Mitchell Report

I'm right in the middle of studying for an exam on Henry IV, Part 1, John Donne's "The Ecstasy" and Paradise Lost, but I felt the significance of the Mitchell Report warranted a quick post.

- The only good part for me was seeing none of my favorite players named in the body of the report. That means no significant Atlanta Braves players, besides David Justice were named. From skimming through it, the only recent players to suit up for Atlanta was Todd Pratt and Gary Sheffield. I don't quite know when Sheff would have gotten into steroids or HGH, so there is a possibility he could have been juiced in Atlanta. And John Rocker, but that guy and roid rage go hand in hand. I like to think Justice got into the juice while he was playing for the Yankees, a point I will get to in a moment. So yes, the silver lining of this whole mess (and it is one) was no Braves greats. No Maddux, no Glavine, no Smoltz, no Chipper. Definitely not Mark Lemke either. Have there been/are there guys who are getting an illegal edge while on the Braves roster? Of course. Did the team come out relatively unscathed? Yes.

- Paul Lo Duca is a pretty big douchebag. He seemed about as likable as a guy can be while playing for the Dodgers and Mets, but the Mitchell Report has changed my perception. Apparently, Lo Duca is responsible for putting multiple players in contact with Kirk Radomski, the ex-Mets employee who was shipping steroids and HGH to MLB players. Off the top of my head, I remember seeing that Kevin Brown and Eric Gagne were two of the catcher's referrals. From the sound of things, I wouldn't be surprised if there are Facebook pictures of Miguel Tejada doing bodyshots of anabolic steroids off of Paul Lo Duca's manboobs.

- Kevin Brown is a shady dude. There are multiple accounts in the report of Brown overnighting envelopes full of cash, sometimes as much $10,000, to Kirk Radomski's doorstep. Radomski tells at one point of coming home to find a rain-soaked envelope sitting on his doorstep from Brown with $8,000 in cash inside. Brown had checked 'waive signature' when he mailed it. Kevin Brown lacks common sense.

- The two teams that seemed to have more players than others listed were the Yankees and Dodgers. Granted, both teams tend to have lots of free agents come through for a few years at the end of their careers because both franchises can afford high dollar players. Yet, the Yanks had Clemens, Pettitte, and Chuck Knoblauch along with David Justice, Denny Nealge, Kevin Brown and Mike Stanton named, not to mention Giambi. Two of MLB's flagship franchises with some bad, bad press.

- The MLBPAA isn't doing what is right. Head of the player's associating, Donald Fehr, sent out memos to all players recommending they not cooperate in the Mitchell investigation. That really disappoints me. I understand they want to protect their players, but be reasonable. These ball players did something very wrong. Done condone it.

- Barry Bonds was not named. I've decided that the government didn't want to waste ink and paper printing something everyone already knew.

- I'm really scared what happens after this. This will not fade away. I'm scared for baseball. I'm scared that my childhood favorites are going to be implicated soon. That would break my heart.


Now back to studying. Take care everyone, and I'm sorry if your boyhood idol was just outed as a big time user.

Edit: Something I forgot to include up there that is of definite significance: the General Manager. There are multiple cases of the GM having good sources tell him that a player was cheating and using, and went ahead with acquiring/resigning said player. Not just Brian Sabean in San Francisco with Barry Bonds either. Theo Epstein had full knowledge of Eric Gagne's use of steroids, a year in advance, before Gagne was shipped over from Texas. True, Epstein is one of those new wave of baseball guys that I like so much because they are embracing the scientific and analytical aspects of the game. However, that doesn't keep the Red Sox GM from being a 'win at all cost' type of guy. Remember, being a win at all costs type of guy doesn't make you heroic or worthy of worship. It makes you they guy who gives someone a bloody nose while playing ultimate frisbee. It makes you a doucebag.

Yeah, I'm a little pissed off about the state of baseball right now. It is a great game, but money has totally corrupted it.

Now back to Henry IV, Part 1.

Matt