Re: Sosa tested positive in 2003 per NY Times

[Outshined_One]

He pretended to not speak English, when we all know he is easily understood in English.

 

He is?

 

Certainly spoke it well enough to do hundreds of interviews about hitting HRs with Big Mac in 1998. I have the "Home Run Chase" VHS at home if you want me to send it to you.

 

 

Big difference between some relatively inconsequential interviews with sports media and speaking in front of government officials in the situation he was in.

 

I speak Spanish very fluently, far better than Sammy speaks English, and even I'd feel extremely uncomfortable put into a similar situation in a Spanish speaking country.

 

I always got the impression that he'd always have problems speaking and understanding English whenever he was in front of hostile reporters and members of Congress. It seemed really convenient, you know? When he had people who were tossing him softballs, he'd speak English as well as anyone. But once the tides turned, suddenly he couldn't understand or speak it.

 

Granted, it's a very good way to make sure you don't misspeak. However, on the other hand, it can make someone come off as being very evasive.

[AlwaysaCub]

haha, when I just checked a couple of minutes ago "Sammy Sosa" was the #5 trending topic on twitter, which led me to finding this awesome guestion -

 

"Can someone explain how Sosa testing positive for roids is a bigger story than Stallworth only getting 30 days for KILLING someone?"

 

The difference is that people actually care(d) about Sammy Sosa and Donte Stallworth is a slightly above average NFL wide receiver.

 

That's hardly the difference. The NFL has multiple DUI killers who virtually skated free of punishment. They also have players who test for steroids routinely, and they never get anywhere close to the scorn that baseball players do.

 

I blame the fans and media who decided that baseball was more than a game and needed poetry and mysticism to sell it. If those saps never over romanticized the sport people would apply a little more levelheaded reasoning to the issues.

 

Also, this country has a very weak stance on DUI. For as puritanical as we can be about sex, drugs and drink, for some reason we don't take DUI seriously.

 

I don't think the fans and media necessarily "decided" baseball is more than a game, it just evolved into this over time. Baseball is wrapped in its history (ref: 1908) and that is a big part of what it is. It's annoying, but I think romanticism is pretty inevitable.

 

On the lax stance on DUIs, it is purely out of pragmatism. People in the suburbs have no way of getting home besides driving, and this is not going to stop them from drinking at the game or at a bar.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Isn't that a who cares, and a couple heresays?(I think the rum bottle turned out to be BS)

 

The charges were dropped, but as with most domestic abuse cases, we'll never know for sure.

 

I believe the charity issues were a lot more substantial to just heresay, and I do care about the bailing. A lot more than I do for the PED use.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Also, this country has a very weak stance on DUI. For as puritanical as we can be about sex, drugs and drink, for some reason we don't take DUI seriously.

 

This. There are genuinely people out there who think Stallworth should get off because he was only a little over the limit and the guy he killed jaywalked in front of him.

[SouthSideRyan]

He pretended to not speak English, when we all know he is easily understood in English.

 

He is?

 

Certainly spoke it well enough to do hundreds of interviews about hitting HRs with Big Mac in 1998. I have the "Home Run Chase" VHS at home if you want me to send it to you.

 

 

Big difference between some relatively inconsequential interviews with sports media and speaking in front of government officials in the situation he was in.

 

I speak Spanish very fluently, far better than Sammy speaks English, and even I'd feel extremely uncomfortable put into a similar situation in a Spanish speaking country.

 

I always got the impression that he'd always have problems speaking and understanding English whenever he was in front of hostile reporters and members of Congress. It seemed really convenient, you know? When he had people who were tossing him softballs, he'd speak English as well as anyone. But once the tides turned, suddenly he couldn't understand or speak it.

 

Granted, it's a very good way to make sure you don't misspeak. However, on the other hand, it can make someone come off as being very evasive.

 

I can't believe as a lawyer you would advise your spanish speaking client speak his 2nd language because it might make him look evasive. You know what else makes you look bad? Misspeaking and then having to go back to change your answers because it's not your native language. Sammy wasn't Alfonso Soriano behind the mic, but he wasn't Ozzie Guillen either. He barely strung more than 1 or 2 sentences together, and as you said they weren't the most hard-hitting of sentences he would deliver.

