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Well, Raul Ibanez isn’t on performance enhancing drugs—he is a performance enhancing drug.
The Phillies won two of three in the series with the Mets and held an archrival to three runs on nine hits. That’s the same number the Phillies used to score six.
What does it take to do that?
Defense. And Raul was a large part of that. He leads the team in outfield assists with six, driving the total for the three starting fielders to 10. He applies effort and hustle to every putout, slide, or dive, and is one of the men responsible for that MLB leading fielding percentage.
And in the sprawling greenery of Citi Field, Ibanez completed the outfield trinity with Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth like a great set of Goodrich tires—we get a lot of mileage out of them. And if you buy three, you get the fourth free.
I’m sorry, that’s at Pep Boys. My mistake.
But you need more than just fancy footwork to beat a team that’s always vying for you.
What else does it take?
Offense. And Raul was a large part of that. He leads the team in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, and batting average.
But last night he was a miserable 0 for 4, and had ended three innings with an out until he faced Mets’ veteran, Takahashi, in the 10th. With two men on, two outs, and the Phils 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, he took a stand and cried, “No more!”
I’m sorry, I’m just alleging he said that. I don’t have anything to back that up. But do you think that would get me on ESPN?
Probably not. I root for the National League.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, Raul. Then on a 1-1 count, he slammed a changeup 400 feet over the centerfield wall to clear the bases with a three-run dinger. That earned him the WB Mason “Delivery of the Game,” the Chevrolet “Player of the Game,” and a huge spread in my Phillies “Playmate of the Game” calendar.
Afterwards, Mitch Williams admitted that he had alleged that the initial acquisition of Raul Ibanez was a bad management decision. Then he apologized.
Is that a confession?!
Is that a confession of an allegation?!
How come Mitch doesn’t get on ESPN?
That’s right, he played for the National League.
I heard Wall Street calculated how much Raul would have to cough up if he actually tested positive for PEDs, and had to hold true to his pledge to give back everything he’d earned in the MLB.
How much?
Well, the article didn’t allege that, but I’ll bet the derivatives market has odds set on the outcome of his test. And I’ll bet Pete Rose has a lot riding on it.
Wait. Did I just allege that Pete Rose has allegedly bet on the Raul Ibanez PED allegation?
That’s awesome! Will that get me on ESPN?
Probably not. Pete Rose got kicked out of the National League.
Anyway, let’s hear it for Jamie Moyer. He faced a team that dreams of his little league fastball and held them to three earned runs while throwing almost 67% of his pitches for strikes.
That’s due in part to an umpire who was giving away the corners. Actually I’m going to start calling Moyer, “Jamie Corner.” I’ll pretend he’s that “Little Jack” sitting in a corner eating a Christmas Pie doing something creative with his thumb. Then I’ll play Little Miss Muffet and eat my curds and get way horny…
I’m so sorry, was I thinking out loud?
Wait a minute. Was I just alleging that Jamie Moyer makes me horny? Is that a performance enhancing drug confession?
Finally, I’ve found some way to end this entire performance enhancing mess by tying this Ibanez allegation disaster together with sex.
Whew, I’m tired and I need a cigarette.
And I don’t even smoke.
See you at the ballpark.
When is the appropriate time to start an MVP campaign?
Whenever the time is, Raul Ibanez will surely be a frontrunner. Thursday night Ibanez willed the Phillies to a second-straight victory in extra innings against the Mets. His three-run home run in the 10th inning gave the Phillies a comfortable three-run lead, and Ryan Madson picked up his second save in two nights as the team’s closer.
Jamie Moyer gave the Phillies a solid start, as his outing seemed like a record that was skipping. Luis Castillo lead off the game with a double and advanced to third on an Alex Cora sacrifice bunt. Carlos Beltran then brought him home to give the Mets a quick and efficient 1-0 lead.
Castillo hit a single in the third inning, moved to second on a Cora sacrifice bunt, and Beltran knocked him in.
Then in the fifth inning, Castillo hit a lead off double, advanced to third on a Cora ground out, and Beltran knocked in Castillo for his third RBI of the night. Fortunately for the Phillies, the rest of the Mets’ offense was non-productive the entire night.
Moyer went six innings and allowed just the three runs by Castillo on eight hits. He struck out three batters and walked none. Clay Condrey pitched two rock-solid innings of relief in the seventh and eighth innings. Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre teamed up for a lock-down ninth inning, and Madson piked up the save in the 10th.
