Of course it doesn’t really matter since they won’t believe it anyway.

After all, Sammy was the one “clean” guy in a dirty era. Everybody else started putting up monster homerun numbers because they were juiced-Sammy just did it with “love and perserverance”-LOL

But you have to admit, the whole process is slippery. Yes, there are a few players who have smoking guns attached to them, but there are several players who do not. Playing no small part is the personality of those involved. Once you start considering who should be in and who shouldn’t, it’s a tough proposition. If Steroids, or reasonable suspicion of steriods, is the only issue, then Big Mac, Palmeiro, A-Rod, Clemens, Conseco, Bonds, Giambi, Santiago, Sheffield, Dystra, Justice, Pettite, Tejada, Ivan Rodriquez, Manny Ramirez, Ordonez, Piazza, and more should be out. Interestingly, Sosa is in a very small group of elite performers that have somehow avoided any material evidence of use, aside from a jump in body size and numbers. But if you are to argue that Sammy should be out, then all the aforementioned players should also be out.

But there’s a more prescient point, and that is that without actual evidence to work from, who’s to say with certainty that ANYONE didn’t use steroids. They’ve been around a long time, as has the incentive to enhance performance. Another point is that many of the PEP drugs are simply nutirtional supplements or standard medical interventions, so it’s VERY difficult to isolate some of these with any clarity from, say, a cortizone shot.

This is exactly why MLB baseball needs to take a hard line on this, and now. It’s turning the game into a joke, as well as creating a lot of mixed messages for young players trying to succeed in the game. Perhaps Bud Seilig should get a 50 game suspension for allowing this to get to this pont in the first place. OR the GM’s? Or the fans, for enshrining the 550’ homerun and 70 home run season as the highlight of the sport?

I’m not saying Sammy didn’t use steroids, or that he didn’t have his low points, but his verifiable record of steroid use is notable in it’s absence whatsoever of ANY evidence besides completely wild speculation that he did use steroids. Here is one of many articles that bears this out, with this quote:

no report or investigation has publicly attached Sosa’s name to any performance-enhancing drug scandal. He was not a BALCO customer; no drug dealer has named him; no positive test of his has surfaced. The Mitchell Committee, the strongest investigative body assembled to address the drug scandal, checked him out and found no connection to steroids.

But, again, it’s not up to us, it’s up to the sports writers, and the conundrum they will face when asked whether Big Mac, or Bonds, or ARod, or Sosa should be in the Hall of Fame, is less a statement on those players discretions as it is on the state of the sport itself. Until somebody comes in and solves this problem, America’s favoriate passtime will be tainted and cheapened by spineless decision-making.

Mainly for two reasons:

First, the season of 1998 was one of the most magical in my life. Big Mac & Slammin’ Slammy brought baseball back to the forefront and in the national spotlight after that horrible 1994 strike season. He was never charged with any illegal substances. We live in a country innocent until proven guilty.

Second, I can rip on Manny, Bonds, A-Rod, and anybody else that has taken PEDs, but I was essentially blind to Sammy’s supposed drug use because he was ours. He was one of us, and frankly, although this isn’t fair or any sort of justification, it felt different to have one of these PED users on OUR TEAM. He was one of the most charismatic, fun, and biggest ambassadors for the game of baseball. Ironic that he did this while corking or with PEDs, but that’s this generation of baseball, and surely another discussion unto itself.

Dan

Dan

Maybe he should have stayed out til 3 am on gamedays when they had a day game and chain smoked but kissed the media butt and he would have gotten good articles about him.

Admitting to steroid usage would lead to a perjury charge. Nobody in their right mind or with any legal counsel would waive their 5th Amendment right. That “trial” before Congress was a sham.

If anything, it proves that hes more of an idiot for doing that

I don’t believe that’s enough to keep him out of the HOF. He wasn’t proven to have taken steroids. People can speculate, but this is America, innocent until proven guilty. Over 600 HRs, and being the fan friendly player he was, I say, unless he’s proven that he took steroids, he should be in the HOF.

Irony swings and misses like Sammy on an outside breaking ball.

Canseco wrote: ‘’Sammy Sosa — I can’t say for a fact he took steroids — but he gained 30 pounds just like that — you could see the bloating in his face and neck. It seemed so obvious. It was a joke.’’

The joke is taking someone like Canseco at his word. But even when you DO, you STILL cannot say that you have ANY facts that point to Sosa juicing. “I can’t say for a fact that he took steroids.”

I can’t say for a fact that BLou beats his wife — but his anger issues on this board — you can see the fury in his words. It seems so obvious. It’s a joke.

And you’re all thinking cubstoseries posting something weird sounding – that never happens!

But I still think he used some kind of “help” but it will shock me less and less if it was ever proven he didn’t.

Unfortunately he can’t prove himself innocent at this point. And nobody can prove him guilty either.

There was talk about testing they can do on tissues somewhere but I believe it has to be done as part of an autopsy. Wouldn’t it be sad if he was proven innocent after he died?

is enough for me to draw my ire. I still can’t get over that stupid little antic.

I think if juicing was behind the bulking up, something would have come out by now and hasn’t so I’m not going there with that.

He may have had all kinds of failings as well but that’s the one that ticks me off. One wonders about the Sneeze and all the other maladies .. Yes, he’s a Cub who gave us all chills and thrills but his team-dissing exit left a big bad taste in my mouth.

Have you thought about our little suggest with the rusty spoon? Because I really think the we would appreciate it if you weren’t able to reproduce.

Signed,

The human race.