McGwire (finally) admits to steroid use
Slugger Mark McGwire finally admitted Monday to what most people believed-that he used steroids throughout his playing career. McGwire believed the usage began “…the winter of 1989 into 1990. I was given a couple of week’s worth, tried it, never thought anything of it. I just moved on from it. But as far as using it on a consistent basis, it was the winter of 1993 into 1994.” After his statement and subsequent interview on the MLB Network with Bob Costas, many writers have condemned him. However many current and former players have supported him. Hall of Famer Hank Aaron offered his forgiveness and hope that he gets into the HOF. “He has my forgiveness,” Aaron said of McGwire. “If that’s all that stands in the way between him being inducted into Cooperstown, we should all forgive him.”
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement in support of the retired slugger. “I am pleased that Mark McGwire has confronted his use of performance-enhancing substances as a player,” Selig said. “Being truthful is always the correct course of action, which is why I had commissioned Senator George Mitchell to conduct his investigation. This statement of contrition, I believe, will make Mark’s reentry into the game much smoother and easier.” St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who was McGwire’s manager for the vast majority of his career, came to his friend’s defense. “No one on the teams I managed worked harder or better than Mark,” La Russa said in a statement issued by the club. “And now, his willingness to admit mistakes, express his regret, and explain the circumstances that led him to use steroids add to my respect for him.”
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday said sometimes friends do things that you do not condone, but that does not mean you stop loving them. Former closer Mitch Williams seconded that statement. If fans, the media, and players could forgive Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, and Jason Giambi for not really admitting to steroid use (only in a round-a-bout way) and they can forgive Manny Ramirez (who tested positive this past year) so quickly, why can’t they forgive McGwire? Okay he used steroids for most of his career, but so has A-Rod. However A-Rod helped the NY Yankees win their 27th World Series title and everyone loved him, but they forget that he tainted the team before the 2009 season even started.
On the radio, former pitcher Curt Schilling stated that McGwire is the only one to fully admit to his steroid use, and to show true emotion while doing so. Last year when Manny and A-Rod were addressing the issue, did you feel as if they were truly sorry? I didn’t. I just think they were sorry that they got caught.
People are ridiculing McGwire because he said he used steroids for health reasons (to get back on the field), not as a performance-enhancer. He fully believes that steroids did not help him hit homeruns; they just helped him get over the injuries faster. He was asked repeatedly by Costas if he believed that his statistics and records were legitimate in light of the disclosure, McGwire did not budge. “Absolutely,” he said. “I truly believe so. I was given this gift by the man upstairs. My track record as far as hitting home runs … my first at-bat in the league was a home run. They still talk about the home runs I hit in high school. They still talk about the home runs I hit in [American] Legion. They still talk about the home runs I hit in college [USC] — I led the nation in home runs. They still talk about the home runs I hit in the Minor Leagues.”
“I was given the gift to hit home runs. The thing is about the years you were talking about, you go back to ‘93 and ‘94, those are the two years that I was really injured where I missed basically three-quarters of the season. That was the first time in my life that I sat back and I really had to understand what this game was about. I started studying pitchers. I started understanding how they try to get you out. And during that, my swing was changing.”
“…I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for my health purposes. I did not take steroids to get any gain for any strength purposes… I’ve always had bat speed. I just learned how to shorten my bat speed. I learned how to be a better hitter. There’s not a pill or an injection that is going to give me — or any athlete — the hand-eye coordination to hit a baseball. A pill or an injection will not hit a baseball.”
Where were these people who ridicule when Pettitte said taking steroids did not give him an advantage over anyone else because he was hurt at the time? Hello, steroids help you get back on the field faster! That’s an advantage over someone who is not using. I do not condone steroid use but just admit it and move on if you used. Excuses are just a cover-up. Many hitters and pitchers were using steroids at that time and sometimes you just need to leave the past in the past. Just say you used, you screwed up, and move on. The game of baseball is being cleaned up and we should just worry about the present status of the game and keeping the sport clean. Who is to say steroids (or other drugs) were not in use before the 1990s? We will probably never know everything and that is why we should just move on.
