Tagged: Steroids in baseball
A Look Ahead to 2011 and the Top 10 of 2010
Happy New Year to all!
I apologize for not blogging in quite awhile. I have been busy with work and the holidays set me back, so I haven’t really had a chance to do a lot of Yankee Yapping.
Since my last blog entry, Cliff Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, going back to the city of brotherly love for his second tour of duty. Am I upset the Yankees didn’t land him?
Yes, but only because he was really their only option. Andy Pettitte is expected to retire any day now and looking at things objectively, the Yankees have about two and a half pitchers in their rotation: CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett, who counts as a half a pitcher.
I checked out the free agent starters on the open market. There’s not much to look at, unless you count Carl Pavano and Ted Lilly as top-notch pitchers–both of whom have already faltered in pinstripes in the past.
Bottom line: the Yankee rotation needs help. And soon. The bullpen? Well…
Pedro Feliciano is coming across town from the Mets. Who knows how he will do, but he better pitch well. Kerry Wood is headed back to the Chicago Cubs, which upset me. He was probably the best part of our bullpen towards the end of last season, outside of Mariano Rivera.
Russell Martin came over from Joe Torre’s Dodgers, and hopefully he will exhibit better skills behind the plate (at least in terms of throwing out runners) than Jorge Posada, who has already been named the 2011 designated hitter.
Posada lost his starting catcher job. Sad, because more likely than not, this is his last year as a Yankee.
Reportedly, the Yankees were talking to Johnny Damon about a possible return. I hope he does come back because I have always liked him. It was a mistake to lose him to Detroit in the first place and I hope a deal can be reached. He would definitely improve the lineup, because everywhere he goes, the team gets better.
I really don’t know what to expect for 2011. I know the Red Sox have certainly improved, adding Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, and Bobby Jenks–joining the already dynamic group of players the Red Sox have, like David Ortiz (who can still hit for power) Dustin Pedroia (pesky little punk) Kevin Youkilis (annoying, strong hitter) and J.D. Drew (who can’t stay healthy with any team but Boston).
Buster Olney already compared the 2011 Red Sox to the Yankee Dynasty teams of the late 1990s.
As much as that scares me, it doesn’t make sense. They haven’t played a game yet. Who knows what kind of team chemistry the BoSox will showcase, and if they will click or stay healthy, or even pitch effectively. I mean, they haven’t even played a game yet.
On paper, they are the best team in the American League. But as Derek Jeter always says, “On paper doesn’t win you ballgames.”
Still, Boston scares me. Their off-season reminds me of what they did prior to 2007 and they went on to win the World Series that year. They missed the playoffs in 2006 and came storming back with a great off-season and a Championship year to follow.
I get the feeling they can do that again, as much as I hate to admit it. Boston is stacked.
But enough about that. Now that I have outlined some of the dreadful thoughts for this upcoming season, and in the spirit of the New Year, I’ll review the top 10 Yankee moments/plays of 2010.
10) CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes Flirt with No-Hitters
2010 was definitely the year of the pitcher. Perfect games and no-hitters were thrown by the likes of Roy Halladay, Ubaldo Jimenez, Dallas Braden, Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson…and almost by Armando Galarraga, but we all know what happened there.
On April 10, CC Sabathia took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Through 7 2/3 innings, Sabathia shut down the Rays’ potent lineup until Kelly Shoppach lined a sharp single into left field to break it up.
So close. But the Yankees won 10-0 and Sabathia picked up his first win of the year–his first of 21 wins.
Fast forward to 11 days later in Oakland and Phil Hughes on the hill.
The Yankees played the Athletics on April 21, and Hughes nearly tossed a no-no of his own. The 23 year-old righty stud pitched 7 1/3 innings before giving up a come-backer to Eric Chavez–a hit that caromed off Hughes himself. He ended the night with 10 strikeouts, a career-high for him. He only walked two batters.
Although he did not get the no-hitter, the Yankees once again prevailed, beating Oakland 3-1.
9) Opening Day at Yankee Stadium
I feel especially biased towards this day, simply because I was there to witness it.
On April 13 the Yankees celebrated their 27th Championship with a ring ceremony and a game vs. the Los Angeles Angels. It was a glorious day and it meant a lot to me, spending it with my friends and family.
