Baseball Greats (Maybe) - PES - Do We Want To Know?

      I'm watching the Tampa Bay Rays put a solid beat down on the Boston Red Sox. During the ESPN broadcast the announcers Aaron Boone, Rick Sutcliffe, and Sean McDonough are flat out killing Manny Ramirez about his recent failed test and retirement. To be honest, I have never liked Manny for any reason and did laugh pretty good at the comments. Still, the comments bring up some good things to talk about on the current Performance Enhancing Substance (PES) conversation.

     Every baseball fan has heard, read, or watched modern day Baseball become a venue to ruin PES players reputations. This starts with players such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmerio, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Brady Anderson, Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Andy Pettite, and Roger Clemens. The list goes on like several rolls of toilet paper. They all used, they all excelled, and they all have been named in reports of substance use.
   
     Why were these players allowed to use for many years with a blind eye to the use? Was MLB closing their eyes and ears? No one in the Governing body of the MLB was complaining when these players were hitting fifty home runs, hitting five hundred foot shots in games or All Star showcases, throwing tons of strike outs, pitching no hitters, or breaking historic records. The time that the PES use took place was opportunistic for Baseball to regain popularity lost. Fans did not complain, including myself, although we all kind of thought something was "up"! So, why do we shun these players now? I'm not quite sure. Maybe because we don't want to admit we liked the players doing what they did, no matter how they went about becoming that good???!!
    
     Recently, Manny Ramirez voluntarily retired from baseball after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance, steroids. This is Manny's second go round on the amusement park ride. He did have options, stay in MLB to serve a one hundred game suspension, or retire from the game. He took the low road and left. He has nothing to want for in concerns of money. What legacy does he leave to the game? Probably none at all. He probably will never be voted higher than five percent on any HOF ballot. If that is true, he will fall off the ballot, with no chance of making the HOF. Does he deserve to be in the HOF? His numbers say most likely, but we know after this recent turn of events, there is no chance.

     The long and short of PES is that from 1994 to 2005, PES was acceptable in MLB. Sometime after the 2005 Congressional hearings about PES and the release of the Mitchell Report in 2007, the use of these PES's became unsatisfactory. Maybe the whole issue is a bigger issue than just players doing what they had to do to gain an edge over other players. Maybe it gets right down to the fact of most people, it's not cheating unless you get caught. So, does that mean if you don't get caught it's okay? Does it mean if you do get caught a lynching mob should be dispatched to get you? So, honestly, do we fans want to know who else has used PES? Will the use change our outlook or perception of our favorite players?

If you have a point of view, post a comment. All are welcome. Thanks and Cheers from the Cheap Seats.

Reds First Week, Sabres Playoff Picture, and a bit more..

       The highly anticipated Baseball opening week has come and gone. The Reds are 6-3 after the first nine games of the 2011 season. The team has a calm confidence not seen from a Reds teams in the past seven to ten years. Buzz about the Reds is not just in Cincinnati, a lot of baseball people across the nation are talking about this team.

      The pitching staff is looking very good, even with a couple rough outings. Young guns Travis Wood and Mike Leake have both had one solid start and one shaky start. Ace of the staff, Edison Volquez, is having some small issues in the early innings of his first two games, but as the game goes he settles down to do some good work. The crafty veteran of the staff, Bronson Arroyo, looked very good in his last outing, battling a decent D-backs lineup. Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto are getting healthy and will be making starts in AAA Louisville the middle of April. There is good reason for all Reds fans to get excited every time one of these guys stands on the hill.

      The bull pen looks like a solid set of stoppers that will shut down opposing offenses in the late innings of games. Every type of pitcher from crafty off speed to filthy breaking stuff to blow you away with speed pitches in this mix. Here is a list of the guys in the bullpen: Sam LeCure, Matt Maloney, Nick Massett, Bill Bray, Logan Ondrusak, Jordan Smith, Aroldis Chapman, and Francisco Cordero.

      The battery is above average to excellent and already looks like a very good run producing offense. The lineup boasts speed, plate patience, clutch hitting, and flat out home run power from the lead off spot to even some of our pitchers. Here is the roster list: Drew Stubbs, Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, Johnny Gomes, Jay Bruce, Paul Janish, Ramon Hernandez, Ryan Hannigan, Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cairo, Juan Francisco, and Chris Heisey.

Dusty Baker and the coaching staff have done a great job bringing this team together.  Hopefully they will just continue to get better as the season moves forward. The Reds will be a force to reckon with all season long.

Lets get to the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the seven seed in the Eastern Conference. They are matched up against a very tough rival in the Philadelphia Flyers. The two teams split the season series 2-2. The Flyers won the first two games and the Sabres won the last two games. The Flyers were certainly better than the Sabres early this season, but Buffalo was the top point getting team in the second half of the season. The playoff series is going to be a close hard fought set of games. I'm making my prediction now, Sabres come out on top in 6 games, winning the series 4 games to 2. I'm sure a couple of my friends, who root for the Flyers, will argue that prediction with me and maybe have a friendly little wager.

Congratulations to Charl Schwartztel - 2011 Master's Champion. He gets the Green Jacket, his first PGA tour win, and his first PGA Major all in one.

Hope everyone has a great day. Thanks and Cheers from the Cheap Seats.

Good vs Bad - Thoughts from a Good Sabres fan

Last night, via twitter, @akrygier mentioned that Sabres fans are with a direct twitter quote; "I don't mean that I think the #sabres are good, they are clearly not. buffalo is a shit-hole and their fans confirmed that one-by-one." This statement really miffed this Sabres fan. I'm not all knowing when it comes to matters of fan perception.  However, time has taught this fan at least one thing. We all have come across certain people who wear the same colors and emblems, but are not what we would consider the same as "us" in our fandom.

My thinking on @akrygier 's statement was the saying; "One bad apple spoils the bunch." That statement does not always hold true. Things one witnesses at a sporting event or reads from an online statement can be easily perceived out of context. The person directly speaking slurs, causing the problem, or creating the statement may not be thinking the same way as the person that sees or reads the aforementioned happenings. We should always keep in mind there are good fans and "bad apple" fans. To consider all fans "Bad" because of an adverse interaction is not fair to those who are good fans.

For the record, this fan has never and will never bully, voice derogatory slurs, or become physically violent  in any matter pertaining to a sporting event outcome. Sports are what they are, children's games and entertainment for fans. Don't get me wrong, I'm very emotionally attached to my favorite teams. To quote @akrygier: "spare me the pontification", I and all of my fellow Sabres friends, are good fans. Please take time to be open minded, realize not everyone is "everyone."

Take care and Cheers from the Cheap Seats.