MLB's Alex Rodriguez suspended 1 year for steroids use...

[Alpe73]

Baseball strikes me as one of those odd sports. A large lump of its casual fan base seem to not care too much about the competition at all, just the spectacle. Bit like WWE.

Worldwide, there are probably more knowledgeable, devoted and riveted fans of MLB than there are people in the UK. Same goes for cricket, Old Bean.

 

[martinvickers]

Baseball strikes me as one of those odd sports. A large lump of its casual fan base seem to not care too much about the competition at all, just the spectacle. Bit like WWE.

Worldwide, there are probably more knowledgeable, devoted and riveted fans of MLB than there are people in the UK. Same goes for cricket, Old Bean.

Not quite sure of the UK relevance, given I'm Irish. Nor does what you've said stop the reality that a very large number of those 'fans' seem to have more interest in spectacle and stats than the sheer actual competition. VERY few in cricket would obsess over stats minutae like baseball Nate Silver types.

With the major exception of India, most cricket fans follow the narrative of the game above all else. And of course, in T20, they found the correct solution - if fans want lots of sixes, just bring the ropes in. Which is not to suggest there is not drug abuse in cricket - i'm certain there is - but bringing in the ropes is a rather healthier soltion than pumping up the players as a matter of policy.

 

[King Boonen]

Yes, this is a (fundamental) premise to be remembered in the discussion about doping in most $$$Professional sports. Are the majority of hard core cycling fans, worldwide, much different?

I'd say they are the same. Split Road Racing to it's own governing body and bye bye doping controls and hard sanctions. (Won't happen now but would have happened had this been done earlier.

 

[King Boonen]

Worldwide, there are probably more knowledgeable, devoted and riveted fans of MLB than there are people in the UK. Same goes for cricket, Old Bean.

I highly doubt that.

 

[Race Radio]

I'd say they are the same. Split Road Racing to it's own governing body and bye bye doping controls and hard sanctions. (Won't happen now but would have happened had this been done earlier.

....and bye bye Olympics

 

[Catwhoorg]

I highly doubt that.

India, ****stan, Sri Lanka.

Huge Cricket markets. And also huge corruption, spot fixing etc.

 

[Catwhoorg]

From where I'm standing US-Baseball has one of the toughest anti-doping regimes in the world. Unmatched for a sport its size

Here in Europe the big sports are about 2 or 3 centuries behind. Guardiola cheated just like A Rod, but if there were a hall of fame he would be voted in unanimously in more than 1 category.

First offense, for a non-steroid ?
15-30 day suspension, plus a fine of upto $10 000

First offense for Steroids 50 game suspension

Testing once at Spring training, and once randomly in season.


Despite that they still catch literally dozens of minor league players each year. Clearly the punishment is not heavy enough to act as a deterrent.


The only thing that can be said, is that it is better than the NFL.

 

[Race Radio]

A-Roid hangs out with some classy people

Velazquez, a former liquor store owner who later operated his own now-defunct anti-aging clinic called the Boca Body Rejuvenation Center, has a criminal record that stretches back more than 20 years and includes arrests on charges of grand theft, drug offenses and burglary.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i...met-goon-oggi-article-1.1578649#ixzz2qNsQ0mv9

 

[King Boonen]

....and bye bye Olympics

Yep, but does anyone in road racing actually care about the Olympics? Except when it's a home race. It's in because it provides a spectacle that's free for people to watch, lets the masses feel part of it. Don't think the riders really care though.

 

[blackcat]

Yep, but does anyone in road racing actually care about the Olympics? Except when it's a home race. It's in because it provides a spectacle that's free for people to watch, lets the masses feel part of it. Don't think the riders really care though.

they like the party and the sex games

 

[manafana]

NBA players have such strong bargaining power that they only need to do a certain amount of tests per season which they can't go over, think it was as low as 3.

