SB Nation User Blog: bradleybear

Mini-wish list for giants lineup.

bradleybear — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:27:52 -0000

I'm not talking about Pujols, Mauer, and Utley, although they would be nice.

Trade the loose pieces and minor leaguers for just 3 players, and get rid of the high priced medium caliber player. Then go for Ryan Braun, left field, Hanley Ramirez ss, and Miguel Cabrera first base, although he can play several positions. One could then have a lineup of

Torres CF, cheap. speedster.

Velez second base, cheap speedster

Ramirez ss expensive,

Cabrera 1st base expensive

Pablo 3rd base cheap

Braun Left field expensive

Posey, c high signing bonus, cheap annual salary

Schierholtz right field cheap.

Of course we could play Bowker and not trade for Braun, and that would

be a cheap option for left field.

We traded Alderson for Sanchez, and we might not even keep Sanchez.

I crap I just woke up, I think I was typing optimism in my sleep. Darn

McCovey Chronicles sleep dreamcasting.

Just a diversion type of post to take my mind off of the recent giants choke streak!

bradleybear — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:31:19 -0000

Yup! Under Bochy's cool calm and collected approach, he cannot get the team up at times when they really need to get hot. In Spring training, the giants hitters had a decent approach and were among the league leaders in dingers. Bochy declared: "This year the team really needs to get off to a good start", the jinx was on, another crappy first week for the giants. After a semi-hot streak before the allstar break, which was partially diminished and almost quashed in the last game prior, as Zito was socked around by the lowly Pads like a saggy piece of meet in the mouth of a pit bull. Bochy declared: "The team needs to get off to a good start in the second half.". Again, another miserable week. Minus those two weeks the giants would be right in this thing. Nevertheless, after showing some spunk in the last series vs the Rockies, the giants have essentially collapsed. Could they still win the wildcard? Probably less than a 5% chance. So its time to post some diversionary topics. Because the Divisions play a lopsided schedule with each division playing a large portion of games against their own division, I thought it might be a good idea for newspapers, and sports sites to post the league leaders by division.

Different divisions have different strengths, and unless you play in a very hitter friendly park, the odds of winning a batting title for the league are very low in a pitcher dominated division. If you play in a pitching heavy division, you have to play a majority of games in that division. Hence if you hit 330 in the NL West and you are not in a particularly hitter friendly park for 81 games, what would that 330 in the NL West be in equivalence to the NL Central, or the NL East. With that being said, is Pablo's 323 average right now, a fair equivalent to a 323 average in the Central or the East? Pablo himself may be a poor example as he seems to hit well at home. But maybe he would hit well at home, whereever he played, and maybe even better at some parks. I would however like to see the leaders posted in the paper, and on the Net, routinely by division, as that would for me, provide better comparisons. I'm not against posting by league, but by division would spark my interest even moreso. Perhaps, if there are not already awards, there should be a batting title for each division as well as for the league. A homerun title, an ERA title etc. Maybe MLB does not want to do it that way, as it might give players a new negotiating tactic at arbitration. But, as a fan, I would like to routinely see stats posted by division. Another reason to look at divisions, is the east coast bias by many of the main sports reporting sites, on TV and on the NET. For example ESPN rings a bell. After thinking about this I almost forgot how bad my beloved giants have been doing in the clutch drive. Like I've said many a year before: "Wait til Next Year." Like most of you I hate those freakin words.

SAT ANALOGY QUESTION

bradleybear — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:51:21 -0000

Dusty Baker is to Russ Ortiz as Bruce Bochy is to Brandon Medders!

