The Media Loves Steroids

When I wrote yesterday's blog, I thought to myself that perhaps I am the only one who shares my sentiment on when will all this steroid crap in baseball will be over. In speaking with my co-worker (who is a Yankee fan) he believes the same thing. We are we going down this road again?

My feeling on the subject is this, the only industry that benefits from any of this is the Media. Sports Illustrated will sell more magazines, ESPN will get more viewers, and Sports Talk shows will sell more advertisements. If you think that I am just blowing smoke rings, I understand. But, how is that this article mysteriously comes out a week after the Super Bowl, which just happens to the be the week before pitchers and catcher report to Spring Training?

I know how this is going to play out. We hear about this all Spring and Summer. Names will come out every so often and people will scoff and be disappointed. Fine. But, this will never end. At least not until they hang Barry Bonds.

What gets me is that Baseball was all but dead by the end of the 90's. If it wasn't for Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire in that historic home run chase, we may not be enjoying the same sport. No one complained about the home runs and no one complained when the Yankees dominated during those years. So the issue is why complain now? Major League Baseball had no sanctions on any of this stuff until 2004. They turned their backs.

I still do not like Alex Rodriguez. But, I commend him for admitting taking an enhancement. I do not believe that makes him any less of a player. I am a firm believer that steroids can not make you see the ball better, cannot make you hit it better, cannot make you dive for the ball at the right moment, cannot make you slide the right way, and cannot make you catch/throw the ball more accurately. No one can prove what steroids does in terms of performance. The only thing we know is that it makes you recover faster. Who would not want that?

I am not saying that people need to take steroids, however, none of us really know what that pressure it is, to succeed at a high level. Then you have to take into account that these athletes make millions of dollars and need to perform to justify that pay. So what now? Do you mean to tell me that no one in NBA or NFL are not taking them? Where are those Sanctions?