I'll say it again. Take an average Joe off the street, give him steroids for 6 months and then put him in front of a 95 mph fastball. If he even makes contact, I'd be surprised.
Illegal substances dont make players more skilled...just recuperate faster. But, they pay for it in the end. 162 games is a long schedule and if it keeps my star on the field a few more games, then I'm happy.
One way or another, athletes will find something to give them a competetive edge. Do I condone legalizing anabolic steroids? Not at all. But do fans really care if players take them? not one bit. Find me a Giants fan that hated Bonds. Find a Dodgers fan that isnt looking forward to seeing Manny return after 50 games.
It has become a part of the game whether we like it or not.
Personally, I'm over it. It's a Viagra world out there and anyone who wants to "cheat" through chemical enhancement, there's a pill or a procedure for it. Both men and women do it. So how do we expect young athletes (the most seemingly indestructable among us) to resist the temptation to alter their body for short-term gain and ignore the long-term consequences until it bites them?
If a juiced pitcher is throwing to a juiced batter, who is cheated? Not the fan who gets psyched about 98-mph fastballs thrown to guys who hit 500 homers. Not the juicers. They took their poison willingly. The only guys cheated are the players who didn't juice and the evidence seems to grow that the pool of non-cheaters is smaller and smaller.
Heck, we have a tax cheat now running the Department of Treasury and nobody cares, certainly not our news media.
Elvis Costello one wrote "I used to be disgusted but now I try to be amused." That sums up my view on a lot of things lately.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
It makes players stronger and if they work out properly, more toned as well. This gives them the strength to hit the ball farther when they do connect. Basic physics. Cheating should not be in any sport. If you resign yourself to it and passively support it, you should re-asses why you are even a fan of the game. And there are plenty of Giants fans who hate Bonds. Are you serious???
I believe Chaz understands this and that's why he condemns the use of drugs. The way I interpret what he is saying is the hand/eye coordination is a given gift to a handful of people who are able to swing and bat and hit a ball going between 85-100 mph. Steriods will not help one do this, yes it will give them the extra ump but not everyone has the skills to hit a ball moreless judge a ball coming at you and even catching a ball.
In today's world, the long ball is what puts people in the stands, as is dunks in basketball, and hard hits in football. IMO, players should be penalized by their contracts rather than just fines. Say Rameriz gets $24 mil a year for two years, but if he gets busted for any banned substance then his contract is void plus suspensions/fines and contract B comes into effect which is a $12 mil a year and if again 6 mil plus suspensions/fines and again then ban him from baseball! 3 strikes your out!! And piss test every player randomly each month and they are not told when they are tested and offenders are tested each week for the remainder of their baseball career. It's hard when cheating is excepted by many people!
Well, that's nice but you have to get the u n i o n to go along with it, which they never will. The dirty little secret as to why baseball has a steroid problem is because the MLBPA didn't want testing and the MLB owners just buried their heads in the sand about it.
You would think there would be far more reason to abuse steroids in the NFL but it seems as if you catch only about 1/10th the cheaters that are in baseball. Why? Either because the NFL/NFLPA set down much harsher guidelines for getting caught or the NFL simply isn't trying very hard to catch cheaters. Could be either one but steroid abuse is far less in the news around the NFL than it is in MLB.
Now, the sport where steroids is out of control is pro wrestling and their various spin offs. The average life span of your typical pro wrestler is in the 50s because they die off so fast from all the abuse they put their bodies through.
I miss the old Mile High Stadium.
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