Just a quick fan post, but I wonder how many of you had the same thought that my brother and I shared when Bochy took the ball from Medders. Medders was pitching ok, not great but decently. He had a long delay after Fowler took one off his shin, and several minutes went by before Fowler stood back in there with a 3-2 count, and probably hurting. I think in a different scenario he would have been taken out of the game. Then Medders throws a strike, except the ump called time. Medders comes back with a ball, and now Fowler is on first. (At that point I might have taken Medders out myself) Then Barmes comes up, and Medders seemed to have lost control going 3-0, but Medders refinds his stuff and gets Barmes with 3 nice pitches. So I think he has recovered, he still looks good, let him finish the game. One out, one on, 3 run lead. Then Bochy comes out and takes the ball from him, giving the ball to Miller. Miller has been good this year but has not looked good in his last few outings. Valdez is also in the pen, but also has not looked that sharp lately. Miller comes in a walks 2 guys, including the pitcher who was forced to hit, walking in the second run of the game. Both Rockies runs at that time were beneficiary gift runs of the free pass. Being Miller can't throw a strike he brings in Merkin, reminding me even more of our own FRod of the 2002 series. Anyway, back to the thought my brother and I shared. We looked at each other when Bochy took the ball from Medders and simultaneously said, " this eerily feels like Dusty taking the Ball from Russ Ortiz against the Angels in the World Series." My guess is that most of the McCoven had the same eerie thought. I also wondered if Sanchez or Cain could have been available to close out the game. I would bet in a similar situation Alvin Dark would have gone to Juan Marichal. Just a guess. Maybe this giants team should not make the playoffs. Maybe they should learn from all this and make their push next year. It wasn't just hindsite, we saw it coming as he took the ball from Medders and Medders Adam's apple dropped another 6 inches down his neck.

Poll

Did Bochy make the right move?

I would have left Medders in once he got out Barmes

46 votes

Bochy made the right move, the outcome just doesn't always come out the right way.

18 votes

64 votes | Poll has closed

The defacto juxtaposition of Pedro Feliz and Aaron Rowand: Was it a good thing for the giants?

bradleybear — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:46:26 -0000

We all know that the giants did try to re-sign Pedro Feliz 2 years ago, but he thought we low-balled him with dollars and years, so he misjudged the market and signed with the Phillies for less money, and the same number of years. In the meantime the Giants went ahead and signed the tough-nosed centerfielder from the Phillies, coming off of a career year, to a multiple year megabuck contract.

If you are bored by the subject or just don't care, move on to another fanpost. But if you have thought about this just a little, read on. We all have memories of Pedro swinging at a balls in the dirt, not taking a walk, and making a key out to kill a rally. But we also can remember some key hits he had. He was a decent cog in the wheel of a good team, not a star, but a very good thirdbaseman, who could hit a little, and like most giants not named Bonds, or Snow, did not know how to take a walk. On the other hand, the tough nosed Aaron Rowand was a free agent, also a good fielder, but in centerfield, was coming off of a career year in a hitters Park. Rowand is a little more than 2 years younger than Feliz, and the giants awarded him a long term contract averaging more than twice the amount per year than Feliz was getting. Of course the giants seem to have a plethora of outfielders, but surprisingly not too many righties. We were left without a thirdbaseman, and went to a disaster situation at third in 2008, only to be salvaged in 2009 by the young and versatile Pablo Sandoval. If Sandoval was not playing third, he could have been a firstbaseman or catcher for the giants. By the way Feliz picked up a World Series ring in his first season away from the giants.

Lets look at their career stats averages based on 162 game years, and this years stats for comparison.

Years based on 162 games G. AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

Feliz 6.89 years 162 532 63 136 27 3 19 77 30 87 2 1 255 294 426 720

Rowand 6.81 years 162 525 77 148 34 2 17 68 33 106 9 4 282 341 451 792

In some ways the stats were similar. Ballpark effects considered, but Rowand was younger, faster, and carried a 25 point higher SLG, 27 point higher avg. , 47 point higher OBP., and 72 point higher OPS. On paper these later 3 stats plus the younger age of Rowand would make him seem a bit more valuable, but by how much? But since the free agency swap the numbers may not be as favorable for the giants as promised. The six foot 219 pound Rowand made 9.6 million in 2008 and the same in 2009. The six foot, 1 inch. 209 pound Feliz makes 5.0 million in 2009, in 2008 he only made 3.0 million, hence 2 years of Feliz production has cost less than 1 year of Rowand production. Hence there as been an 11.2 million dollar differential over 2008 and 2009. This is 11.2 million that could have gone into investing in other players. Lets look at this years stats, and do note that Pedro is taking a higher percentage of walks. Two other things to think about are Feliz can be an emergency catcher, and when Rowand is in the batters box, he looks as if he is trying to take a dump. Ok, stop digressing.

