Selig the idiot
Passing this on from the baseball listserv I’m on (originally posted there by a fella named Patrick Laverty - but I really have nothing to add, as I think he summed it up nicely):
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=516893
“Selig told USA Today in a telephone interview he “would have to think
about” taking action against Rodriguez, saying the player broke the law
by using PEDs. Selig refused to be specific about possible penalties,
and he indicated a decision would not be made quickly.”
So let’s review. How is Selig aware that Rodriguez broke the law and
took PEDs? Oh right, it was that little test that he took back in 2003
where the results became public via four leaks in the process to a
Sports Illustrated reporter, leading to Rodriguez’ admission. But umm,
weren’t those test results supposed to be confidential? What happened
there?
And let’s go back to 2003, when the players took those “confidential”
tests, they were guaranteed by MLB, overseen by Bud Selig at the time,
that no positive result on those tests would lead to any punishment.
What happened there?
Why is it so hard now that when a reporter asks “So are you going to do
anything to Alex Rodriguez?”, that you can’t say “No. I promised the
Players’ Association in 2003 that there would be no penalties for a
positive result to those tests, his was positive, and I’m sticking to my
word. He hasn’t tested positive again in our program since then.”
Or if he really does want to punish Rodriguez, then what about those
other 103? Are they going to be suspended too? We know he has the
names. That’s how we know the test was never “anonymous”, only
confidential. The names were kept with the samples so that MLB, the PA
and the player could be informed of a positive result. So he knows who
they all are. If you’re going to punish Rodriguez for a positive result
there, are you going to punish the other 103 as well? And wouldn’t that
then completely blow your vow of “confidentiality”? Or are those other
103 players just going to all have a “family emergency” or something for
a few days in the season?
Ugh. In the same vein of those “Bush’s last day 01-20-09″ bumper
stickers, maybe I’ll create one, “01-17-12: The day the BS ends”
February 13th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
It seems more than a tad hypocritical for MLB to punish players for performance-enhancing substance abuse since the owners were fully complicit in their spread. This was an open secret that the owners happily profited from as the spectacle of 30-HR hitting shortstops helped attendance and viewership rebound from Bud “Full Retard” Selig’s cancellation of the 1994 World Series. And this leaves aside the fact that the test results were supposed to be confidential; MLB is responsible for maintaining that confidentiality and has (yet again) breached a commitment to the players.
February 15th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
And with that, I’m reminded of something that Tank himself mentioned to me many years ago, “Managements tend to get the unions they deserve.” The MLBPA is considered to be the strongest (and thus, most difficult) players association in pro sports. Hmmm… wonder why that is, eh?