Honestly, this is a better problem to have then the opposite. The Chicago Bears have a strict non-retiring policy going forward as they are legitimately running out of numbers.
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2015 MLB Season Thread
- Thread starter AustinIllini
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Honestly, this is a better problem to have then the opposite. The Chicago Bears have a strict non-retiring policy going forward as they are legitimately running out of numbers.
Giambi hangs 'em up. He really prolonged his career by learning how to PH decently. He was such an amazing hitter for those Oakland teams, I was always genuinely afraid when he was in the box against Sox pitchers. He was also one of the players I was really disappointed to see leave Oakland. Not only because he was so great, but because he was so very Oakland. Seeing him shave his goatee and give up his Bay Area personality to join the Yankees just felt wrong.
And Chuck Knoblauch throwing shade. Can one of you Yankees fans tell me why the bad blood here? I think it's odd the Yankees are retiring all those numbers, and also that they're going so hard after A-Rod but don't seem to care much about Andy's PED use. That said, Knoblauch shouldn't really talk considering his personal history. Also I'm pretty sure many (most?) players in that era used PEDs.
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And Chuck Knoblauch throwing shade. Can one of you Yankees fans tell me why the bad blood here? I think it's odd the Yankees are retiring all those numbers, and also that they're going so hard after A-Rod but don't seem to care much about Andy's PED use. That said, Knoblauch shouldn't really talk considering his personal history. Also I'm pretty sure many (most?) players in that era used PEDs.
He was a cheating piece of garbage. Robbed Frank Thomas of a legitimate MVP win in 2000. Good riddance.
Giambi's grand slam in the rain in extra innings (when the yanks were down 3) against the Twins is one of those games I'll never forget.
As for Chuck, I'm not really sure where the bad blood comes from. Maybe embarrassment about how his time ended with the Yanks? He was a solid player before he got the throwing issues, and I felt more bad for him than annoyed that he all of a sudden couldn't play 2nd base anymore.
I follow him on Twitter because he lives in Houston (and I still have his jersey hanging in my closet!), and he just seems like an odd guy. He got slammed on Twitter and retweeted every insult (and responded to many) - whether it was about his own admissions about PED's, domestic violence, alcohol and his yips. It's a shame because he was fun to watch back in the day.
Tell us how you really feel.
I've always had mixed feelings about DH's ( and Pitchers ) winning the MVP.
I don't know what is up with Chuck, but we can probably rule him out of the next old timers day.
Andy used it for an injury, and he came clean about it. A-Rod sued everyone under the sun to hid his usage, that is the difference.
I don't know what is up with Chuck, but we can probably rule him out of the next old timers day.
Andy used it for an injury, and he came clean about it. A-Rod sued everyone under the sun to hid his usage, that is the difference.
To be fair, Andy came clean about it only after he was caught. But, yes, he handled it better than A-Rod did. But, at the end of the day, he's just a more likable guy and it's easier to forgive the people we like.
Look at Melky Cabrara - he created a fake website to cover up his use, and he hasn't missed a beat since his suspension. But they'll cheer for him in Chicago anyway. It's just the way it is.
Well fans in Chicago will cheer for anything that scores a run.To be fair, Andy came clean about it only after he was caught. But, yes, he handled it better than A-Rod did. But, at the end of the day, he's just a more likable guy and it's easier to forgive the people we like.
Look at Melky Cabrara - he created a fake website to cover up his use, and he hasn't missed a beat since his suspension. But they'll cheer for him in Chicago anyway. It's just the way it is.
Seriously how many times do they even bother to dust of home plate at Wrigley.
Well fans in Chicago will cheer for anything that scores a run.
Seriously how many times do they even bother to dust of home plate at Wrigley.
Melky signed with the White Sox!
I don't know what is up with Chuck, but we can probably rule him out of the next old timers day.
Andy used it for an injury, and he came clean about it. A-Rod sued everyone under the sun to hid his usage, that is the difference.
I can forgive Andy due to A) Coming clean about it B ) Using it to come back from injury( if that story is true at least) C) Context of the era he was in when caught D) Hasn't been caught cheating again.
I gave the same approach back in 2009 when ARod was caught the first time. Era, he came cleanish( can't remember if he fought back a bit before coming clean), etc. He was dumb enough to cheat again, get caught, then use scorch earth tactics to get away with it.
First time cheaters today won't get the same treatment from me. Melky, Braun, etc can rot for all I care. Stupid to cheat in todays era of the game.
When it comes to the HOF for Andy, I am mixed as well. Stats wise he is a borderline case. PED use certainly hurts him, but again if it was to simply heal from an injury, I don't think it should hurt him. But, no way to verify that story so ultimately I don't think he'll get in because of the borderline stats and PED use.
I know that approach with Andy and PED's with relation to HOF is a bit hypocritical of me considering I don't think any PED user should get in the HOF, but like I said if the story of why he used pans out, his stats are not really tainted or anything given he was off PED's when he returned from that injury.
Well fans in Chicago will cheer for anything that scores a run.
Seriously how many times do they even bother to dust of home plate at Wrigley.
The new Cubs organization from the top down has everything you need to be a winner. We'll see what actually happens, but they're off to a good start.
Well, at least you admit it.
And in order to go along with your caveats for Andy Pettitte, we'd have to take his word as gospel with no proof. Not only is that a tough sell for me, I'm not sure how anyone verifies his story as truth.To be fair, Andy came clean about it only after he was caught. But, yes, he handled it better than A-Rod did. But, at the end of the day, he's just a more likable guy and it's easier to forgive the people we like.
