Previously, I said I wanted to see more than “according to Joe Blow..” evidence attached to the names that were listed in his report. I’ve waded through about two-thirds (see ESPN – Players listed in the Mitchell Commission report for a detailed breakdown), and except for the instances where the Mutts’ clubhouse guy was able to produce cancelled checks, that seems exactly what happened. McNamee and Radomski claimed a lot of things that, as I read it, are not backed up by anything other than their word… which, considering they were already on the hot seat, makes their “testimony” questionable, to say the least.
And then there is my “Red Sox problem”: According to the report,
Radomski recalled that Vaughn had an ankle injury and called him for advice. Radomski told Vaughn that human growth hormone would help his ankle heal faster. Radomski said that thereafter he sold human growth hormone to Vaughn. Radomski also provided Vaughn with a program for the use of the human growth hormone. Radomski said that he delivered the substances to Vaughn personally. Radomski produced three checks deposited into Radomski’s accounts and drawn on Vaughn’s checking account: two checks for $3,200 each, and one check for $2,200.
Why would Mo Vaughn call this guy for advice? Who told him “he’s the guy you should to talk to” about recovering from an injury? That only makes sense if Mo was tipped to the guy by someone (or multiple someones) that Mo believed he could trust… which would most likely be guys in his clubhouse. How else would Mo know where to go?
The fact that there are an inordinate number of Yankees and Mutts on this list is not a surprise; the “witnesses” that the majority of this report bases its finding on were associated with those two teams. As I also said, I consider those cancelled checks good enough to rise to “indictable evidence.” But a lot of the “evidence” is merely the word of these two guys trying to avoid being long-term jailbirds.
As regular readers know, I’m no huge fan of Roger Clemens. I can readily believe he was doing some kind of juicing, but I can’t believe the scenario McNamee presents as his introduction to jabbing needles into Roger Clemens’ ass:
Toward the end of the road trip which included the Marlins series, or shortly after the Blue Jays returned home to Toronto, Clemens approached [former Yankees trainer Brian] McNamee and, for the first time, brought up the subject of using steroids. Clemens said that he was not able to inject himself, and he asked for McNamee’s help.
First, like many of the reasons that players got listed, there’s that “on or about” and “two to four” vague-ish shit in the explanation. I don’t know about anyone else, but, a la John Kerry, I would have it “seared” in my mind, that day I stuck a hypo in a future Hall of Famer’s ass… unless, like Kerry, I was just making shit up.
Next, why the blazes would Clemens trust this guy to keep his mouth shut? He’s afraid of injecting himself? Fine, then go to your personal MD and “Doctor/Client privilege” has you covered. But some guy employed by the ballclub? Clemens is an ego-driven scumbag, but he never came off as a blithering idiot.
All that being said, this report leaves more questions than answers in its wake. If, in the course of his investigation, Mitchell found steroid use to be so inculcated in professional baseball–with a blind eye turned from the Commissioner’s office all the way down–he should have immediately brought in a federal DA, brandishing subpoena power, and had every single MLB team’s clubhouse guy and strength/conditioning coach hauled in to provide depostions.
More than one sports hack as invoked the Black Sox; “Say it Ain’t So, Joe!”
I believe Joe didn’t cheat.
And MLB owes Pete Rose an apology, because he didn’t do ANYTHING remotely close to this. His PLAYER records don’t even come close to needing an asterisk.
UPDATE: What Shill said:
Talking to Mitchell Not Worth It for Schilling – Bats – Baseball – New York Times Blog:
I worry that not every name in the report is not a user, but how do we know which ones outside of the players who had specific evidence and testimony did it?” Schilling asked. “I mean Brian Roberts’s name was included, and I think people everywhere assume that, since he’s on the ‘list’ of names ESPN presented, he’s one of the guilty ones? If you read the report, his name was included because Larry Bigbie told the Mitchell investigators that Brian mentioned to him that he’d tried it. Is that right? I don’t think it is.
You tend to be extremely skeptical (sometimes to the point of outright paranoia) when substantiation of charges are concerned, but in this case, I think you are being judicious and wise.
I listened to Mitchell (?) last night and the problem I have with the way he’s approaching this is this. He claims to have approached all the players to give them a chance to “come clean”, and brought up the case of one player who apparently got snagged but furnished an explanation as to why he had the stuff (for someone else or whatever), and therefore didn’t throw him on the list with the others.
But who elected HIM judge, jury, and executioner? That player’s alibi could have been full of shit! This is how he determines who uses, who doesn’t use, etc.?
If the purpose of the investigation is to cull the users out, then I guess it could be considered a success, but even I, who do not follow baseball, can see there’s a problem here.
Your assessment of the situation makes sense to me.
Oh, another thing.
Why the fuck does Congress have time to waste on steroids in baseball, but they cannot hold hearings on articles of impeachment??
Actually, Mitchell was hired by MLB in an attempt to keep Congress off their ass. Because of their ‘anti-trust proof/legalized monopoly’ standing, they are always one step away from an idiocy-driven Congressional hearing when something goes wrong.
As far as not holding hearings about articles of impeachment, that’s just gutless wonders at work. There is NO downside, politically, to chasing after millionaire ballplayers accused of doing the juice.
