Who’s On First And Which As_hole Is Running Things As Of Now ?
Well the MLB season is but a week away from Opening Day and already the game and league looks as if it’s off to a rocky start. In the US Federal Court system former San Francisco Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds has now readily admitted that he did in fact use anabolic steroids and HGH in a statement released by his attorneys late Monday evening at 6 pm EST. The player on trial for obstruction of justice and also five counts of perjury faces up to eight years in prison, quite possibly more and perhaps a monetary fine , may well see this as his last act of truth on his part . The fact of the matter , is for close to seven years Bonds has proclaimed his innocence stating that he never knowingly took steroids or any illicit substance without knowing what those drugs actually were . The player claims that his former personal trainer Greg Anderson told him that the drugs , pills , liquids he was ingesting were in fact flax seed oil and a number of other natural supplements. Pardon me for saying this but if at this juncture Bonds expect the public to take him at his word, the veracity of the claims now being made then in fact from the very start he knew that in order to try and evade telling the truth he simply chose to tell a lie in order to profit from his professional exploits monetarily.
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Slide show for your perusal .
Now I’ve heard many fans state that they don’t care if the players were in fact cheating by using steroids but I’d simply put forth this question would you be prepared to purchase a car if you knew that it wasn’t mechanically sound be it new or pre-owned ? Then why in hell’s name would you want to purchase a ticket to see a player who’s cheated the fans the public and even himself ? For far too long the problem with baseball is that the owners , general managers , the MLBPA and the players themselves have simply chosen to turn a blind eye to their many problems be it through the cheating of the players or the financial mismanagement within the game overseen by the league hierarchy led Commissioner Bud Selig. And if anyone is any doubt as to the financial viability stability of the game. Now we can all attest to the fact that Selig claims the game is now steroid free but in reality even the commissioner can’t be sure as to the veracity of those claims. I mean this is very same individual who now in large part knows that in large part at least 60% of the teams within baseball are struggling to show some some form profitability.
As to the pending Bonds’ trial I don’t feel that it’s now really necessary to delve into the case any longer. However , the worrying thing about this all has been with number of adjournments and US Appellate Court has led to an exorbitant cost in the case Justice Dept who prosecuted this case from the very beginning . I’d like to think that the US Attorney General Eric Holder and the district attorneys nationwide who are his subordinates use the same sort of veracity in trying cases when it comes white collar crime , major felonies such as homicides , sexual crimes and the upcoming terrorist trials be they through the USCMJ with a military tribunal prosecuting the case on the part of the government and in some cases military attorneys and criminal attorneys representing the defendants. With in excess of $15 million having been spent on the investigation and ongoing trial of Bonds I’d like to think that the public will be getting some sort of accountability from the federal government. But that’d be to expect there to be some veracity forthcoming from government what they wish to let the public know and how much they know at any given moment.
Given that Bonds’ trial is still in its early stages with the jury just having been chose and yet to be seated I do believe that there’s still a possibility and the player and his attorneys could very well seek some sort of plea agreement even with the trial in its early proceedings. Were the player to plead guilty at this juncture it would save the taxpayer a great deal of money rather than once again tens of thousands being spent over again all to no avail, in actually attaining a guilty verdict. But then again we’ve a government who’s burned through money the way that a drunken sailor on furlough would seek some pleasure while on leave.
Apart from Bonds’ trial the public still has to deal with upcoming Roger Clemens’ trial that in shape or form just has to be as comical as that of Bonds’ own prosecutorial dealings. Again we have a player who at each step of the way has chosen to apportion blame for his own misdeeds by blaming others. If it wasn’t his former Yankees’ teammate Andy Pettitte whom he claims has misquoted him when the player told members of Congress in a House Oversight & Government Reform Committee hearing that Clemens told he’d used anabolic steroids . Clemens’ even had the temerity to throw a family member under the bus when during a congressional hearing after his former trainer Brian McNamee claimed that he’d taken a several vials and syringes to the player’s home to inject him with HGH . Clemens says he doesn’t recall such an incident but he had indicated that his wife had taken several doses of botox prior to a fitness photo shoot that both were participants in. McNamee’s own integrity has come into question because much of his subpoaena testimony at times wasn’t that credible . But what in large part may well have sunk his own credibility and integrity because of his narcissistic and somewhat less than candid demeanor . And even though Clemens’ Texas based lawyer Rusty Hardin has pled his client’s innocence and states that Clemens is a victim of venomous slander and libel at this juncture given what we’ve seen of the player’s actions and his sworn testimony gives little credibility to the stance he’s taking.
