Come on people, can we say shocker? No I don’t think so.
We all knew it. Mark McGwire didn’t want to talk about the past. He said so himself. However, for the last 20 or so hours, that’s all he wanted to talk about. We’re the bored priest on the other side of the screen while Big Mac confesses his sins to us. Do we tell him to say 20 hail Marys, sleep on a bed of thorns, and go on with his life? Or does he get held accountable for his actions?
McGwire and some schmuck on the Cubs named Sammy Sosa are the two people that are credited with the term “saving baseball.” The home run chase brought everyone back to a game that seemed to lose a lot of steam since the strike in 1994. The truth of the matter that everything these two players did is based on drug use. Prescribed or not, doesn’t matter. Sosa hasn’t admitted to anything, McGwire has. Point being, its kind of like saying you play darts better when you’re drunk, you take steroids to improve your game.
Sure, I watched the interview with Bob Costas on MLB network last night. Mark McGwire’s a broken man. He sat there with a cup of water, choking up, talking about how he hadn’t taken the roids to make himself better. He took them to play through the pain. His body took wear and tear in the 162 game marathon. God gave him enough talent where he didn’t need them, and he wished he never played during the steroid era. He got himself sucked in to the evilness of PEDs. Canseco never injected him; he took his drugs by mouth. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Sir, no one really gives a shit about your excuses. People question your motivation.
As many know, McGwire was hired on as the batting coach for a team that I can say is my favorite NL team, the St Louis Cardinals. Their manager is the legendary Tony Larussa who managed the Oakland A’s team that the famous basher brothers were on. That’s McGwire and Jose Canseco. Both admitted steroid users. Mac says Tony didn’t know about it. Come on, really? Mac now protects his friends. His parents didn’t know, his family didn’t know, no one asked. Anyone buying this shit? Not me. I understand the whole “never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut,” but I believe if McGwire kept his mouth shut about himself for many years, he’ll protect his friends and family as well.
I’m not going to judge. It’s a shame that the big comeback in ’97 has the word tainted all over it. I feel sorry for Mark McGwire because I see a man who has been carrying a burden for the last 5 years or so. Can I forgive Mark McGwire? Its only baseball kids. Everyone talks about records and asterisks and all that. Everyone says what do you say to your kids? You tell your kids that some people used stuff to be better, and some didn’t. Take a look at the 10 active (or could be active) players on the list. Everyone except for 3 names have been linked to PEDs. They are, Ken Griffey Jr (who I think can be the real hero of the “steroid era”), Jim Thome, and Frank Thomas. They played for the greatest team in baseball. Hopefully, nothing ever comes out about them. Then I can say the stars on my team remained clean in the steroid era. The Maggs rumors are a little staggering, however.
Yet, the fact is, you can’t trust anyone these days in baseball. It seems like everyone has a story, everyone has a reason; everyone is keeping the bones in the closet. Frank had some crazy ass injuries during his career, but many believe that was him trying to stay away from Spring Training. Nevertheless, if we want to be fans of baseball, we must know that silly shit like grown men injecting each other in the ass, and people taking substances happened. It’s a fact in life, and if you want to throw away this great game, that’s your business. Me; I will try to embrace the Chicago White Sox winning another World Series, and moving along. So to hell with Big Mac. He’s one player who did what he felt he had to do. He didn’t lie, but stayed silent at a lawyers request. He needed to fight the pain; the pain of being mediocre. He needed to come clean, to make sure Cardinals Spring Training isn’t a three ring circus come February. However, the most important thing; we don’t want to talk about the past. So let’s try to enjoy the present.
My title was inspired by my buddy Horacio’s Facebook status. Want to give credit where its due.
M
No comments:
Post a Comment