2009 stats G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

Rowand 102 361 48 98 28 2 9 45 22 88 4 1 271 327 435 762

Feliz 110 402 47 116 20 1 9 59 27 46 0 0 289 333 410 743

So there you have it. Feliz now is a minor hitting cog in the big Red Philly hitting machine. While Rowand is supposedly a key hitter in the giants lineup. Somehow this year he has caught Felizitis, by swinging at outside pitches in the dirt, when he is not swinging at first pitches and hitting into DP's. Rowand's numbers would be fine if he just was a minor cog in the giants lineup, and playing good Centerfield defense. But he is being payed wages for a player expected to provide more production. The Phillies have gotten Feliz to be more patient at the plate, hit for a higher average and take more walks, but he seems to have sacrificed some power in doing so. The players are somwhat similar hitters now, but their replacement value on the team by position has had a weird impact. Rowand may be holding younger players from coming up, who may indeed be just as good as Rowand at a much cheaper price. On the other hand, we had to change the position of one of our young players in order to cover third base. Was the inadvertant swap worth it?

Poll

Was the inadvertant swap of Feliz for Rowand worth it?

I am happy having Rowand instead of Feliz even though the cost in dollars is somewhat steep

23 votes

I am happy with Rowand instead of Feliz and the money differential does not effect my opinion

4 votes

I don't really care, the two players are similar, and neither one alone can take the giants to the promised land

16 votes

This was another impulsive move by Sabean and he should have kept Feliz

10 votes

I would be happier with Feliz instead of Rowand as they are similar hitters and the price differential could have landed the giants another good player

26 votes

I would have preferred to keep Feliz the money has nothing to do with it.

6 votes

I don't see why we could not of signed both

4 votes

I am glad to have gotten rid of Feliz, and I wish we did not sign Rowand

63 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed

Maybe the Giants undervalued Alderson!

bradleybear — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 07:31:34 -0000

I know he is gone, a pirate farmhand, but the break is sudden and he must be followed. Followed more favorably than in a Tyler Walker kind of way. Tyler came in to pitch to Hanley Ramirez tonight with the bases loaded. Ramirez, possibly one of the best hitters in baseball faced Good old overweight Walker, who struck him out. Phillies still lost. But Alderson, the hope of many who envisioned a Lincy, Cain, Bumgarner, Alderson and (Sanchez/Zito)rotation in 2011is still too emotionally bound to giants fans, that many have just not yet gotten over his departure. .

Big Timmy "A" today, headlined the crappy Altoona team, by going 6 no hit innings. A couple of more outings like that and Sabean will have to insist that the pirates include a player to be named later to complete the Sanchez, for Alderson deal.

Poll

Are we already over the loss of Alderson as part of the giants organization?

Alderson is gone, I'm not upset, I still think the was over-rated.

73 votes

I'm still upset the giants under-rated their prospect, and should have kept him or gotten more in return.

101 votes

It was a fair trade, not a steal for either team but served the interests of each team.

131 votes

It was Sabean making the trade, of course we got fleeced.

57 votes

It's only PIttsburgh, if we decide we need to get Alderson back, we can do it without giving up much.

35 votes

Who cares about Alderson, we got Freddie Sanchez, and he is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.

62 votes

459 votes | Poll has closed

Why is Garko starting vs. Righties?

bradleybear — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:38:43 -0000

Has Ishikawa been demoted to just the defensive back-up dude?

We all know the numbers. Garko is very good vs. lefties but is quite pedestrian vs Righties, with numbers that are similar to Ishikawa's. Ishi is clearly a better fielder at first base, even though Garko can do a split while stretching to make a play, ala Harmon Killebrew or a prima ballerina Travis has been improving, and considering his better defense and similar numbers vs. Righties, he should probably be starting vs most righties. Of course Garko could start some games at another position, but he is primarily a first baseman. But as of now, it looks like Bochy, with his hydrocephalic head totally blocking the moon, causing a "Giant" eclipse, should not obscure the fact that he seems to like to play the higher salaried Garko. Which reminds me that the insurance commercials which play during the giants games are not really about Garko and Affeltd. My Farmer's almanac does take into account what town Bochy's head is in when predicting the tides. Ok enough of ragging on our esteemed manager: How would you play Garko and Ishi?

Poll

How would you play Garko vs Ishikawa this year?

Garko starts the majority of games, Ishikawa is a late inning defensive replacement and selective pinch hitter vs certain righties.

115 votes

A pure platoon is best, Ishikawa starts vs Righties, Garco starts vs lefties

65 votes

Garko can sometimes start at another position and Travis should get the bulk of playing time at first as his defense is too valuable

14 votes

Our pitchers strike out so many guys, we can afford a crappy defensive guy at first, even Jesus Guzman if he could hit.

14 votes

Pablo is still our long term solution at first.