Hashfanatic,
What evidence would YOU bring forward in the House for impeachment?
“El Jefe”, allow me to quote from Congressman Wexler’s website:
“The charges are too serious to ignore. There is credible evidence that the Vice President abused the power of his office, and not only brought us into an unneccesary war but violated the civil liberties and privacy of American citizens. It is the constitutional duty of Congress to hold impeachment hearings.”
“El Jefe”, I don’t think it’s too much to ask of Congress that HEARINGS be held. Do you believe they are able to get much done right now anyway?
Let me know if you need me to furnish you with an even more detailed list of impeachable offenses (but I’ll bet you’re already well aware of them already…)
Why anyone would let Congress off the hook for this when it is clearly what the American people are calling for baffles me.
In other words, “nothintg REAL.”
Dude, don’t be willfully moronic…it’s bad enough when you accomplish it without trying.
I’m talking about an illegal war, illegal spying, violations against the Geneva Convention, illegal detention, illegal release of classified information, illegal freezing of accounts, illegal restriction to freedom of assembly, and illegal use of signing statements, to name a few.
These things are more than just wrong. They are criminal, and it is Congress’s job to see that justice is done.
All of this information is readily “Googlable”….no need for you to slog through DU or your dreaded “Daily Kos” to see the truth.
It all couldn’t BE more real. You just have to want to see it.
Justice, TC. Justice, for the people.
“… violations against the Geneva Convention,…”
See? Right there is where you lost me. Because we ain’t fighting a fellow signatory to that piece of parchment, those rules DO NOT APPLY.
Maybe not to you, but to most Americans, it matters.
Name two unrelated to you. Find me two people, out of a mall mix, who buyy your shit.
TC, check the name…we both know what he’s been smoking.
Got a question for you hash: Where this wound up when Clinton was fucking over our country?
More unanswerable, theoretical questions that clarify nothing.
Okay, a mall by me in Paramus: out of ten shoppers, eight would want the hearings, six or seven would want their asses impeached outright.
One or two who’d want the hearings alone would believe the actual process would be too expensive, time-consuming, or would take away from the election process.
Perhaps one or two wingnuts or neocon loyalists will defend the Bush Crime Family to the bitter end, but at least one would want to see them impeached on immigration alone.
Staten Island Mall, Nanuet, Palisades Center, White Plains Galleria, Middletown Mall, are all infested with Reagan Democrats and civil-service stooges, and STILL at least six or seven would strongly call for impeachment hearings (and at least two or three in these areas would flat out LIE about their own political leanings, in the presence of other family members).
In Kings Plaza, perhaps ONE person would NOT want to see these scumbags impeached outright.
On Broadway in Soho, only four or five would call for hearings. The remainder would either believe that it’s all so tragically hopeless for this miserable excuse of a country anyway, and who cares? At least three would connect impeachment to a power grab to keep the administration in even LONGER…
So, you see, there is not any one mall representative of the average person, and most of the folks I run with don’t spend excess time or measure their lives in terms of the latest toys anyway.
Now, I’m considered something of a renegade in my circles because of my firm stance against illegal aliens, my willingness to embrace Dr. Ron Paul as the only credible Republican candidate, and my lack of hostility toward organized religion. And many, many people have spoken to me about hearings of impeachment, and their importance to America’s future.
To a soul, every single individual, from every imaginable walk of life, has come away from speaking with me, realizing that these hearings are essential and, indeed, an obligation to be met.
Sadly, there is evidently not one politician or neocon opinion leader who would ever be able to have a similar influence upon you.
“El Jefe” (check the name of the lowlife wetbacks who are sneaking in and ruining our nation, PROUDLY…)
You never GOT IT so good as you were getting it when Clinton was “fucking” you.
And your time is coming around soon, baby. Better grease your hole up nice and good, now…oh, yeah, baby, your time is coming!
Learn English, you fucking POS lowlife douche.
Die, with festering boils.
You’re quite right, Hashie. You’ve convinced me that all you have said is correct and true. I’ve mispent my entire life espousing conservative, Christian-based ideals. We should all be happy to sign our checks over to Big Brother with a smile on our faces (a la your fearless leader).
Hold on a sec…the Kool Aid is wearing off…
Now, as far as my ‘name’ goes it means THE CHIEF. It’s also a slant on my name (Jeff). I’ve had that nickname all my life. Means a lot to me that my friends (of wich I have legion) refer to me as THE CHIEF.
As far as imigration goes my thought on the matter is this:
THEY ARE INVADING MY COUNTRY AND SHOULD BE SHOT ON SIGHT.
Can you read that? I can. Maybe some more spoon-feeding from PBS is needed for you. Yes I make mistakes making comments from time to time (i.e. ‘where’ instead of ‘were’). However, I don’t knowingly use ‘already’ TWICE IN THE SAME SENTENCE. But, of course, YOU shouldn’t be pointed out for making mistakes, should you? I thought not.
BTW: You seem to have quite the facsination with anal intercourse. Have a lot experience receiving that? You sound like quite the expert.
rubs hands together and cackles like Hillary…
I knew this was gonna get good.
A Feckless Fenway Fuckwit vs. er, well… what? Raving [fill in the blank].
All we’re missing is Major Dad, popcorn and beer!