And no, I don't mean the Barry Bonds kind of clear, either, although maybe once upon a time.
Clemens, one of the best-known pitchers of the modern game since Nolan Ryan, was on trial for perjury, in regards to his own possible steroid use, which as most of us know, has been a big issue in baseball over the last fifteen years or so.
On one hand, I think steroid use damaged baseball - although it did create a lively era of a hitter's game. But as revelation after revelation came out, it became hard to accept those new records, those great feats, as completely valid and now, as a result, when a guy like Jose Bautista starts slamming home run after home run suddenly, for the first time in an otherwise unspectacular career, every baseball pundit in America has that little question pop up in his brain - is he using? And every baseball pundit's heart is hoping not, because we want to be past that.
On the other hand, I don't care about Roger Clemens. If he used, he used. I don't know why the federal government gets involved in these things. I get that he perjured himself if he used; he lied about it to federal investigators. I just don't understand why federal investigators were called in to begin with. Is steroid use in baseball a federal issue? I don't think so, personally. Don't leagues like the MLB have commissioners in place to handle and deal with these things?
Both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been let off by the federal government. That's fine. It just backs up my opinion that the federal government has no place in this. It seems like their lawyers don't even know how to prosecute these cases - the Bonds case looked like a slam dunk and this Clemens case was thrown out because they used evidence they were told was inadmissible. Let's get this stuff out of the courts and let baseball handle its own issues. Yes, there was a steroid era. Yes, it's possible more players than we know used and there are tainted records going unblemished. But it happened. It's over. It's time to move on.
In other news -
The NFL ownership and players keep clearing hurdles as the deadline looms to get a deal in place to save the preseason (basically, July 21st or so). It's too early to say for certain, but with a rookie wage scale in place now and based on the success of other talks this week, I think we'll have a deal next week. Better start beefing up on my fantasy football again.
Around the MLB -
Cleveland 8, Baltimore 4 - Two first-inning HRs for Cleveland put them up 3-0 and, behind Justin Masterson's start, they never lost the lead.
Toronto 16, NY Yankees 7 - Eight runs in the first inning would be all the Jays needed, but they kept popping long after that to rout the Yankees.
Florida 6, Chi. Cubs 3 - Down 2-0, the Marlins faced Cubs closer Carlos Marmol and dinged him for 5 runs in the ninth and a blown save to steal a win.
Minnesota 8, Kansas City 4 - Two four-run innings lift the Twins after starter Francisco Liriano let them fall behind 3-0 after four.
Colorado 12, Milwaukee 3 - Ubaldo Jimenez put together another nice start, allowing two over six, as the Rockies pelted the Brewers pitching staff all game long, going scoreless only in the third and fifth.
San Francisco 6, San Diego 2 - Aubrey Huff tied the game, 1-1, in the ninth inning, setting the stage for them to rally for five runs in the top of the twelfth to take victory.
Texas 5, Seattle 0 - Derek Holland delivered his second consecutive shutout, backed by three Rangers' home runs.
No comments:
Post a Comment