Dec 13, 2007 

STEROIDPALOOZA: A's Jack Cust Named


Paul Bunyan didn't use steroids, but Jack Cust does.

Make that seven current or former Athletics named in the Mitchell Report.

A's designated hitter, Jack Cust, was named in connection to former Baltimore outfielder Larry Bigbie. According to the report, Cust told Bigbie he already a steroid supplier.
At the beginning of the 2003 season, Cust and Larry Bigbie were both playing for Baltimore’s class AAA affiliate in Ottawa. Bigbie’s locker was next to Cust’s. Cust eventually asked Bigbie if he had ever tried steroids. Bigbie acknowledged he had, and Cust said that he, too, had tried steroids. Cust told Bigbie that he had a source who could procure anything he
wanted, but Bigbie informed him he already had a friend who could supply him.
I suppose if Billy Beane wanted Barry Bonds as his DH in 2008, he now knows he already had a user at the position.

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STEROIDPALOOZA: ESPN Names Tejada

CAN HOUSTON VOID THE BLOCKBUSTER TEJADA TRADE?

ESPN's Jeremy Schaap, Mitchell Report in tow, quickly perused the documents and briefly named the recently traded Astros' shortstop Miguel Tejada as a steroid user.

In the appendix, according to Schaap, checks written by Tejada are pictured.

The story here is whether the Houston Astros knew that Tejada would be named before consummating yesterday's blockbuster trade?

Did they ask him? Did Baltimore know before trading Tejada?

If Houston knew, they certainly didn't get a discount in the six-player trade.

In this brave new world of baseball, could Houston void the trade on the same basis when a team trades a player whose injuries were not disclosed  before the transaction?

On the local front, the naming of Tejada now includes six players with ties to the Oakland Athletics: Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi and three American League Most Valuable Players.

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STEROIDPALOOZA: Clemens & Pettitte Fingered

CLEMENS NAMED BY LFR IN 2006; PETTITTE IS A RELIGIOUS HYPOCRITE

Once likely Hall of Famer Roger Clemens and his scripture-spouting rotation-mate, Andy Pettitte will be named in the Mitchell Report.

Clemens' inclusion in the soon-to-be infamous report on steroids in Major League Baseball comes as no surprise to readers of Tailgater.

His alleged steroid use has been mentioned as far back as 2006 and specifically in this post from Feb. 6, 2007 which posed the question of whether Clemens' annual ritual of ditching spring training was due to March testing of the drugs.
When has there ever been an athlete in any sport that has been enabled to be held hostage by Clemens? The media doesn't pose this question because their in awe of his persona. They've also failed to ask Clemens whether the last half of his career might be an abberation in the era of steriods.
Nobody listened until today.

What follows could be a template for many of the players named in the Mitchell Report today. Clemens' clear down years in the early 90s followed by a conspicous rise in play.
If Barry Bonds and others are queried for miraculous comebacks late in the careers when others have historically begun the physically breakdown why hasn't Clemens be fingered? After faltering for three years in Boston his career seemed done when he was traded to Toronto in 1997. Suddenly, he was fit and throwing as hard as ever. He won the Cy Young that year and has been the same type of pitcher well into his 40s. Clemens' return the top of baseball follows the same steep trajectory as Bonds's.
If you use this template, it begs to speculate whether Cincinnati outfielder, Ken Griffey, Jr. is named in this report.

PETTITTE PRAISES THE LORD FOR STEROIDS
If the word hypocrite comes to mind regarding Andy Pettitte's being named in the Mitchell Report, it does in my mind, also.

Pettitte, who possesses a low-key manner personality, but also liked to tell you how his pious Christian lifestyle is better than yours. 

When it comes to using illicit drugs, apparently "What Would Jesus Do?" never came to Pettitte's mind.


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