Season Preview: New York Yankees

Well we've got 12 days left until Opening Day, which means it's season preview time. We'll be running it down team by team, with an added new wrinkle this time around: the beer of choice for fans of the team to enjoy whilst watching their team take the field! Nothing like that to help get you through a baseball season, especially if you're from Pittsburgh. Up next: the New York Yankees.


Lineup: Stacked. Future HOFers Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter make up the most famous left side of an infield in baseball, Mark Teixeira is a switch-hitting force to be reckoned with, Robinson Cano is one of the better second basemen going, and Jorge Posada has an outstanding bat for a catcher. In the outfield, Curtis Granderson figures to showcase excellent defense and hope to bounce back from a disappointing 2009 season - and Yankee Stadium's short porch in right should help that happen. He is flanked by the speedy Brett Gardner, whose defense figures to be well above average in left field, and Nick Swisher, whose eye at the plate and modest power makes him a suitable option. Nick Johnson will serve as the DH, and if that limited role helps him turn in a healthy season, then he should bring a near-.400 OBP to the bottom of this lineup. Basically, there are no real holes 1-9. The lineup was the best in baseball last season, and the addition of Granderson should help cover any regression from guys like Rodriguez, Jeter, and Posada. A bit of caution, though: this team is paper-thin. There is no depth to be had anywhere, and should one of the regulars suffer a serious injury, they'll likely have to make a midseason acquisition. 


Rotation: Stacked. CC Sabathia heads up a rotation that also includes formidable arms in A.J. Burnett (who finally stayed healthy in a non-contract year) and Javier Vazquez (who had a case for the NL Cy Young last season). The ageless Andy Pettitte is back for another run, and is a fairly safe bet to provide league average production, as he has done over and over again throughout his career. The 5th spot is up for grabs right now, but for our money, the job should go to Phil Hughes. Joba Chamberlain, for all the attention afforded him, has not actually been a very good pitcher, and Hughes has a significant amount of promise - certainly more than Chamberlain. So 1-5, they should be about as good as anyone else. But again: No. Depth. There's no other starter on the roster whom you'd like to give the ball to for more than a spot start or two.


Bullpen: Aaaand...stacked. 3/3! Mariano Rivera is the best reliever of the saves era, and regardless of which of Hughes and Chamberlain the Yanks decide to use in a setup capacity, they'll have another lockdown option in the 8th (Chamberlain has been significantly better in relief than while starting). David Robertson is one of the best strikeout relievers going, and Alfredo Aceves, while not exactly a relief ace, is pretty solid. Oh, and Damaso Marte is left-handed. Sergio Mitre, Boone Logan, and Mark Melancoan suck, though. 


Overall: For a juggernaut team - which they are, make no mistake about it - the Yankees are ill-equipped to handle a major injury. The punchless Ramiro Pena backs up 2nd and 3rd base as well as shortstop, and starting Nicks Johnson and Swisher back up 1st. Francisco Cervelli is the backup catcher, and Randy Winn is the fourth outfielder. Which is to say: they've got nobody good on the bench. And their best hope for a spot starter, since releasing Chad Gaudin, is Sergio Mitre. Who is awful. They can overcome these problems for awhile with the sheer amount of talent they have, but in the loaded AL East, they can't afford to throw too many PAs or IP at replacement level players.


Predicted Record: 94-68, 1st place AL East


Beer: Westvleteren 12. Any of the three will do, but 12 is the most expensive and most potent. Plus, it's widely regarded as one of, if not the, best beers in the world and carries no label - like the Yankees having no name on the back of the jerseys. The fun part about Westvleteren, as quoted from Wikipedia, is:


"Buyers were originally limited to ten 24-bottle crates of the beer per car, but as the beer increased in popularity, this was first reduced to five, then to two. For the Westvleteren 12 in 2009, it was limited to one case. When making an order now, the type and quantity of beer for sale are revealed. Sales are limited to one order a month per person per license plate and phone number. Also, the beer must be reserved on their "beerphone" (+32 (0)70 21 00 45) beforehand. The monks will never sell you any beer if you just drive up to the abbey hoping to get some. The reason for this is to eliminate commercial reselling, and hence give all visitors a chance to buy some."


That's right - it only comes in small quantities. Just like the Yankee players, there's a limited amount of goodness to be had. Perfect fit!

The All-Decade Team: Position Players (short version)

This post is the short version of the post we just wrote, so if you don't feel like reading our analysis (shame on you), you can just refer to this.

