The Rocket That Cooperstown Should Never Welcome!

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Hail as I do from Dayton, Ohio, I should be proud that one of our native born Buckeyes was one of the greatest pitchers who ever played Major League Baseball.  Pride is not what I feel, however,  when I think about Roger Clemens.   The winner of 354 games, his statistics are in rarified air.  A lifetime E.R.A. of 3.12 with 4,672 strikeouts.  Yes, these stats and the many others he accumulated over the years with the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays should not be enough to earn him a spot or plaque among the many great pitchers that are enshrined at Cooperstown. 

Clemens like Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and a endless list of big league players who chose to enhance their God-given abilities on the field by artificial means do not stand as tall as the Cooperstown greats.  One only has to visit the small, sleepy community in New York to recognize the hallowed ground that was established to celebrate the careers of these all-time greats. 

The Rocket won the Cy Young Award seven times.  No pitcher can claim such a feat but to put his name next to Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson and dozens of others is not right.  Clemens was an 11-time All Star pitcher, has two World Series rings and was voted American League Most Valuable Player in 1986.  Still, Roger Clemens was a cheater and deserves to be left out come induction time. 

Fortunately, the Baseball Writers Association, the ones chosen to vote yea or nay on former greats have already weighed in on candidates who cheated themselves and the game.  They have voted no each time so far and one can only hope that they continue this stance going forward.  The greats enshrined in the Hall of Fame deserve better teammates.  Not to say that many who are on the plaques of Cooperstown were outstanding men, many were not.  They did not cheat though.  They earned their way into the Hall of Fame by playing by the rules.

Many believe that Pete Rose has been shafted by the Baseball Writers for not being inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Pete Rose violated the rules of Major League Baseball by betting on baseball games.  What about Shoeless Joe Jackson who was part of the Chicago Black Sox scandal where players accepted money to change the result of World Series games.  These two great players of the game violated Major League Baseball rules and are not enshrined at Cooperstown.  Neither one of them were cheaters.

Clemens only made matters worse for himself when he lied to Congress.  Sure, he was exonerated of these charges but everyone knows the truth.  I truly believe being excluded from the Hall of Fame will surely be the best punishment for the Rocket as any the court could devise.  It has been for Pete Rose.  The baseball fan has to hope that the steroid era of Major League Baseball is a thing of the past.  What must not be forgotten is that these steroid-aided players do not deserve the same recognition of their peers who played the game fair and by the rules.    

Ryan Braun, Most Valuable Prevaricator

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Allow me to join all those that rejoiced this last week when Major League Baseball's MVP from last season, Ryan Braun, won his case and had his 50 game suspension overturned.   Major League Baseball's arbitrator ruled for the first time in a player's favor in the appeal process of a positive drug test.  Braun's drug test showed an elevated level of testosterone in his system.  Not only was it elevated significantly but it was of a synthetic nature meaning that Braun's body did not produce it.  Now that the MVP won his appeals process, Braun spoke out this week and earned the Most Valuable Prevaricator award too.

Braun and his attorneys chose to fight their appeal on the basis that there was a breach in the chain of control of the specimen.  They did not dispute the specimen itself.  It appears that they won their appeal on this technicality.  His appeal victory was not enough.  Braun spoke publicly to deny that he ever used any performance-enhancing drug and then without skipping a beat, Braun chose to lay the blame on Dino Laurenzi Jr., the collector of his sample. 

Our MVP's statement, "There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way the entire thing works, that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened, " 

The mendacity of Ryan Braun is of MVP proportions.  One has to pause for a moment to consider the credibility of a Major League Baseball player versus a Director of Rehabilitation Services with an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin with Master Degrees earned at the University of North Carolina and Loyola University of Chicago.  Who should we believe?  We've had some past experience with the credibility of Major League Baseball players such as Roger Clemons, Bobby Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to name just a few. 

Once again, one has to ask the obvious question of what benefit did a collector of specimens have to gain by tampering with the specimens?  Nothing.  What did Ryan Braun have to gain?  Everything.  Even the vast majority of those playing in the game question the overturn of the decision.  Some players are actually worried about the integrity of the game.  That's a novel thought, isn't it.  Where has that attitude been the last 15 years?

I suspect that we have not heard the end of the Ryan Braun matter.  Not just the smattering of disenchanted fans he will face all season but maybe even in the courtroom if Dino Laurenzi Jr. decides that his reputation is every bit as important as Braun's.  By all accounts, the specimens arrived in pristine condition with the tamper-free seals and identification numbers intact.  We all know or have had experiences ourselves of the drug testing that takes place today.  Even many of the lowest paying jobs in America require drug testing.  My guess is that Major League Baseball standards for collections reach far beyond the strip-mall collection agencies that exist in every city in America. 

I can't believe Ryan Braun's story.  I gave up on Major League Baseball years ago and for me, Braun joins the ranks of his fellow performance-enhancing drug users who have selfishly placed themselves above the integrity of the game.  Braun took it one step further by placing the blame on someone who was just doing their job and doing it the way he was asked to.      

All Awful - Major League Baseball

sportsillustrated.cnn.com

thesportsbank.net

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my love-hate relationship with Major League Baseball.  I grew up loving my Cincinnati Reds and especially The Big Red Machine of the 1970's.  I still remember fondly when the Reds including Pete Rose traveled to Dayton before the season started to hold clinics for all the youngsters playing little league baseball.  Fond memories including numerous trips to old Crosley Field, Riverfront and many of our other baseball stadiums across America. 

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Then the strikes, free agency and runaway contracts came into play. I became disenchanted with the game.  After the third work stoppage and A-Rod's $25 million a year contract, I swore off all allegiance to Major League Baseball.  Then came the steroid era and the lack of testimony by the likes of Mark McGuire.  Sick to my stomach over what happened to the game I loved.  I vowed never to support the game again, in any way, shape or form.  Every once in a while, a glimmer of what I used to love about this great game comes to life.  Once again, Major League Baseball has done its best to lose me again. 

What a week for all things baseball.  Ryan Braun, Mr. Milwaukee Brewers, Most Valuable Player of the National League tests positive for performance enhancing drug use.  Albert Pujols signs a contract for $250 million.  Barry Bonds is sentenced to 30 days house arrest, 2 years probation for his conviction of federal obstruction of justice.  Just the stuff that you want your ten-year old son who loves baseball to see and hear. 

They have destroyed the game that so many of us have loved for so long.  It never stops.  Major League Baseball is a joke.  The money, the drugs and the preponderance of crap has destroyed what was once a beautiful sport.  I have no idea how the game can ever win back fans like me.  I just don't think it is possible anymore. 

There will be more to come for sure.  The Ryan Braun story and his MVP will linger for months to come.  We still have the Roger Clemons story and his lies to deal with.  What happens with the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown?  What records will be counted?  Will the sportswriters do the right thing and keep the likes of Barry Bond out of the Hall?  I'm sure they will! 

Once again, I bid farewell to the game I absolutely love.  Maybe someday, Major League Baseball will find the right course again and turn it around for the millions of fans like me who are so disheartened and discouraged.  I can't even bring myself to return to Cooperstown, one of most favorite places in all of America.