A- Rod admits to steroid use in 2003

[Finkelskyhook]

It's good that ESPN had the common sense to have Gammons do the interview with Rodriguez.  We could be subjected to Jamele Hill or steven i smith, the Katie Couric and Keith Olberman (respectively) of ESPN.

The interview with Gammons should be poignant but most importantly, coherent and respectful.  

In my opinion, A-Rod's situation is completely different than Bonds'. When he breaks Bonds' home run record he will be forgiven and celebrated. He is presently condemned, but he will be the future hero and liberator of the steroid era. If he is not then baseball is botching the difference between right and wrong, and the game will clearly have no integrity left.

Any integrity the game had left went flying out the window with George Mitchell.

[KungPoweChicken]

People like to hate Alex because he is filthy rich, good looking, and the best baseball player in the world. However, he did the smart thing and he should be forgiven with time.

You forgot "cheater".

And he may be forgiven, but if Barry Bonds isn't allowed into the HOF, A-Rod shouldn't be either.

In my opinion, A-Rod's situation is completely different than Bonds'. When he breaks Bonds' home run record he will be forgiven and celebrated. He is presently condemned, but he will be the future hero and liberator of the steroid era. If he is not then baseball is botching the difference between right and wrong, and the game will clearly have no integrity left.

Hahhahahahahahhahaa.  I almost wet myself.  So a cheater is somehow the "hero" of the steroid era???  Good one.

I said, "FUTURE hero and liberator of the steroid era."

[Roy Hobbs]

People like to hate Alex because he is filthy rich, good looking, and the best baseball player in the world. However, he did the smart thing and he should be forgiven with time.

You forgot "cheater".

And he may be forgiven, but if Barry Bonds isn't allowed into the HOF, A-Rod shouldn't be either.

In my opinion, A-Rod's situation is completely different than Bonds'. When he breaks Bonds' home run record he will be forgiven and celebrated. He is presently condemned, but he will be the future hero and liberator of the steroid era. If he is not then baseball is botching the difference between right and wrong, and the game will clearly have no integrity left.

I'm not following your argument.  Are you saying that A-rod is somehow better than Bonds?  How?  Bonds cheated at the end of a long career to keep himself from breaking down.  That was wrong.  A-rod cheated throughout pretty much his entire career (if you believe Jose Canseco, for a much longer time period that A-rod is admitting to).  That was also wrong, and certainly wasn't any better than what Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, or anybody else did.

[fairweatherfan]

As much as I hate A-Rod, I have little doubt that he would become one of the best hitters of the game had he not used steroids.  But he did.  And there has to be a price to pay for cheating.  And that starts with the HOF.

So do you think everyone who was found to be using should be excluded without exception?  I'm not disagreeing with you, I don't have a dog in this fight but I think it's a very interesting situation.  If we exclude all the known users, even those who are only confirmed to have used for a year or two, the HOF will effectively have a "lost generation" where a large % of those on top of the record books will be missing from the Hall. 

Baseball's got a very sticky situation on its hands here, especially after they (owners and the union) dragged their heels for years on mandatory testing. It's a choice between making the taint of the steroid era permanent and glaring by leaving maybe dozens of guys out of the HOF, or to try and reconcile things by making some concessions and allowing at least some known cheaters in.  I'm really interested to see how they resolve it.

[Roy Hobbs]

As much as I hate A-Rod, I have little doubt that he would become one of the best hitters of the game had he not used steroids.  But he did.  And there has to be a price to pay for cheating.  And that starts with the HOF.

So do you think everyone who was found to be using should be excluded without exception?  I'm not disagreeing with you, I don't have a dog in this fight but I think it's a very interesting situation.  If we exclude all the known users, even those who are only confirmed to have used for a year or two, the HOF will effectively have a "lost generation" where a large % of those on top of the record books will be missing from the Hall.

Baseball's got a very sticky situation on its hands here, especially after they (owners and the union) dragged their heels for years on mandatory testing.  I'm really interested to see how they resolve it.

I get the feeling that all of those guys will eventually get in.  The writers might not vote them in, but I think most players will be more sympathetic.  At the very least, Bonds, Clemens, and A-rod will eventually be enshrined.

[fairweatherfan]

As much as I hate A-Rod, I have little doubt that he would become one of the best hitters of the game had he not used steroids.  But he did.  And there has to be a price to pay for cheating.  And that starts with the HOF.

So do you think everyone who was found to be using should be excluded without exception?  I'm not disagreeing with you, I don't have a dog in this fight but I think it's a very interesting situation.  If we exclude all the known users, even those who are only confirmed to have used for a year or two, the HOF will effectively have a "lost generation" where a large % of those on top of the record books will be missing from the Hall.

