Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

[kingjammy24]

Re: Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

reid,

i understand what happened to palmeiro. my original point didn't debate what happened but whether it was "right". even with your impressive involvement in team sports, i have to think that even you feel that there's a limit to what stays in the clubhouse; the expectation of trust can only go so far in light of the severity of the crimes. apparently, for you steroids don't reach that breaking point. for others, they do.

noone is stupid enough to think that being a teammate is carte blanche for being able to do anything and have it kept quiet. even "brothers" have limits.

canseco was blacklisted but it's hard to argue that, ultimately, what he did wasn't a good thing.

"It's hard to trust a guy who will sell you out"

it's even harder to trust a guy who's engaging in unethical behavior.

rudy.

[David]

Re: Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

What I found ludicrous about MLB and the old 10 day suspension is that steroids stays in your body for far longer than 10 days, often months. The player's steroids built bulk, strength and speed doesn't disappear in 10 days. In other words, MLB knowingly allowed players benefiting from steroids to play baseball. It can be reasonably argued that the 50 day suspension isn't much different.

[sportscentury]

Re: Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

reid,

i understand what happened to palmeiro. my original point didn't debate what happened but whether it was "right". even with your impressive involvement in team sports, i have to think that even you feel that there's a limit to what stays in the clubhouse; the expectation of trust can only go so far in light of the severity of the crimes. apparently, for you steroids don't reach that breaking point. for others, they do.

noone is stupid enough to think that being a teammate is carte blanche for being able to do anything and have it kept quiet. even "brothers" have limits.

canseco was blacklisted but it's hard to argue that, ultimately, what he did wasn't a good thing.

"It's hard to trust a guy who will sell you out"

it's even harder to trust a guy who's engaging in unethical behavior.

rudy.

Rudy,

I didn't mean to offend or upset you, I'm sorry.

Best,
Reid

[cjclong]

Re: Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

One thing that makes the whole steroid question a problem is trying to figure out how much the use may have impacted a player's performance. Assuming that Palmeiro was an intentional user at some time (and there was an interesting article by a while back by a writer who initially believed Palmeiro was 100% lying and after looking at all the facts came to believe his denial of intentional use just might be true) then how much did it enhance his performance. Palmeiro never fit the traditional profile of a steroid user. He only had about a 10 pound weight gain over his career which is normal for a man going from his early 20's to middle 30's, never had a big homerun spike hitting between 39 to 47 playing in home ballparks favorable to lefthanded hitters. He didn't hit tape measure homeruns relying on what other players described as a "sweet swing" to pull the ball. He wound up with 569 homeruns and I think its safe to say he would have hit more than 500 whether he used steroids or not. Assuming they used how much difference did it make to McGuire, Sosa Bonds, etc? Some people treat Bonds as without steroids he would be nothing. But without his eyesight, reflexes, hand eye cordination, etc. he and Arnold Schwarzennegger would have the same number of homeruns. This is a little off the original question, and isn't intended to absolve players who used steroids, but I think that while they gave some players some advantage we exaggerate their impact on the game. Possibly the longest major league homerun meaured was at 565 feet hit by Mickey Mantle and not one of the current playrs suspected of steroid use.

[TNTtoys]

Re: Rafael Palmeiro: Was he treated fairly?

Possibly the longest major league homerun meaured was at 565 feet hit by Mickey Mantle and not one of the current playrs suspected of steroid use.

Yes, the longest home run in history was hit by Mantle... but as for the measurement, I think you may be mistaken. The longest home run ever hit (according to Broadway Rick in his classic description of "Mantle pants") was measured at 550 yards, some 985 feet longer than any of us may have previously thought.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1954-55-Mickey-Mantle-Game-Used-Yankees-Road-Pants_W0QQitemZ290089750843QQcategoryZ50117QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

(sorry, couldn't resist the opportunity to revisit a classic belly laugh)