The Smoking Gun (er..Needle)

So Brian MacNemee has bloody gauze, needles, syringes and vials that he claimed he used to shoot up Roger Clemens with HGH back in 2000-01. WOW! What a revelation!It is amazing that after all this time he has come forward with this evidence after he has been sued by the Clemens camp. Coincidence or a desperate act from a cowardly failed blackmailer?

Why didn't he come forward to Clemens with this stuff before all the shouting, claims, counter-claims etc. started? Why wasn't any of this offered to the Mitchell group as proof of his statements? Why didn't he say something before Congress got involved? These are good questions that he needs to answer, but I think the number one question he needs to answer is:

Why did you keep all of this stuff back before steroids/HGH was in the public eye and was basically a non-issue? Let's face it unless he was clairvoyant or psychic he couldn't possibly see that he would need it for a court case. There was no one hounding anyone about steroids back then. There was no Mitchell investigation, no testing, no one paying much attention. So why keep a bunch of stuff like this unless maybe the issue was possible blackmail? That is the only reason.

Brian says he kept it because he was worried that Clemens would deny use in the future, but why would he need to worry about that back then? Also did he keep the same material from the other players he injected?

This case gets fishier and fishier all the time. I mean it is as if there is a bunch of stuff coming up to prove that baseball wasn't only after Barry Bonds. It gives the racists something to crow about, and of course all the people who claimed racism when Bonds was being disposed, are now rushing to the same judgment as those who convicted Bonds. The exception is that Bonds is tied to a steroid lab through his trainer that refuses to talk (plus the testimony from Gary Sheffield and a Former Mistress) whereas Clemens only accuser is someone who was basically told “Give us Clemens or go to jail”. He admitted as much from the infamous phone conversation, yet the haters tend to ignore this and go on with their blind bigotry.

Oh by the way where is Bud Selig in all this mess? He can't be happy with what is happening. Here it is a few weeks before the start of Spring training, the good old “Rites of Spring”, when he should be gearing up the old Marketing Machine for the opening of the season.

“Opening Day” used to be the most magical words of the year when growing up, now because of all the scandals and over exposure of the players private lives and gossip sheets like ESPN and espn.com the sports world have sunk to soap opera levels.

Bud and his marketing group need to get on their high horses and grab the headlines with some positive images soon lest the season be known more for this episode than anything else.

Let's face it the “Mitchell Report” has been one of the greatest Marketing blunders since “New Coke”. It was supposed to be a fair and balanced report, yet it only focused on two informants so the report actually is skewed to people these two knew. It was supposed to prove MLB cared, but all it showed that they are so out of touch with their players and fans, as well as have no control over the sport. All it did was skew the perception that a low percentage of players were cheating, to one of a rampant underground drug culture that is so persuasive that no one is above suspicion anymore.

It is a shame that since Bud has taken over as commissioner that all we have is bad images of the sport. We have the Strike in 1994, and then the whole 1998 home run race which they marketed heavily, but now is a joke as it was the year that steroids took over baseball and now look at where we are today.

It is definitely a marketing and image problem and the fault starts at the top in the commissioner's office. Not that the player's Union or the owners are any less culpable, but it could have been avoided and now look where we are today.

Can baseball survive this as they have previous scandals? We'll have to see as there are too many entertainment choices these days, too many alternates to the “National Pastime” to think that it is invulnerable. A shame that this slick talking ex-used car salesman has destroyed the sport of our youth.

Mahalo.

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Cheater's Proof

Well the Mitchell report has finally come out, and guess what? Yes there is cheating in baseball after all. Also Barry Bonds didn't cheat in a vacuum, he was just better at it then other players were.

Of course Barry's legal problems stem from the fact he allegedly lied to a Federal Grand Jury when they were trying to close down illegal labs like BALCO, not just from his use of the substances. There is a big difference between that and if he was just a steroid user. But enough time, energy and bandwidth has been wasted on this cretin so that's all I'll say about him for now.

The juicy part of the report has to deal with the other big names mentioned. There was Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Miguel Tejada (maybe Rafael Palmerio was telling the truth when he said he got the stuff from Tejada after all) amongst the active players. I man wow, who would have guessed it? Except of course rumors have been floating around earlier this summer about these three, so I guess the old saying “Wheres there's smoke there's fire”, rings true in this case.

Of course all the players on the list who would have been considered for the Hall of Fame, need to get the same treatment as Barry Bonds, and Mark McGuire are getting now. If there is an asterisk besides Barry's home run record, there there should be one next to Clemen's win and strikeout totals as well. If Barry's MVP's are tainted, then so is Clemen's Cy Young awards. Fair is fair and we all want to be fair.

The reason for the lack of outcry for these other players is mainly because they don't act like cretins to the public and press. Yes there will be gnashing of teeth and rending of garments for a week or so, but it will go away and become background noise until Spring Training. Then of course the media will storm the camps and besiege these players with ridiculous questions and try to trip them up. Then of course it will die down and the regular season will go along until June/July when the boring part of the season is upon us and a little mention will be made, then go away for the stretch runs.

Baring of course any major busts or a rash of failed tests show up.

The whole problem with this scenario is that it all hinges on the testimony of one person, an ex Club House worker from Shea Stadium. He was caught dealing in HGH and steroids, and part of his plea agreement was to give evidence to the Mitchell panel. It is known that players give money to club house personnel to run errands for them, (washing cars, filling up gas tanks, getting food and drink, etc.) and pay them with cash and checks. The canceled checks are one of the main pieces of evidence he has produced against the players. But one can never really know what he really got the money for, (and of course there is the chance that he is telling the truth).