Baseball's got a very sticky situation on its hands here, especially after they (owners and the union) dragged their heels for years on mandatory testing.  I'm really interested to see how they resolve it.

I get the feeling that all of those guys will eventually get in.  The writers might not vote them in, but I think most players will be more sympathetic.  At the very least, Bonds, Clemens, and A-rod will eventually be enshrined.

I agree with you 100% on A-Rod and probably 95% on Clemens, but Bonds is so unpopular among writers and players, and so unrepentant about cheating, that I really think he might get left out.  Not to mention he might wind up being the only major player to do time as a result of his use. I don't have any love for Bonds, and I don't know what the future holds, but if any of the users are let in he needs to be among them. 

Like I said, I'm really curious to see how it plays out now that it's becoming obvious that more superstars than not were using.  Though it would be funny if the Hall's entire exhibit on the last decade winds up being a picture of Maddux and Griffey having a tea party 

[crownsy]

People like to hate Alex because he is filthy rich, good looking, and the best baseball player in the world. However, he did the smart thing and he should be forgiven with time.

You forgot "cheater".

And he may be forgiven, but if Barry Bonds isn't allowed into the HOF, A-Rod shouldn't be either.

In my opinion, A-Rod's situation is completely different than Bonds'. When he breaks Bonds' home run record he will be forgiven and celebrated. He is presently condemned, but he will be the future hero and liberator of the steroid era. If he is not then baseball is botching the difference between right and wrong, and the game will clearly have no integrity left.

see my previous post, why is it diffrent?

because arod's likable (to some) and plays ball with the media and bonds is vilified?


same offense, same treatment, or your a hypocrite. the ONLY, and i mean ONLY diffrance is bonds was dumb enough to lie about it to a grand jury, while arod stuck to his fans and katie coruic.

[Toine43]

People like to hate Alex because he is filthy rich, good looking, and the best baseball player in the world. However, he did the smart thing and he should be forgiven with time.

You forgot "cheater".

And he may be forgiven, but if Barry Bonds isn't allowed into the HOF, A-Rod shouldn't be either.

In my opinion, A-Rod's situation is completely different than Bonds'. When he breaks Bonds' home run record he will be forgiven and celebrated. He is presently condemned, but he will be the future hero and liberator of the steroid era. If he is not then baseball is botching the difference between right and wrong, and the game will clearly have no integrity left.

Hahhahahahahahhahaa.  I almost wet myself.  So a cheater is somehow the "hero" of the steroid era???  Good one.

I said, "FUTURE hero and liberator of the steroid era."

KungPoweChicken, you're basing what you're saying on the premise that A-Rod stopped doing steroids and all other performance enhancing supplements after 2003. What reason do any of us have to believe that? A-Rod's word? Lately, that's proven not to be a very reliable commodity. Oh, and by any chance do you happen to be a Yankee fan? It seems that way to me.

[Roy Hobbs]

Watching him now, A-rod looks like he's lying through his teeth.  If this guy was this shifty-eyed on the witness stand, a jury would disregard every word he said.

I love how every time Gammons asks him a tough question (i.e., where did you get the steroids?) he evades.  It's comical that he keeps referring to GNC and over-the-counter supplements, when he tested positive for a hardcore steroid.  He's trying to apologize, without actually admitting anything.

He's "guilty of being naive [and] negligence", but apparently nothing else.

[Roy Hobbs]

A-rod didn't even know what steroids were until getting to Texas, apparently.  He'd never seen them or heard about them in Seattle.

Uh huh.  I saw players taking steroids playing Class B football in Maine.  I'm sure A-rod never saw them in high school, college, or his early years in MLB.

[Roy Hobbs]

Also, apparently it's all Salena Roberts' fault.

[crownsy]

Also, apparently it's all Salena Roberts' fault.

nice to see CNNSI already has an article up proclaiming that if he admits anything "shame should be his punishment, but we need to forgive and move on."

pays to play ball with the media, admit to nothing and your off the hook.

[Brickowski]

Let me repeat what I said the other day.  They ALL used steroids. This is a story only because A-Rod is a marquee player.

[Roy Hobbs]

Gotta love Gammons playing the apologist role.  A-rod came clean completely?  I guess we watched different interviews.

[EatSleepBreatheGreen]

Gotta love Gammons playing the apologist role.  A-rod came clean completely?  I guess we watched different interviews.

Nah, Im on your side. He even tries to say he didnt know what he was taking. Someone on ESPN said something I agree with(Didnt think that would ever happen).

This isnt word for word...
"Professional athletes look at their bodies as "instruments of fine precision" and would definitely know what is going in their body."