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Shockingly, when it comes to A-Rod, there's more where that came from

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by BYH, Apr 30, 2009.

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  1. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    I, for one, refuse to attend another major league game b/c I am sick and goddamn tired of the juicing likes of Alex Sanchez and Nook Logan.
     
  2. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    The book was supposed to come out around opening day but when ARod got hurt, they delayed releasing the book until he was close to coming back. Wonderful marketing by Selena.

    Ms. Roberts said today that she was convinced he took roids in HS because as a sophomore he couldn't bench press 100 ibs(self reported anecdote) but he improved immensely in the bench press after 6 months. She said this took it beyond speculation.

    Looking forward to seeing her sources. I hope its not a book based on anonymous sources. Anonymous sources are pretty lame in a biography about a sports figure. There's no whistle blowing on the government or dangerous products. The only anonymous sources would have to be disgruntled or jealous ex-friends or teammates.
     
  3. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    buck, a lot of stuff can be glossed over, but this is where I draw the line.

    If Rodriguez did this, there isn't a baseball purgatory far enough away from the majors.

    And if there is proof this happened, then I DO begin looking askance at everybody.
     
  4. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Not disagreeing with you on that point, Shotty. Commenting more on Mark's asinine assumption that "all these guys are frauds" or that baseball is worse about "enhancing" than any other sport.

    It's like those who got turned off by baseball "becoming" big business during the '94 strike/'95 lockout. No, it didn't. It was always a business, going back to the 1870s.

    And pro athletes have always "enhanced", going back as far as competitive athletics have existed. We can only try to police it better and create a culture where enhancing isn't rewarded (or punished so much that the risk > reward). But as long as the rewards are there, it's going to continue.
     
  5. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    But I'm not talking about the steroids, buck. Actually, I don't care all that much about the steroids.

    I certainly hope everyone sees pitch-tipping to the opposition as being every bit as bad as what Pete Rose did.
     
  6. Gues#t

    Gues#t Guest

    I will go to a game when Carlos Silva is scheduled to start. Top that, beeyothes!
     
  7. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Like I said, I'm with you 100 percent on that point. And, yes, it's every bit as bad as Rose -- and Chase -- and the Black Sox, et al.

    That's not what Mark was talking about, and that's not what I was responding to. So we're making two different points here, is all.
     
  8. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    If even a majority of what Selena is reporting about ARod is true, he is the modern day Hal Chase.
     
  9. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    I'm asking this not to be a smart-ass, but because I don't know....

    Is pitch-tipping something that's been done and accepted for years and people have swept it under the rug? Should we really be getting in an uproar over this or is this a REALLY big deal?
     
  10. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    Ryan,

    Tipping pitches to your teammate: Illegal, but expected.

    Tipping pitches to the opposing batter in a "meaningless" game so he'll tip pitches to you later so you can up the batting average: Despicable.

    But, as always, I will defer to Buck's expertise.
     
  11. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Pope's right.

    "Sign-stealing" and then tipping pitches to your teammates is not encouraged, per se, but it's certainly not frowned upon by many. Bobby Thomson is a household name 50 years later because of it.

    And in the Deadball Era, Walter Johnson -- among others -- was notorious for "letting up" during meaningless moments/games, tipping his own pitches and basically letting opposing batters get their licks in when the game was not on the line. And sometimes catchers would give a friend a heads-up that the next pitch was coming at his head, when everyone accepted knockdowns as part of the game.

    That stuff doesn't happen (much) anymore. Maybe Maddux and Smoltz will implicitly agree to throw nothing but fastballs to each other when nobody's on base, but that's about it.

    A position player tipping pitches to the opposition? Never, never, never. That might actually be WORSE than Rose's transgressions, come to think of it. It's one thing for Crash Davis ("He did. I told him.") to teach a lesson to his 5-cent-head pitcher in A-ball. The stakes are a lot lower.

    Quite another for a position player, especially in the major leagues, to pull that crap.
     
  12. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    Yeah, that's where this (allegedly) goes way over the line. Trying to gain an edge for your team is one thing, but conspiring with the opposing team is outrageous.
     
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