Posts Tagged ‘Drug Testing’

Friday’s Mailbag – June 22nd

Posted: June 22, 2012 in Mailbag
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Dear Battered Fan, 

I want to know what is your take on the artistic form of the “flop.” Now I am using flop as a generalized term. Obviously the flop relates to basketball but how about the dive in soccer, a baseball player faking the hand injury when the ball clearly hits the knob of his bat, in football, defenses faking cramps to slow down the hurry up offense… I’ll even go to the extent to throw in a golfer who withdraws from a tournament because he shot a 7-over on the back nine. How about The Battered Fan gives out its version of the Oscar, the Tony – like the dunce cap of old to let these athletes know that, as battered fans, we do not appreciate it when they take zero pride in themselves and as representatives of the teams dear to our hearts.  

-Jamie R.

I’m sure most of us have heard broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy during the recent NBA Finals complain mercilessly about the ongoing epidemic of flopping. You point out many good examples throughout the sports industry where flopping/acting/being a pussy occurs and the credibility of the game is negatively affected. Below, I’ve attached a video where a NBA player was actually kicked out from the game because another player flopped. That ain’t right! My personal belief is one should play the game the right way and not try to get ahead by trick-dicking the referees.

I like your idea of the dunce hat, but I’m thinking more along the lines of a scarlet letter – aka the Letter of Shame. Going along with Van Gundy’s idea of creating a ‘Flop Committee’ to review potential over-embellishments, I feel the punishment for anyone found guilt of being a fraud should be a stiff fine and a large Letter of Shame on one’s uniform for a minimum of one week. Multiple infractions would garner greater fines and longer lengths for the Letter of Shame. If there is two things athletes hate, it is 1) someone taking their money, and 2) being embarrassed publicly. If players are going to tarnish the credibility of the game by flopping, then actions must be taken to hit them where it hurts most – their bank accounts and their egos.

Dear Battered Fan,

I am interested in your opinions about fans at Pro Golf events. Watching the US Open where guys scream ‘get in the hole’ when Tiger Woods tees off on a 630 yard par 5, or when he’s putting from 37 feet with 4 opposing breaks, or when Phil Mickelson is chipping out of the woods to get centered on the fairway, simply drives me crazy. Why do they do this? When did this start?

-Dave T.

While I have no idea when this trend officially started, I have two opinions about why it seems to be more prominent today than ever before.

1) Tiger Woods – The success of Woods was transformational to golf and made the sport a cool event to be around. Woods was the first golfer who genuinely appealled to a younger, more diverse demographic on a grand scale. One only needs to look at the attendance figures of event to see the impact Woods has had on the tour and the sport as a whole. Like any type of event, the younger the attending demographic skews, the more likelihood there is for shenanigans to take place. What likely started with one jackass yelling ‘Get in the Hole’ on a par 3 was likely seen by millions of viewers on television and gained a cheap-chuckle. Next thing you know, every tournament had its version of ‘That Guy’ who acted as if he were the first person to yell it out in a failed attempt to be original and/or funny.

2) Happy Gilmore – As a generation of Happy Gilmore (our generations Caddy Shack) lovers grows older, golf is no longer viewed as the rich, white man-only sport it may have been viewed as in previous generations. Remember Gilmore’s nemesis, Shooter McGavin, and his  infamous quote to the newly-diversified group of spectators? “Damn you people. This is golf. Not a rock concert.” (See clip below.) Well, this is how much of the younger generation views golf today. If you don’t believe me, just spend one day at next year’s Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, AZ. – an event that is more like a 130,000 person kegger where golf just happens to be taking place.

Yes, there will always be the traditional golf courses that stringently enforce their long-held standards of etiquette. But as golfing crowds become more diverse, it may be difficult for the casual sports fan to empathize with an athlete who has to hit a stationary ball surrounded by dead silence. Try hitting a 95 miles per hour fastball with a round bat and 45,000 spectators screaming at the top of their lungs. When casual sports fan see golfers bitch and moan about something as inconsequential as a camera lens clicking in their back swing, the number of ‘That Guy’ imitators at each event will only continue to increase.

Dear Battered Fan,

We deem many other PEDs in our life as acceptable like coffee, Viagra, Rogaine, and 5-hour energy. Is it wrong for the public and the professional sports administrators to outlaw PED use in professional sports? And suspend players without out pay if found guilty?

If Barry bonds is going to have an asterisk next to his name in the record books, then so should Lexington steel for his Viagra use in the porn industry which led to many porn awards, as well my sales associate Alex for drinking an excessive amount of coffee and red bull to the point where he forces himself to work 16 hours a day just to win the award of salesmen of the month for the last 5 months.

I feel strongly about this topic for many reasons, I love home runs, I watch WWE, I’d much rather see a juiced up Brian Cushing than a flabby one, I miss the Bird Man and [Todd] Marinovich for both the same reasons as you probably know. Bottom-line – let the players use PEDs if they want to.

-Gronkfan05 (Taken from the comments section of “Follow-Up to The Era of Drug Testing”)

I think the biggest difference between the PEDs you discuss and those PEDs used during The Steroid Era is the legality of the substances in question. The reason we accept coffee, Viagra, Rogaine, and 5-hour energy as legal PEDs is because the government deems them usable for the general public (although sometimes with specific restrictions). Without turning this into a political science debate about the role of government, the main reason Steroids, HGH, Ephedra, etc are now banned in sports is simply because the league’s are following the laws laid out by the powers that be.

