Sosa denies steroids were reason for success

[Wilson A2000]

So he went to bed at 9 PM on game nights. The evidence is that his muscles got enormous in a short amount of time (some say that the weight training and proper diet helped) and that once the MLB started testing his numbers went way down. Now there is no hard evidence, but Sammy cheated with the corked bat so it wouldn't surprise me that he cheated with steroids. He is right that the hard evidence isn't there. Did he ever have back acne?

[SouthSideRyan]

The only incident that ever occoured with Sosa and PED was when Manny Alexander (Sosa's best friend on the 1999 team) got busted with steroids in his car.

 

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns?

 

Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

 

When the evidence against Sosa appears to be he became a superstar slugger, I think it's valid to talk about Manny Alexander's explosive power.

 

Oh and the he cheated using a corked bat excuse, because I speed when I drive. I also murder people I guess.

[A New Era]

The only incident that ever occoured with Sosa and PED was when Manny Alexander (Sosa's best friend on the 1999 team) got busted with steroids in his car.

 

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns?

 

Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

 

When the evidence against Sosa appears to be he became a superstar slugger, I think it's valid to talk about Manny Alexander's explosive power.

 

Oh and the he cheated using a corked bat excuse, because I speed when I drive. I also murder people I guess.

 

Speeding and Murdering does not equal cheating and cheating on a "higher level". . Your arguement made no sense.

[soccer10k]

The only incident that ever occoured with Sosa and PED was when Manny Alexander (Sosa's best friend on the 1999 team) got busted with steroids in his car.

 

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns?

 

Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

 

The Alexander types are the only ones that MLB ever catches.

 

Rafael Palmeiro

[David]

The only incident that ever occoured with Sosa and PED was when Manny Alexander (Sosa's best friend on the 1999 team) got busted with steroids in his car.

 

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns?

 

Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

 

When the evidence against Sosa appears to be he became a superstar slugger, I think it's valid to talk about Manny Alexander's explosive power.

 

Oh and the he cheated using a corked bat excuse, because I speed when I drive. I also murder people I guess.

 

Speeding and Murdering does not equal cheating and cheating on a "higher level". . Your arguement made no sense.

 

He made an analogy, not an argument.

 

And it did make sense.

 

Corking is to 'roiding as speeding is to murder.

 

In other words, cheating to a lower degree is to cheating to a high degree as breaking the law to one lower degree is to breaking the law to a high degree.

 

It's not a perfect analogy, but it does make sense.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If you don't like the speeding to murdering analogy, try this one.

 

Making a copy of someone else's CD or DVD doesn't mean you'll rob a bank or shoplift. Both are stealing, just one is a lesser offense of it.

[FergieJ31]

"No question about it," Sosa told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. "I am clean, and I always have been clean. There has been a lot of speculation, but they don't have no evidence. So you take it from there. They haven't been writing a book about me doing this or doing that."

 

I want to believe he's clean and always has been clean but I wish he would stay retired and keep quiet. "They don't have no evidence"? "They haven't been writing a book about me"? C'mon Sammy. To me, when he says things like that it just confirms the doubts about him.

 

How?

 

To repeatedly point out lack of evidence, and now saying things like "hey I'm not the one people are writing a book about" ... just sounds suspicious, too much denial via technicalities and red herrings.

 

Obivously this is just a viewpoint; you don't have to agree. I'm not saying it proves he was juiced - there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that already points to that. But innocent until proven guilty: there is no clear damning evidence and I hope it stays that way. So I wish he would just shut up, stay retired and rest on his laurels on his way to Cooperstown.

[SouthSideRyan]

So I wish he would just shut up, stay retired and rest on his laurels on his way to Cooperstown.

 

If your career was over, and every time your name was mentioned in the media there was a sidenote about steroid use, wouldn't you be kind of pissed off? Wouldn't you want to argue for yourself that you're clean? If Sosa sits back and rests on his laurels, there may not be a Cooperstown, because he was already hung at the gallows.

[FergieJ31]

So I wish he would just shut up, stay retired and rest on his laurels on his way to Cooperstown.

 

If your career was over, and every time your name was mentioned in the media there was a sidenote about steroid use, wouldn't you be kind of pissed off? Wouldn't you want to argue for yourself that you're clean? If Sosa sits back and rests on his laurels, there may not be a Cooperstown, because he was already hung at the gallows.

 

Yes, in the clearest terms and the clearest diction I was capable of - not this crap:

 

WAXMAN: OK. Mr. Sosa, do you think that we ought to have that gold standard of the Olympic program, zero tolerance? You got caught using steroids for whatever the sport is, that you're suspended for two years and after that second offense you're out. That certainly discourages people in the Olympics. Do you think it would be effective with baseball and other sports, as well? Would you push the mic?

