While watching Good Night and Good Luck, I was inspired to post about McCarthyism and the like.
The timing on this is totally ironic, as the Mitchell Report was released just yesterday. I downloaded in a PDF file, thinking I could post it as a link or something, but I don't know how.
You can email me if you want it at penelopeandsadie@aol.com.
Be warned: the bugger is 409 pages long.
I don't want to bore you with a summary. No, my agenda is much different.
I'm just going to talk about the interesting stuff:
To begin with, baseball dropped the ball (I just had to use that pun) and "missed the early warning signs of a growing crisis" (22).
This is my favorite example of the fore mentioned ball dropping:
". . . bullpen catcher with the Montreal Expos was arrested for trying to send marijuana back to Florida with the Florida Marlins’ luggage. He later told Major League Baseball security officials that he had supplied drugs to nearly two dozen major league players, including eight players for whom he said he had procured steroids" (23).
". . . bullpen catcher with the Montreal Expos was arrested for trying to send marijuana back to Florida with the Florida Marlins’ luggage. He later told Major League Baseball security officials that he had supplied drugs to nearly two dozen major league players, including eight players for whom he said he had procured steroids" (23).
First of all, who sends pot "back to Florida"? Isn't pot readily available in Florida? Granted, this is pre 9/11 security, but what dumb ass tries to smuggle drugs in luggage destined for an airplane? Talk about a sense of entitlement . . .
To be fair baseball acts now on such incidents. They are seeing the errors of the past and trying to rebuild.
But it gets so much better. . .
Before 2002, baseball had a "reasonable cause" policy with steroid testing (23).
What constitutes "reasonable cause"?
Are they looking for shrunken testicles? Back achne? Bouts of rage or general obnoxiousness?
And then there's Kirk Radomski, Mets clubhouse employee. This amazes me:
Radomski provided both Mitchell and the Feds with cancelled checks, deposit slips, phone records, and shipping labels (26).
I always wondered why Charlie Sheen used personal checks to pay for services rendered by the employees of Heidi Fleiss. I think the same question applies here.
Again, what a sense of entitlement.
I read a good portion of this and got bored with the rest, so I am putting it aside for now. I don't like the infamous list. It's too Red Scare. Some of the evidence is heresay and speculation. My philosophy of justice doesn't swing that way. I don't want to wreck someones entrance into the Hall of Fame based on he said/ she said, possibly with agendas.
Now we have baseball's favorite asshole Jose Canseco shouting that the list should be longer and naming others who should join in his personal infamy. My favorite mercenary Roger Clemons hired famed Houston attorney Rusty Hardin (represented accounting firm Arthur Anderson after the Enron debacle and the family of Anna Nicole Smith's old man-- you remember-- "Screw you, Rusty") to see what legal action could be taken in this case. I'm assuming he feels this is a form of slander.
That or Mr. Clemens has quite a sense of entitlement as well.
Who knows, maybe it is.
Any time large sums of money are connected to performance, there will be cheating. That doesn't make it acceptable, but it will happen.
And it took a cat to come up with this epiphany?
I'm now bored of this subject. Right now I'm watching a documentary about fundamental Christians in the United States. My favorite Baptist Jimmy Carter is about to discuss the fallacies of fundamentalism.
And them I'm off for a nap.
Go 'Stros!!!
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Page Numbers indicate information from the Mitchell Report
Other Sources Used:
Official Boston Red Sox Website
CBS Evening News
"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."