The next few days are going to be fun and the “Talking Heads” are going to be wagging their tongues and making excuses for some players while trashing others. Ah yes these “Holier than thou” commentators really crack me up and I get a good laugh at them trying to justify their bogus indignation, bias and bigotry (especially ESPN anchors and talk show hosts both on TV and Radio).

Let's all sit back and enjoy the ride and join me for a laugh.

Mahalo.

Barroid, A-Rod and Glavine, Oh My!

 

Well 3 new milestones have been reached this weekend in the stat heavy baseball realm.

Barry Bonds, aka “Barroid” grabbed the career home run mark by hitting his 755th, and 756th, Alex Rodriguez reached the 500 mark (youngest to do so) and Tom Glavine finally got his 300th win (only 5th lefthander to reach that mark, 23rd overall). Congrats to all.

Baseball more than any other sport seems to care more about individual statistics. There are more stats in baseball than one can imagine.

Yes the baseball fans are ecstatic about these, but what does it mean for baseball in general? Basically not much. While Glavine and A-Rod are basically considered nice all around people, they are not exactly marketable commodities. They are so calm and reserved that they border on boring, as far as stars are concerned. Even though they both play in New York City (A-Rod for the Yankees, Glavine for the Mets), there was no really buzz around the country for these two players. They just don't excite anyone because of their lack of flash or controversy. So the milestones were passed without fanfare and another chance at marketing a sport in trouble went to the wayside. There should have been more done to promote these two good stories.

Glavine's fault is that he is a finesse pitcher instead of a power pitcher. He relies on placement and control to get his outs instead of over powering the hitters like a Roger Clemens or Nolan Ryan. People just don't get excited by these type of pitches as they are methodical and slow, yet they get the job done. He has been around for a long time and is just steady and luckily never has been on the disabled list in his career. So the marketability to the general public is negligible, as only purists (like myself) appreciate what he has accomplished in his career. The “casual fan” just doesn't care about the finer points and nuances of the game, just strike outs and home runs.

A-Rod hits home runs, but has never really clicked as he tends to be quiet and professional in his approach. The idiots in the press don't appreciate this and have labeled him “aloof” and distant. They can't stand or understand the fact that he just isn't a loud mouth or flashy kind of guy. Plus since he is the highest paid player in baseball, and plays for the Yankees, he is expected to shine in the post season. For some reason he has not lived up to billing in the playoffs, giving his distractors ample fodder to label him “soft” and a “choker”. So naturally with this type of personality and bad press he just isn't marketable as well.

The problem of course is that these happened the same weekend that Bonds tied the home run record. Of course a lot of sports writers claim that this record is the “most hallowed in sports”, but that is only to them so they have something to complain about. Barroid is of course under suspicion of having done steroids and is under investigation by the federal government for this, perjury, and tax evasion. The Grand Jury has been investigating for the past few years, and for some reason they keep it going without resolution (of course I think they are waiting for the record to be broken so they won't be accused of playing politics and interfering his breaking the record).

Barroid's trainer Greg Anderson is in jail for contempt for not answering questions about the steroid use by Bonds. The whole thing stems from a raid on a lab called Balco that was producing “Performance Enhancing Drugs” and the owner was convicted and sent to prison. He has said in interviews that tests performed by the authorities cold never keep up with the labs producing the drugs as they can always find ways to mask the drugs and beat the tests. Of course the main drug “Human Growth Hormone” (HGH) can not be detected by normal urine tests, and the Major League Baseball union prohibits blood tests that will detect the presence of HGH.

Of course dozens of minor and lesser major league players have tested positive and have been suspended, but many of these come from Latin countries where the drug technology isn't as advanced, and since these players are not as known, the media like ESPN doesn't mention them except in passing if at all. In fact many just have their names mentioned in scrolls as the main program are being aired. Then of course they claim that noon wants to know, but in effect if we aren't told about this, how can we care about something we don't know about? It's just that they market themselves based upon the major stars and don't care, so they don't feel obligated to announce it. Talk about censorship of the news! Tell us and let us care folks!

Barroid of course is famous due to his assault of this record so every move he makes is recorded (Barry Bonds picked his nose today, news at 11) and shoved down our throats. Barroid's other problem is the fact that he doesn't treat people right. He is known for his snapping at reporters and fans, even those that support him. Of curse this is one side effect of steroids, irrational quick anger. There is also the famous book out there from a couple of years ago, “Game of Shadows” that detail the information the government has on Barroid and others. This is the most damning evidence along with his ex-mistress talking about the steroid use and tax evasion.

There is the rub (as the English might say), in that we have the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the game, but baseball cannot profit by marketing his image or his achievements. I think that is why the commissioner Bud Selig looked like he just choked on a pile of manure when Barry hit the home run that tied the record. Now that he broke the record, the real fun starts. If he was a nice and contrite as he was during his post game interview throughout his career he would be a national hero instead of the pariah that he has become. Again the steroids he took to reach this mark is to blame for his actions off the field. Too bad as he just let his ego run away and now it is time to pay the piper.

Luckily for baseball, the game will survive and as long as MLB doesn't make the same mistake that the NBA did by changing their marketing strategy away from marketing the game and teams to marketing the individual players above the game.

Remember players come and go, but the game remains, so that is where their marketing resources should be focused and we'll still remain fans.

Mahalo.