[Soul]

Knew it was true.

 

Hoped it wasn't true.

 

Realized the hope was stupid.

 

Still disappointed now that the hope is crushed.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Knew it was true.

 

Hoped it wasn't true.

 

Realized the hope was stupid.

 

Still disappointed now that the hope is crushed.

 

This was basically me. I'll still always love Sammy no matter what though.

[Outshined_One]

I can't believe as a lawyer you would advise your spanish speaking client speak his 2nd language because it might make him look evasive. You know what else makes you look bad? Misspeaking and then having to go back to change your answers because it's not your native language. Sammy wasn't Alfonso Soriano behind the mic, but he wasn't Ozzie Guillen either. He barely strung more than 1 or 2 sentences together, and as you said they weren't the most hard-hitting of sentences he would deliver.

 

It looks evasive when he's only doing it in response to hostile questioning. If he's speaking English fine in response to questions which are friendly to him, especially if he is giving answers which are more than 1-2 sentences and require some amount of thought (which he did on a number of occasions), and then turning right around and saying he doesn't understand a hostile question, even if that question is simple and to the point, it most definitely looks bad on his part. People will see that as him intentionally evading hostile questions.

 

Moreover, I really think you're not giving Sammy's English skills enough credit. The guy was fluent. He may have spoken with a heavy accent, but he spoke English quite well.

[Guest]

I would have bet a one thousand dollar bill that Sosa juiced. I didn't want to be right, but I was basically that sure.

 

When you are that rich, there are way too many skirts to chase to spend all that time in the gym pumping iron. Stick a needle, pump for 15 minutes and shower up for the ladies. It's party time!

 

I really don't like that guys did steroids. I really hate the guys who lie about it. As long as regular testing is used from the major leagues to the minor leagues to the college and high school ranks, I'm fine with letting it go from there.

 

I still have a lot of cool Sammy memorabilia. I think a bit less of him, but he was awesome to watch in the prime of his career. Lying bastards like Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and anyone else I'm not currently thinking of can rot in hell, though.

[bcl412]

If Sammy didn't do 'roids then I'm not a Cubs fan. I think this is the reason that I hate him. Had he not given me 1998 I would still be a Yankees fan like my dad raised me to be in the first place.

[Keener98]

I would have bet a one thousand dollar bill that Sosa juiced. I didn't want to be right, but I was basically that sure.

 

When you are that rich, there are way too many skirts to chase to spend all that time in the gym pumping iron. Stick a needle, pump for 15 minutes and shower up for the ladies. It's party time!

 

I really don't like that guys did steroids. I really hate the guys who lie about it. As long as regular testing is used from the major leagues to the minor leagues to the college and high school ranks, I'm fine with letting it go from there.

 

I still have a lot of cool Sammy memorabilia. I think a bit less of him, but he was awesome to watch in the prime of his career. Lying bastards like Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and anyone else I'm not currently thinking of can rot in hell, though.

 

Why are Bonds, Clemons, and Palmeiro lieing bastards that can rot in hell, but Sammy isnt?

[Careless]

I would have bet a one thousand dollar bill that Sosa juiced. I didn't want to be right, but I was basically that sure.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/1000-2f.jpg

One of the three great pieces of Grover Cleveland trivia

[Omar]

I just came here to see Roast's reaction.

[Outshined_One]

I would have bet a one thousand dollar bill that Sosa juiced. I didn't want to be right, but I was basically that sure.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/1000-2f.jpg

One of the three great pieces of Grover Cleveland trivia

 

Let's hear the other two.

[XZero771679666304]

I came to terms with this years ago. It sucks, but if you were a fan of any team with a superstar not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 90's or early 2000's, you had to deal with issue this on some level.

 

I was/am a huge Sosa fan, and this "revelation" does little to change that. It amazes me how quick some are to hate who was practically the only reason to tune into a Cubs game for several seasons. I am disappointed, but I hardly feel betrayed in any way.

