· Roger Clemens is the big news… for all those who actually believed that he was clean in the first place! My opinion of him is exactly the same as it was yesterday morning: Clemens was a user in an era of users and should still go to the Hall of Fame without question. You know, the exact same position as Barry Bonds.
· But the best part of the report is the new witness information on Clemens. Now let’s be clear: I’m both a Clemens and a Yankee fan, and I don’t want him or any other player, coach, owner or axe murderer receiving “the Bonds treatment” by our media. However, Roger was the necessary sacrificial lamb for a greater cause. MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY. No other player would do as Clemens is his only peer on the field and every bit of a “me-first” player off of it (actually worse than Bonds). Now let’s see if he gets the similar media beat-down for the next four years. COSELLOUT will be watching closely! Ready, set, hate!
· The difference between Clemens and Bonds: Let’s be clear, part II.The media WENT AFTER Bonds with Game of Shadows, Sports IIIustrated, and ESPN all in bed together on the attack. In contrast, they DIDN’T go after Clemens. Not only was there no investigative media follow-up efforts to the Jason Grimsley story, there were inexplicably very few subsequent mentions in subsequent articles. Clemens was PROTECTED by the media. The Mitchell Report FORCES the media to deal with Clemens, the very same way that the Congress hearing FORCED the media to deal with Mark McGwire after more than 10 years of playing deaf, dumb, and blind.
· The owners seem to have gotten off way too easy. In that way this report is similar to virtually every “clean up hip hop” article in that it focuses on 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and Young Jeezy, but has little to say about the big dogs like Clear Channel, Viacom, or the 1996 Telecommunications Act. For more on the owner pass, Dave Zirin could take over in this TSF post.
· Big Papi is clean! Wow! It was a shock that no Boston Red Sox players were cited! No Senator Mitchell’s board director status for the Sox posed absolutely no conflict of interest! Did we mention Disney?
· The Media Pass: There is only one group that hasn’t been accounted for more than the owners – the complicit media members themselves. Pretty much, if your name was not Tom Boswell who complained about Canseco in early 1990’s, then you were also culpable. Can MLB hire Senator Mitchell for a follow-up?
- Is there a connection in timeline between Chuck Knoblauch juicing and "the yippies" (errant throw to first base)?
· COSELLOUT will be tearing this 409 page Mitchell report up PIECE BY PIECE!!! Check back for regular updates, breakdowns, and analysis to be purposefully ignored in the mainstream media. PIECE BY PIECE! (think Denzel in “Man on Fire”!)
Do your thing Modi.
MODI,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for recognizing the only member of the media, Thomas Boswell, who had the guts to bring up steroids when it wasn’t cool to do so. Gammons, Stark, Rosenthal, Verducci, and many others knew about steroid use for years and kept it hush-hush, but feign shock and disgust when names began to surface. And now that he’s a part of the media, has anyone seen Fernando Vina? And how ironic was it that the Mitchell Report gathered more information on Clemens PED use in nine pages than the government has on Bonds in four years.
des, even though I disagree with his personal position on steroids, Thomas Boswell is all right with me. He can moralize all day, all night, and call even call Bonds satan if he wants to. He has earned that right. He is the only truly sincere “purist” out there. He put his beliefs on the line when they were unpopular. All these other media fakers were clapping, cheering, and writing books about “The summer of ’98 (Lupica). The fact is that there is no out for the quiet ones who now breathe righteous fire. If you say you didn’t know, then you acknowledge that you were a complete idiot. Basically that is what it is: “Liar or Moron” …check one box…. unless you are Boswell.
Modi,
I know that i don’t need to repost my “mini” on Clemens here since Sheffield had already outed him years before Mitchell. Still, I want to tickle this point which struck me as funny when you say:
Matt Franco is incontrovertible proof that steroids don’t work!!!
Matt Franco is unlucky. Brett Boone and Alex Gonzalez are incontrovertible proof that steroids do work for a little while.
I stand corrected!!!
I think Pettite apologized….or at least it kinda sounded in the area of, in a roundabout way sorta, if you really look closely…it could be mistaken as an apology.
Pettite had the best PR machine conjure up a response that will test the resolve of the American people and their “tolerance” level regarding this matter. The thought process is similar to that applied during the MARIJUANA INQUISITION OF BILL CLINTON.
So, if you smoked it and did not “inhale” it to quickly stomp it out never to touch it again during your whole entire life then that is OK? Cool.
There was one doper who purchased HGH, consumed one dose, then discarded the product altogther because he knew he was wrong. I mean Puh-Leeeze! I believe that in the world of denials, apologies and together =”apologlie”, Sheffield, And Pettite may be setting the benchmark. Clemens and his people spoke too soon. America is a forggiving place, it is a nation of redemption. Admit your sin and you will be absolved or rehabilitated. I suspect that we will be seeing admissions in the Pettite form over the next few days as America and MLB regroup and recover from the damage done by the OBJECTIVE Mitchell Report–a ntotion that is as incredible to me as the NBA’s Lone Rogue Referee.
