Palmeiro Redux
“I have never taken steroids. Ever!” Those are the words that Rafael Palmeiro said under oath to a Congressional committee earlier this year. This was said partially in response to the committees questions and partially as a rebuttal to Jose Canseco, who claimed in his book that he had personally injected steroids into Palmeiro while they were teammates in Texas.
That statement changed slightly yesterday as Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days for failing a test for banned substances. The statement is now “I have never intentionally taken steroids”. This new version of the statement is the most questioned statement in baseball today as everyone tries to figure out exactly what it means. Palmeiro himself has refused to explain it citing confidentiality rules in the collective bargaining agreement between the players association and the owners.
There are three ways to look at Palmeiro today:
1 – He’s a liar guilty of perjury for lying to Congress (most likely).
2 – He’s a liar but he didn’t start taking until after he spoke to Congress (not likely).
3 – This actually was an accident and he’s telling the truth when he says it wasn’t intentional (possible).
If Palmeiro is to be believed the third possibility is the truth. It sounds kind of odd but I can understand it. Perhaps he started using an over the counter supplement that, without him realizing it, contained the banned substance he tested positive for. It’s a definite possibility and I’d like it to be the truth.
But I know that Palmeiro is smarter than that. Earlier in the year I commented on how younger Latino players were saying that the rules were skewed against them since they can’t understand the labels due to a language barrier. They only speak Spanish but the agreement is in English so they can’t translate the rules when it comes time to buy their supplements. I commented that if someone is doing something to help themselves on the job they make it their business to know exactly what it is they are doing. When such an activity involves putting things inside your body you do everything you have to to understand. After all, anything that goes in your body can also affect your health. So I don’t really buy that these younger Latino players don’t understand. They have to make it their business to understand. And Palmeiro has been around long enough to know that.
Furthermore, the confidentiality agreement that Palmeiro is hiding behind was put in there to protect the players. If Palmeiro’s statement is the then he could break that confidentiality agreement without being penalized. Surely a player can talk about his own situation. The agreement is there to prevent the owners, doctors, etc. from talking. And to me that’s the biggest indicator that Palmeiro is lying. Did he perjure himself? That’s a disctinct possibility.
Another question being asked today regards Palmeiro’s hall of fame status. If Palmeiro is lying it’s obviously to protect his hall of fame chances. If it’s up to me (which it’s not) I would ban Palmeiro from the hall. I’d investigate the whole matter and would demand proof from Palmeiro that his statement is true. I’d want details. If he could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was not intentional then, and only then, would I make him eligible for the hall of fame. Unless, of course, he was found guilty of perjury in which case I’d ban him for life.
Some may say that that’s calling Palmeiro guilty before being proven innocent (as opposed the the judicial tennet that everyone is innocent until proven guilty). But any other approach would be showing younger players and even children that not only is it alright to cheat by taking steroids but it’s also alright to lie about it. And that’s the real crime here.
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Stepped In What?
Talk about stepping in it. Rafael Palmeiro became the biggest player so far to be suspended under MLB’s new steroids policy. This is the same Palmeiro who, after being fingered as a steroids user in Jose Canseco’s book, went in front of Congress and, under oath, claimed to have never taken steroids before. Whether or not that claim is true is irrelevant. Let’s just assume the best for a moment and say that he was telling the truth and that he hadn’t, to that point in his life, taken steroids. How stupid does he look now for having taken them afterard? Especially with the knowledge of the crackdown on steroids and the microscope under which this issue has been put under in all four of the major sports in this country.
Bottom line, he’s either a liar or just plain stupid. Either way Rafael Palmeiro is stepped in something bad and will have a very hard time cleaning it off the bottom of his shoe.
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Congratulations… Not!
The Mets beat the Astros yesterday 9-4 ending the ‘Stros 7 game win streak. Pardon my cynicism but bug deal. They score 4 runs in the first 3 games in a hitters park and I’m supposed to congratulate them for scoring 9 runs in the fourth game? I don’t think so.
On the plus side the trade deadline passed yesterday without Omar Minaya sacrificing the future for a shot at the now. Alfonso Soriano, Manny RamÃrez & Danys Baez all remain with their original teams. It would have been nice to have a big bat in the middle of the lineup but not at the expense of two of the top prospects.
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Don’t Blame Hernández
The Mets wre tied going into the 9th inning last night in Houston. That’s when Roberto Hernandez entered the game with the mission of preserving the tie so the Mets bats would have a chance to win it in the 10th (yeah, right). Hernandez ended up losing the game. It’s easy to be upset at Hernandez for costing the team the game but it would be wrong. Hernandez has been a big surprise this year and has been one of the few cosistent arms out of the pen. His rejuvenated performance has Omar Minaya being the envy of all the other GMs in the league for his judgment that Hernandez, written off by every other team in the league, had something left.
If you need to pass blame here then pass it to the Mets bats who mannaged just 1 run against Ezequiel Astacio (who?). Good work, guys. Way to waste a Pedro Martinez start.
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Mets Salvage One
Click here for a recap of last night’s game.