C Joe Mauer, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza

1B Albert Pujols, Todd Helton, Lance Berkman, Ryan Howard

2B Jeff Kent, Chase Utley, Ray Durham, Jose Vidro

SS Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, Michael Young, Jimmy Rollins

3B Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre

LF Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Gary Sheffield, Luis Gonzalez

CF Jim Edmonds, Carlos Beltran, Mike Cameron, Andruw Jones

RF Ichiro Suzuki, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, Magglio Ordonez

Batting Order

Ichiro Suzuki

Jim Edmonds

Albert Pujols

Barry Bonds

Alex Rodriguez

Joe Mauer

Jeff Kent

Derek Jeter

The All-Decade Team: Position Players

It's that time of...decade! Which is to say, it's the end of a ten-year period, which means it's the perfect time for retrospectives! And one of our personal favorite ways to do so is to create the all-decade team. It's going to be especially fun for us with the '00s since we weren't, you know, really making memories at the beginning of the last decade. But this time we've come prepared! So let's get to our choices for the best players of the decade at each position, which is the end-all be-all of teams and will in no way cause discussion or disagreement.

Some notes: Players considered for spots will be considered only on the body of their work this decade. They need not have played for the entirety of 2000-2009, but obviously, the more years the better. When we say MVP candidate, we mean that they placed in the top 20 of MVP voting. Other candidates are presented in order of finish. Also: due to some confusion, we'd like to point out that all stats that are referenced have been accumulated during the current decade. So e.g. Andruw Jones' 308 HRs are the HRs that he hit from 2000-present.

C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins. 2004-09 stats: .327/.408/.483, 136 OPS+, 3 batting titles, winner of '09 slash-stat triple crown.

Mauer played the least among the candidates here - accruing only 3000 PA - but his numbers have been so impressive that he wins anyway. Plus, if you cherry pick each candidate's best 5-year stretch, none of them are as good as Mauer. 2000-04 was the best such stretch for each catcher; Posada went .277/.391/.494, Rodriguez was .319/.366/.539 (132 OPS+), and Piazza tied Mauer's 136 OPS+ with a .292/.376/.539 line, but loses on the tiebreak due to Mauer's superior defensive ability. If you want to choose a candidate that played the full 10 years, that's fine with us, but for our money, Mauer's the best.

Other candidates:

Jorge Posada, New York Yankees. Decade stats: .283/.386/.492, 129 OPS+, 208 HR.

Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers/Florida Marlins/Detroit Tigers/New York Yankees/Houston Astros. Decade stats: .298/.345/.477, 110 OPS+, 161 HR, 65 SB.

Mike Piazza, New York Mets/San Diego Padres (we'd forgotten!)/Oakland Athletics. Decade stats: .285/.360/.512, 127 OPS+, 3 Silver Slugger awards, 3rd-place '00 MVP voting.

1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. This is the easiest choice on the list. Allow us to remind you of his transcendent greatness: .334/.427/.628 career line. 172 OPS+, which is 6th all-time. Top-10 in MVP voting every year of his career, top-5 in 8 of 9 years, 3-time winner (including this season), and robbed of a 4th. Not counting his rookie year, he's never struck out more than 69 times in a season, and has walked more than he's struck out every season. And ohbytheway, he's done all this with an elbow that has probably needed Tommy John surgery for several years now. The guy's an all-timer.

Other candidates:

Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies. Decade stats: .331/.436/.569, 145 OPS+, 260 HR, 1.36 BB:K.

Lance Berkman, Houston Astros. Decade stats: .300/.413/.559, 148 OPS+, 309 HR, 74 SB, 6-time MVP candidate.

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies. Decade stats: .279/.376/.586, 142 OPS+, 12.1 AB/HR (3rd all-time; 1st among actives)

And also Miguel Cabrera is really good. Didn't play enough to really qualify among the giants, but...he's really good.

2B: Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers. Decade stats: .300/.371/.518, 130 OPS+. MVP award, 4 Silver Sluggers. We're not considering his dubious clubhouse presence or Barry Bonds-alleged racism. We ARE considering, however, one of the best all-time seasons by a second baseman in 2000, and general excellence for the rest of the decade. His worst season was his last; as a 40-year old in 2008, he posted a 96 OPS+. Which, when you consider the fact that other candidates for this list are right around 100 OPS+ for their careers, is very impressive. That's ultimately what gives him the award over Chase Utley, who's been not quite as good with the bat but vastly superior with the glove. So we won't quibble if you choose Chutley.