Steady, you mean all those other referees — every single one of them — who was busted for some kind of gambling never had a game effected?
Modi,
Yeah, them ones.
There was an interesting article by Jayson Stark on ESPN comparing Pettitte to Rodney Harrison. Harrison admited using HGH to recover from an injury and until I read that article, I had no memory of the incident. The media likes to get on its high horse with baseball and completely ignores the rampant PED problem in football.
BTW, is anyone else baffled that Mike Piazza was not on the list, or Youkilis, or Lowell, or Manny or Thome or Albert Belle, or Mark Bellhorn or Nomar or Damon or Shane Spencer, or Carney Lansford, or David Henderson or Terry Steinbach or Rob Dibble,etc.
As for Knoblauch’s yips, they occurred because he is gay and was dating the editor from Out magazine. If you remember when the guy said he was going to out his boyfriend and people thought that it was Piazza. It was Knoblauch. I work with someone who worked for the Yankees at the time and it was a known secret that Chuck being in the closet and fear of being outed caused his yips. The team apparently did everything that it could to protect Knoblauch. I feel bad for the guy that his career was essentially ruined because his boyfriend fucked with his head.
Hawk, the freshest posts address all of Stark’s recent articles on the Mitchell report including the last one you mention.
– Piazza, Dibble, and Nomar would be the surefire three that I take from your list. There are at least a couple hundred not on the list. All that means is that they weren’t able to subpaeona their trainers
– Now Hawk, I have never heard this Knoblauch story before, but it is certainly an interesting theory!!! Are you suggesting that our oppressive society possibly cost the Yankees a World Series?
The Yankees did not lose in 2001 because of Knoblauch, but my colleague worked directly for George for eight years to put himself through college and law school. So, I believe him about Knoblauch. I do find it sad that because the sports world is SOOO homophobic that a quality player like Knoblauch had his career shortened because he could not handle it emotionally.
Hawk, you realize that you are dropping quite the bombshell. But unlike the Mitchell report, I do not have enough corroborating sources to run with the story!
Bob Nightengale of TSN is the other writer who brought it up.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n30_v219/ai_17320724
I centered much of my two pieces on Bonds/steriods around his article. It featured telling comments from Selig, the Padres GM and several others.
And once again, Telflon Tony is getting a pass in the media. Can’t they focus on the Rocket and the Pharmacist at the same time. Tony’s all for a little drink or a little needle as long as it pads the bottom line.
With all due respect:
des, even though I disagree with his personal position on steroids, Thomas Boswell is all right with me. He can moralize all day, all night, and call even call Bonds satan if he wants to. He has earned that right. He is the only truly sincere “purist†out there.
That’s some bs, right there. While I maintain that this is not the time for a reasoned or thoughtful convo on ‘roids, Boswell has not earned that right because the research does not support his opinion – and by the media’s own assessments, Bonds is not the type of athlete who would cause kids to run out and ‘roid. It would be a more popular athlete (probably one that lesser athletic talents would identify with) like a Tedy Bruschi or someone along those lines. It would be a “gritty” guy – a “hard-working” guy – a “grinder.” Someone like Lenny Dykstra? Yeah, like Dykstra.
Folks don’t get to call Barry “Satan” or anything else based on this scenario. I’m not buying. The real damage is not done by guys who are perceived as super-athletic — whose feats are incomparable and even mystical. It’s the guy who is accessible that everyone can relate to – the Lenny D’s of the world that do the greatest harm…and the media continues to give those cats a pass.
Paul Byrd, Rick Ankiel, etc. Hard-working, good fellas trying to stay in the bigs….blah, blah, blah.
Fuck Boswell too.
So, Hawk, are you saying Mikey Pizza’s not really A Delivery Man or just not THAT Delivery Man?
My info is admittedly hearsay and I would not run it if I were an editor of a newspaper or magazine. It is effectively a rumor although I do believe my colleague.
As to Temple3, I have no idea if Piazza is gay or not, nor do I care, but according to my colleague, he was not THAT Delivery Man.
You’re hilarious. Thanks. It’s not an area of concern, but since you mentioned Knobby in a wholly unsolicited manner, I felt free to ask. Let’s move on.
I only mentioned Knoblauch because someone wondered if his yips came from steroids.
Okay, Temple, maybe I’m guilty in engaging in hyperbole. I doubt that Boswell actually used the word “satan” to describe Bonds. My greater point is that he was taking about the shit in 1988 and while he should still be challenged everytime he gets any facts wrong or is not fair across the board, he is basically the only media “steroids purist” who did not await to junp on the bandwagon when it became popular.