tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2427508363289820445.post7952295843941487458..comments2023-11-03T04:44:23.281-07:00Comments on Joy In Mudville: See the Ball, Hit the BallThe Backwards Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03636840333526701329noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2427508363289820445.post-35956603666318485362009-05-13T08:04:00.000-07:002009-05-13T08:04:00.000-07:00I can sympathize, since that's what this website i...I can sympathize, since that's what this website is all about. However, I think we need be interested in both the player they are and the person they are, which includes their regimen, diet, cycle, etc. In this instance, the motivation is of extreme importance--particularly if you're a Dodgers fan.<br /><br />The "player that is Manny Ramirez" has changed as a result of this story. A "Player," afterall, being not only his statistics and abilities and the amicable portions of his personality. The darker side of his nature need be explored, and <I>in particular</I> his motivations. If the NL West weren't such crap, and the Dodgers not perfectly capable of treading water for two months, we might be more inclined to take the perspective that this was the most selfish decision a player could have made--one which could have cost his team a playoff birth (not to mention the revenues associated with putting a star player in your lineup day-in-day-out) in the interest of a bigger payday. Maybe giving up $8 million in salary makes things even, but I don't believe that it does.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00089925672034068794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2427508363289820445.post-31590716451951293552009-05-08T12:34:00.000-07:002009-05-08T12:34:00.000-07:00All good points.
I will say, for emphasis, that m...All good points.<br /><br />I will say, for emphasis, that my comparison of juicing crimes between Pettitte and Ramirez were merely meant to rebut Stark on his own premise; in either case I don't care what the player does.<br /><br />Therefore, w/r/t the money and motivation for steroids, I'm less interested. Either the player is a hyper-competitive ass who uses it to win at all costs, or wants the individual glory, or wants the payday, or all 3 in some combination. The thrust here is that I'm interested in the player they are, not their diet or regimen or cycle. (Bonds was always Bonds)The Backwards Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03636840333526701329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2427508363289820445.post-33413166422351580922009-05-08T07:26:00.000-07:002009-05-08T07:26:00.000-07:00Well put. Several things that I'd like to draw out...Well put. Several things that I'd like to draw out in this thread (and perhaps in others to follow):<br /><br />First, endeavoring to compare transgressions between players, such as the drug use of Andy Pettitte and Manny Ramirez, is a slippery slope. In this case, and in a purely superficial sense, one subject is a pitcher and the other a hitter. Both players undoubtedly reaped tangible, physical benefits--why else would they, or anyone in baseball for that matter, use these products?--but they were different and perhaps incomparable benefits. While the "everyone's cheating" moniker works to some extent, and it is one that I personally put a lot of stock in, it wasn't pitching records that were falling like dominoes around the turn of the century. Hitters gained a certain amount of ground in the struggle during that time, and the varying backlash in public opinion largely reflects that.<br /><br />There's also good reason to believe that Manny's most egregious foray into doping was not with female fertility drugs, since they are typically used by athletes after completing a steroid cycle to help normalize the body's production of testosterone. The fact that he's never tested positive before for other drugs can be deceiving. He is, in fact, only the first superstar player to be suspended under the enhanced drug control policy. But how many others have slid by in the interim? There was a not-so-distant time where testing practices were incapable of detecting even the most powerful doping agents. There are more skeletons to be unearthed; the question really becomes whether it is fruitful or desirable to do so.<br /><br />Second, I am impressed that the author made it through an entire steroids post without mentioning the dollars and cents of the matter. I think there is an important perspective that can be gained by doing so, especially from the perspective of an individual's personal motives. But the coinciding phenomenon of salary explosion will be inextricably tied to the steroid era, and the almighty dollar still stands as one of the few common threads in the blanket understanding of the issue. Is this just a more painful instance of <I>Manny being Manny</I>--unaware of the potential consequences of his actions; trusting, childishly, the medical authority he had contracted to help him; ignoring industry guidelines because, gosh darn it, anything that makes you play better baseball player is good for the game--or is it in part, as I suspect, <I>Manny wanting Money</I>? This is not intended to place blame on a unique individual who values cold hard cash. Rather, it is a tie in to the physiological and psychological effects that steroids have had on baseball.Moonlight Hamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11382208254436236204noreply@blogger.com