Look at Melky Cabrara - he created a fake website to cover up his use, and he hasn't missed a beat since his suspension. But they'll cheer for him in Chicago anyway. It's just the way it is.
This! And yeah, even as a Yankee, Pettitte is a much more likable guy than A-Rod could ever dream of being. So I completely understand why he gets somewhat of a pass from Yankee fans. Manny Ramirez got bopped for PEDs when he was with the Dodgers and I'm not sure anyone really gave a crap. If he had gotten caught while with the Red Sox, I wouldn't have been heartbroken about it. He was truly fun to watch as a hitter, and PEDs were prevalent in that era. My opinion is there are no teams that were exempt from playing guys with PEDs.
That said, I'd hope the players are smart enough to cease such activities now the negative health affects are well known and the testing is much better. But probably not.
The Red Sox have much more stringent rules for retiring numbers. 10 years with the Red Sox + HOF. Pedro falls short of the mark as he only played with us 7 years, but I imagine his current job with the Red Sox will be used to qualify him. He's the only number I can't wait to see on the RF grandstand.
Well, at least you admit it.
Agreed no way to verify that his story is true which is why I think the PED usage will hurt his already borderline case. If it is true, I can excuse him a bit and say it shouldn't hurt his HOF chances. But considering we can't, he shouldn't be in the HOF due to his PED use.
Anyway, ARod issued a hand written "apology".
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2015/02/17/rod-issues-handwritten-apology-take-full-responsibility/
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Oh, he will.
And guys like Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera should be kissing his a** for the rest of their cheating careers because he took so much heat off of them. No doubt the same fans cheering for those guys every night will boo A-Rod.
I've never, ever liked A-Rod, not when he was with Seattle, not when he was with the Rangers, and not since he's been on the Yankees. But damn...either we hate all of cheaters or none of them.
A-Rod and Clemens seem like the last of the REAL drug-cheats, if you will. That's not to say others weren't (aren't) cheating, but he's the last one I think we will treat with the same vitriol we reserve for the Sosa's, Bond's, McGuire's, etc.
We will see with Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera, but if history has taught us anything, the answer to making your case better is to not be a horrible jerk.
Why?
Ryan Braun wasn't a horrible jerk? He lied multiple times and threw some poor guy under the bus. And he hasn't received a hundreth of the vitriol A-Rod has. That could be because he's stuck in Milwaukee, but the reactions haven't been nearly the same. And Melky tried to stupidly cover his up as well. Had he been a Yankee at the time, the reaction to him may have been different, but who knows.
I'm with you on this 100% - the hypocrisy is stunning. A-Rod is the king of all bastard *******s, but Braun and Cabrera (and Pettitte) are all still hailed in their team's cities? Just dumb. The only reason people want him gone is due to schadenfreude and what a self-important jerk A-Rod seems to be. But that is a separate matter, PED use is just a convenient means of moral outrage.
I didn't mind young A-Rod in Seattle, but from Texas on he was captain of the douche squad for me. I was SO glad the Red Sox didn't get that trade accomplished, and I've been tickled (sorry Mo) that he and his enormous ego (and $64mil owed) have become the albatross of the Yankees. But if my team were stuck with him, I'd be hoping he'd go away too. So I get it.
Ryan Braun handled his PED suspension as bad as A-Rod yet has basically gone unmentioned as of late. And Cabrera raked for the Tigers in the playoffs and I heard nary a word about his usage. It's really telling.
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As Moyank mentioned, they were both douches in response to their failed tests. It's just that the public clearly hates them less than A-Rod.
I use "drug-cheat" somewhat sarcastically. A-Rod was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. Before him, it was blasphemy, now it's no surprise people are juicing.
Why A-Rod? It's pretty simple. When everyone knew Barry Bonds was going to pass the 755 career home run mark, the level of discomfort across the media was evident in every article about the feat. Bonds, in his usual dodging of questions from the media, often pointed at Alex Rodriguez as the real baseball player to watch.
When Bonds finally passed 755, we all knew it was a sham. He juiced nearly his whole time in San Francisco. SO why were we so upset about Sosa, McGuire, etc when it was Bonds who was doing the real damage? Because we KNEW that clean Alex Rodriguez was going to make Bonds' record moot by the end of his career. Surely Alex Rodriguez wasn't a cheat, as his natural ability was such that he was so much better than anyone had ever seen.
When it came out Alex Rodriguez, the anointed champion of clean baseball, did steroids, all faith in the MLB power hitter universe was irreversibly destroyed. As a result, no one in baseball shocks us anymore when they admit to doing steroids. What once appeared to be a blemish on a handful of teams became a reality on nearly every team in the game. An 86 year WS drought was broken by what amounted to a collection of juiced up machines. A team in Arizona upset a (admittedly juiced) Yankee team with their own juiced captain. Every World Series winning team in that era except one (oddly, and somewhat appropriately, the 2005 White Sox had only one utility player on steroids) had multiple key juicers.
Why A-Rod? Simple. He was the end of the naivete behind which baseball and the players association could hide behind. He was the chosen one to pass Bonds and reclaim the home run title for the clean guys. Alas, he was as bad as the rest.
As far as Ryan Braun is concerned? Meh. He pretty much ruined his chance at the Hall, but I simply do not care.
Yup. I HATE our local (Albany) media for this but they made sure to mention the day the Red Sox and Yankees reported but made NO mention of the Mets. They also have a tendency to show highlights from the Red Sox and Yankee games (even when NOT playing each other) and the Mets are an 'oh yeah, here's what the Mets did' at the end of the sports cast. I know they're not the Yankees but COME ON!
