[Lucky]

Feb 13, 2009 3:38:51 GMT -5 Grover said:

But, seriously, can you not see the the ridiculous hypocrisy of Selig talking about ball players shaming the game while he sat in his office, collected his paychecks and did nothing about the issue until Congress had him by the balls?

No, not really. Not since Bud Selig was the very first person to raise the issue of steroid testing in baseball when he established the minor league testing program in 2001, well before Balco and Canseco's book. A policy which stood stronger than the MLB policy that he got the Union to agree to. Which supports the very strong theory that if there is 1 person to blame its Donald Fehr since its the Union who laughed in the face of Congress and refused to even discuss the issue of testing until Selig made a public statement. And its the Union that has the power to strike and cost MLB a fortune, something which nearly destroyed baseball the last time they did it. There is this stupid belief baseball fans have that the Commish is all powerful. Its a child's naivety. The Commissioner is only as powerful as the support the owners have in him since they can remove him whenever they want. And the owners will only support him as long as he's doing right by their business. And their business only exists as long as the MLBPA is in agreement. The MLBPA has all the leverage in this relationship and I have no idea how any honest fan can imagine Bud Selig implementing a steroid testing policy in 2001 working out in any way except this.

Bud: We will start testing for steroids this season and players will be suspended if caught.
MLBPA: That is unacceptable and you did not work that out with us during the last CBA negotiations. If you insist on forcing this we will have no choice but to strike to protect our union members from this and future unjust actions circumventing our business arrangements.
Owners: Oh shit. We can't afford another strike. This is disastrous. Fuck this testing, Bud, and if you don't stop it we will by putting you out of office.

This theory is very strongly supported by Selig implementing a testing policy in the minors on his own. With no union to worry about he was able to implement a policy that was much more comprehensive than the early MLB one. A responsible journalist could have EASILY pointed out the clear contradiction of MLB testing its minor leaguers but not its major leaguers and yet no one did. Just as very few journalists have acknowledge the differences in the policies since this whole nightmare began because (a) they're hacks, (b) doing so would require giving Selig credit for the 2001 policy and raise a big red flag as to the theory that he didn't want testing, and (c) a rational evaluation would point out that the difference between the two policies is the Union, not Bud.

Which speaks to the main reason I don't care if Bud comes out and begs our forgiveness for his complicity in this scandal. I think its pure and utter bullshit to blame him any more than we blame damn near everyone else. Donald Fehr and Gene Orza. Peter Gammons, ESPN, Bob Costas, and every journalist who could have pushed this issue if they had wanted to. Derek Jeter, Greg Maddux, and every respected MLB player who could have raised it or pushed it within the union if they cared. Every Hall of Famer who couldn't care less about steroids. Every single person who was more concerned with Pete Rose's betting sheet as far as the "integrity of the game" goes than the androstenedione found in Mark McGwire's locker. Just about the only people I don't hold in some way accountable or Frank Thomas, who was a major proponent for testing well before BALCO and Congress, and Branch Rickey, who raised this issue 20 years ago and no one cared.

And this goes for the fans, because WE didn't care about steroids. And if we were ignorant it was because we wanted to be. MLB writers started talking about this stuff when Caminitti admitted usage before BALCO and Canseco (amusingly enough ALSO after Selig's MiLB policy was in place). It was 10+ years ago that Mark McGwire admitted to using a drug that was banned by the NFL and Olympics at the time. No one cared until Bonds. As a Yankee fan I heard plenty of steroid talk amongst fans about McGwire and Sosa. We speculated plenty on them and others as baseball fans. We never pushed the issue just as the journalists never pushed the issue just as Bud never pushed the issue. We - ALL OF US - turned a blind eye to it because we were happy with baseball.

And you know what? For all our bitching and whining and insistence that baseball has been damaged and the integrity of the game has been tarnished and all that BS? MLB made more money last season than they ever have. So we STILL think that all of this doesn't REALLY matter. Steroids or no steroids, we're happy enough with baseball to keep handing over our money in record amounts. So I don't even buy that we believe this threatens baseball. Its like arguing that WWE is dooming itself with bad booking while we watch the ratings for RAW and buyrates for PPVs go up to numbers higher than during the Monday Night War.

So I don't expect an apology from Bud and quite frankly I'd applaud the man if he came out tomorrow and said this.

"Hey, fuckers. Stop blaming me. Do I carry some of it? Sure. But you know what? I have the BEST fucking argument for NOT being to blame that ANY of you have. I am the man who implemented the first testing before Congress was even paying attention. So quit this bullshit that I was sitting on my hands until they forced my hand. Journalists, why don't you do your fucking jobs for once and report on what happened BEFORE Congress? I implemented a policy that is STILL tougher than MLB's. Did you write about that? Did you do what a journalist would do and raise the issue based on that before these controversies? And MAYBE you could blame me for the problems in MLB if SOMEONE didn't have the power to end the season if they weren't happy with the way things were going, something which YOU guys insist almost killed baseball before a few things saved it... like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. And MAYBE you could blame me if SOMEONE didn't have major financial interests in keeping things calm in baseball and could take away my power with a flip of a switch.

