NY Times: Big Papi Tested Positive For PEDs in 2003

Has David Ortiz pulled a Palmiero?

Rafael Palmiero famously shook his finger at congress several years ago, vehemently denying that he ever took performance-enhancing drugs. Earlier this year, when Alex Rodriguez was outed as a steroid user, David Ortiz came down hard steroids, saying anyone caught using them should be suspended for a year.

Today The New York Times reported that he (along with Manny Ramirez) is on that infamous list of 104 names of players who tested positive in 2003. Assuming the Times is correct, did he not know he was on the list? I guess it's possible that he didn't know, but not likely.

The big question this revelation raises is whether or not Boston's 2004 World Series Championship is tainted. That's hard to say because who knows if Cardinals players were also using steroids? What I don't understand is why this question was never brought up until now. When Manny tested positive a few months ago, I expressed my shock over the fact that no one was asking this question. True, 2004 was nearly 5 years ago, but still, it was only 5 years ago. People had the nerve to jump all over Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees, wanting to know if he used steroids as a Yankee, and the Yankees haven't won a championship while he's been with them! Yet, I barely heard a peep out of anyone about the 2004 Red Sox when Manny was suspended.

What a double standard.

Bernadette


[Photo: NY Times]

Yanks Win 8-Straight, Get Booed

The Yankees were booed while they were losing to Oakland today.

The fans were upset. Annoyed. Perhaps even angry. You might also say they were outraged. After all, these are the New York Yankees. They're supposed to win every game, right?

Well, if you're a fair weather fan who only goes to games at the new Yankee Stadium only because you can afford it and because you love all the amenities, yeah. If you're someone who doesn't really understand that baseball is grind, a marathon, yeah. If you're someone who drank the championship-or-bust kool-aid, yeah, of course they're supposed to win every game.

The rest of us know what the deal is. Or, do we? I wonder how many people at the Stadium today were Real Fans, and did some (or all) of those Real Fans get caught up in the moment? If you've studied sociology, you've read about "crowd mentality." I'm not a sociology expert, but I know that the basic definition of it is that, when you're in a crowd, you lose your ability to reason and take on the mentality of the crowd you're in. That's a scary thing. It could lead to tragedy. Usually it doesn't, however. It usually only leads to feelings of embarrassment from the people in the crowd. Trust me, I speak from experience.

I always get angry when, while I'm watching a game on television, I hear Alex Rodriguez get booed, a lot of time for no reason other than the fact that he's Alex Rodriguez. I know that Alex doesn't need me to feel sorry for him, but I do, and it makes me feel a little better to know that there is such a thing as crowd mentality.

Go Alex. Go Yankees.

Bernadette

What I'm Reading- Munson: The Life & Death Of A Yankee Captain

The problem with trying to read a book when you're in danger of losing the roof over your head (there, I said it) is that it takes you too long to read it. I was sent a copy Marty Appel's new book Munson: The Life & Death Of A Yankee Captain weeks ago and thought I'd be finished with it by now. But alas, I'm not. My apologies to Marty and his associates.

That doesn't mean that I don't feel comfortable recommending it. Far from it. Anyone who followed the Yankees during Thurman Munson's career (1970-1979) will smile when they re-live the career of the Yankee captain, and anyone who discovered the game after his tragic death will learn about one of the best players ever to don the pinstripes.

It is a biography of Munson, but Marty Appel has written it in the first person, telling it from his view of Munson as the PR guy for the New York Yankees. Marty wrote the original authorized biography of Munson back in the '70s, but he wanted to revisit his subject, to fill in what he felt were blanks and inconsistencies in the first book. The result is a very moving tribute to a man he loved and admired.

It's good read and I can't wait to get back to it!

Bernadette

Just Say No To Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay will be the starter for the American League in tonight's All Star Game, and if the Blue Jays get their way, he could be a starter for a new team, perhaps a National League one, before the end of the month.

The Philadelphia Phillies seem to be the team that most people think he will end up on. If the World Series champs acquire Halladay, and if they really do add Pedro Martinez for a little extra insurance (even if it's false insurance), they can pretty much write their ticket back to the Fall Classic.