My cousin Thomas got a batting practice ball, the Yankees got their 2009 World Series rings, and I got a whole bunch of memories that will last for the rest of my life.
The Yankees beat the Angels, 7-5.
8) Comeback vs. Boston
May 17 was a memorable night for all Yankee fans.
Down 9-7 in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Rodriguez clobbered a game-tying home run off Yankee pariah/ Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Marcus Thames came up later in the frame and crushed a walk-off home run deep into the left field seats to end the game. Yankees 11, Red Sox 9.
Papelbon walks off in shame, Thames walks off the hero. And the Yankee fans go home with smiles on their faces.
7) Grand Ol’ Days
The Yankees smacked 10 grand slams this season, more bases-loaded home runs in one season than I can ever remember.
Alex Rodriguez had three: May 14 vs. the Minnesota Twins, May 31 vs. the Cleveland Indians, and July 7 at Oakland. Rodriguez now has 21 career grand slams, and he will tie Lou Gehrig for most career grannies (23) if he hits two slams next season.
Jorge Posada crushed two grand slams this year: June 12 and 13 vs. the Houston Astros. Two grand slams in as many games–now that’s impressive.
Robinson Cano also hit two: May 28 vs. the Indians and Aug. 22 vs. the Seattle Mariners.
Curtis Granderson smacked a granny in Baltimore against the Orioles on June 8.
On July 3, Brett Gardner crushed his first career grand slam at home vs. the Blue Jays, a game my friends and I were going to attend. We opted instead to make a trip to Cooperstown to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
I was however at Yankee Stadium on June 20, when Mark Teixeira clobbered a grand slam off Mets’ ace Johan Santana.
It’s safe to say the Yankees did a number on opposing pitching when the bases were loaded in 2010. What’s more, the Bronx Bombers won every game they hit a grand slam in.
6) Derek Jeter’s Inside-the-Park Home Run
On July 22, Derek Jeter rounded the bases all the way for an inside-the-park home run in the Yankees’ game against the Kansas City Royals. It was only his second career in-the-parker, and ironically enough, his first also came against the Royals.
One could argue it was not exactly the prettiest inside-the-park home run, because center fielder David DeJesus had a play on the ball. He could not come down with it however, and he crashed into the plexiglass in right-center field. Jeter caught a break and was able to motor all the way around to tie the game at three.
DeJesus injured himself on the play and was taken out of the game. If he hadn’t fallen down, Jeter may not have been able to complete the home run.
In any event, it was one of the coolest home runs of the year. The Yankees went on to beat the Royals that day by a score of 10-4.
5) Joe Torre vs. The Yankees
Former manager vs. former team. Teacher vs. his students. Joe Torre vs. the Yankees.
In June the Yanks met the Dodgers for a three-game series during interleague play and for the first time since 2007, the Yankees saw their old skipper Joe Torre. It was an interesting weekend; a turning point in the Yankees’ 2010 season.
The Dodgers and Yanks rekindled their old rivalry and traded victories in the first two games. Los Angeles handed the Yankees a decisive 9-4 win in the second game while the Bombers slipped past the Dodgers 2-1 in the first game.
The rubber game looked to belong to the Dodgers, as they led 6-2 in the ninth with flamethrower Jonathan Broxton on the mound. The resilient Yanks would not have any of it, as they rallied to score four runs in the ninth to knot the game at six.
An RBI double by Robinson Cano, a two-run double by Chad Huffman, and a fielder’s choice by Curtis Granderson, and the Yankees are back in it.
Cano came up in the top of the tenth, belting a long two-run home run to left-center. The Yankees went on to win 8-6 and beat their former teacher, winning the series 2-1.
I cannot speak for the rest of the Yankee fans, but to me, it felt SWEET to beat Torre. Sweet.
4) Mark Teixeira’s Big Day in Boston
Once, twice, three times the “Tex Message.”
The Yankees visited the Red Sox on May 8, beating them 14-3. It was one of those great days to be a Yankee fan, to say the least.
Mark Teixeira accounted for a large amount of the scoring, hitting three home runs and driving in five runs on a total of four hits. He scored three runs and became only the second Yankee in history to hit three homers in one game off Boston–second only to Lou Gehrig.
I can remember watching that game with so much joy. Anytime the Yankees embarrass the Red Sox on a Saturday afternoon Fox Game of the Week, it’s a good day.