9 votes

217 votes | Poll has closed

Giants hit at home, but not on the road!

bradleybear — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:15:37 -0000

Ok so it seems like I'm Captain obvious to those who already follow the stats, and being Gramps was a submarine Captain for the U.S. Navy in WWII, maybe I take the term Captain obvious as a compliment. Stop calling me an idiot now, and read on just a few paragraphs more before you make your decision. God did I give all the would be, and real comedians a major opening. I will show some stats that fly in the face of AT&T park being a pitchers park, and wonder along with you, why the giants hit so well at home, and so poorly on the road. Is there a homefield advantage imparted by umpire favoritism? How does one explain such stark differences in the home/road hitting stats for the giants, while they pitch better at home than on the road. For comparison of the giants home/road hitting stats I will also show the bums home/road hitting stats. The conclusion here seems that the giants need to trade for a hitter for road games, but should stand pat for home games. Is there a great hitter out there who likes to travel, but has an aversion to the BAY area? Or maybe, like the 1951 giants, they are cheating at home, giving them an unfair advantage not related to steroids. I hear they have above state of the art video equipment.

So the stats look something like this: Home games:

GIANTS:

GP AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BA OBP SLG OPS

46 1500 215 411 82 16 35 630 203 274 328 420 748

BUMS

44 1482 193 396 75 7 34 587 183 267 336 396 732

Looking at the above the giants rank 5th in the league in hitting at home just

behind the hitting park teams; Colorado, Arizona, Philadelphia, and Florida,

while the Bums rank 10th, This is in stark contrast to on the road hitting

where the Bums rank first and the Giants rank dead last and then some!

GIANTS:

44 1547 154 379 80 3 28 549 144 245 289 355 644

BUMS

47 1674 256 467 86 12 42 703 241 279 365 420 785

The dodgers actually hit better on the road, and the giants hit better at home,

yet the BUMS, like the GIANTS have excellent home records. Just how does

one explain such a wide disparity for giants hitters, while hitting fine in a

park supposedly geared to pitchers, and certainly not lefty hitters. Yet the

giants lineup is loaded with lefties. Is something wrong with the air on

the team plane? Do the Dodgers stay at better hotels on the road? Does

our hitting coach go on vacation while the team is on the road? Did all

the rain delays bring hitters rust while on the road? I understand why a

team like the DBACKS have serious home to road splits, in favor of home.

But, some of you great academician theorists, "SPLAIN" to me why this

is happening!

Is Pablo Sandoval the Giants Albert Pujols?

bradleybear — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:46:47 -0000

In 1999, Pujols was a late round (13th) draft choice. He was not heavily pursued. His minor league career was not long, but his numbers were not spectacular. He came up when he was 21. He has not stopped hitting since. Pablo Sandoval was undrafted, but at 16, the giants signed him as an undrafted signee. He was young, so it is hard to say that his numbers reflected little power, (they reflected little power) but as time elapsed he improved and in 2008, when he started the year at 21 years old, he started hitting and never stopped. He also plays first, and third, as Pujols has done. Pablo who also catches, had the advantage of being ambidextrous, and is a switch hitter. Both make great and consistent contact at the plate. Albert so far seems more amenable to taking a walk, but Pablo still has his learning curve and appears willing to take in some wisdom, albeit slowly.

Albert is built like and adonis, while Pablo is built, well, can you say like a slightly bigger Bengie Molina? Unlike Bengie however, Pablo can run a bit. Both Pablo and Albert are very hard workers. Both show us that it isn't always the first round draft pick prospect that turns out to be the superstud. Pablo has not stopped hitting since last year. He raked in Winterball down in Venezuela. He also won their homerun derby. He continued to tear it up in Spring training with the highest average for any player with 80 AB's or more. And, after a slow start he is turning it up, and is among the league leaders in batting. Pujols is the face of the Cards and has been for quite some time. Even though the giants place much emphasis on pitching, it could just be that Pablo will become the face of the giants, with no disrespect meant to "the Freak" or to Matt Cain. They should be a great tandem for years to come, and if healthy, the giants should do everything they can to keep them through their formidable pitching years. If they can sign Zito for Bill Gates Dollars, certainly they should have enough to keep this duo along with Bumgarner, Alderson, Posey, Villalona and Neal. Giants also seem to have some additional serious pitching talent in single and double A.

