Today's Roid Roundup

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say this, but a mainstream journalist (Jayson Stark) actually wrote something that I half-way agree with. His point was that there is a double standard when it comes to steroid controversies. Barry Bonds get crucified, but Rick Ankiel and Rodney Harrison get a pass. He's right that there's a huge double standard, and there shouldn't be. Of course the "single standard" that he and I would prescribe are probably quite different.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I don't care that Rick Ankiel used HGH. I don't care if Barry Bonds used HGH. There that is a single standard, and a very easy one. It involves no qualifiers about their positions, the rules of the game, quantification or qualification of empirical evidence, etc. Just say "I don't care." It's easy really.

If I'm watching a baseball game, I hope to see the highest level of play possible. I don't care what it took to get to that level of play, that's somebody else's problem. Now the law might care, and if it does, so be it. Arrest Rick Ankiel if you want, just like you arrested Michael Vick. If we start talking law, I would argue against laws against drugs, but would argue for laws against dog fighting, but that's beside the point. I can't be too unhappy with somebody getting arrested for breaking a well-known law.

Jayson Stark is generally a complete idiot who is wrong too often to be funny. But he's right. It's really all a matter of if people like a particular athlete or not. If they do, then they don't care about steroids. If they don't, then they're just looking for any reason to defame, and steroids is an easy one ("You cheater! Think about the children!") Stark better watch out, or he'll wind up being really cynical about the public. And that's not good for ratings...

#756

One of the great things about eBay is the endless opportunities for profit. It's like when the iPhone debuted. The only company (besides Apple) hoping for Apple stores to sell out quickly was eBay. Of course we would love to have #756 auctioned on our site. For that matter, how about #757 hit just last night? And don't forget #755. You get the picture.

Anyways, I was pretty surprised to see the Hank Aaron video message to Bonds after Barry hit #756. Everyone wants to be so righteous and hold Barry in contempt. At the same time, they realize that people everywhere were following the chase, so they wanted a piece of that action. Bud Selig may hate Barry, but how much coin has Barry put in his and the other owners' pockets?

I like having Barry Bonds as the top player of my generation. I like that we have a guy who was already the best in the sport, but who went out, broke the rules, used technology and took the game to levels it had never seen before. He did it and never apologized for being better than everybody else before him.

When Mark McGwire broke the single season record, I remember thinking "man if he suddenly stays healthy into his 40's, he could break Aaron's record." I am so glad that didn't happen. McGwire was always ashamed of his use of juice. He just wanted to fit in with the greats and be liked by the masses. He needed the juice to do that, but he also needed for people to not know about the juice at the same time. He was too weak to break the record, and too weak the represent my generation.

Barry is perfect. He doesn't care about people liking him. He doesn't want to fit in with the greats of the game, he wants to tower over them. He's egotistical, self-centered, and completely focussed on success at all costs. He's the modern day Ty Cobb.

All Star Game

The top story on ESPN starts out "Despite a lackluster season ... Barry Bonds will be right at home in the 78th All Star Game." A lackluster season? Bonds is #1 in the NL in OBP with a gaudy 0.513. OBP is arguably the most important stat in baseball, but it is often overlooked by sports writers. Fine. He's #2 in the NL in SLG at 0.599, and not surprisingly #1 in OPS at 1.112. He's not just #1, but #1 with a bullet. The difference between him and #2 Chase Utley is 0.128. If you subtracted 0.128 from Utley's OPS you would drop 24 slots in the rankings. Yet, Bonds is clearly having a lackluster season...