As an aside, I don’t think that a suspended player should be able to get back into playing shape in the minors while they’re still supposedly serving a Major League suspension. If Ramirez comes back, it should be after the 50-game suspension is up (which, in his case, will be July 3). If he’s not in playing shape at that time, then it’s tough shit; that’s part of the punishment that both he and the Dodgers should have to face.
With that out of the way, I’m saddened by seeing such a display from the Albuquerque fans. Ramirez’s controlled substances weren’t just controlled substances—they were performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids can and will alter both performance and recovery if a player is injured. That means that his statistics can be directly affected by (read: increased by) the substance(s) in question.
This isn’t a situation where a player was drinking too much alcohol or even using illicit substances like marijuana, cocaine, or heroin.
Maybe Sammy Sosa has nothing to fear with the recent revelation that he, too, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. If anything, he might be getting a round of applause.
Indeed, even comments left on a Fox Sports news story about the case suggest as much. Sosa’s test results should have been kept confidential, they reason, and since they were leaked to the public, he shouldn’t be criticized and his place in the Hall of Fame shouldn’t be questioned.
Just give these “fans” a few home-runs and they’ll go home happy, fat, and stupid.
Play ball.
“Sandberg: Sosa Doesn’t Deserve Hall of Fame.” AP/Fox Sports. 23 June 2009.
Ω
No comments:
Post a Comment