For the night, the Phillies were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, with Ibanez’s homer being the lone hit. Jimmy Rollins, though, hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to score Pedro Feliz. A Chase Utley double in the fifth inning scored Rollins from first base, bringing the Phillies to within one run of the Mets, who had a 3-1 lead. Matt Stairs hit a ground-ball out in the seventh inning, which scored Feliz to tie the game in the seventh inning.
Last night was Eyre’s 600th career game. He was credited with the win.
The Phillies are now four games in front in the NL East on a night when they beat the Mets and the Braves lost as well. On the road this year, the Phillies are a remarkable 23-9. No other team in baseball has more than 19 wins on the road.
Much has been made of the blogger who dared put the words “Raul Ibanez” and “steroids” in the same headline. Some people were outraged. Some people were outraged by the outrage. Most people just wondered if and when the shadow of performance-enhancing drugs will ever leave baseball alone.
No matter your stance on that debate, the reality is that Ibanez is having a career year at the age of 37. Naturally when a 37-year-old outfielder emerges from 13 years of relative obscurity in Seattle and Kansas City into the spotlight of Philadelphia, and does so with a bang (21 bangs to this point), it will inevitably draw attention.
Ibanez is currently second in the majors with 21 home runs and first in slugging percentage at .674. His career highs in those categories are 33 (2006) and .537 (2002) respectively.
With 58 games played so far this season, he is currently on pace to hit around 58 bombs. Should Ibanez hit 58 home runs (which is unlikely), that would represent a 60 percent increase from the 23 homers he hit in 2008. Remember that percentage. We’ll come back to it later.
All the hubbub surrounding Ibanez and his apparent discovery of the Fountain of Youth got me thinking. Is it rare for a player to peak in his late 30s? Absolutely. Most players don’t even last that long. But for a player who has put up consistently good numbers at the plate or on the mound over a number of years, is it that rare for success to continue or even increase at a late age?
I didn’t think so. We’re not talking about NFL running backs here. David Wells threw a perfect game at the age of 35 while overweight and hungover. Is it so far-fetched to think someone could reach career highs at 37 just by taking care of his body and utilizing 13 years of experience?
My research was by no means exhaustive, but I found a few notable examples to support my theory. And you can forget about Bonds and Clemens, some of the names on this list might surprise you.
These examples are presented for the sole purpose of showing that it is possible for a 37-year-old with a history of solid hitting to reach career highs that late in his career. Just throwing some more wood on the fire, if you will.
I’d love to hear your comments.
The Philadelphia Phillies made their first appearance in the World Series in 1915, when they challenged a talented Boston Red Sox squad.
The Phillies came in to their first Fall Classic as the clear underdogs, as Boston was already familiar with post season play.
Featuring pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander and power hitter Gavy Craveth, the Phillies would face a stiff test in the Red Sox, who were loaded with so much talent that young pitcher Babe Ruth who only made one appearance in the Series, as a pinch hitter.
We start our phlashback with a look at game one of the 1915 World Series, played in Philadelphia.
The Phillies were awarded home field advantage by winning a coin flip. Phillies owner William F. Baker opted to host the first two games of the World Series in the Baker Bowl, which seated about 20,000 fans.
The Red Sox organization had requested 400 tickets in addition to the 200 that were normally allotted for visiting teams. Baker refused to give more tickets to the Red Sox fans that would come to Philadelphia, but the National Commission, the predecessor to the commissioner of baseball’s current office and title, chose to settle the dispute between the teams by offering some tickets from their allotment.
Grover Cleveland Alexander (seen pictured with Boston starter Ernie Shore) took the mound for the Phillies in game one. He was the ace of the Phillies, so it was only fitting that manager Pat Moran would hand Alexander the ball. The Hall of Fame pitcher came through with a brilliant performance.
After Boston right fielder Harry Hooper lead off the game with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Alexander got out of the inning unscathed. He would not allow a run to score until the eighth inning when a Duffy Lewis single scored center fielder Tris Speaker, who had walked earlier in the inning. It was the only run allowed by Alexander, giving the Phillies the edge.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when center fielder Dode Paskert scored on a single by left fielder Possum Whitted. After the Red Sox tied the game in the eighth inning, the Phillies quickly responded to regain the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Leadoff hitter and third baseman Milt Stock drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the eighth. Stock advanced to second on a single by Dave Bancroft. Paskert then walked to load the bases. Stock would then score on a ground out by Gavy Cravath and Bancroft would score on a single by Fred Luderus to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
The most notable at bat, though perhaps not at the time, was when a young Babe Ruth stepped to the plate for his only appearance in the 1915 World Series. Ruth had won 18 games that season as a pitcher, yet was known for his monster home runs. Ruth was sent in to pinch hit for Boston starting pitcher Ernie Shore with one out and a runner on first base. Alexander won the battle, getting Ruth to ground out to first base, although the runner did advance to second.