To your point about your friend Alex, as long as he is using legal substances, I personally don’t see the issue with him using every advantage at his disposal. What’s the difference between one person using coffee and another using a college education? Couldn’t they both be construed as performance enhancing? Once again, for me, it comes down to a question of legality. If the laws/rules makes the substance okay to use, then it is fair game for all parties involved. If it is deemed illegal, then I have an issue with its usage.

Back to sports, there will always be loopholes and athletes trying to take advantage of such opportunities. In recent years in baseball, upon the ban of Ephedra/Greenies, there has reportedly been a huge increase in players claiming to have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Obviously, the main reason for such a claim is to get one’s hands on Adderall – the modern-day substitute for Ephedra/Greenies. Being a former-athlete who didn’t use illegal PEDs, it is hard for me to rectify the usage of illegal PEDs. BUT, I also will not judge another’s morality for doing something they may feel is in the best interest of his family’s long-term well being. With millions upon millions of dollars at stake, I understand why some athletes choose to use PEDs – but that doesn’t mean that I agree with or condone their decision.

Gronkfan05 – I figured you’d appreciate the picture below of Brian Cushing.

That’s that.

*Thank you to those who submitted questions! Don’t forget to continue sending questions, thoughts, concerns, and/or rants to TheBatteredFan@gmail.com or The Battered Fan’s Facebook Page for next Friday’s mailbag*

Follow-Up to The Era of Drug Testing – Hitters vs. Pitchers

Posted: June 19, 2012 in Drug Testing, MLB
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While yesterday’s baseball post was supposed to be about the perfect game and multiple one-hitters that occurred this past week, it quickly morphed into one about steroids. Little did I know at the time, but Roger Clemens’ perjury trial would conclude just hours later with Clemens’ being acquitted on all charges that he obstructed justice and lied to Congress about using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). Speaking big picture, this outcome only proved the prosecutors could not prove Clemens’ guilt of perjury, not necessarily that he did or did not do steroids – two completely different issues. After posting yesterday’s piece, there were several comments that noted I overlooked the fact batters were not the only ones who used PEDs, but pitchers did as well. I assume those who commented were implying that since pitchers also used PEDs, it created a ‘more-level playing field’. While I acknowledge yesterday’s omission about pitchers also using PEDs, the omission wasn’t because I believe pitchers never used them. I simply believe PEDs had a greater impact on hitting than it ever did pitching.

My first belief is any strength gains attributed to the use of PEDs were more beneficial to a hitter than they were a pitcher. If a hitter is stronger and is therefore able to hit the ball further, that is an important consequence in baseball. What may have once been a long-fly ball or a double in the gap could now become a homerun. On the flip side, if a pitcher becomes stronger and is able to throw harder, that is not always a good thing. I was recently listening to a Yankees game and the announcer was talking about a conversation he had with Derek Jeter. Jeter had said something to the effect of, “Ten years ago, it was easier. Everyone threw harder but it was straight. Now, nothing is straight.” His point being, back when many pitchers were on steroids, they simply tried to overpower hitters. But the harder pitchers threw, the less movement their pitches generally had. Also, ‘the harder one throws, the further it goes’. Simple physics. While the benefits of PEDs likely had an impact on pitcher’s ability to rebound quicker from start to start, once a pitcher was on the mound, the benefits were not as dramatic as they were for hitters. Simply throwing harder does not necessarily equate to success. Simply hitting the ball further does.

My second belief is the newfound power of the Steroid Era made many pitchers afraid to throw strikes. Even if pitchers were on steroids, if they dared throw it down the middle, many juiced up hitters were going to launch it into the cheap seats. This caused pitchers to nibble around the strike zone, walk more batters, and in consequence create more run-scoring opportunities. You want to know what the REAL Moneyball philosophy was – Steroids. How many of the Moneyball Oakland A’s players ended up being connected to steroids? Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada both won MVP’s for the A’s – both have been linked to steroids. Simply look at this link to see how many other prominent A’s were linked to PEDs – never mind the amount that likely got away with it. Hey Billy Beane, of course your team drew a lot of walks and created run-scoring opportunities, much of your team was (allegedly) using PEDs! (Yes, yes. I realize every other team had PED users as well, and much of the A’s success was due to cheap, elite, young pitching and not necessarily hitting. But I was just trying to make a point… just as the book was). Now a days, pitchers can be much more aggressive and throw the ball over the plate knowing that only a select amount of hitters are going to knock it out of the park on a consistent basis. Ten years ago, even the once light-hitting 2nd basemen could hit the ball 400+ feet on a regular basis. Times have changed.

Again, I fully acknowledge pitchers were using PEDs as well as hitters – I simply believe hitters saw greater benefits between the lines because of them. It is much more difficult to recover on a day to day basis while maintaining your strength and energy when you are playing 160 games a year as compared to making 30 starts with a minimum of four days of rest in between. Barry Bonds’ alleged PED usage allowed him to feverously work out during the season, maintain the 40 pounds of muscle he put on after the age of 35, and perform at the highest level in the history of baseball – all during a period of his career in which he should have been in a sharp decline. I realize the same argument could be made about the latter part of Clemens’ career. The only difference is, Clemons didn’t pitch better than anyone ever had in the history of baseball – as Bonds did at the plate – further providing support for my belief PEDs enhanced batters at a greater rate than it did pitchers. That’s that.

*Don’t forget to send questions, thoughts, concerns, and/or rants to TheBatteredFan@gmail.com for this Friday’s weekly mailbag*

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