Other candidates:

Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. Decade stats: .295/.379/.523, 129 OPS+, 3x Silver Slugger (probably 4 with this year), 5-time MVP candidate, superb defender.

Ray Durham, Chicago White Sox/Oakland Athletics/San Francisco Giants/Milwaukee Brewers. Decade stats: .277/.354/.450, 107 OPS+, 132 HR, 122 SB.

Jose Vidro, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals/Seattle Mariners. Decade stats: .303/.366/.452, 111 OPS+, '02 MVP candidate, Silver Slugger award, played for the Expos.

Yeah, second base is a weak group.

SS: David Eckstein just kidding

SS: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees. Decade stats: .317/.387/.456, 121 OPS+, 8-time MVP candidate, 3 Silver Sluggers, 219 SB. Yeah, yeah, yeah, intangibles, the Captain, calm eyes, whatever. That counts for nothing. What does count is that the dude can hit and run, and as of this past season, apparently learned how to use his glove. There's not really much more you could ask for from your shortstop.

Other candidates:

Miguel Tejada, Oakland Athletics/Baltimore Orioles/Houston Astros. Decade stats: .297/.347/.481, 116 OPS+, 7-time MVP candidate (1 win), 2x Silver Sluggers.

Michael Young, Texas Rangers. Decade stats: .302/.349/.449, 105 OPS+. 3-time MVP candidate, used to be a great, great fielder. Probably underrated, and yet that's all we can think to say about him.

Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies. Decade stats: .274/.329/.439, 97 OPS+, 326 SB (83% success), 5-time MVP candidate (1 win), Silver Slugger award. Is almost certainly overrated, but, well, there's little offense to be had at shortstop, and Rollins' speed and somewhat valuable defense pushes him above the pack.

3B: Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners/Texas Rangers/New York Yankees. Decade stats: .304/.401/.587, 154 OPS+, 9-time MVP candidate (3-time winner), 7x Silver Sluggers, 434 HR, 179 SB (83% success). Another all-timer here, even if he did take steroids. In this decade, he's never posted less than a 130 OPS+, has hit 30+ HR each year, and done all of that while switching positions. Had he been a shortstop, he's probably the best shortstop to ever play; as a third basegentleman, he's merely one of the best ever.

Other candidates:

Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves. .311/.415/.545, 148 OPS+, 6-time MVP candidate, 1.12 BB:K, our favorite player. If he stayed healthy, he'd be number one here.

Scott Rolen, Philadelphia Phillies/St. Louis Cardinals/Toronto Blue Jays/Cincinnati Reds. Decade stats: .285/.368/.497, 124 OPS+, averages 15.5 UZR/150, 1-time MVP candidate.

Adrian Beltre, Los Angeles Dodgers/Seattle Mariners. Decade stats: .272/.324/.459, 106 OPS+, great fielder, very durable (valuable considering the rest of the list), 1-time MVP candidate/Silver Slugger winner.

LF: Barry Bonds, San francisco Giants. Decade stats: .322/.517/.724, 221 OPS+. We're going to repeat those, because they are positively cartoonish. .322/.517/.724, 221 OPS+. That 221 OPS+ from 2000-2007 would be the 17th-best single season of all-time. His 2002, 2004, and 2001 seasons are the three-best of all-time, respectively. He set the single season record for home runs, with 73. His walk:strikeout ratio was a ridiculous 2.64. He set single season and career records for walks, both intentional and unintentional. After his 73-homer 2001, in which he struck out 93 times, he never again struck out more than 58 times. Discount it for steroids all you want, and he still dwarfs any challengers. But he did stop stealing bases, so, you know, there's that. The funny thing is, he'd be the starting LF for the 1990's team as well.

Other candidates, inasmuch as there are any:

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox/Los Angeles Dodgers. Decade stats: .317/.419/.599, 160 OPS+, 7-time MVP candidate and Silver Slugger.

Gary Sheffield, Los Angeles Dodgers/Atlanta Braves/New York Yankees/Detroit Tigers/New York Mets. Decade stats: .294/.394/.527, 140 OPS+, 273 HR, 97 SB, 1.16 BB:K, 5-time MVP candidate, 3x Silver Slugger.

