Kalamazoo Badgers Talk Radio  

We've heard all the names... A-Rod, then Gay-Rod, and now A-Fraud.  But is Alex Rodriguez a fraud because he used PED's?  In my opinion - No.  And I'm one of the biggest anti-Yankees people out there.  I don't really like Rodriguez and I definitely can't stand his agent - so why am I defending him? 

I wouldn't say I'm defending him as much as I'm discrediting baseball from about 1990 up until the present.  Why should we be surprised about anyone taking steroids in this era anymore?  We shouldn't be - just look at the headlines.  When you see names like Alex Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte on there, you really have no idea who is using.  As much as I don't like A-Rod, I always assumed he was clean because of how much a natural he seems to be.  He broke into the ML around age 18 or 19 and didn't need any help then - so why would I believe that an older, in his prime Rodriguez would need the PEDs to help?

Well - it's not so much about needing the help as much as keeping up with the Joneses.  I know when I started my job I did everything by the books - but when I saw other more experienced people cutting corners in acceptable ways, I started doing it too.  Why?  Because, I figured, if they can do it - so can I.  I didn't want to fall behind and be considered a "slow worker" because I was taking the time to do some minor things that other people weren't doing.  Baseball - while it's a game to us - is the job of a guy like Rodriguez and he strives on being better than everyone else at his job.  When he looked around and saw guys using with no penalty, I'm sure he thought to himself, "Wow, I wonder how good I could be if I did this too.  It's not really cheating if everyone else is doing it - I'm just keeping up."  Right or wrong, I'm sure all of you have similar experiences whether it be in school, at work, at the gym or even on the field of whatever sport. 

Back to the point of this blog entry - if HoF voters are going to keep McGwire out of the Hall, and eventually Bonds - they better come up with some better reasons than steroids.  You can use the Capitol Hill stuff for McGwire and perjury for Bonds all you want - but I still the HoF is for the best baseball PLAYERS not the best character guys.  McGwire, Bonds and ROSE all deserve to get in.  If steroids is the sole determinant, then why not ban EVERY player who played in the ERA, because, as guys like Pettitte and A-Rod showed us, you just never know who is using.  Look at Cal Ripken, the Iron Man - how did he play all those games without missing one?  Did he get some help along the way - Probably.  Was it steroids?  Who knows.  Sure, Cal is a great guy - but if you ask me, so is Pettitte.  Great people take shortcuts to get ahead too, especially if everyone else is doing it.  This is the last you'll hear me say about steroids for a while, becuase as far as I'm concerned, most people were using.  I don't need names - I don't really care, because even if I don't hear about a positive test, you'll never be able to convince me that any particular player DID NOT juice.