Alexander finished off the complete game to give the Phillies a 3-1 win and a 1-0 lead in their first World Series.
On the strength of yet another Raul Ibanez home run, the Philadelphia Phillies took down the New York Mets on Thursday night for the second-straight game. It also marked the second night in a row that righty reliever Bobby Parnell took the loss.
In a postgame press conference, Mets manager Jerry Manuel pleaded with General Manager Omar Minaya to make some drastic changes to the bullpen, either by cutting or designating all relief pitchers for assignment, with the exception of Francisco Rodriguez.
“He’s been the only guy worth a damn out there late in the game. Putz has been nothing but a putz all year, and now he’s hurt. We’d be better off if we had Shawn Green, the former outfielder, pitching for us instead of Sean Green the pitcher. And you knew it was only a matter of time before Bobby got touched up. He’s really not that good and that’s all there is to it.”
You can’t blame Manuel for being a little incensed. K-Rod pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday and another on Tuesday, but the Mets only won one of those games. Late-inning meltdowns by pitchers not named Rodriguez effectively cost the Mets this series.
I guess the weight of 24 other men is a lot to carry on one set of shoulders. Don’t get me wrong, K-Rod is a strong man. I just think his back will blow out eventually, probably sometime around Sept. 1. He has already been telling trainers that he experiences spasms from time to time.
Johan Santana echoed K-Rod’s sentiments and has decided to sew shoulder pads into his jerseys to reduce the stress on his bones from the added weight. He has also reportedly been talking with Sammy Sosa about the finer points of corking bats in an effort to boost his run support.
No word on whether any roster changes will occur, but the trade deadline is looming less than two months away. When asked about his thoughts on that, Minaya responded, “I never got interested in stocks. Wall Street is on the other side of the river.”
Much has been made about Jerod Morris’ blog post regarding Raul Ibanez’s unexpected performance thus far. The post attempts to bust any steroids claims using statistical evidence—not to accuse him of taking performance-enhancing drugs, as the media is making it out to be.
In his final three years as a Seattle Mariner, Ibanez hit a respectable .291/.354/.492, with an average of 26 home runs and 113 RBI per year. This year, his first in the National League in his 14-year career, the 37-year-old is hitting .325/.380/.671 with 20 home runs and 55 RBI.
Ibanez has just three fewer home runs this year than the 23 he hit in 2008, in 452 fewer plate appearances.
Only once in his career has Ibanez hit over .300, and never has he had an OPS above .900. He’s on pace to smash his career highs at age 37, something seen in recent memory only by Barry Bonds.
There are two main factors that could be the cause of his offensive explosion. First, his switch from the AL to the NL and from Safeco Field to more hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park; and second, random fluctuations resulting from lack of significant sample size.
Let’s deal with the former first. Based on players who moved from the AL to the NL since 2000, and Safeco Field’s and Citizens Bank Park’s four-year park factors from 2005 to 2008, Ibanez would have expected his batting average to increase by 5.8 percent, his on-base percentage by 6.2 percent, his slugging percentage by 10.1 percent, and his home run rate by 20 percent—just by his moving to Philadelphia.
(Those are multiplicative, not additive, by the way. Batting average is multiplied by 1.058, for example, and not increased from, say, .300 to .3058.)
If we adjust his 2006-08 stats from Seattle accordingly, his previously good batting line is now great: .308/.376/.541, with 31 home runs and 116 RBI per year.
His current OBP of .380 is in line with his adjusted OBP, but the slugging percentage is where the major difference lies—an actual .671 versus the adjusted .539.
Why is the disparity so large?
Ibanez has hit 20 home runs in just 80 fly balls, a HR/FB ratio of 25 percent. The league average falls around 10 or 11 percent; Ibanez’s was 10.7 and 10.9 percent each of the past two years, respectively.
From 2006 to 2008, Ibanez’s HR/FB percentage was 12.7 percent. Our estimate for his HR/FB percentage this year is about 14.6, which includes a 20 percent increase and a slight regression to the mean (15 percent, to be exact).