Luis Gonzalez, Arizona Diamondbacks/Los Angeles Dodgers/Florida Marlins. Decade stats: .288/.382/.508, 124 OPS+, 2-time MVP candidate, Silver Slugger, 1.1 BB:K.

CF: Jim Edmonds, St. Louis Cardinals/San Diego Padres/Chicago Cubs. Decade stats: .280/.389/.548, 140 OPS+, 5-time MVP candidate, Silver Slugger, 261 HR. Edmonds is a guy who would've had a backup role on the '9os team, but he shines here. He had more power than most players in the game, which is remarkable for a center fielder. He shone defensively, and could work a walk. Like Jeter at short, there's nothing else you could ask for from a center fielder.

Other candidates:

Carlos Beltran, Kansas City Royals/Houston Astros/New York Mets. Decade stats: .282/.363/.502, 121 OPS+, 5-time MVP candidate, 2x Silver Sluggers, excellent fielder.

Mike Cameron, Seattle Mariners/New York Mets/San Diego Padres/Milwaukee Brewers. Decade stats: .253/.342/.457, 111 OPS+, 221 HR, 208 SB (79% success), 2-time MVP candidate.

Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves/Los Angeles Dodgers/Texas Rangers. Decade stats: .257/.339/.492, 112 OPS+, 5-time MVP candidate (2nd place in '06), Silver Slugger, 308 HR.

I know that leaving out Torii Hunter will be an unpopular choice, but he's just not as good as Cameron or Jones. Hunter doesn't get on base nearly as well as Cameron, doesn't approach Jones in power, has a lower OPS+ than both Cameron and Jones, and has gotten by on a defensive reputation that focuses on his SportsCenter highlights and not his actual negative defensive value since 2002 (-15 UZR).

RF: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners. Decade stats: .333/.378/434, 118 OPS+, '01 Rookie of the Year/MVP, 7-time MVP candidate, 2x Silver Sluggers, best defensive right fielder in MLB. This was a surprisingly difficult field. In terms of Wins Above Replacement, Ichiro is the clear leader, with 38.8 to Vlad's 32.2, mostly because of Ichiro's vast defensive advantage. It's still hard to give the honor to a guy with a 118 OPS+, But he's stolen 341 bases with an incredible 90% success rate. He's got the single season record for hits, and has led the league in hits 6 times, including 4 straight years. He may yet get 3,000 in America, which is shocking considering that he came here at age 27. His OBP and SLG don't shine, but everything else is as good as it gets - and you get the feeling that if he wanted to draw more walks or hit more dongers, he could.

Other candidates:

Vladimir Guerrero, Montreal Expos/Los Angeles Angels. Decade stats: .323/.392/.569, 147 OPS+, 9-time MVP candidate (1 win), 6x Silver Slugger, 315 HR, 147 SB.

Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies/New York Yankees/Los Angeles Angels. Decade stats: .297/.402/.497, 132 OPS+, 216 HR, 295 SB, 5-time MVP candidate, 1-time Silver Slugger.

Magglio Ordonez, Chicago White Sox/Detroit Tigers. Decade stats: .316/.379/.523, 132 OPS+, 5-time MVP candidate, 3x Silver Slugger.

On Covering the Postseason

As some of you may know, we've started keeping running diaries of late for postseason games over at MLB Notebook. And, really, that's about all the fun there is to be had in writing about the postseason. 

It's weird, since this is often when you see the best baseball, but there just isn't that much to write about. For each round, you can preview the games, and the day after, you can mention some things you thought about from the last game. But though every game is important, there are only so many things one can say about a single game - and that means that, come World Series time, if you're not, say, keeping a live blog of the games, all you can really do is complain about minutiae the next day. And, really, do umpiring failures, a single bad play, or a managerial decision merit so much examination as a full article contains? 

What ends up happening when people write about those minute errors is that they become blown out of proportion - which, we guess, is a crucial part of playoff baseball. Small sample size becomes king; we bow to the heroics of newfound stars, who rise to prominence because they play better than can be expected for awhile, and we behead (figuratively) (we hope) those already anointed stars who fail to live up to our expectations.