Clemens like his peer Bonds is a multiple award winner having won the Cy Young Award seven times over the course of his now suspect career. And although many purists still see the player’s on field accomplishments as being historic and setting a precedence . Against the backdrop of the ” steroid era” and the allegations which have since engulfed Roger Clemens I seriously doubt that anyone would seriously believe that the player or his achievements will ever be taken seriously. To my mind if Clemens is to viewed as being one of the faces of the steroid era along with players such as Bonds , Mark McGwire , Rafael Palmeiro , Sammy Sosa and Jose Canseco then Greg Maddux has to be seen as the face of all that was right with baseball during that era as a pitcher and player throughout much of that era and during the post steroid annals.
The game’s image has never been as low as it has been than during labor stoppage of 1994 </b when the season was essentially shut down because neither the union or league hierarchy could agree on a collective bargaining agreement. That lockout proved to be costly for the league and even in light of the summer of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa when the duo led the onslaught for Roger Maris then single season home run record of 61 . The figure has since been surpassed by Bonds with the total of 73 and the player also owns the all-time home runs tally of 762 . Another record that may well have the dubious distinction of being frowned upon and having asterisk placed at its side.
There are and will be so many accomplishments in during the steroid and post steroid era that will come into question in spite of the current drug policy instigated by the league. And I’ve no doubt even in spite of a player’s integrity and character whatever the feat accomplished many will question its veracity . This much I do know that in spite of Bud Selig and that of the league hierarchy’s insistence the game is still fraught with danger and that the next major fallout as it relates to the use of steroids is just around the corner. Alex Rodriguez for years pled his innocence as to the illicit use of steroids only to admit years later that he did indeed use steroids thereby embarrassing himself the New York Yankees’ organization and once again the environment of baseball. When questioned as to the allegations that he may well have been using as recently as 2007 , the player through his legal representatives denied those claims even with the advent of his name being associated Orlando based medical professional Dr Anthony Galen who’s now under indictment by the Justice Department for the illegal trafficking and sale of narcotics to athletes within the world of the NFL , NBA as well MLB . Those investigations by the Justice Department are still ongoing and it remains to be seen what the outcome of the resultant investigations will as the department works in conjunction with the FBI on the case .
While I’m no illusion that the players have to be held accountable for their actions what I’m indeed at a loss to explain is why the sheer ignorance shown by Commissioner Bud Selig , league hierarchy , the owners , general managers , players , coaching staffs and the MLBPA (union) itself in trying to clean up the image of their game when the rumors were rife that there was indeed rampant and illegal use of steroids within the game. Either they chose to ignore the obvious or they were as naive as many of us now believe them to be . The idiocy shown by all parties who took part in the congressional hearings leads me to believe that it was actually combination of both ! And it hasn’t helped that there are fans out there as well have been complicit in this madness because by their thinking we simply ought to let the players do as they please . Well take this into account , while those fans may well have made their outlay to attend the games what in essence have they got back in return that they would even think to be tangible in terms their monies’ worth ? If you merely condone the player’s actions be it the lie or the fact that they’ve simply done nothing wrong in cheating by the use of steroids then in you in fact condone what the game had become and that in essence was the sport was rampant with cheating and wherein everyone associated with it other than the fans profited greatly from a financial standpoint . In return do the fan gain anything ? And what of the young kids out there who see the behavior of the players , many of whom they view as their idol ____ and then think that it’s OK to behave in such a manner not when it just comes to the sport of baseball but then they then think that way way when it comes to their every day lives. Is that really the example that anyone really wants to see being set ?
