I was holding out some hope that David Ortiz might actually be forthright and honest when he decided to finally address his positive steroids test from 2003 but I was wrong. Judging by the way he was acting, why wouldn’t I have hoped for the best? He told us that he’s always upfront and honest with the media and that he would continue to act that way as soon as he gathered some more information about the positive test. He said he would tell the truth and that’s what I expected. Although he found out on Thursday the 31st of July that he was on the list for a positive test, it somehow took him over a week to “gather all the facts.”

If Ortiz weren’t trying to come up with the best possible defense to deflect all blame and portray himself in the best possible light then he would have just spoke the next day and given us the honest truth. Instead, he took the scummy way out and sat behind the protection of the even more dishonest player’s union. He never explained what he took, when he took it, or why. Instead, he gave us some totally bullcrap answer saying that he’s never used or bought steroids and that the positive test was caused by vitamins or supplements. Riiiiight.

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So Rashard Lewis became like the first NBA player I can remember who tested positive for steroids. That means we should strip the Magic of their Finals appearance and crown the Cavs the reigning Eastern Conference champs. I mean how else can you explain Shard going from 5.4 to 5.7 boards per game in one off-season? OK, maybe that wasn’t the difference maker, but something that’s bothering me is the lame excuse I’m tired of hearing:

“Toward the end of the season I took an over-the-counter supplement which at the time I did not realize included a substance banned by the NBA. I apologize to Magic fans, my teammates and this organization for not doing the research that should come with good judgment. I hope this unintentional mistake will not reflect poorly on our team and its great character. I hope every athlete can learn from my mistake that supplements, no matter how innocent they seem, should only be taken after consulting an expert in the field.”

Honestly, how many times have we heard this excuse? J.C. Romero, the Williams Wall from Minnesota, seems like every player who gets busted blames it on a supplement. When will all the players take responsibility for their mistakes? And why don’t they get products checked by their leagues before they take them? If they get approval from the league, then how could they possibly have a problem? When you have multiple game suspensions and millions on the line how could you make a mistake like that? I can’t imagine guys being that sloppy with that much at stake. You’re really expecting me to continue buying these lame excuses?

In the aftermath of two more big names being leaked from the ‘03 steroids list, you knew the Players Union wouldn’t just sit back silently without comment, right? Well, the snake that is Donald Fehr spoke up as you could imagine and is doing everything possible to take the focus away from Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz who cheated the game by using performance-enhancers and put it on the people leaking the sealed grand jury info:

But there should be no mistake. The leaking of information under a court seal is a crime. The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal is a crime. That its informants, according to the Times, are lawyers is both shocking and sad. That the Times is pursuing and publishing what it openly declares to be information which may not be legally disclosed is equally sad. We intend to take the appropriate legal steps to see that the court orders are enforced.”

Leave it up to the Players Union, the biggest culprit in this whole scandal, to ignore the most glaring problem — its players are using illegal drugs (yes, anabolic steroids are illegal in the country) and cheating the game. They are the ones chiefly responsible for the problem, and if the players never had taken the stuff there wouldn’t be an issue of sealed information. Let’s all remember here that this is the same country where lawyers’ responsibilities are to the defendant, even if the defendant has confessed murder to them. Ignore all the spin and get down to the real problem — the players were the ones doing the illegal activity to begin with and it’s the union that shepherded the whole thing. If each leak puts more pressure on the union to accept harsher penalties for users, then I’m all for it. Two years for a first-time offense, lifetime ban after that.

When it comes to the subject of steroids in baseball there isn’t a more credible source than Jose Canseco. The dude was practically the godfather of roids in baseball, the way he tells it. Players, owners, agents, the union — they all lie, but Canseco tells the truth. And when he was asked about the 2003 positive test that supposedly includes Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, Canseco offered something extra:

“When you tell me something I didn’t already know, I’ll be surprised. And I’ll tell you this, Major League Baseball is going to have a big, big problem on their hands when they find out they have a Hall of Famer who’s used.”

Canseco goes on to say he’s not into naming names (I guess he forgets about his books) because he wants to get the union for propagating this whole mess. OK, so now that we have the info, who’s the player? We can’t be sure until we hear from Canseco, but I’m sure many of us have a damn good idea who it is. Let’s see:

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The A’s were in Boston to finish up their series with the Red Sox Thursday when the David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez report emerged. Naturally NESN went over to the Oakland clubhouse after the game to get the thoughts of Nomar Garciaparra who was a teammate of both Manny and Papi in Boston during the 2003 season. And let me tell you something, Nomar was nervous, uncomfortable, fidgety, and overall looking guilty when discussing the ‘03 testing list. Check out the video:

In case you can’t watch the video, Nomar says the list was a joke and that since it was supposed to be sealed by the grand jury that it would be viewed as inadmissible evidence in the courts. He said guys who wanted testing didn’t take the test on purpose so that the percentage of positive tests would go up. He was questioning the legitmacy of the list, stressed it was supposed to be anonymous, and he overall seemed to be defending himself as if he were one of the guilty parties on the list. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to find out if he were. How else do you tear a muscle completing off the bone?

In the same weekend that Hank Aaron said steroids cheaters belonged in the Hall of Fame so long as their records include asterisks, the former home run king also campaigned for the reinstatement of the hit king, Pete Rose. From USA Today:

“I would certainly like to see him in,” Aaron said. “He belongs in, really. His career is one that he needs to be right here in the middle of all of this.”
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“The Pete Rose thing is different than steroids,” Aaron said. “If I had been Pete, I think I would have asked for forgiveness many, many years ago.”

I’ve maintained that the steroids cheaters belong in Cooperstown because they’re a big part of the history of the game, but that they don’t belong in the Hall of Fame because they lack good character and integrity. Pete Rose, who bet on games as a manager, belongs in the same proposed wing as the cheaters. But with the support of Hank Aaron, Joe Morgan, and Frank Robinson, it appears as if Bud Selig is considering lifting the lifetime ban on Pete Rose making him eligible for the Hall by the veteran’s committee. According to the New York Daily News, “Selig’s conditions for any reinstatement would be stiff. Rose likely would need to make another public apology and he would be prohibited from managing.”

I see two solutions to the issue: either Cooperstown needs to get rid of their character and integrity clause from the voting criteria and just judge players based on performance, or the cheaters need a separate, not equal, home. By the way, what’s more perfect for lazy talk show hosts during the slow days of summer than rehashing the Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame argument? Here’s the perfect impetus!