This means that we would expect 11 or 12 home runs in 80 fly balls for Ibanez. (By the way, if we prorate 12 home runs in his 255 plate appearances to an average of 681 in his last three years in Seattle, we’d get an average of 32 homers per year. We previously estimated 31 home runs in Philadelphia for Ibanez.)
If we then take away eight of his 20 homers—and add four doubles, assuming half of those eight are outs and half are doubles—his slugging percentage falls to .566 and his OPS to .946. And if those eight non-homers turned out to be all outs, his actual performance this year would actually be worse than what his adjusted stats estimated.
The second hypothesis as to why Ibanez’s stats are so high is random fluctuation. In THE BOOK: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, the authors show that random fluctuation (known as standard deviation, or SD) in a binomial (such as on-base percentage, in which there are only two options—in this case, reach base or get out; slugging percentage, however, is not a binomial) is calculated as
,
where OBP is the player’s true talent OBP (or any other binomial) and N is the number of plate appearances, currently 255 for Ibanez. My preseason projection for Ibanez was a .359 OBP in the NL and in Philadelphia, but that is equal to an OBP of .348 in a neutral league and park, which is our estimate of his true skill.
Thus, the random fluctuation in Ibanez’s OBP is .03. There’s a 68 percent chance that Ibanez’s current OBP is within one SD of his true talent and a 95 percent chance that it’s within two SDs. (We’ll use his projection instead of his true talent, however, because we want both his projection and actual stats to be in the same environment—Philadelphia.)
In other words, if Ibanez repeated this season 100 times with the same true talent, surrounding cast, and other variables, his OBP would be anywhere from .329 to .389 (within one fluctuation of his true talent) 68 times, and between .299 and .419 all but five times, all due to random variation.
That means that Ibanez, with his .380 OBP, is currently within the range of our projection; his actual OBP is just 0.021 better than his projection, less than one SD.
Applying this to batting average, we see Ibanez is hitting 37 points better than his preseason projection of .288. The fluctuation for his average is 0.028, which means Ibanez is well within two SDs of his projected average.
The outlier is, of course, home runs. We calculate that the fluctuation of Ibanez’s home run percentage (home runs per plate appearance, not per at-bats) is 0.011, but his current percentage of 7.8 percent is over three-and-a-half SDs above his preseason projection of 3.8 percent.
(The probability that he’d finish above three SDs from his projection is just 0.3 percent, which shows that his home run percentage is due for a major regression.)
But remember that eight of his home runs were due to his inflated HR/FB rate? The 12 homers he should have based on his prior HR/FB rate results in a 4.7 home run percentage, less than one fluctuation, which suggests that Ibanez’s 12 “true” home runs actually somewhat represents his true skill level.
The stats show that aside from his insanely high HR/FB rate (20 home runs in 80 fly balls), Ibanez’s current stats are not too far off from his true talent level. Both his on-base percentage and home run percentage are within one fluctuation of his projection, something we’d see 68 percent of the time, and his batting average is within 1.3 SDs of his projection.
Steroids? Nope.
OK, so every now and then I get a pretty asinine e-mail. This one came from a crazed fan who moved out of the Philly area a few years ago but reads Phillie Phanatics to keep up to date. For the sake of protecting his identity from all you Utley lovers, we’ll call him John Doe. Here’s the (slightly edited) exchange that took place between us in the wee-hours of Monday morning:
From: Doe, John. To: Roddy, Shay.
Subject: Trade possibility
Hey Shay,
I’m looking at possible trade options to sure-up the Phillies’ rotation. I can’t help but wonder if the Phillies could possibly land my favorite pitcher, Edinson Volquez. The trade would look like this: Chase Utley and Antonio Bastardo for Brandon Philllps and Volquez.
Please let me know what you think!
John Doe
Seattle, Washington
___________________________
From: Roddy, Shay. To: Doe, John.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
John,
I appreciate the e-mail, but this is a REALLY bad trade. First of all, Edinson is on the DL right now. Secondly, you’re giving up your best offensive player (arguably) and a top pitching prospect. And finally, Cincinatti is not looking to trade either of those two, or take on the tremendous salary and commitment that comes with Mr. Utley.
I don’t see this trade working at all, unless you can convince me otherwise.
Shay
___________________________
From: Doe, John. To: Roddy, Shay.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
Shay,
Philips I think is a really interesting piece in this trade. He’s 27, a 30-30 guy and a possible future 40-40 guy. He already has 42 RBI this year. He could fit into this lineup nicely, he’s another cleanup hitter in the lineup. That would give the Phillies three cleanup hitters in one lineup. However, the Phillies seem pretty set on four hitters, so Phillips can use his versatility and bat 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.
