Monday, June 12, 2006

 

Say It Ain't So - Jason Grimsley?*

Wow. Who could have predicted this? Who would have ever thunk it? I mean you just couldn’t – could ya? After all the steps Bud Selig and Major League Baseball have taken to ensure the game is clean, something like this happens. The game will never be the same. It’s forever blemished. Except it’s not. In anyway. At all. Et al. No one cares anymore. First off, I can completely believe this happened and will continue to happen. This is not new to anyone. And for the world to be so narrow-minded that they would think the game is now clean because the congress got involved is the real shocker (yes, the real shocker. Like two in the pink one in the stink). It is now proven that no one stopped using they just found a new way to do it. Enter HGH – Human Growth Hormone. Undetected by steroid and drug testing. Brilliant technology for the ballplayer who wants to gain an edge (or for the layperson: the ballplayer who is not good at baseball). Enter Jason Grimsley. Yeah, let’s get to him. Now, I am amazed that anyone would give two shits about this guy being caught with steroids. It’s like my brother getting caught. It really doesn’t matter at all to the game of baseball. Grimsley is an unimportant relief pitcher for an unimportant team at an unimportant time in baseball. So, he got caught using HGH and actually unbeknownst to the general public also tested positive for steroids in 2003. When he was playing for another legendary team the Kansas City Losing Streaks.
The geniuses at ESPN had two poll questions on their website:
1) What will be remembered as the bigger steroid controversy – Barry Bonds or Jason Grimsley?
2) Do steroids and HGH actually help a ballplayers performance?
I think I can answer both these questions by using Jason Grimsley himself. Grimsley, as aforementioned is a relief pitcher, which is already a strike against his talent. He’s not now nor has he ever been a setup guy or The Closer (Wednesdays on TNT), he’s just a middle relief innings eater. He has only had four seasons with a winning record out of seventeen (3-2 with PHI in ’90, 5-2 with CLE in ’94, 7-2 with NYY in ’99 and 3-2 with NYY in ’00). You’ll notice two of those years were with the Yankees when the Yankees could have made a winning pitcher out of Jose Canseco. He made it to the postseason twice with the Yankees and pitched a combined 3.1 innings with 2 strikeouts. His career ERA is 4.77 and this year with the D-Backs was 1-2 with an ERA of 4.88 and 10 K’s in 27.2 innings. So, it was looking like another career year for Grimsley. Now, to answer ESPN’s brilliant poll questions:
1) Bonds is the bigger story and always will be – even if Frank Robinson comes back from the dead and hits 3,000 homeruns – oh, wait Robinson is still alive. Sorry.
2) According to Grimsley’s stats it would seem steroids and HGH do not help a players performance. At least a pitchers.
Now, to quickly finish on Grimsley – He was suspended 50 games by MLB and will likely retire and spend the rest of his days hanging out with Goose Gossage outside Nudie bars. Anyway, whoever thinks this is a real tragedy or controversy is just as stupid as Grimsley. There have only been three real tragedies in baseball:
1) Steve Sax and his disease
2) The Devil Rays
3) The 1994 strike in which had the season been finished Tony Gwynn would have hit .400 (thus being publicly known as the greatest hitter in modern baseball) Matt Williams would have broken the single season homerun record and The Expos would have at least gotten to the World Series and possibly won it. So, anyone who says this is a tragic does not care or know about baseball. Steroids helped people care again (how quickly we forget 1998). The game will never be clean. It seems odd that Eric Gagne just can’t get healthy. Although everyone seems to forget when he was a starter and about half the size he is now and oh yeah – he sucked. Or, how Albert Pujols hurt his back by reaching for a ball – y’know his job. Although, Pujols came out of nowhere and was a terrible ballplayer until guess what? He bulked up and learned how to hit the long ball…gee I wonder how he did that all of a sudden. Everyone is on some type of steroid or drug – everyone! Even David Eckstein. Stop wishing for a cleaner game and start accepting that this is pro sports for today. If you don’t like it then go read a book or spend time with your kids. Get over it. After all, you created this environment so pay the $30 to see it.


*Go read Joe Quadres “Hulkster and the Babe” article below. It’s genius and on the above subject.

Comments:
I taught you well grasshopper.
 
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