Pujols was a rare find, and many teams passed on him, including our beloved giants. Finally it seems, we have found our luck, crafting this diamond in the rough (BLOB) into the next unlikely hall of famer. Pablo has already become a fan favorite. Is it too early to say: Pablo we love you?

In 1999, Pujols was a late round (13th) draft choice. He was not heavily pursued. His minor league career was not long, but his numbers were not spectacular. He came up when he was 21. He has not stopped hitting ever since. Pablo Sandoval was undrafted, but at 16 the giants signed him as an undrafted signee. He was young, so it is hard to say that his numbers reflected little power, but as time went on he improved and in 2008 when he started the year at 21 years old, he started hitting and never stopped. He also plays first, and third, as Pujols has done, Pablo also has the advantage of being ambidextrous, and is a switch hitter. Both make great and consistent contact at the plate. Albert so far seems more amenable to taking a walk, but Pablo still has his learning curve and appears willing to take in some wisdom, albeit slowly.

Albert is built like an Adonis, while Pablo is built, well, can you say like a slightly bigger Bengie Molina? Unlike Bengie, however, Pablo can run a bit. Both Pablo and Albert are very hard workers. Both show us that it isn't always that first round draft pick prospect that turns out to be the stud. Pablo has not stopped hitting since last year. He raked in Winterball down in Venezuela. He also won their homerun derby. He continued to tear it up in Spring training with the highest batting average for any player with 80 AB's or more. And after a slow start, he is turning it up, and is among the league leaders in batting. Pujols is the face of the Cards, and has been for quite some time now. Even though the giants have much emphasis on pitching, it could just be that Pablo will be the face of the giants, with no disrespect meant to the "Freak" or to Cain, they should be a great tandem for years to come, and if healthy the giants should do everything to keep them through their formidable pitching years. If they can sign Zito for Bill Gates dollars, certainly they should have enough to keep this tandem, along with Bumgarner, Alderson, Posey, Neal, and Villalona. Giants seem to have quite a few other good pitchers in single and double A.

Pujols was a rare find, and many teams passed on him including our beloved giants. It seems like now, we have found our luck, crafting this diamond (blob) in the rough, into the next, unlikely hall of famer. Pablo has already become a fan favorite. Is it too early to say "Pablo we Love You".

Poll

Is Pablo Sandoval the next Albert Pujols

Pablo Sandoval will become the next Albert Pujols

80 votes

Pablo Sandoval has already become the next Albert Pujols

9 votes

No way, Pablo Sandoval cannot even shine Albert Pujols shoes

144 votes

Pablo, my friend, will surpass Albert Pujols, and do it with 40 pounds of extra fat.

63 votes

296 votes | Poll has closed

I just cannot figure out which is worse.

bradleybear — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:50:07 -0000

Bochy announced prior to the start of the season "it is important that we get off to a fast start." Sabean reiterated the same sentiments while being interviewed on the radio. This is 2009. This year things will be done the "Giants way". We are getting a great bullpen in Howry and Affeltd. These guys wont blow games. The new youth injected line-up will be invigorating and the team will score more runs. "The guys really feel like they are true contenders this year." We got rid of the guys who can't get the ball over the plate. We will walk a lot less guys this year. Zito will get off to a fast start. At least Zito will not start the opening game. Lincecum always wins after a loss. The line-up this year will be more patient at the plate. Seems as if almost all of the above is false. I will still give Affeltd the benefit of the doubt. But using Howry against lefties, is like using Walker against lefties; its doomed to failure. Is Bochy just dumb, or stupid, or just thick headed? Ok, its only 8 games. But wow, are we any better so far then last year? Do we have the best pitching staff in the league? The acquistion of Randy Johnson will have a stabilizing effect on the pitching rotation. Crap, so far except for Matt Cain, the rest of the staff is pitching wore than Kevin Correia. So I ask you, the Holy McCoven, which is the worst?

Poll

Which is the worst gut wrenching fact about this year's Giants team so far?

