Bonds
He's back! George Mitchell, the former Senate Majority Leader from back when we had a constitutional government and a Congress that did things other than say "yup" to a water-headed executive, will lead the commission that will look into Barry Bonds' (and other players') alleged steroid use. Go George!
Mitchell was my political hero for a long time. A Maine kid who became a judge and then a Senator, was a very powerful Senate Majority Leader. His power came from his ability to form coalitions and create consensus. He was the one politician to stand up to grandstanding neocon criminal Ollie North.
"It is possible for an American to disagree with you on aid to the contras and still love God and still love this country just as much as you do. . . . In America, disagreement with the policies of the Government is not evidence of lack of patriotism. Though often asked, God does not take sides in American politics"
He retired from the Senate, he said, because he believes politicians should no be in power for life. It's too bad - we could use him in Washington now more than ever. When was the last time we had a real Statesman in Washington - in any role?
And now he's out to clean up baseball. Good. MLB Commissioner Bug Selig has all the credibility of a used car salesman. Mitchell's leadership means that the investigation will be real and the results valid.
Which begs the question: why bother? For many years, there were no rules against performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Even after many steroids were banned, there was no testing until recently. What exactly are they out to prove? And if they are able to prove that a BALCO-type drug company sold steroids to Bonds, what then?
Is Barry Bonds "Unforgivably Black?" He's certainly made no friends in the media and among many fans of the sport. Does he have to? Does a Black athlete need to ingratiate himself to fans and the media to avoid investigation of past indiscretion?
Possibly. But there's little doubt from all indications that Bonds did something to pump himself up. His late career resurgence on the field and his increase in bulk and large-headedness after age 30 mean that something happened.
Ruth never used anything but beer to pump himself up, and Hammerin' Hank Aaron got the all-time record through a long and steady career of excellence - 23 years and he never hit more than 44 homers in a season. Bonds hit between 24 and 46 homers a year until 2000. Since then he's hit 49, 73, 46, 45, and 45.
Tainted? Maybe - that's up to Mitchell to discover. But, assuming he's clean now and will never fail a drug test, what's he guilty of? If he juiced, he's not the only one. Do we need to know? Do we need to start putting asterisks next to all the names of juicers from baseball's past? If so, they'll be the only sport to do it.
In the end, Bonds may well have been unlikeably, unforgivably Black.
Mitchell was my political hero for a long time. A Maine kid who became a judge and then a Senator, was a very powerful Senate Majority Leader. His power came from his ability to form coalitions and create consensus. He was the one politician to stand up to grandstanding neocon criminal Ollie North.
"It is possible for an American to disagree with you on aid to the contras and still love God and still love this country just as much as you do. . . . In America, disagreement with the policies of the Government is not evidence of lack of patriotism. Though often asked, God does not take sides in American politics"
He retired from the Senate, he said, because he believes politicians should no be in power for life. It's too bad - we could use him in Washington now more than ever. When was the last time we had a real Statesman in Washington - in any role?
And now he's out to clean up baseball. Good. MLB Commissioner Bug Selig has all the credibility of a used car salesman. Mitchell's leadership means that the investigation will be real and the results valid.
Which begs the question: why bother? For many years, there were no rules against performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Even after many steroids were banned, there was no testing until recently. What exactly are they out to prove? And if they are able to prove that a BALCO-type drug company sold steroids to Bonds, what then?
Is Barry Bonds "Unforgivably Black?" He's certainly made no friends in the media and among many fans of the sport. Does he have to? Does a Black athlete need to ingratiate himself to fans and the media to avoid investigation of past indiscretion?
Possibly. But there's little doubt from all indications that Bonds did something to pump himself up. His late career resurgence on the field and his increase in bulk and large-headedness after age 30 mean that something happened.
Ruth never used anything but beer to pump himself up, and Hammerin' Hank Aaron got the all-time record through a long and steady career of excellence - 23 years and he never hit more than 44 homers in a season. Bonds hit between 24 and 46 homers a year until 2000. Since then he's hit 49, 73, 46, 45, and 45.
Tainted? Maybe - that's up to Mitchell to discover. But, assuming he's clean now and will never fail a drug test, what's he guilty of? If he juiced, he's not the only one. Do we need to know? Do we need to start putting asterisks next to all the names of juicers from baseball's past? If so, they'll be the only sport to do it.
In the end, Bonds may well have been unlikeably, unforgivably Black.
posted by fiduciary at 11:32 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home