I think he would make what is already a great lineup even better.
Cheers,
John
___________________________
From: Roddy, Shay. To: Doe, John.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
John,
I’m really not liking this trade. First of all, it’s not going to happen. The Phillies aren’t going to trade Utley, and the Reds aren’t trading Volquez or Phillips. But, just for argument’s sake, IF it were to happen, you’d be bringing another 100 strikeouts into this lineup. If you bat Phillips and Howard back-to-back (which seems to be the most logical order) you’d be throwing out even more rallies to strikeouts. These strikeouts and power would be an addition to a lineup that already struggles playing small ball.
Shay
___________________________
From: Doe, John. To: Roddy, Shay.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
Shay…
This is a really excellent trade. First of all, you are letting one great player go in exchange for TWO GREAT PLAYERS. Philips will provide a spark in this lineup that is otherwise not present. He’ll become part of the BEST LINEUP IN PHILLIES HISTORY: Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Phillips 2B, Howard 1B, Ibanez LF, Mayberry RF, Feliz 3B, Ruiz C. Admit that lineup has no holes!
And Edinson has nasty stuff and is a lock to win 15 a year. He’d help fill the void left during Myers’ stint on the disabled list and join what would become one of the scariest rotations in baseball–Cole Hamels, Volquez, Carlos Carrasco, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ.
Please, I know moving Utley seems ambitious, but consider the potential these two new Phillies would bring.
John
____________________________
From: Roddy, Shay. To: Doe, John.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
John,
Your points aren’t far off, and you’ve made me look at this a little closer, but the trade is still unrealistic. I think the best explanation for why it’s not workable is that the trade is only good on paper. It might work in your fantasy league, but is not an option in reality.
In that rotation of yours, where are you putting Jamie Moyer? You seriously value Carrasco, who’s shown he’s not even close to big-league ready, as more important than Moyer? That alone devalues the rest of your argument. It’s a bad, unrealistic trade.
Shay
____________________________
From: Doe, John. To: Roddy, Shay.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
Moyer, are you serious?? DROP HIMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! DEMOTE HIM TO TRIPLE-A OR LONG RELIEF!!!!!!!!! He is old and finished. Make him a assistant pitching coach, I don’t care, just get his old ass out of the rotation.
John
____________________________
From: Roddy, Shay. To: Doe, John.
Subject: RE: Trade possibility
John, I pretty much just lost any respect I had for you. You’re not thinking buddy. Pretty much everything you have said makes no sense. If you really believe you can do that with Moyer, then you’re out of your mind.
Thanks for reading, bud.
Shay
——
You can email Shay Roddy at sroddy@philliephanatics.org and read his blog here.
Phillies and Mets. A series that has been anything but boring did not disappoint Thursday Night.
With the Mets down in the N.L. East and the Phillies getting hot, all the fans knew just how important a win would be.
The game kicked off early when Beltran grounded out to shortstop, sending Castillo home to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Phillies answered in the third when Rollins sacrifice fly sent Feliz home to tie the game.
The Mets answered right back when Beltran sent Castillo home yet again to give the Mets a 2-1 lead, they repeated this in the fifth.
With the Phils down headed into the sixth, Utley doubled off the pitch from Parnell, which sent Rollins home to bring the Phils within one.
The Phils tied the game in the seventh off ground out from Canadian born Matt Stairs.
After a quick ninth inning, we headed to the 10th all tied at three a piece.
With one out, Victorino singled, after an Utley walk and a strikeout from Howard, Ibanez stepped to the plate with two outs and two men on.
It only took two pitches…and that baby was gone. Three run shot for Ibanez and his 21st homer of the year gave the Phils a 6-3 lead and eventually the win.
The Phils improve to 35-23, with a 23-9 road record. They are now four games ahead of the Mets in the East.
The Phillies take on the Red Sox on Friday, while the Mets get the Yankees.
Today marks the 24th anniversary of Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Von Hayes’ record breaking performance when he became the first player in Major League history to hit two home runs in the first inning of a ballgame.
Von Hayes was never known to be a power hitter. While most power hitters of the ’80s were jacking 30 or more home runs a year, Hayes hit more than 20 HRs just twice in his career (13 HRs per year average as an every day starter).