The Panda is hitting less than 75 percent of his weight

21 votes

In the last 4 games giants pitchers give up 20 walks, 2 with the bases loaded, while their hitters receive only one walk

89 votes

Bobby Howry is just a thinner and older Tyler Walker who should not be facing lefties

2 votes

Joe Martinez has half the giants wins and he wont be back until mid-May

5 votes

Barry Zito is still a giant

19 votes

Randy Johnson may never get his 296th win

2 votes

Raghetti has already destroyed Tim Lincecum

10 votes

Taschner has not yet walked anybody for the Phillies

4 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed

OK: Why are anabolic steroids so bad for baseball?

bradleybear — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:50:50 -0000

Were anabolic steroids banned from baseball in the early 2000's? You know, the years that Bonds and ARod supposedly took anabolic steroids.Were they banned like the moral indignity called "gambling on baseball games that one manages" ala a certain potential hall of famer? Getting away somewhat from baseball rules, anabolic steroids, at least some of them, were/are hormones, available as drugs that were/are legally prescribed by physicians for certain medical indications. What if some of the players who tested positive in 2003 were prescribed anabolic steroids by their physician as a legit therapy to aid in the healing of a skeletal muscle injury? Would we not hate them so much? OK, ARod's cousin was/is not a licensed physician, at least not in this country. It seems that in the reality described by Jose Conseco, he somewhat downplays the legit steroid prescription as the preferred method that players obtained these federally controlled performance enhancers.

We all know that labs like Balco have been accused of making new improved, and probably not legally approved substances which essentially were/are anabolic steroids. New drugs must undergo years of research to prove that they are safe and effective before the FDA allows them on the market. But we still need to know why these substances are banned.

I think there are a few reason's besides the fact that they are usually obtained by less than optimal and legally legit methods. The drugs have been demonized, righty or wrongly as having terrible side-effects. Some of those proferred include premature heart attacks, "Roid rage" , cancer, benign growths in the liver, infertility, scrotal shrinkage, head enlargement, weight gain, obnoxious behavior, premature death, just to name a few. Lyle Alzado blamed his disease and his then impending premature demise on anabolic steroids. Recently, it has been reported that several monstorously large pro-wresters have had some of the worst of these bad effects.

But how many baseball players so far, have had these horrible effects? Is one of the bad effects lying to Congress? These substances have been around for a long time. Just ask California's Governor. Could be some players from as far back as the 1960's or 1970's could have been indulging.

Maybe its the massive amounts some players take that makes it unsafe. You know, like taking 2 tylenol can help your fever, or maybe your pain, but taking a bottle full of them can kill you. Maybe its taking street drugs, because they are so hard to get otherwise that makes them so unsafe. Are all these baseball players going to be dropping dead soon from these anabolic steroids? Or have these substances been not as dangerous as we have been led to believe? I don't know the answer to that, but maybe some folks hanging out in the Cove have some real scientific facts.

One must wonder, if a surgery can enhance your performance, (a legal surgery), why shouldn't a legal drug be able to enhance your performance? Obviously people aren't getting black market surgeries, but the black market becomes the method of distribution for anabolic steroids precisely because they are banned. Are surgeons more ethical than pharmacologists? Ok stupid question, but I get to write pharmacologist. If normal doses of anabolic steroids are relatively safe: At least as safe as surgery, and may even help a player heal from surgery, why should they be illegal or banned from major league players who are given a true risk assessment and then prescribed the drug by their physician?

Ok, so far I haven't even convinced myself of the above arguments, but they are certainly offered as legit arguments. Then comes the one argument that says, "What about the kids?" These players are role models, and kids, (those under 18) might take these substances to basicly cheat, and clearly we do not know the long term effects of these drugs when given to teens or preteens. We sometimes assume that the pressure on these kids to perform, and be better then the next kid, would make them succumb to taking these anabolic steroids. This becomes an even greater risk if their MLB baseball hero is also taking steroids. So baseball bans these drugs as a responsible business to protect the kids.

So, dangerous side effects, cheating, unfair competitive advantage, black market distribution, and sending a bad message to kids, are all among the reasons baseball bans these substances. Maybe we also do not like the idea that a little magic pill, or injection can make a baseball player better and cause the resultant player to break records which supposedly otherwise would not have been broken.

I am very unclear on whether these substances should be banned from baseball if they are legitimately prescibed by a licensed physician for an appropriate medical indication. On the other hand, if the drugs are obtained on the black market, and are being solely used for the purpose of a competitive advantage, without any otherwise legitimate medical indication for their use, I would probably go along with the ban.

Poll

Should anabolic steroids which are presribed by a licensed physician for a legitmate indication be banned by baseball?

Yes

24 votes

No

29 votes

Jose Conseco is still alive so how bad can these drugs be?

13 votes

These drugs killed Lyle Alzado and should never be used.

7 votes

73 votes | Poll has closed