The Grim(sley) Reaper
The face of the Steroid Era has changed several times through the past few years. The first poster boy, Ken Caminiti, died in the Bronx after an ingestion of other drugs. He was the one who estimated that about half the major leaguers took steroids.
Next up, of course, was Jason Giambi, who spent most of his time bumbling apologies and slumping. He has since returned to form. Whether it is cleanly or not remains to be seen.
Perhaps jealous of the spotlight, Jose Canseco wrote a book about steroids. He, then, became the face of the era. He also named names. Future potential hall of famers Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez were all implicated.
Then, in a scene reminiscient of Bill Clinton's Monica-gate, Rafael Palmeiro took center stage. He'd just become the fourth player in history to record 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. And tested positive.
Eyes shifted to Barry Bonds, his big head, BALCO, and his pursuit of Hank Aaron. That's where we have been headed.
Until Jason Grimsley.
Jason Grimsley?
Yes. He is the new poster child. More importantly, he can "bring down the house." He named names. Retired players. Active players. Teammates from teams like the Phillies of the early nineties (Lenny Dykstra? John Kruk? Darren Daulton?), the mid-nineties Indians (Jim Thome? Manny Ramirez? Roberto Alomar?), the Yankee dynasty (Paul O'Neill? Mariano Rivera? Derek Jeter?) and others.
He has been a teammate of Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Tino Martinez, Luis Gonzalez. And a certain pitcher known as the Rocket.
Are any of the names listed above blacked out in Grimsley's statement? I'm sure we will all know soon enough.
Imagine this, though:
What if the dynasty Yankees' two best players (Rivera and Jeter) were cheaters? Or if Manny Ramirez has been an offender since his days in Cleveland? Is the Red Sox curse-breaking legit? How about the Angels, who beat the Giants in seven games? If they cheated, who would really be the champions that year?
If Roger Clemens is named, the two greatest players in this generation (he and Bonds), defiled the game of baseball.
Again, I only speculate. I don't believe that all the players I named above are cheaters. I am confident that some were, however. And time (and Grimsley) will let me know which ones.
Only weeks ago, Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. Babe Ruth, the man who saved baseball from what had been the biggest scandal in its history, had dropped to third.
Now, I believe we need the Babe more than ever.
Next up, of course, was Jason Giambi, who spent most of his time bumbling apologies and slumping. He has since returned to form. Whether it is cleanly or not remains to be seen.
Perhaps jealous of the spotlight, Jose Canseco wrote a book about steroids. He, then, became the face of the era. He also named names. Future potential hall of famers Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez were all implicated.
Then, in a scene reminiscient of Bill Clinton's Monica-gate, Rafael Palmeiro took center stage. He'd just become the fourth player in history to record 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. And tested positive.
Eyes shifted to Barry Bonds, his big head, BALCO, and his pursuit of Hank Aaron. That's where we have been headed.
Until Jason Grimsley.
Jason Grimsley?
Yes. He is the new poster child. More importantly, he can "bring down the house." He named names. Retired players. Active players. Teammates from teams like the Phillies of the early nineties (Lenny Dykstra? John Kruk? Darren Daulton?), the mid-nineties Indians (Jim Thome? Manny Ramirez? Roberto Alomar?), the Yankee dynasty (Paul O'Neill? Mariano Rivera? Derek Jeter?) and others.
He has been a teammate of Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran, Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Tino Martinez, Luis Gonzalez. And a certain pitcher known as the Rocket.
Are any of the names listed above blacked out in Grimsley's statement? I'm sure we will all know soon enough.
Imagine this, though:
What if the dynasty Yankees' two best players (Rivera and Jeter) were cheaters? Or if Manny Ramirez has been an offender since his days in Cleveland? Is the Red Sox curse-breaking legit? How about the Angels, who beat the Giants in seven games? If they cheated, who would really be the champions that year?
If Roger Clemens is named, the two greatest players in this generation (he and Bonds), defiled the game of baseball.
Again, I only speculate. I don't believe that all the players I named above are cheaters. I am confident that some were, however. And time (and Grimsley) will let me know which ones.
Only weeks ago, Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. Babe Ruth, the man who saved baseball from what had been the biggest scandal in its history, had dropped to third.
Now, I believe we need the Babe more than ever.
posted by E-Luv at 11:29 AM
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