The Mets salvaged one game from their series against the Rockies last night. To lose 2 out of 3 at Coors was not a good thing and the team should be ashamed of themselves.
VÃctor Zambrano (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) had another good outing. And finally seems to be on the right path under pitching coach Rick Peterson who, upon being consulted on the trade that brought Zambrano to the Mets, claimed he could fix Zambrano’s problem alot quicker than this. The offense had a great night with all the starting position players having at least one hit and one run scored – except for Doug Mientkiewicz, who went 1 for 3 but didn’t come around to score.
The Mets should not be disillusioned by the win. The fact remains that they lost 2 out of 3 to the worst team in the league and that is not how you win a pennant muh less a division.
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Dayn Perry Suggests Sexston to the Mets
FOXSports.com’s Dayn Perry has an article on 5 trades that need to happen by sunday’s trade deadline. One of thos 5 trades is the Mets acquisition of Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson.
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Larry Freakin’ Brown
The latest rumors sound a lot more serious and an announcement appears imminent so it’s time I sounded off about the Larry Brown to the Knicks situation. My feelings here are not that complex and can probably be summed up in one word: history.
History as in Pat Riley. When Riley took over the Knicks things almost immediately started going well for the team. They jelled and finally began to win after years of being losers. But when it ended it ended very badly with Riley coming within a inch of negotiating with the Heat against league rules. (Can you say tampering?)
If you look at Larry Brown and his history, both recent and ancient (remember when he was coach of the Nets?), you can see a trend that leads to the distinct possibility, no probability, that history (the Riley scenario) will repeat itself. Brown is one of the top coaches around and will do great for the Knicks. He’ll be a little more challenged here than in Detroit where he inherited a team that was a lot closer to a championship than the team he’s getting here. But I’m pretty sure he can pull it together and actually teach Isiah Thomas a thing or two about being a President/GM in the process. But when it ends, whether it’s 2 years, 4 years or ten years down the line, it’ll end badly. History, both that of Riley and Brown, is our best teacher.
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Alfonso Soriano
With the production the Mets are getting at second base this year it’s no wonder they’ve come up as a possible landing point for former Yankee and current Texas Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano in recent trade rumors. The combination of Kazuo Matsui, Miguel Cairo, Chris Woodward, Marlon Anderson and whoever else the team has put at second base this year hasn’t come anywhere near the numbers that Soriano has put up this year. It’s a natural fit. But for some reason I find myself coming out against such a trade for a couple of reasons.
One reason is Soriano’s consistency, or lack thereof. I don’t have hard numbers to back me up but I’ve been following Soriano off and on this season in Fantasy Baseball leagues and have seen an inconsistency in his performace that has led me to turn down two trades in which I would have gotten Soriano (in two different leagues). The Mets bats have been inconsistent enough and certainly don’t need another inconsistent bat.
The second reason is the price. If Omar Minaya is serious about not just building for 2005 but also keeping 2006 and beyond in mind when he deals then he will not make this trade. The Rangers are likely to demand a package of top prospects and major league ready talent in exchange for Soriano because Soriano was the centerpiece of the Alex Rodriguez trade. Essentially it’ll be like whatever they get for Soriano is what they really get for ARod. And that price is way too expensive for a team that is trying to build itself fore the next several years and not just for today.
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Another Bad Loss
Click here for a recap of last night’s game.
Remember what I said yesterday about giving the Mets a pass on their loss to the Rockies the night before? Nevermind. They couldn’t get it done again last night against the worst team in the league. This is a team you must beat if you’re going to contend and the Mets couldn’t beat them. I’m so sick I can’t even write about it.
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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Click here for a recap of last night’s game.
I’ve said many times in this space that one of the keys to the Mets becoming a better team is to not only be able to play the better teams well but also to be able to consitantly beat the worse teams. Last night they proved that they may not be ready to take that next step when they lost to the Colorado Rockies, the team with the worst record in major league baseball. On the other hand, you can’t expect them to win every game against the worse teams so we can probably give them a pass on last night’s game if they can win the next 2.
There was good, bad and ugly in this ballgame. The good was Jose Reyes, who hit his league leading 11th tiple. The bad was Tom Glavine, who allowed 8 hits and 5 runs in 6 innings. The ugly was Doug Mientkiewicz, who went 0 for 3 to lower his batting average to .224.
I think Glavine has been given enough time with the Mets to be officially declared a bust. With Kris Benson stepping it up and Steve Trachsel making strides in rehab Glavine becomes the most expendable starter on the team. (OK, Kazuhisa Ishii is the most expendable but he has no trade value.) With the non waiver trade deadline coming this weekend can Glavine’s days with the Mets be numbered?
As for Mientkiewicz, I’m still a fan of his. I like his defense and his attitude. I’d want to keep him at first base because his defense is a stabilizing force in the infield. At the same time you can only sacrifice so much offense in the name of defense and at this point it may be time to make a change. I realize most people have been thinking that for quite some time already but I like to give a guy like Minky every opportunity to right himself. That means sticking with him until you have no choice anymore. We’re very quickly getting to that time as run production continues to be a problem for this team and could cost them wins as we get into August and the games get more and more important.
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