From my own standpoint I believe all parties concerned have been negligent and complicit in the charade under which the game was played throughout much of the late eighties , well into the late nineties and even into the early part of this decade. The game is still a mess from many standpoints , the steroid era notwithstanding as you have a hierarchy , set of owners and a union whose understanding of being financially prudent rests somewhere between having their heads up their ass while a disaster and engulfs them and they’re looking for some way allay any oncoming tragedy. You needn’t look no further then baseball’s own form of socialism now in place as it relates to their asinine revenue sharing scheme that allegedly benefits the small market teams that repeatedly year in and year out can barely make ends meet . Bud Selig in his alleged infinite wisdom sought fit to have a process in place whereby teams with a payroll in excess of $140 million a year would be taxed at a rate of anywhere between 15-20% on an incremental scale of their gross payroll in order to alleviate the financial shortfalls of those small market teams . However that tax sharing revenue scheme isn’t working in the way that the commissioner envisaged with many of those organizations rather than using that money to bolster their respective teams’ playing staffs ______ the owners and executives instead have actually pocketed those sums as if it were some financial windfall by way of an executive perk and bonus. Doubt my word ? Then merely look at the actions of Bob Nutting and Jeffrey Loria the respective owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Florida Marlins ? They in turn still plead poverty as the financial well being of their organization but have benefited greatly from Selig’s rather odious scheme . And Bud Selig , himself isn’t to be left out of this equation at all because as commissioner between 2006-2009 he was compensated to the tune of $68 million ($68 ,000,000) in cumulative salary , all while a number of teams around the league are said to be struggling . Someone is certainly getting the short end of the stick if not the shaft ! It’s most certainly not anyone within the game of baseball ! Care to guess who ? It’s you the fans who willingly choose to spend your hard earned cash in support of teams who simply don’t care about your well being one iota !
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By clicking on an individual frame you can view picture in its original
formatted size .
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Picture gallery for your perusal
As to the impending fate of both Bonds and Clemens what thoughts if any do you have and how do you feel that the justice system is the best place for what might fitting punishment based upon the players’ presumption of guilt or innocence either way ? It’s plain to see were it left in the hands of the games hierarchy things couldn’t be any better or worse dependent upon one’s point of view because baseball’s way of handling things can be best described as being inept and comical to say the very least ! Chime in with a comment on this topic and your hopes this season with regard to the game of baseball and how you view the chances of your team and others within the league ? Thanks as always for the continued support as it’s greatly appreciated !
Alan aka tophatal ……………………………..
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Picture and slide show details below .
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(1) Bonds arrives for the his trial at the US District Court for Northern California where the trial will be presided over by Federal Judge Susan Illston . AP Photo Paul Sakuma …………..
(2) A pensive Bonds attends the second day of judicial proceedings in his obstruction of justice and perjury
trial case . Getty Images / Justin Sullivan ……
(3) Brian McNamee, left, in 2008, is expected to testify against Roger Clemens, right, at Clemens’s upcoming trial. McNamee has said that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs. AP/Reuters -Pool photo/ Chuck Kennedy …..
(4) In this picture file from 2008 : Former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens (L) and his attorney Rusty Hardin (R) walk to a meeting with U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) on Capitol Hill , February 7, 2008 in Washington. According to reports, Clemens’ former trainer, Brian McNamee’s lawyers have claimed they have physical evidence corroborating McNamee’s claim of the pitcher’s use of steroids and human growth hormone. Clemens is due to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next week. Getty Images North America/Johnathan Ernst ……..
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Eye candy ……………… Rosa Acosta
Amber Rose …………… The best sex she’s ver had she says is with herself ? I’d have love to have seen that !
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Ray Charles …………………. “You’re Cheatin’ Heart” . Rather apt don’t you think as it concerns not only Bonds and Clemens but the players all caught up in this asinine charade and farce ?
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