes the sport look even weaker (if that's possible). They can't even bust the people they bust.
Why do you think they don't care about drug use? I agree that they didn't used to care, but they certainly seem to care now.
posted by DudeDykstra at 02:05 AM on February 24, 2012
MLB is using their excuse of having a neutral third party look into these issues, which means they're basically off the hook for any decision. In the meantime, they win on both sides: They get the NL MVP back, which generates money for the league and the Brewers while allowing them to avoid the nightmare of dealing with what to actually do with Braun's award, and MLB also is able to display their supposed outrage that this decision was made (which gives the impression to fans that they are extremely concerned with cleaning up the sport).
I'm not suggesting MLB doesn't want or wish the drug problem was gone, but I believe their bigger priority is generating money. They know the drug issue will never go away completely, and that the majority of fans have very short memories. I give it to the middle of the summer, tops, before this decision and Braun himself have both been totally accepted and he is once again being cheered and putting up good numbers.
posted by dyams at 06:11 AM on February 24, 2012
MLB is using their excuse of having a neutral third party look into these issues, which means they're basically off the hook for any decision.
It sounds like you are slagging an appeal process that uses a neutral, third-party arbitrator. How would you propose the appeal process be handled?
while allowing them to avoid the nightmare of dealing with what to actually do with Braun's award,
They weren't going to do anything with the award, regardless of which way the appeal process went. If they didn't "take away" the MVP award from Ken Caminiti after he admitted to steroid use, they weren't going to "take away" the award from Braun.
posted by grum@work at 08:58 AM on February 24, 2012
A post from baseballthinkfactory.org:
MLB wants to have it both ways: Technically, you're responsible for any test result, even if it comes from approved medication. However, if you complain that we don't abide by the rules of the agreement, then our loss is only due to a technicality.
posted by grum@work at 09:02 AM on February 24, 2012
Tyler Kepner is 36. He was in high school when Steve Howe was unbanned from baseball in 1992. He was also a Phillies fan who started a baseball magazine when he was 13 and published it monthly for seven years, growing the circulation to 600.
Today, he has published a story about Braun being cleared on a technicality and that Braun should explain to the world what he was taking. Maybe he is reasonable and thoughtful on other issues, but he seems knee-jerk and irrational on PEDs in baseball.
posted by bperk at 10:19 AM on February 24, 2012
I just have a hard time believing or trusting anything major league baseball does as it relates to this issue. Too much potential for improper dealings, in this case with the ability to say, Hey, the arbitrator was the one who said he was innocent, not MLB.
posted by dyams at 04:09 PM on February 24, 2012
I just have a hard time believing or trusting anything major league baseball does as it relates to this issue.
Then there is no point in discussing it. They complained about the ruling, you think they are faking it. If they didn't complain about the ruling, then you think they wanted it that way.
Too much potential for improper dealings, in this case with the ability to say, Hey, the arbitrator was the one who said he was innocent, not MLB.
Are you suggesting that MLB influenced the registered arbitrator to give that ruling? He does this for a living, and not just for sports.
That's a pretty strong accusation to make.
posted by grum@work at 04:30 PM on February 24, 2012
The author is apparently saying that Ramirez should be black-balled for his failure to pass a test to give the spot to someone who has never cheated before. That's just silly.