So please, continue to call me the devil because I am the guy who made an All Star game tied with no pitchers left. I actually think most of this shit is pretty funny. I'll be chilling in my home paid for with my 18 million dollar salary. And you know what? I don't have one bit of shame in that salary. All you genius journalists and fans who compare me to the heads of failing companies have your heads up your asses. MLB is making money hand over fist. I am the most profitable commissioner in history. And you're full of it if you don't think I had something major to do with that, whether its the Wildcard that I implemented, the international expansion that I pushed, the interleague play that I introduced, or the labor peace that I have oversaw.

So continue to blame me for steroids and tied games and whatever other lame ass complaints you have about the game you're handing over hundreds and thousands of dollars a year to follow. I'm comfortable knowing that you're all plenty guilty if I am and I'm happy knowing I earn my paycheck better than half the players in this fucking game and probably most of your journalists.

Thank you, and go fuck yourselves."

[Lucky]

And hell, I just thought I'd provide SOME link and a quote from BRANCH FUCKING RICKEY to support this notion that Bud was working BEFORE Balco, Canseco, and Congress and that its the MLBPA that is to blame if anyone.

www.minorleaguenews.com/baseball/features/articles2005/03/21/01.html

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball designed and administers the minor league program, which was put in effect in 2001. The MLBPA only negotiates deals for the players on the forty-man roster, which includes some players sent to the minors in the AAA who are still part of the overall 40. The union has been resistant to any form of testing or treatment, and has the power to block meaningful solutions to substance use and abuse that affects the game.

"I think the biggest mistake early on was the player's association not seeing this as a way to save lives and save careers," said Pacific Coast League president Branch Rickey III.

Rickey notes that, if it weren't for the intransigence of the MLBPA, a meaningful program, even at the minor league level, might have seen the light of day much sooner.

Frequently the minor leagues are used to test policies and practices before applying them to the major leagues. MLB has the unilateral power in the minors. The bellwether allows the MLBPA to also evaluate how certain policies and practices proposed by the owners may work, and whether to endorse or oppose them.

When it comes to substance abuse and performance enhancers, the MLBPA has fought meaningful implementation of a plan long after other sports have already put tough rules into place. The minor leagues continue to operate under the tougher rules, and the forty-man roster players largely skate. This creates a huge double standard with radically inconsistent policies. (See: Establishing the Double Standard MLN March 7, 2003)

In 2003, after the death of a PA member, Orioles hurler Steve Bechler, where the herbal supplement ephedra was touted as the alleged cause of death, MLB acted swiftly. The Commissioner added the herbal supplement to the banned substances list for minor league baseball. To add it to the major league list required the blessing of the MLBPA, which only agreed after a firestorm in the media forced the issue. Even with their begrudged agreement to ban ephedra, it doesn’t formally appear in the list of banned substances (see page 3).

Seriously, I have no idea how people can read up on this stuff and NOT conclude that Bud Selig was part of a group of people in baseball TRYING to introduce testing into baseball but the Union was the force fighting it and the Union has too much power for Bud to fight. At least until he had Congress and the full public perception backing him up and the Union was backed into a corner.

[creepy]

I've pretty much ignored baseball for awhile now, Cocky, but wasn't there a shit load of layoffs this past year in MLB? Peaople that made less than $100,000 a year are getting fired, but Manny turns down $25m for a year. Selig makes $18m a year and prices are still getting raised?




In respomse to your

"I'll be chilling in my home paid for with my 18 million dollar salary. And you know what? I don't have one bit of shame in that salary. All you genius journalists and fans who compare me to the heads of failing companies have your heads up your asses. MLB is making money hand over fist. I am the most profitable commissioner in history."

[Outback Frito Pendejo]

Creepy, does the entire continent have a restraining order against you?

[creepy]

No, like 4 people will respond to me. You, and the Texans. Solly sometimes, too.

[Pun]

From ESPN's Draft Kit page:

[DevSop]

Smart, smart man right there.

[Jack Quinn]

now why would anyone hate Ryan Howard?

[The Jewish Cunthead]

I don't like his shiny new ring.

[Jack Quinn]

you mean that 2008 World Series Champion shiny new ring? That one?


To tide you over for the next 20 or so years, you can get this since that is as close as the Mets are going to get

[The Jewish Cunthead]

I really don't like you.

[Jack Quinn]

no?

[Pun]

This thread is locked! Stop posting!