We are already staunchly opposed to any small sample-based reaction, but it's impossible to disregard these unimportant-in-the-grand-scale-of-things couple of ABs or IP because, in the postseason, there IS nothing else. There exists no grand scale; there is no statistically significant frame of reference. Such it is that heroes are born, legends are cemented, and otherwise-greats have their names sullied because of perceived failures. Is there something noble and romantic about this process? Sure. Is this the sort of thing that captivates most fans? Sure - and we won't exclude ourselves from that group. But - and maybe this is just us - when we write, we like to look for larger themes or meaningful conclusions. Or, you know, comparisons to popular TV shows. And think about it: what larger theme has there been in these playoffs? There haven't been any - at least any related to on-field performance.  When it comes to actual baseball, you get individual stories - and ones that, really, don't amount to much. Alex Rodriguez shed the "un-clutch" label? Well, that's neat, but it still relies on the fact that in a six-game stretch, he played better than he usully does. And is there any doubt that people will start referring to him as a choker again as soon as he comes up short in another series? It's already started happening in the first two games of this World Series - he's been roundly booed by the Yankee faithful.

No, the only overriding theme we can think of that has come out of this postseason is that the umpiring system needs an overhaul. That's the only thing that's been consistent throughout all the playoff series this year is that the umps have been making bad calls. And is that really what you want to take away from a postseason? We mean, this is the time when we're supposed to be celebrating only the best of baseball, not bemoaning the state of the umpiring.

What we're really getting at here is that in the postseason, we experience a divergence between watching baseball games and writing about them. The great thing - one of the great things - about baseball is the variety. With 30 teams and 162 games, there's plenty of new, interesting things happening every single day that are worth writing about. But in the postseason, there's at most eight teams, and you get a max of 41 games. Everything is magnified, which is great for the legend, the myth, and all that intangible baseball magic. But it's bad for writers looking for something new and interesting to write about. In many ways, we think, this is what creates the magic of the playoffs - yeah, sure, there's the pressure factor that people love to talk about, but how much of it comes from the fact that the media needs something to say before, during, and after every game? And if, like us, you think that it's a lot, then isn't that what really needs to be changed about the playoffs?

Carlos Pena: The Real Triple Crown Winner?

Today we were actually reading the ESPN Power Poll - it was a slow day, don't be so quick to judge - and they dropped this little nugget: Carlos Pena has 34 HR and 35 singles on the year.

Well, then we found out that Carlos Pena just hit another home run, extending his total to a league-leading 35.  Of course, the corollary to this is that he now has as many home runs as he does singles.  This is fairly remarkable given that we're nearing the end of August, yes?  

Now, since he leads the AL in homers and has an equal number of singles, the natural question to ask is: where does he rank in singles?  We're glad you asked that natural question because we did some research.  Take a guess at the answer!

Go on, guess.

Well, of players with at least 350 PA, Carlos Pena ranks second to last in singles.  His 35 juuuuust outstrips Jason Varitek's 34.  Of course, Pena has 518 PA to Varitek's 365 (a 153 PA advantage, if you don't like math), so if we merely raise the minimum PA to 400, well, then Pena's the big winner (loser?).  If you look at the NL also, there's guys like Chris Young, Jay Bruce, Chris Iannetta, Kelly Johnson, and Jason Giambi (a Rockie now), but they have either served time in the minors or on the bench as a punishment for their lack of contact hitting ways.  So we don't feel bad doctoring the answer a bit to anoint Pena at least the AL Champion of Not Hitting Singles.  Boy, that's a fun title for the mantle.  Let's see if we can't give him a little more credit.

Well, gee, looking at Pena's Baseball Reference page, we find that Pena also leads the AL in walks and strikeouts, with 81 (leading Jason Bay's 79) and 149 (5 better than Russell Branyan's 144), respectively.  So, what we have here is a guy who is on pace to win the Three True Outcomes Triple Crown in the AL.  

The Three True Outcomes, for those of you who don't know, are a walk, a strikeout, or a home run.  They are so named because they do not involve the defense at all - unless, we guess, there's a dropped strike 3 or something and the catcher has to throw the batter out.  But, essentially, there you are: the only three outcomes of a pitch that depend solely on the contributions of the hitter and the pitcher.  

The mention of the TTO reminds us of an article the inimitable Dr. Rany Jazyerli wrote for Baseball Prospectus some years ago - in 2000, to be exact.  In it, he examined the guys throughout history who've posted the highest TTO% - defined as (HR+BB+K)/(AB+BB).  A simple enough formula, and it yields reasonable results.  As of the writing of that article, the highest career TTO% belonged to Dave Nicholson, clocking in at a tidy 52.1%.  Other notable names on the list include Rob Deer, Jim Thome, Bo Jackson, Mark McGwire, Mickey Tettleton, and Jay Buhner.  The highest single season TTO% (min. 100 AB), in case you were wondering, belongs to Russell Branyan, with a whopping 61.2%.  