If I had a open line to Ruben Amaro, I'd say "Make the deal!" Why? Because I'm a Yankee fan and I don't want the Yankees to give up their propsects. Those who disagree with me can throw Johan Santana in my face, but I'll just turn around and throw Phil Hughes back in theirs. It took a while, but Phil Hughes has finally begun to show us why the Yankees declined to trade Hughes to Minnesota for Santana a few years ago.

Now I'm hearing all kinds of strange trade proposals: The Yankees should trade Joba Chamberlain for Roy Halladay. The Yankees should trade Austin Jackson and Robinson Cano for Roy Halladay. Preposterous. Maybe the Blue Jays don't care if they trade Halladay within their division, but the Yankees had better care. I, for one, don't want to see Chamberlain set a strike out record or Cano win a batting title while playing against the Yankees in the same division.

The Yankees have been saying "no" to giving up their prospects for a few years now. The success of Phil Hughes should make it clear to them that it is worth it to keeping saying it. So tonight I'm hoping the Yankeee brass just watch and admire Halladay from a distance and then just say "no" if the Toronto Blue Jays start chirping about what they have in their nest.

Bernadette

Casual Friday: The New York Mets

The Yankees are all about the pinstripes, in every sense of the word. The rest of MLB is more casual. This is the latest post in a Friday series called Casual Friday, in which I take a quick look around the rest of Major League Baseball.


"..a quick look around the rest of Major League Baseball." My energy levels are so low today that I can only get as far as the New York Mets, who have their own sort of lethargy these days. Beset with so many injuries, it doesn't even make sense for them to try to make a trade to get themselves back in contention. Nothing has gone right for them this season, and nothing will go right.

There seemed to be a bright spot earlier this week when Daniel Murphy made that tremendous play at first base against the Dodgers. The media fell all over themselves describing it, saying, among other things, that it will go down as one of the best defensive plays in MLB history. What they neglected to mention, however, (or, I don't remember any of them mentioning) was that the play was really, really close. Bang bang. After looking at it, you can almost say that Murphy makes the play at the same moment the runner hits the bag. In other words it was a tie. That's my call. See for yourself:




In other news, I had hoped to resume my radio show, LATB Radio, this Sunday. Alas, it's not going to happen. But it will, eventually. I promise!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Bernadette

Marty Foster Reminds Me Of Roger Clemens

MLB Umpire Marty Foster was the umpire working third base on Monday at Yankee Stadium, the umpire who called Jeter out after he tried to steal the bag with nobody out. A day after Jeter's claim that Foster told him he didn't have to be tagged, he denied it, saying he told Jeter that he was tagged.

It's being touted as a big mis-understanding by Crew Chief John Hirschbeck, who had his own problems last night, with Manny Ramirez at Citi Field. Tempers flare in the heat of battle, he said, and Jeter probably did not hear right.

Jeter did not hear right? Derek Jeter has always been the model of good sportsmanship. From everything that I've heard and read about him, his temper would never flare in the heat of battle. In fact, from what I've heard, he doesn't even have a temper. So, why would he suddenly exhibit a temper and become so hot-headed that he mis-understood what an umpire was trying to say to him?

(Then again, why would he make the mistake of trying to steal third with nobody out when it was obvious that getting there wasn't a sure thing? He's never done that before. Very uncharacteristic.)

This whole thing makes me think of Roger Clemens sitting before Congress, saying Andy Pettitte "mis-remembered" talking to him about steroids. Clemens vehemently denies, to this day, using performance-enhancing drugs, and I suppose Foster will always deny telling Jeter he didn't have to be tagged. They'll forever look like fools in my book.

Sometimes saying as little as possible is the best defense. When I attended umpires school many years ago, one of the instructors gave some interesting advice: If an angry player or coach asks "Where was that one?!" The answer he said, is "In the strike zone." Foster's best answer on Monday should have been, "You were out."

Bernadette

Casual Friday: Beyond Our Control

The Yankees are all about the pinstripes, in every sense of the word. The rest of MLB is more casual. This is the latest post in a Friday series called Casual Friday, in which I take a quick look around the rest of Major League Baseball.

A lot of things seem to be happening these days beyond our control. Okay, beyong my control. As I struggle with some personal issues right now I can't help but think about how some things going on in baseball these days are beyond anyone's control:

* A swarm of bees took over left field in PETCO Park yesterday, delaying the Padres game. Things didn't get back to normal until a beekeeper was brought in.