Some are saying that McGwire ruined the game and he’ll never be forgiven. As long as his family, the Maris’, and the Cardinals forgive him, I do not think he cares about the rest of the world. I cannot imagine carrying this secret around for so long without telling the people closest to you. During his interview with Costas, you could see the true emotions that he was feeling. Glad to see the monkey is off of his back.




Yankees 7, Phillies 4: Game 4 was a game with a full rage of emotions. For the Phillies, the fans were fired up at the start, but were quickly quieted by the Yankees early offense. Late in the game, the Yankees were shocked by the homeruns hit by the Phillies to tie the game. Phillies fans and players who were back into the game were thrown for a loop when the game quickly slipped from their fingertips.
Utley homered off of Sabathia in the bottom of the seventh, his third homerun of the World Series and third off of Sabathia. This ended Sabathia’s evening and brought on the Yankees bullpen. With a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees went to Joba Chamberlain to setup for closer Mariano Rivera. After blowing away both Jayson Werth and Ibanez on 96 mph fastballs, Joba tried to throw a 95 mph fastball by the now hot-hitting Feliz, who quickly deposited the pitch into the left field seats to tie the game at 4-4. Feliz ended the inning with 3 hits, after only having six hits in 42 postseason at-bats this year. The jubilation and expectations of another comeback victory at Citizens Bank Park quickly came to an end in the top of the ninth as the Phillies pitching yet again couldn’t keep the Yankees scoreless after the offense tied the game. This time it was Brad Lidge, who hadn’t pitched yet in the World Series and hadn’t pitched in a game since Game 5 of the NLCS. After getting two quick outs, Damon got another hit, stole second, and then third because no one went to cover the third base bag as Ruiz threw to second and Feliz was shifted to second base with Teixeira at the plate. This play proved to be costly (and will forever be remembered) as Lidge hit Teixeira and A-Rod followed with a RBI double to retake the lead. Posada followed with a 2-run single to give the Yankees a commanding 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Chamberlain was seen in the dugout hugging Posada and A-Rod, thanking them for saving him and giving the Yankees the lead back.
The electric crowd at Citizens Bank Park turned to moans and groans as the inning was disastrous. Lidge got fastball happy after getting the two quick outs in the ninth, going away from his signature pitch (the slider) which had worked against Hideki Matsui and Jeter. When all was said and done, it took 30 pitches for Lidge to hobble through the 9th. Now the Phillies were down with Rivera coming in to close out the game instead of the game being tied and facing Phil Coke. Rivera quickly dispatched the Phillies hitters, throwing just 8 pitched to finish them off.
Yankees starter AJ Burnett avoided the big wild inning, throwing first pitch strikes to 22 of the 26 batters he faced. Burnett’s curveball was working throughout the night, making the Phillies hitters look silly. He gave manager Joe Girardi seven solid innings, allowing him to go to closer Mariano Rivera for another six out save. Rivera looked hittable in Game 2, especially in the eighth inning when the Phillies had two men on and only one out. Manuel decided not to send the speedy runners (Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino) on a 3-2 count and the batter, Chase Utley, grounded into a double-play to end the inning. Utley meanwhile, extended his consecutive on-base streak in postseason games to 27 with a walk in the 3rd inning, continuing to add on to his
Has Girardi completely lost faith in his entire bullpen? I’m not sure Girardi can continue to go to Rivera for six out saves, especially if he continues to throw close to 40 pitches an outing. We will see as the World Series continues.
Neither team is tearing the cover off of the baseball and both teams RBI machines have cooled off. I mentioned A-Rod earlier, but Ryan Howard went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts last night against the combination of Burnett and Rivera and never looked comfortable at the plate. Unlike in Game 1, Burnett only showed the fastball on the first pitch to most of the hitters and they were taking it for a strike, trying to be patient and run up Burnett’s pitch-count. That approach never really worked. The Phillies struck out 15 times in Game 2, yet only lost 3-1.
