December 2007
The Roaring Silence
For many people, the most convincing evidence of Roger Clemen’s guilt is not what is contained in The Mitchell Report, but his failure to immediately express personal outrage and deny the allegations. Particularly considering he was aware of at least the strong possibility he would be included in the report, it is inexplicable that he did not schedule a press conference that afternoon and vent his outrage at being falsely accused. We all know how angry Clemens can get. This is the man that got thrown out of a critical playoff game for rampaging on an umpire for an unfavorable strikezone. Are you telling me he felt any less unjustifiably treated by The Mitchell Report?
Moral outrage at false accusation is such an ubiquitous human reaction the particularly guileful attempt to leverage it to their advantage. Consider Bill Clinton wagging his finger and decrying “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”. Or, closer to home, Raphael Palmiero’s finger pointing denial of steroid use in front of Congress.
I notice the Clemens public relations firm even recognizes the severity of the problem his lack of an immediate, forceful denial has caused in the battle for public opinion. The latest headlines read Clemens was just “numb” over the Mitchell Report. I doubt it will work. Once that moment is gone, it can never be recaptured. Like innocence lost.
Speaking of, you might notice that my good friend “J.W.” has yet to respond to my calling him out as a fraud. Oh, J.W. has read it. A couple of times. My site access logs reveal that fact. So why hasn’t he defended his reputation with the same fervor he defended censorship by MLBlogs? Like Clemens he’ll make a fool of himself over balls and strikes but not honor? I know personally I would rampage on someone if I spent an hour of my time to engage in the dialog on their site and they called me a fraud: “Are you off your meds? I am not affiliated with MLB in any way. You’re paranoid, man. Get some help.”
But then, I sign my name.
I’m sure J.W. is trying to come up with a plausible explanation. The problem is, it is too late. The moment for moral outrage at being falsely accused has passed, a couple of times now. I interpret that as evidence of what is called in the legal profession “consciousness of guilt”.
– Michael Norton
Will Mr. Mystery Guest Please Step Forward?
It seems Mr. Mystery Guest, jworthy, that staunch defender of MLBlogs on my last post, has never commented before on any MLBlog; or anywhere else for that matter. A Google search of the email address only locates the comments made right here. Considering the obvious intimate knowledge of the business and nature of MLBlogs, I find that almost inexplicable–unless, of course, it is a fraudulent address designed to conceal the author’s true identity. Now why would anyone be trying to hide their identity?
Could give new meaning to the phrase “Official affiliate \ unofficial opinions”.
Whoever he is, my access logs indicate he hails from Somerville, Massachusetts, in the Boston environs. If you know of anyone who works for MLB that hails from that area, particularly if they have the initials “J.W.” (for some inexplicable reason people have a tendency to construct pseudonyms from their initials), please shoot me an email. I would love to engage Mr. Mystery Guest in an honest discussion.
And they accuse me of being a troll. Sheesh.
– Michael Norton
Internet censorship in the People’s Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People’s Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. . .
The escalation of the government’s effort to neutralize critical online opinion comes after a series of large anti-Japanese, anti-pollution and anti-corruption protests, many of which were organised or publicised using instant messaging services, chatrooms and text messages. . . Critical comments appearing on Internet forums, bulletin boards, blogs, vlogs or any major portals such as Sohu and Sina are usually erased within minutes.
It can happen here. Dissent can be silenced. Critical thought can disappear. Blogs can be deleted.
– Michael Norton
Oneses and Twoses
BALTIMORE (AP) — Breaking his silence on the inclusion of his name in the Mitchell Report, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts admitted that he used steroids once in 2003.
Brian Roberts acknowledges single use of steroids in 2003 – USATODAY.com
Brian Roberts became the poster child for the contention the Mitchell Report flung wild, unfounded accusations at possibly innocent players. Roberts frank admission therefore lends at least perceptual credibility to the findings (Roger the Dodger, you are sinking here, man).
However, is this what is being reported as a pervasive drug culture in baseball? Guys using once (Roberts) or twice (Pettitte)? I am much more concerned with systematic use. Unfortunately the Mitchell Report provides no real information on how pervasive systematic use was during the steroid era. This may end up being the greatest indictment of the Mitchell Report, that it obfuscated the real problem with a sprinkling of oneses and twoses. That, of course, is precisely the kind of soft landing MLB is hoping for.
– Michael Norton
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano . Oh, and have you heard Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano. Then there was Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano . Let’s not talk about Baseball, let’s focus on Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano, Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano; Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano –Alyssa Milano. Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano. Alyssa Milano!
Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano. Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano. Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano . Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano.
– Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano. We don’t really have much of value around here except Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano. God knows we can’t stop thinking about Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano Alyssa Milano.
And did I mention Alyssa Milano?
– Michael Norton
What Could Have Been
Bud Selig could have stepped up to the plate and driven one out of the park like his friend and hero Hank Aaron. With flash bulbs popping before a national audience, he could have stepped up and said:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a confession to make. As we all know, when I became commissioner baseball had suffered a generation of labor strife which was destroying our national pastime. After another ruinous strike wiped out a World Series, it appeared as though the game might not recover. Like many baseball fans, I despaired.