What also made it more enjoyable was what happened afterward.
The YES Network hosted their “Extra Innings” postgame show, where they ask the audience to write in their thoughts, ideas, or comments. If they like them they use them on the show.
I noticed how Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre had eight errors to that point in the season, and it was only May 8. I wrote in a comment and it made it to TV. The YES Network analysts said my name on TV and discussed my comment on the show.
There could not have been a better way to cap off a big Yankee win over the Red Sox.
3) The ALDS
October of 2010 was certainly different than October of 2009. They ended in different ways, but began in the same fashion.
The Yankees swept the Twins in the ’09 American League Division Series and did the same in 2010. This year the Yankees did not have home field advantage and had to win two games at Target Field before coming home to clinch the division.
In all honesty, I thought this year might be the Twins’ moment; I thought it may have been time for the Twins to get over the hump and finally beat the Yanks in the playoffs.
No such luck.
Another year, another early exit at the hands of the Yankees for Minnesota.
Although the ALCS was painful–unbearably, absoluteLEE painful–to watch, sweeping the Twins was a great start to October. After the Yanks swept, I thought history would repeat itself yet again. Unfortunately the magic vanished to the Texas Rangers.
But nothing can take away the feeling of beating the Twins. It was a great feeling.
2) 600
Alex Rodriguez, one way or another, is going down in the history books. Whether or not people recognize him as the greatest hitter of all-time, or just another major leaguer who tried to cheat the system, he will always be known and remembered.
On Aug. 4 A-Rod crushed his 600th career home run–exactly three years to the day after he hit his 500th home run. He joined baseball’s “600 Home Run Club” with the likes of Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Sammy Sosa.
A lot of folks, namely the New York Daily News, were quick to judge Rodriguez’s home run as a tainted accomplishment. Many people and baseball fans believe that because Rodriguez admitted steroid usage in his career, the feat means nothing.
Me on the other hand…well, I believe it still means a lot. I have offered my opinion on steroids and do not condone drug usage. However, I believe it takes more than steroids to hit 600 home runs. Plenty of players who were on the juice never came close to 100 home runs, let alone 600.
I still consider it a great moment for A-Rod and a great moment for the Yankee organization.
1) The Game for the Boss and Sheppard
On July 13 the Yankees lost their principle owner. I used to refer to George Steinbrenner as “The Godfather” of the Yankees, and this season he lost his life at the age of 80.
Steinbrenner was the longest tenured Yankee owner in team history and he died just two days after the Yanks lost their longtime public address announcer, the legendary Bob Sheppard.
On July 16, the Yanks’ first game following the All-Star break–and more importantly their first game after losing their Boss (and only their second game after losing Sheppard), they dramatically rallied back to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4.
The night started off in emotional fashion. The team could barely hold in their tears and Jeter, our fearless captain, could hardly keep himself together as he addressed the crowd during the pregame ceremony. There was a two-minute period of dead silence during the ceremony, and not one Yankee fan made a peep.
All that was heard throughout Yankee Stadium during those two minutes: the whipping sounds of the flags blowing in the wind and a passing subway train. That’s how much respect Sheppard and Steinbrenner commanded.
Mariano Rivera placed two long-stemmed roses over home plate in remembrance of their fallen comrades.
The Yanks scuffled a bit during the game, giving the Rays a 4-3 edge heading into the eighth. Nick Swisher had other plans, crushing a game-tying home run in the bottom of the frame before recording the big game-winning hit in the ninth, a single which plated Curtis Granderson.
Yankees win an emotional game for Sheppard and the Boss.
Later in the season, Steinbrenner was honored with a plaque out in Monument Park. The Yankees invited many of their former players and dignitaries, including Joe Torre and Don Mattingly. Everyone filed out to the area behind centerfield and another ceremony was held unveiling the plaque on Sept. 20.
Unfortunately the Yankees could not capitalize and win their 28th title the year of Steinbrenner’s passing. However, it’s important to remember that when he passed away, the Yankees were reigning champions.
It is only fitting that Steinbrenner went out a winner.
Well, that about puts a cap on 2010.
May 2011 bring many more great Yankee memories, and hopefully the 28th World Series Championship.
Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training next month!
Is 600 Really All That Tainted?
Seriously?