* Published reports are saying the Texas Rangers had to borrow millions of dollars from MLB this past week. How bad could things have gotten for that to happen?

* Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers line-up tonight after being allowed to "re-hab" in the minor leagues. Thanks to the Players Association, there's nothing anyone could have done about that.

* Voting for the All-Star Game is now over. Players hoping to be selected will just have to wait and see at this point.

Circumstances beyond our control. For now.

Bernadette

Is This The List of 103?

A list of 103 baseball players has started to appear on sites across the web, (including one I found yesterday) who, in addition to Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, are alleged to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during survey testing in 2003. I have no idea if this list is legitimate. For all I know, every name on it could be wrong and, for all I know, every name on it could be right. That being said, here is the list:

1.Nomar Garciaparra 2.Manny Ramirez 3.Johnny Damon 4.Trot Nixon 5.David Ortiz 6.Shea Hillenbrand 7.Derek Lowe 8.Pedro Martinez 9.Brian Roberts 10.Jay Gibbons 11.Melvin Mora 12.Jerry Hairston 13.Jason Giambi 14.Alfonso Soriano 15.Raul Mondesi 16. Aaron Boone 17.Andy Pettitte 18.Jose Contreras 19.Roger Clemens 20.Carlos Delgado 21.Vernon Wells 22.Frank Catalanotto 23.Kenny Rogers 24.Magglio Ordonez 25.Sandy Alomar 26.Bartolo Colon 27.Brent Abernathy 28.Jose Lima 29.Milton Bradley 30.Casey Blake 31.Danys Baez 32.Craig Monroe 33.Dmitri Young 34.Alex Sanchez 35.Eric Chavez 36.Miguel Tejada 37.Eric Byrnes 38.Jose Guillen 39.Keith Foulke 40.Ricardo Rincon 41.Bret Boone 42.Mike Cameron 43.Randy Winn 44.Ryan Franklin 45.Freddy Garcia 46.Rafael Soriano 47.Scott Spiezio 48.Troy Glaus 49.Francisco Rodriguez 50.Ben Weber 51.Alex Rodriguez 52.Juan Gonzalez 53.Rafael Palmeiro 54.Carl Everett 55.Javy Lopez 56.Gary Sheffield 57.Mike Hampton 58.Ivan Rodriguez 59.Derrek Lee 60.Bobby Abreu 61.Terry Adams 62.Fernando Tatis 63.Livan Hernandez 64.Hector Almonte 65.Tony Armas 66.Dan Smith 67.Roberto Alomar 68.Cliff Floyd 69.Roger Cedeno 70.Jeromy Burnitz 71.Moises Alou 72.Sammy Sosa 73.Corey Patterson 74.Carlos Zambrano 75.Mark Prior 76.Kerry Wood 77.Matt Clement 78.Antonio Alfonseca 79.Juan Cruz 80.Aramis Ramirez 81.Craig Wilson 82.Kris Benson 83.Richie Sexson 84.Geoff Jenkins 85.Valerio de los Santos 86.Benito Santiago 87.Rich Aurilia 88.Barry Bonds 89.Andres Galarraga 90.Jason Schmidt 91.Felix Rodriguez 92.Jason Christiansen 93.Matt Herges 94.Paul Lo Duca 95.Shawn Green 96.Oliver Perez 97.Adrian Beltre 98.Eric Gagne 99.Guillermo Mota 100.Luis Gonzalez 101.Todd Helton 102.Ryan Klesko 103.Gary Matthews

A few things about this list make me suspicious:

* The list appears to be in order by team. Red Sox players are listed first, then Yankee players. Why not put it alphabetically by team or alphabetically by player's last name? Putting the Red Sox and Yankee players first smells foul to me.

* Two of the 104 names have already been leaked. Those were, of course, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa. It would stand to reason, therefore, that this list should contain only 102 names. There are 103 names on it.

* Most of the names on the list are names that already have been leaked to performance-enhancing drugs. It would seem to be a safe bet to compile a list with these particular names on them.

I wouldn't say that no one on this list used steroids, but I will say that this list probably is not legitimate. The mystery continues.

Bernadette