 

[Race Radio]

Yep, but does anyone in road racing actually care about the Olympics? Except when it's a home race. It's in because it provides a spectacle that's free for people to watch, lets the masses feel part of it. Don't think the riders really care though.

Agreed. The road side could walk away and it would not be that big a deal

 

[The Hitch]

First offense, for a non-steroid ?
15-30 day suspension, plus a fine of upto $10 000

First offense for Steroids 50 game suspension

Testing once at Spring training, and once randomly in season.


Despite that they still catch literally dozens of minor league players each year. Clearly the punishment is not heavy enough to act as a deterrent.


The only thing that can be said, is that it is better than the NFL.

Lol what?

Cry me a river. If A Rod was a football or tennis player in Europe he would NEVER get caught, never serve 1 day of a ban and anyone who dared suggest he was anything but legit would end up in court and more than likely receive death threats, the latter, even if he had in fact been given a short ban for missing drugs tests.

On the off chance that blood bags of his were discovered in a lab, they would be destroyed to protect his integrity, and the governing body of his sport would act as if the incident never happened.

Baseball is a million miles ahead of any other sport its size.

 

[BYOP88]

What the Hitch has said regarding MLB in this thread is spot-on.

 

[BroDeal]

One of the curious things about the A-Fraud case is the low octane stuff he was using. Where is the serious AAS? Testosterone as an energy booster before a game? A-Hole went down for stuff that is just a couple of steps above ghetto doping.

There is a Landis parallel as well. A-Roid was paying Bosch $12K a month but only offered $20K/month plus $150K for Bosch to spend time outside the country while the investigation was ongoing. He should have upped those figures by a magnitude. He made ~$350M during his career but was too cheap to spend a couple of mil keep quiet someone who could bring him down.

Also, note to others. Before getting involved with doping, make sure your name or nickname cannot be twisted into jokes about your doping.

 

[mewmewmew13]

What the Hitch has said regarding MLB in this thread is spot-on.

As a massive MLB fan I agree with BYOP and Hitchey

 

[Catwhoorg]

A sport where a leading player ruthlessly attack the chain of custody, and the person who took a the sample, basically try to ruin the guys life to avoid an AAF.

Then admit they were doping and get a cursory ban. That should have been treated much more harshly.

(but that's drifting off the A-Roid topic)

I will give MLB one thing above other pro sports. They admit that there is a doping problem, they just are not doing enough to address it.

 

[RobbieCanuck]

Baseball strikes me as one of those odd sports. A large lump of its casual fan base seem to not care too much about the competition at all, just the spectacle. Bt like WWE. The season of mcguire/sosa, it actually seemed like the HR chase was MORE important than the actual, you know, league.

As one of the rare lesser-spotted Irish cricket fans, baseball is just pumped up rounders to me - leaves me cold. Following cycling is enough drug addled sports, thanks all the same. I'll stick to my nice corrupt match fixed cricket!

Martin just like you in Ireland and me in Canada, I do not pretend to understand cricket. However I did grow up with baseball and the large lump of its casual fan base care a whole lot about doping in baseball. When Rodriguez appeared in games late in last season he was roundly booed in every North American ballpark he played in (30 of them, seating about 70,000 fans per stadium). So was Bonds, Sosa and Mark McGwire during the single season home run record heyday.

Bonds, Sosa, McGwire and Rodriguez will never get into the baseball Hall of Fame although on their records they should. That is how deep seated is the resentment against them among fans, sportscasters and clean players.

Baseball is hardly scripted like wrestling and the comparison as to the two as spectacle is badly misplaced. It is sort of like saying drinking in Ireland has no substance to it and is not serious business.

Major League Baseball now has the toughest drug testing for any organized non-Olympic professional sport in the world, better than football (European) and maybe even cycling and the La Ti Da Cricket League. Cricket seems about as exciting as watching a sack of wet fish!

 

[Berzin]

One of the curious things about the A-Fraud case is the low octane stuff he was using. Where is the serious AAS? Testosterone as an energy booster before a game? A-Hole went down for stuff that is just a couple of steps above ghetto doping.