 

SOSA: I can tell you, Mr. Chairman, I don't have too much to tell you.

 

[...later ...]

 

MCGWIRE: I believe that's one of the reasons why I'm here, is to make this a positive thing instead of a negative thing. And I will do everything I can and in my power to turn this around from a negative to a positive.

 

SWEENEY: Mr. Sosa.

 

SOSA: I agree with Mr. McGwire. You know, one reason why we're here is to stop that. And you know, I think that we can do some more tests and one way or another we're here to help.

 

[ ... later ...]

 

CUMMINGS: Now, we've had -- you made some allegations. And, as I understand it, both Mr. Schilling, Mr. Thomas Mr. Palmeiro and I think Mr. Sosa have said they never used the substances.

 

Is that right, Mr. Sosa? You said you that, right? You said you had never...

 

(CROSSTALK)

 

CUMMINGS: OK. Is that right? I -- all right.

 

[ .. later ..]

 

MCHENRY: ... using steroids, the use of steroids, is that cheating?

Yes or no?

 

MCGWIRE: That's not for me to determine.

 

MCHENRY: Mr. Sosa.

 

SOSA: I think so.

 

MCHENRY: If you'll go down the line again, I'll ask another question that everyone can ask answer simply and directly, I would hope. If it's proven that a player has set records while using steroids, should those records stand?

 

SOSA: It's not up to me.

 

[ .. later...]

 

TOWNS: The question is that you have a trainer who might be aware of the fact that somebody is using steroids. And, so, he knows it, but he just walks around every day and doesn't tell anybody about the fact that this is going on.

 

PALMEIRO: I think that, if the trainer knows for sure, it's his responsibility to make the player aware and educate the player.

 

TOWNS: Mr. Sosa?

 

SOSA: I agree. I agree with Raffy. I think it is probably the trainer also on people (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

 

---------------------

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'd expect strong statements in clear English that unambiguously deny he used, IF Sosa really was as pissed as SouthSideRyan suggests. That congressional testimony was weak.

[CuseCubFan69]

The only incident that ever occoured with Sosa and PED was when Manny Alexander (Sosa's best friend on the 1999 team) got busted with steroids in his car.

 

Remember that one year Manny hit 40 homeruns?

 

Because, of course, anyone who uses steroids becomes a superstar slugger.

 

The Alexander types are the only ones that MLB ever catches.

 

Rafael Palmeiro

 

I really think he was too dumb or ignorant to get away with it.

[SouthSideRyan]

I have no clue what you were getting at with your post FegieJ. But I don't think the fact that Sosa doesn't speak great english is reason to accuse him of steroids. I think we all heard in the 10+ years Sammy was here that he was not a master of the english language, the fact that he used an interpreter and gave brief answers is the same thing I would do if I didn't have a mastery of another language. No need to give the witchhunters more ammo by accidentally saying something you didn't mean.

[FergieJ31]

I have no clue what you were getting at with your post FegieJ. But I don't think the fact that Sosa doesn't speak great english is reason to accuse him of steroids. I think we all heard in the 10+ years Sammy was here that he was not a master of the english language, the fact that he used an interpreter and gave brief answers is the same thing I would do if I didn't have a mastery of another language. No need to give the witchhunters more ammo by accidentally saying something you didn't mean.

 

Read it again - the post wasn't about Sammy's English; it was about a weak denial in front of Congress.

 

Ammo for witchhunters - what are you talking about? Did I accuse of him of steroid use? Stop with the strawman. I thought I went out of the way to do the opposite. I agreed with your hypothetical that he should be "pissed off" at false accusations -- if they are false. Put yourself in his shoes ... you're clean and you're in front of Congress, and you have an interpreter just in case there's any doubt about what's being asked. Wouldn't you make stronger statements? Maybe show a little righteous indignation? He does speak English well enough to make simple, unambiguous statements doesn't he? Instead it was the "umm it's not for me to say" sort of stuff.

[SouthSideRyan]

Sorry, didn't read your part at the bottom of your post. When I saw the -------------- I just assumed it was your sig. A lot of time has passed since the Congressional hearings, along with it a lot of smearing. I don't think the witchhunt was quite as intense then.(When I'm referring to a witchhunt, I'm almost always talking about the braindead sports media, take no offense from it)

[Ding Dong Johnson]

He once got traded for Wade Boggs and a side of rice pilaf.

[CubmanPi]

"No question about it," Sosa told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. "I am clean, and I always have been clean. There has been a lot of speculation, but they don't have no evidence. So you take it from there. They haven't been writing a book about me doing this or doing that."