I would expect this from maybe a Boston newspaper but the Daily News? I’m a little shocked they went this far. Normally the New York Daily News is known for being very “pro-Yankee,” at least in my view, but they printed this on their back page on Wednesday, the day Alex Rodriguez crushed his 600th career home run.
A New York newspaper, instead of looking past all of the steroid drama, took down one its own players. I thought we had gotten past all this nonsense, but apparently not.
Up until this point, I haven’t been particularly vocal about my stance on steroids and performance enhancing drugs in the sport of baseball. Since the Daily News fired this little salvo and reopened Pandora’s Box, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to offer my opinion on the use of PEDs/steroids in baseball.
First of all, I in NO WAY condone the use of any kind of illegal drug or steroid. In my life I have never tried drugs and I don’t plan on ever using drugs. I took a health class in high school and fully understand how harmful drugs and steroids can be and how they can steer a life in the wrong direction.
If you call writing a drug, it’s what I’m addicted to.
As far as steroids are concerned, I think no player/athlete should ever use them. Just like any other drug, there are consequences that come with using them, and they project adverse effects on the body. From what I have learned about them, they increase muscle mass, strength, and stamina.
That sounds great but…
Steroids also shrink private parts, cause jaundice, baldness, tumors, and heart failure.
They are like an evil super-villain, who starts off as your friend and then gradually turns on you; that’s probably the best way to describe them. They seem like they are going to help you and all of the sudden they rip your body from the inside out. Overall, it’s not a good idea to use them and there’s a good reason they are banned from basically every sport in this country.
On Dec. 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report was released, naming 89 Major League Baseball players who used steroids and/or performance enhancing drugs at least once in their careers. To first clarify how the report was formed, George Mitchell, a former U.S. Senator, conducted a 21-month investigation into the use of steroids and human growth hormones in baseball.
Among the more known players named in the Mitchell Report were Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, and Barry Bonds.
All of these players have had outstanding careers in baseball. Clemens has won seven Cy Young Awards and Pettitte is a five-time World Champion. Giambi is a former Home Run Derby Champion and Bonds is the all-time Home Run King.
They all have done great things…and it’s all thanks to steroids, right?
I refuse to believe it.
Clemens, Pettitte, Giambi, and Bonds have all at some point in their career taken steroids–which is their own fault and their own poor decision-making. They were all exposed by Mitchell, but so were a large number of other players–players who have taken steroids and done practically nothing with their careers.
Consider former Yankee reliever Jason Grimsley. He was named in the Mitchell Report and was reported to have purchased HGH and diet pills from Kirk Radomski, a known illegal steroid distributor. According to the Mitchell Report, Grimsley used steroids from 2000-2005 and spent over $35,000 on drugs.
Now take a look at his career numbers while using steroids:
Grimsley was 42-58 in roughly 17 major league seasons. His ERA ended at 4.77 and he struck out 622 batters all-time.
Can you really compare that to Pettitte, or even Clemens for that matter?
Although Pettitte and Clemens were using steroids, their numbers were way above where Grimsley’s were. I truly feel that their numbers were better simply because they were better; they had more talent than Grimsley whether they used steroids or not.
Steroids probably help a pitcher more than a hitter in terms of strength and stamina, but going back to Rodriguez…
How much did the steroids help him? Is there a statistic that tells us how much better steroids made A-Rod? Did using them make him 50% stronger or 75% faster? Did steroids make him 25% more likely to hit a ball out of the park?
Did Rodriguez’s use of PEDs really enhance his performance?
As of this moment, there’s no way of knowing. In Rodriguez’s case, the only way to (maybe) determine if steroids really helped him is to look at his numbers when he was allegedly using them, which was 2001-2003–his three year stint with the Texas Rangers.
2001: 52 Home Runs, 135 RBIs, and a .318 batting average.
2002: 57 Home Runs, 142 RBIs, and a .300 batting average.
2003: 47 Home Runs, 118 RBIs, and a .298 batting average. (Won the MVP)
Obviously he had stellar numbers during his steroid-using years, but he had stellar numbers without steroids as well. Consider A-Rod’s numbers post-steroids.
2004: 36 Home Runs, 106 RBIs, and a .286 batting average. This year, although he was off the juice, was his first year playing in New York. I don’t credit his discontinuation of steroids for his dip in stats. I credit getting acclimated in the big city for his decline in power numbers–they went back up the following year.