 

If people want to get really angry about this, they should direct their angst more towards the institutions (MLB, MLBPA, etc.) that facilitated and even encouraged the problem for years. Sure, the players are/were guilty, but the problem was institutional. We can get hurt over every new name that comes out, or we can come to terms with the fact that PED use was an almost ubiquitous part of the baseball culture for a long time, like greenies but with more prolific results.

 

And FTR, while Sammy's 60-HR power may not have been legit, it was his change in approach that allowed him to showcase it. The difference between Sosa circa 1993 and Sosa circa 2001 wasn't all steroids.

 

The sad thing about this is that like Bonds (but to a lesser extent), Sosa would have had a great career had he not taken, but now that is what he will be remembered for.

 

The price that players of the steroid era have to pay for the advantages they may have gained will be that their achievements will likely be disregarded instead of assessed critically. Ultimately, I think that is more than enough.

[Careless]

I would have bet a one thousand dollar bill that Sosa juiced. I didn't want to be right, but I was basically that sure.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/1000-2f.jpg

One of the three great pieces of Grover Cleveland trivia

 

Let's hear the other two.

He was elected to non-consecutive terms (sometimes called the 22 and 24th president, I believe that's the official count) and was the first candidate to carry a clear majority of the vote and lose the in electoral college (the Hayes election being surrounded by Reconstruction-era corruption).

[Post Count Padder]

I assumed it the whole time. I just held out a tad bit of hope he didn't. Oh well.

[Illini Iceman]

I came to terms with this years ago. It sucks, but if you were a fan of any team with a superstar not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 90's or early 2000's, you had to deal with issue this on some level.

 

 

Why the assumption that Griffey Jr wasn't juicing?

[mcgoobs]

So, who now tops the list of "Most likely to have been on roids, but we don't have any actual proof yet?"

 

Bagwell? Piazza?

 

It's not official evidence, but google "Piazza bacne" for evidence from professional journalists.

[The Voice of Reason]

I think you guys are being a little hard on the guy that "saved baseball" along with Mark McGwire.

[Outshined_One]

I came to terms with this years ago. It sucks, but if you were a fan of any team with a superstar not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 90's or early 2000's, you had to deal with issue this on some level.

 

 

Why the assumption that Griffey Jr wasn't juicing?

 

I've been debating who, out of everyone that's played baseball since 1985, would be the absolute most devastating name for baseball to have revealed as a steroid user.

 

Junior Griffey would probably be #2 behind Ripken. I'm open to other names and suggestions, though.

[Derwood]

I came to terms with this years ago. It sucks, but if you were a fan of any team with a superstar not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 90's or early 2000's, you had to deal with issue this on some level.

 

 

Why the assumption that Griffey Jr wasn't juicing?

 

I've been debating who, out of everyone that's played baseball since 1985, would be the absolute most devastating name for baseball to have revealed as a steroid user.

 

Junior Griffey would probably be #2 behind Ripken. I'm open to other names and suggestions, though.

 

Jeter? Maddux?

[Illini Iceman]

I came to terms with this years ago. It sucks, but if you were a fan of any team with a superstar not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 90's or early 2000's, you had to deal with issue this on some level.

 

 

Why the assumption that Griffey Jr wasn't juicing?

 

I've been debating who, out of everyone that's played baseball since 1985, would be the absolute most devastating name for baseball to have revealed as a steroid user.

 

Junior Griffey would probably be #2 behind Ripken. I'm open to other names and suggestions, though.

 

Greg Maddux would probably also be pretty bad since he has kind of been held up as the mirror image of Roger Clemens as a guy that did it the "right way". If it were to come out, for example, that Leo Mazzone had some "trainer" that put his staffs on a HGH regimen and that is why Smoltz, Maddux, Glavine, etc had such extended periods of dominance that would be a huge revelation.

[OleMissCub]

I guess nobody is free from suspicion now, but I think Frank Thomas was completely legit. He was a monster his entire career.

[Derwood]

I guess nobody is free from suspicion now, but I think Frank Thomas was completely legit. He was a monster his entire career.

 

 

his entire career that almost exactly spanned the Steroid Era?