 

I want to believe he's clean and always has been clean but I wish he would stay retired and keep quiet. "They don't have no evidence"? "They haven't been writing a book about me"? C'mon Sammy. To me, when he says things like that it just confirms the doubts about him.

 

How?

 

To repeatedly point out lack of evidence, and now saying things like "hey I'm not the one people are writing a book about" ... just sounds suspicious, too much denial via technicalities and red herrings.

 

Obivously this is just a viewpoint; you don't have to agree. I'm not saying it proves he was juiced - there's a lot of circumstantial evidence that already points to that. But innocent until proven guilty: there is no clear damning evidence and I hope it stays that way. So I wish he would just shut up, stay retired and rest on his laurels on his way to Cooperstown.

I had the same reaction to Sammy's "they don't have no evidence" remark. The only reason that inspired some doubt in me is that he was basically angling for not guilty rather than for innocent. Not guilty matters in court and in hearings, but in a forum that is specifically limited to the court of public opinion, it comes across as quite shady.

 

It doesn't actually mean anything, but IMO, raising an eyebrow to the remark is a very valid reaction.

[Soul]

So I wish he would just shut up, stay retired and rest on his laurels on his way to Cooperstown.

 

If your career was over, and every time your name was mentioned in the media there was a sidenote about steroid use, wouldn't you be kind of pissed off? Wouldn't you want to argue for yourself that you're clean? If Sosa sits back and rests on his laurels, there may not be a Cooperstown, because he was already hung at the gallows.

 

Yes, in the clearest terms and the clearest diction I was capable of - not this crap:

 

WAXMAN: OK. Mr. Sosa, do you think that we ought to have that gold standard of the Olympic program, zero tolerance? You got caught using steroids for whatever the sport is, that you're suspended for two years and after that second offense you're out. That certainly discourages people in the Olympics. Do you think it would be effective with baseball and other sports, as well? Would you push the mic?

 

SOSA: I can tell you, Mr. Chairman, I don't have too much to tell you.

 

[...later ...]

 

MCGWIRE: I believe that's one of the reasons why I'm here, is to make this a positive thing instead of a negative thing. And I will do everything I can and in my power to turn this around from a negative to a positive.

 

SWEENEY: Mr. Sosa.

 

SOSA: I agree with Mr. McGwire. You know, one reason why we're here is to stop that. And you know, I think that we can do some more tests and one way or another we're here to help.

 

[ ... later ...]

 

CUMMINGS: Now, we've had -- you made some allegations. And, as I understand it, both Mr. Schilling, Mr. Thomas Mr. Palmeiro and I think Mr. Sosa have said they never used the substances.

 

Is that right, Mr. Sosa? You said you that, right? You said you had never...

 

(CROSSTALK)

 

CUMMINGS: OK. Is that right? I -- all right.

 

[ .. later ..]

 

MCHENRY: ... using steroids, the use of steroids, is that cheating?

Yes or no?

 

MCGWIRE: That's not for me to determine.

 

MCHENRY: Mr. Sosa.

 

SOSA: I think so.

 

MCHENRY: If you'll go down the line again, I'll ask another question that everyone can ask answer simply and directly, I would hope. If it's proven that a player has set records while using steroids, should those records stand?

 

SOSA: It's not up to me.

 

[ .. later...]

 

TOWNS: The question is that you have a trainer who might be aware of the fact that somebody is using steroids. And, so, he knows it, but he just walks around every day and doesn't tell anybody about the fact that this is going on.

 

PALMEIRO: I think that, if the trainer knows for sure, it's his responsibility to make the player aware and educate the player.

 

TOWNS: Mr. Sosa?

 

SOSA: I agree. I agree with Raffy. I think it is probably the trainer also on people (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

 

---------------------

 

Maybe it's just me, but I'd expect strong statements in clear English that unambiguously deny he used, IF Sosa really was as pissed as SouthSideRyan suggests. That congressional testimony was weak.

 

You expect strong statements in clear english from a man who knows the language at about a 3rd grade level? Wow. Tough crowd.

 

These quotes......they show Sammy was out of his league, nervous, and unable to make his case in a language he barely knows. Nothing more.

[FergieJ31]

You expect strong statements in clear english from a man who knows the language at about a 3rd grade level? Wow. Tough crowd.

 

These quotes......they show Sammy was out of his league, nervous, and unable to make his case in a language he barely knows. Nothing more.

 

Tough crowd? You make it sound like Sammy just got off the boat. He's a high-profile superstar with thousands of interviews under his belt.