Baseball isn't an endurance sport. You also don't need to be on a bodybuilding regimen to get through a 9-inning game, of which there is only 10-15 minutes of actual running around.

Baseball is the only sport where a pitcher can spend 3 months on the disabled list for pulling a hamstring muscle covering first base while fielding an out. The major strain is having to spend so many hours before and after the game sitting around.

So not much is required when you don't really have to be in shape (pitcher Bartolo Colon comes to mind) to play the game. You just need to have a quick and powerful swing at the plate, something that diminishes over time.

There is a Landis parallel as well. A-Roid was paying Bosch $12K a month but only offered $20K/month plus $150K for Bosch to spend time outside the country while the investigation was ongoing. He should have upped those figures by a magnitude. He made ~$350M during his career but was too cheap to spend a couple of mil to keep quiet someone who could bring him down.

He probably thought he was never going to come back from Colombia alive. Besides, with guys like Bosch, it's not the money. According to various sources, he lived beyond his means and was broke when he fessed up.

As for A-Rod being cheap, once you begin paying big money to keep someone quiet, someone who doesn't know how to live within his means, it's easier and much less expensive to have him visit Colombia where for the US equivalent of between $60-100 US dollars you can "mandarle el moto" and boom, problem solved.

By the way, what is "ghetto doping"?

 

[the delgados]

Martin just like you in Ireland and me in Canada, I do not pretend to understand cricket. However I did grow up with baseball and the large lump of its casual fan base care a whole lot about doping in baseball. When Rodriguez appeared in games late in last season he was roundly booed in every North American ballpark he played in (30 of them, seating about 70,000 fans per stadium). So was Bonds, Sosa and Mark McGwire during the single season home run record heyday.

Bonds, Sosa, McGwire and Rodriguez will never get into the baseball Hall of Fame although on their records they should. That is how deep seated is the resentment against them among fans, sportscasters and clean players.

Baseball is hardly scripted like wrestling and the comparison as to the two as spectacle is badly misplaced. It is sort of like saying drinking in Ireland has no substance to it and is not serious business.

Major League Baseball now has the toughest drug testing for any organized non-Olympic professional sport in the world, better than football (European) and maybe even cycling and the La Ti Da Cricket League. Cricket seems about as exciting as watching a sack of wet fish!

Rodriguez got booed in every ballpark but his own.
Hall of Fame voters never questioned the antics of steroid users during their careers. Denying them now seems a bit hypocritical.

 

[mwbyrd]

Guess A-Rod Surpassed LA

According to Mr. Tygart: The regimen of performance-enhancing substances delivered by Anthony Bosch to Alex Rodriguez was "probably the most potent and sophisticated drug program developed for an athlete that we've ever seen," U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart told The Associated Press.

Guess US Postal wasn't so advanced afterall.

Source: http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...-doping-plan-most-potent-ever-seen-usada-says

 

[Dear Wiggo]

"The Clear" makes what LA took look like tap water and vitamins in terms of advanced drug program.

 

[BroDeal]

According to Mr. Tygart: The regimen of performance-enhancing substances delivered by Anthony Bosch to Alex Rodriguez was "probably the most potent and sophisticated drug program developed for an athlete that we've ever seen," U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart told The Associated Press.

This is B.S. Tygart must be looking to get his name in the news. Nothing we have seen about Bosch and A-Roid approaches the steroids being used by Bonds and others just a few years ago. The average meathead at your local body building gym is on more effective stuff than A-Roid.

 

[Alpe73]

seating about 70,000 fans per stadium)

Great post, Robbie, but the "70,000 fans per stadium is a bit of OgoPogo exaggeration. No worries; non of this banter is exact science. Cheers.

 

[Alpe73]

(pitcher Bartolo Colon comes to mind)

Hey ... easy does it! No belly fat, no moving, moving, moving two-seamer. Science.