2005: 48 Home Runs, 130 RBIs, and a .321 batting average. (Won the MVP)
2006: 35 Home Runs, 121 RBIs, and a .280 batting average.
2007: 54 Home Runs, 156 RBIs, and a .314 batting average (Won MVP)
2008: 35 Home Runs, 135 RBIs, and a .302 batting average.
2009: 30 Home Runs, 100 RBIs, and a .286 batting average.
Even Rodriguez’s numbers after his stoppage of using steroids have been relatively consistent. Not counting 2010, he still averaged nearly 40 homers and almost 125 RBIs per year post-steroid usage. In laymen’s terms, he was still an amazing hitter after he stopped using drugs.
In fact, he was a standout hitter before he began using steroids, too.
At 18 years old, Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners. He played 65 games in his first two seasons from 1994-95. He only hit five homers in those 65 games and knocked in a total of 21 runs. In his first full season (1996) at 20 years of age Rodriguez smacked 36 homers, drove in 123 runs, and batted a mind-blowing .358.
Bottom line: he was good before taking steroids, he was good while he took steroids, and good after he stopped taking steroids.
Now consider F.P. Santangelo, an outfielder who played for four MLB teams from 1995-2001. Santangelo was named in the Mitchell Report and he, like Grimsley, received HGH from Radomski. His career numbers:
21 Home Runs, 162 RBIs, and a .245 career batting average.
There is just no comparison. Rodriguez and Santangelo both used steroids and who had the better career? Of course the answer is A-Rod, but Santangelo used steroids, right? So he should have crushed at least 400 home runs in his six-year career, right? Steroids make every player a home run hitter, right?
Wrong. I just can’t believe it.
Along with differences in statistics, another good reason I feel steroids can’t help a hitter is hand-eye coordination. If you take the skinniest, wimpiest, most uncoordinated person on the planet and put him on the most high-powered super steroids, will he be able to hit a baseball 450 feet?
I really doubt it.
There are so many factors that go into being a great baseball player. In the baseball world, they are called “tools.” The tools are:
1) Hitting for average,
2) Hitting for power
3) Base-running skill/speed
4) Throwing ability
5) Fielding ability
Now, can steroids completely make up a five-tool player? If they can, someone please explain to me how exactly it’s possible. Coordination and mental preparation are just as important as the physical aspect of the game of baseball.
I understand that steroids can increase physical attributes of the body, but I don’t feel they can artificially construct a five-tool player. Many players like Santangelo, who were named in the Mitchell Report, possessed maybe two or three of these tools. Rodriguez, who admitted steroid use in February of 2009, has all the tools.
Players can take all the steroids they want, but it can’t give them all the tools.
There just isn’t any way to tell how much better steroids make a player. Until a statistic is released that gives a number or percentage that reveals how much better steroids make a player, I just can’t believe they do anything to boost a baseball player in terms of their regular skills.
You can compare any ballplayer who has taken steroids, and their numbers are inconsistent. Whether you compare Clemens to Grimsley or Rodriguez to Santangelo, no one (with proven fact) can say steroids make a baseball player better.
I understand that they increase physical parts of an athlete’s body, meaning that their stamina and strength are better off. But ‘roids cannot help with hand-eye coordination or any other mental aspect of the game.
Nothing has been proven in terms of consistent baseball numbers and steroids, but what has been proven is that they are harmful–to the career, the public image, and the body. They taint records, at least in everyone’s eyes, because steroid users are regarded as cheaters.
Do I feel A-Rod is a cheater? Well if he is, then there’s hundreds and hundreds of other cheaters out there with him. They do not suffer the same fate as Rodriguez because most of them are now forgotten. Rodriguez only suffers because he is still in the spotlight and in the middle of everything that is Major League Baseball.
However what has been proven is that medically, steroids can and will harm the body. All the athletes, professionally and going as far down as the high school level, will one day regret using drugs as a means to becoming a better athlete.
Sure, it may take awhile; they may regret it when they are in a wheelchair or lying in their casket, but they will one day look back and say, “I should have thought better of it.”
I’m sure Grimsley and Santangelo–who never did make it huge–are regretting it right now.
When it comes to steroids, the best thing to do is stay away. If you take them your image will be tainted, your body will betray you, and you might not even become a better athlete anyway.
Yankee Yapping 