 

There were no difficult questions, no curve balls, right? If he were clean, every single question was a fastball in his wheelhouse. What "case", exactly, was he asked to make? What is your excuse for him saying "That's not for me to say" to the zero-tolerance question?

 

And to the direct issue of whether he'd ever used ... if he was clean I'd expect him to JUMP at the chance to answer that. A simple "Absolutely not." would have been nice. Instead, we got a pretty clear indication that the question (from CUMMINGS about halfway thru) was off-limits.

[Soul]

You expect strong statements in clear english from a man who knows the language at about a 3rd grade level? Wow. Tough crowd.

 

These quotes......they show Sammy was out of his league, nervous, and unable to make his case in a language he barely knows. Nothing more.

 

Tough crowd? You make it sound like Sammy just got off the boat. He's a high-profile superstar with thousands of interviews under his belt.

 

There were no difficult questions, no curve balls, right? If he were clean, every single question was a fastball in his wheelhouse. What "case", exactly, was he asked to make? What is your excuse for him saying "That's not for me to say" to the zero-tolerance question?

 

And to the direct issue of whether he'd ever used ... if he was clean I'd expect him to JUMP at the chance to answer that. A simple "Absolutely not." would have been nice. Instead, we got a pretty clear indication that the question (from CUMMINGS about halfway thru) was off-limits.

 

Yes, thousands of interviews. And each one of them showed Sammy speaks in broken english which is barely understandable many times. You said you expect strong statements in clear english, and that's not fair to ask of Sammy, IMO.

 

As for zero tolerance, I don't need to make an excuse. It's not for Sammy to determine the policies of major league baseball, and Sammy said as much.

[FergieJ31]

Yes, thousands of interviews. And each one of them showed Sammy speaks in broken english which is barely understandable many times. You said you expect strong statements in clear english, and that's not fair to ask of Sammy, IMO.

 

As for zero tolerance, I don't need to make an excuse. It's not for Sammy to determine the policies of major league baseball, and Sammy said as much.

 

Don't be fooled by the broken English; I think you might be underestimating the English Sammy can understand. We've all seen him conduct himself in interview rooms with background noise, cross-conversations, etc., especially during the '98 and '03 circuses. I've never seen him unable to comprehend even moderately complicated questions.

 

As for zero tolerance, I don't need to make an excuse. It's not for Sammy to determine the policies of major league baseball, and Sammy said as much.

 

I don't understand this point at all. Determine policies? He was clearly asked for his opinion under oath - nothing more. He wanted to make it sound as if he were being asked to determine policy, but that shouldn't fool anybody.

 

Anyway I hate to sound like a Sammy basher - I'm not. I want believe he was mostly clean and I hope his records will continue to stand asterisk-free. The only reason I brought up the congressional testimony was because someone suggested that Sammy is pissed off at allegations. But he had a chance, under oath and on a national stage, to say he was 100% clean and chose not to do so. I don't know a single baseball fan who wasn't disappointed by his meek testimony.

[Soul]

I'm definitely disappointed in his testimony too. I'm just not sure it really proves much. I do think there's still a language barrier with Sammy. I know for myself, it seems sometimes he doesn't respond to the nuances of questions well sometimes, and some of his English doesn't seem to come out right.

 

I know I would be nervous as heck being in that situation. I'm not giving him a total pass, but he seemed really overwhelmed to me. Yes, he had a chance to make a 100% denial, but we saw where that got Raffy, LOL!

 

He didn't do it, and it was disappointing, but I have always wondered if Sammy really understands everything that's swirling around him sometimes. I don't think he's a real sophisticated person, and that's fine.....I think that can tend to compound some of his difficulties.

[FergieJ31]

Yes, mostly agreed on all points.

[CuseCubFan69]

The title says it all. Sosa deny's that steroids were the REASON for his success but I don't see that he denys using them.

[Chris]

The title says it all. Sosa deny's that steroids were the REASON for his success but I don't see that he denys using them.

 

Isn't that what he's saying here:

 

I am clean, and I always have been clean.

[CuseCubFan69]

The title says it all. Sosa deny's that steroids were the REASON for his success but I don't see that he denys using them.

 

Isn't that what he's saying here:

 

I am clean, and I always have been clean.

 

Clean of what, dirt? Steroids? Listening to disco?

[Chris]

The title says it all. Sosa deny's that steroids were the REASON for his success but I don't see that he denys using them.

 

Isn't that what he's saying here:

 

I am clean, and I always have been clean.

 

Clean of what, dirt? Steroids? Listening to disco?

 

Taking the context of the article into consideration, I would like to think he's making a reference to steroids.