Steroids and Baseball Stuff

With the release of the Mitchell Report many people are jumping to conclusions about the players named in this report. Some of these players have in the past week admitted to using Steroids and HGH (Human Growth Hormone), see Andy Pettitte. I personally have a hard time believing some of these accusations, especially the ones made by Brian McNamee. For those of you who don't know Brian McNamee was a former trainer for the Blue Jays and Yankees and a personal trainer formerly in the employ of Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. McNamee claims to have injected Roger Clemens with steroids numerous time between 1997 and 2001. In this span Clemens won three Cy Young Awards (1997, 1998, and 2001). The Mitchell Report, I think, did not do a good job documenting payments and use of steroids and HGH. The report includes as one of its appendices photo-copies of checks made out to McNamee and another "dealer." However, on all these checks there is no mention of steroids or HGH, they could easily be for some other service rendered i.e.: Personal Training. Another factor into my doubting the claims of McNamee regarding Clemens is that since the issuing of the Mitchell Report affidavits from the Jason Grimsly case have since been unsealed. According to reports by certain newspapers Roger Clemens is, in these affidavits, said to have received and used Steroids. These reports have since been proven false since his name appears nowhere in these documents. If Clemens was telling the truth then why do people feel that he is lying now? Another thing to consider is that this witness testimony is uncorroborated and coming from somebody who made a deal with the prosecutors of his own drug case.

Some like Curt Schilling (boo, hiss) have said that if these allegations are true then Clemens should give up the Cy Young Awards he won after 1996. I clearly don't agree. The fact of the matter is that Clemens has never tested positive for Steroids and furthermore when Clemens is said to have used the substance in question it was not a banned substance (at least in Baseball). Although Clemens might have broken the law he did not consume of substance that was banned by MLB. As you can see I don't think that Clemens used any performance enhancing substances.

Other Baseball stuff:

Personally I am glad that the Yankees have not made any deal for Johan Santana. Although he is the best pitcher in Baseball right now, the move would not be good in the long run. Giving up Phil Hughes, Melky, and Ian Kennedy is way too much. Giving up Hughes, Melky, and a middle tier prospect is also too steep a price to pay for a pitcher like Santana. This is a move that the old Yankees would make. The Yanks will be better off in the long run by keeping and developing players like Melky, Hughes, Kennedy, and other prospects on the farm. I don't think the Yankees will win the WS next year but I do think they will make the playoffs and in two to three years I do think they will win the WS.