The 2009 World Series is truly a matchup of the two best teams in baseball. There is trash-talking, with each city’s media taking things to the extreme and trying to get the players involved. One NY newspaper depicted Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in a cheerleading skirt and called the Phillies the “Frillies”. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins predicted the Phillies would win in 5 games. Both teams expect hostile crowds while on the road and Rollins loves to silence opposing teams’ home crowds. Plus he used to being hated in NY.
Both team’s ballparks are susceptible to the homerun as they were ranked in the top two in homeruns in
e a few questions marks in their lineups. The Phillies Chase Utley has a 25 straight postseason games of reaching base streak, which ties a ML record. Though he has been on base, he really has not been hitting (.211 against the Dodgers). The Phillies need more than just Victorino, Howard, and catcher Carlos Ruiz to produce. Rollins will need to be the fire-starter and put pressure on the pitchers and Jorge Posada behind the plate for the Phillies to be successful. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher of the Yankees have been struggling throughout this postseason and some have talked about benching Swisher. The Yankees are relying on Swisher becoming the clutch hitter he has been all season long and Tex to be the power-hitting, RBI machine he was all season.
found his 2008 self. Chad Durbin has been lights-out coming in to get out of jams and if his sinker is working, double-play balls will be common. Everyone else is either hurting or coming back from an injury (Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, and Brett Myers) or inexperienced (Antonio Bastardo, Happ). Yes the Yankees have postseason sensation Mariano Rivera as their closer, but he has been far from dominant in the last year or so. Getting to Mo has been a challenge and manager Joe Girardi has been using him for more than an inning lately. I think that the young bullpen pitchers have struggled lately mainly due to overuse throughout the regular season. Look at box scores and some pitched almost every day (like Phil Coke and his 72 games). Alfredo Aceves ended up with 10 wins, mainly out of the bullpen. Dave Robertson was in the top 5 in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings (12.98) and has been dominant. Phil Hughes has been struggling though he has been the 8th inning setup man for most of the second-half. Since Girardi seems to have lost some confidence in his bullpen, Brian Bruney has been added to the roster and could regain his role of setup man if he dominates.
Game 1: Cliff Lee @ CC Sabathia
Game 2: Pedro Martinez @ AJ Burnett
Game 3: Cole Hamels vs. Andy Pettitte

The
Dave Roberts of the
World Series MVP, Beckett had the most innings pitched of any Marlins pitcher, along with a 1.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts. The other unknown young Marlins also became hot commodities as teams jumped on the chance to cash in on another Marlins fire-sale: Beckett, Mike Lowell, Derek Lee, Juan Pierre, Miguel Cabrera, Brad Penny, Carl Pavano, and Dontrelle Willis. The 2002 playoffs was the year of the Rally Monkey, but a rookie reliever was the player who stood out. Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez became an overnight sensation for his devasting pitches (fastball and 2 types of curveballs) and celebratory antics after the final out. K-Rod won 5 postseason games yet had only pitched in 5 games all season for the Angels before making the postseason roster. He had 13 strikeouts in just 8.2 innings pitched in the World Series. The above listing is only of the postseason surprises and heroes of the 2000s. There are so many more and too many to name (like Craig Counsell with both the Diamondbacks and Marlins and others).
So who are the 2009 surprises and heroes? Jeff Mathis of the Angels. The catcher had the worst batting average of any position player in 2009, yet he had hits in 6 straight at-bats in this postseason, along with a game winner. Does this mean Mathis will play more than just catching John Lackey or as a late-inning replacement? We will see.
of the Phillies. “Chooch” could have (and to me should have) won the 2008 World Series MVP. However he seems to still be a secret among fans and opposing teams. Teams run on him and he throws them out trying to steal and they pitch to him and he crushes it (at least in the postseason). Ruiz has learned that the postseason is the time to shine. In 2008, Ruiz hit .261 overall in the postseason, though in the World Series he hit .375 with 3 RBIs and with 3 of his hits being for extra bases (2 doubles, 1 homerun). In 2009, Ruiz has been better, hitting .346 with 7 RBIs. Even NLCS MVP Ryan Howard admitted that without Ruiz, the Phillies would not
be in the World Series.
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