On this date in 1985, Von Hayes led off with a HR against the New York Mets. The Phillies would bat around the order in the first inning only for Hayes to make his mark in the annals of baseball history by hitting a grand slam, becoming the first player ever to hit two HRs in the first inning of a game. More importantly, the Hayes-led Philles would go on to beat the Mets 26-7.
How fitting is it today that the Philadelphia Phillies march into the new home of the New York Mets, CitiField, in a rubber match against their arch rivals.
Two days ago, Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez was critically lambasted by a blogger from the Midwest for possibly “taking steroids” as that could be the only reason why Ibanez, at age 37, is on pace for a career season and possibly a run at National League Most Valuable Player.
Von Hayes was never a power hitter but his best season came late in his career, in 1989. Hayes would only play one full season and two partial seasons after that. Raul Ibanez, at 37 years old, is showing no signs of slowing down yet it is very unlikely that his production will keep increasing after this season.
Forget numbers, it is just pure common sense that Ibanez moved from a pitcher’s ballpark to a hitter’s ballpark. Citizen’s Bank Ballpark ranked third in the National League in 2008 for HRs allowed while in Seattle, where Ibanez played, can be found near the bottom of the American League in HRs allowed.
Raul Ibanez has the best protection a hitter can have as well, batting in the same lineup as Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Shane Victorino. Jayson Werth is streaky, but no slouch when it comes to hitting the ball either.
For someone to speculate, as the basement blogger from the Midwest did, about Ibanez’s increased production during the latter stages of his career, and that the production “probably” can be attributed to steroid use, is asinine.
Von Hayes is proof that players like Raul Ibanez can improve their production even if they are a little longer in the tooth.
I guess Jaime Moyer is juicing up as well.
Pete Dymeck is the owner of DailyPenn.com
The recent Midwest Sports Fan (MSF) article titled, “The Curious Case of Raul Ibanez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, but Great Start in 2009 Raising Eyebrows” is not news to anyone.
In fact, by now, the once obscure regional blog source probably needs no introduction. The recent media firestorm surrounding the blog, including a piece on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” has churned over 250 comments and been viewed 14,000 times.
It’s yesterday’s news.
But if I didn’t give my two cents, I feel like I would be missing an opportunity to make a important plea to take a step towards turning the page on the steroids era.
Living in Philadelphia means that I have a responsibility to root for my home team and since this is something that has been in the national media that concerns one of my own, my knee-jerk reaction was to feel like we were being attacked.
As the defending world champions, this team and its players might as well paint an 8,000 square foot bulls eye on the infield dirt at Citizen’s Bank Park. It’s reasonable to understand why anyone in my situation would feel appalled at the remarks.
But in retrospect and in combination with the barrage of biased things that I have heard and read from the local media outlets, I think that it’s important to put aside my hometown bias and make a case for Commissioner Selig and Ibanez to do the right thing:
Let’s take the test and get it over with.
It’s pretty clear that blogger J-Rod stopped short of accusing Ibanez but it’s still shocking for us to read an article that links a player to possible steroid use without any hard evidence. Journalists typically shy away from libel and slander.
But this was no ordinary journalist (bloggers don’t really count, do they?) and the subject matter is the black cloud that continues to loom over baseball; performance enhancing drugs.
As I write this, the greatest right handed hitter of this generation is serving a 50 game suspension for using Performance Enhancing Drugs.
It’s pretty clear that while awareness and testing may be improving, the threat of testing might not be enough.
We can’t turn our heads at situations like this; it starts with vigilance and needs to end with accountability.
You see, speculation without accountability is what allowed this problem to exist in the first place. We were all skeptical about what we were seeing; longstanding records were being shattered with relative frequency by towering middle aged giants. In hindsight, it was fairly obvious what was going on but no one wanted to step up to the plate and hold these guys accountable
In my opinion, it’s grossly unfair to Raul but it’s almost necessary. His training regiment and desire to live up to his contract surpasses even his lofty output and for that reason I do trust his word. However, I also recognize that vigilant skepticism is the only thing that is going to bring back trust.
In this situation, my hometown bias takes a backseat to the game.
Ibanez says that he is willing to be tested and I would like to see him go through with it. In fact, as a clean player, he needs to realize that the skepticism is healthy and embrace it.
I don’t blame him for reacting the way that he did; it’s wrong for any member of the media to mention, by name, a player in a speculative piece like this. But his indignant denial is not going to cure the issue.
We need a figure that we can root for and trust. This is an opportunity to have the entire baseball fan-base saying, “RAAAUUUULLLL!”
My $0.02.
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