When the fans began responding to the home run record chase in the summer of 1998, returning to the park in droves, I was overwhelmed with hope. Yet like anyone who had followed baseball for anytime could tell you, something was wrong. Not one, but two players not breaking, but shattering a three decade old record, which had stood three decades before that, was unnatural. There were many reports and rumors that players were using performance enhancing substances. One of the principles in the home run chase was, indeed, observed to have questionable substances in his locker.
I should have acted.
I should have stepped in to protect the integrity of the game. That is the essence of the job of the Commissioner of Baseball. I should have stopped the travesty before all the records in the game became vulnerable, all of baseball’s sacred statistics meaningless. I, above all, bear responsibility for the “steroid era”. I could have stopped it.
And so I will be stepping down as Commissioner of Baseball. Before I do, however, I will remain long enough to grant complete amnesty to anyone and everyone in the employ of Major League Baseball who comes forward and gives a complete statement of their involvement in performance enhancing drugs in baseball. I hope that they will follow my lead so that we may have a full accounting of what happened, and future generations may learn to overcome such temptations.
To all who love baseball, you have my sincerest and humblest apology.
He could have hit a walk on that would have stopped the bleeding and allowed baseball to move on. He could have given us, not a martyr, but one honest man in an era of dishonesty. Instead, like the rest of the cheats, he evaded and denied and avoided responsibility. He took the easy path. Selig defines the Steroid Era.
Redacted
Yesterday I posted a comment on MLBlogs public blog, The Mitchell Reporter. I later expanded on the comment, which said something like this
“Good Lord! How can you shamelessly plug Alyssa Milano on a day like this?”
This comment on The Mitchell Reporter was deleted! Understand, my comment contained no obscenities, no racial slurs, no threats, no objectionable material. Obviously MLBlogs simply cannot handle criticism. Nor do they fully appreciate open and honest expression, which is tragically ironic considering that is the very essence of blogging.
If you say something they don’t like, they will simply redact you.
I’ve been redacted before. I’ve even had my blog threatened. When I try to complain, I cannot get them to give me the name and email address of Mark Newman’s supervisor. I’ve asked Newman via email. I even posted the question on The Mitchell Reporter.
It was redacted.
You would think at this particular moment MLB would be a little more sensitive to the perils of silencing critics. Consider this from The Mitchell Report:
Dr. Lewis Maharam, a prominent sports medicine practitioner who is now the race doctor for the New York City Marathon, was a vocal critic, saying that “[i]f McGwire is truly taking this, then he’s cheating.” He criticized McGwire for failing to warn young athletes about the dangers of using andro. Sometime thereafter, Dr. Maharam received a call from Dr. Robert Millman, a physician who at the time also served as the medical director for Major League Baseball. During the call, Dr. Maharam said in an interview, Dr. Millman told him that “everyone in Major League Baseball is irritated with you” and that “if you don’t shut up, they are going to sue you.”
Dr. Maharam was unfazed, but a week later he received a second call in which Dr. Millman told him that if he was willing to “shut up in the press,” he would be invited to make a presentation to Major League Baseball and the Players Association about the dangers of steroids and andro. Two weeks later, Dr. Maharam made a one-hour presentation to Dr. Millman, another official from Major League Baseball, and Dr. Joel Solomon, the medical director for the Players Association. Dr. Maharam recalled that, at the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Millman expressed the view that there was not sufficient medical evidence that andro raised testosterone levels enough to be a cause for concern.
The Mitchell Report, p. 79-80
So I must ask: have the people of MLB really learned anything? And, if not, is anything really going to change? These Gestapo-like tactics here on something as inconsequential as a “fan oriented” blog provider makes me wonder just how much more MLB is hiding.
– Michael Norton
No Apologies
Being the history buff I am, I recorded yesterday’s proceedings. Nowhere amidst eight hours of speeches and statements, accusations and denials, posturing and punditry will you find these words:
“To the fans who have loved this game, who have supported us and allowed us to make a fine living, who continue generation after generation to bring their sons and daughters to the games and teach them our national pastime:
“We’re sorry.”
– Michael Norton
Shake It Baby, Shake It
The utter venality of those who work in professional baseball never fails to amaze me. No, I’m not talking about the scores of players accused of corrupting the game for the big payday. Nor am I talking about owners, who continue to pay the cheats those obscene amounts of money. I’m not even talking about the commissioner, who availed himself of an opportunity to save the business from its own greed by turning a blind eye. No, you can find all the corruption you can stomach right here, on MLBlogs. On a day when MLB is getting handed its moral butt, MLBlogs launches a blog, The Mitchell Reporter. So what do they do with it? Why try to exploit the moment to pimp their moneymaker, Alyssa Milano, of course!
****, if they thought they could get away with it they’d have her posed pulling up her officially licensed MLB skirt to expose her well rounded rump with a “stick your needle here, big boy!” tattoo.
Think about it. On a day as serious as this, they simply could not resist the temptation to try to shake us down for another buck. They have no respect for the game—or much of anything else, for that matter. That, of course, is what caused this mess in the first place.
– Michael Norton
Bud Needs Thicker Glasses
Are you kidding me? Bud Selig claims he hasn’t read the report?
Mitchell noted that the commissioner’s office was given the report for review three business days before the release of the report. Are we expected to believe that Bud Selig, who called for the report and proclaims its importance, hasn’t read it?
Is this guy a compulsive liar? Maybe he didn’t turn a blind eye. Maybe he is really blind.
– Michael Norton
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