We're going to do a small exercise similar to that, which we're going to call TTOTC.  Catchy, right?  Basically we're going to look at all the seasons from 01-08 and see who's finished among the top 10 in their respective league in walks, strikeouts, and home runs.  This sorting of the players allows us to see who can do each of the three at a level such as they might compete for the TTO Triple Crown, hence the TC part of the acronym.  Which, we might agree with you, is a pretty terrible acronym anyway.  But bear with us for a moment.  Here are the guys:

2001: Jim Thome, Carlos Delgado, Troy Glaus, Sammy Sosa

2002: Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome

2003: Jason Giambi, Carlos Delgado, Jim Thome, Richie Sexson

2004: Adam Dunn, Jim Thome, Jim Edmonds, Alex Rodriguez 

2005: Richie Sexson, Alex Rodriguez, Adam Dunn

2006: Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Troy Glaus

2007: Carlos Pena, Jim Thome, Ryan Howard, Adam Dunn

2008: Adam Dunn, Jack Cust, Carlos Pena, Jim Thome

We don't know about you but we're disappointed Thome didn't quite make it in '05, and surprised to see Alex Rodriguez on there once, let alone twice.

We then went through and figured out those guys' TTO% in the years where they were among the top 10 in each category.  Here are the top 10 such seasons...

Cust 08: .576
Thome 01: .542
Thome 02: .520
Dunn 04: .516
Dunn 06: .514
Dunn 08. .510
Howard 06: .504
Thome 07: .501
Pena 08: .500
Thome 06: .496

How does Pena's 09 season stack up so far?  Well, he's TTO'ing at a .524 clip, which would be the third best mark of this decade after Cust's 2008 and Thome's 2001 campaigns.  But what's really remarkable is that none of those guys - not only the top ten list, but anybody from the longer, year-by-year list up there - led their respective league in homers, walks, and strikeouts.  So not only is he having one of the best TTO seasons by percentage, but he could be the first slugger of this decade to win the Three True Outcomes Triple Crown.  And that, if you ask us, is a title we'd be much prouder to show off on our mantle.  

TL;DR version: No one this decade has been as prolific in the Three True Outcomes categories as Carlos Pena, and if he keeps it up, he'll win the first TTO Triple Crown of the 00's. 

Soliloquizing on the Slammin' Sammy Sosa Steroid "Shocker"

Since we run a baseball blog, we figure it's a rite of passage that we write a steroids-related post.  It kills us to do so, because we think the entire issue's been way, way overblown.  And yet, here we are, fanning the flames in our own small way.

The recent news, of course, is that Sammy Sosa is reportedly among the list of names of players who tested positive in 2003's round of "anonymous" testing - the same list of 104 players that saw A-Rod dragged into this mess.  Basically, if you don't remember, there's a list of names that correspond with the sample numbers on the test results.  This list was supposed to be destroyed, but never was, and though it was kept separate from the results list, some people saw the two together.  This then prompts the question of why the second name they chose to reveal was Sammy Sosa.  If the person knows all the names on the list, you'd have to imagine there's a more provocative name on there than Sammy, right?  Or perhaps the remaining 102 players are all...mediocre.  Who knows.

In any event, the first thing we said upon seeing the BREAKING NEWS alert was: "Well, yeah.  Of course."  We get the sense that this was the general reaction; Sosa and McGwire "saved" baseball with their 1998 home run duel, and in doing so, put themselves front and center in the media-driven witch hunt that followed.  As such, when steroid talk started rumbling, they were some of the first to be implicated.  And, really: was there any doubt?  Those guys were enormous.  If you need to be refreshed, take a gander at Sosa and McGwire in their playing days.  It's fun.

We're also going to mention that our indifferent reaction is not due only to the fact that we were fairly sure that Sosa had juiced, but also because, well, we don't care about steroids in general.  We made it through 49 posts without mentioning steroids in any significant way, but we feel compelled to cave since one of our heroes growing up tested positive.  If anything, Sosa's test should make us feel outraged and indignant and all these things that the media loves to say we should feel.  But...we don't.  Even when it hits close to home like this.  We're not disappointed in Sosa.  We're not angry with him.  We don't think he tainted the game.  Because here's the thing: we suspect that everyone did it.  And that's fine by us.  It made games more entertaining, it made us want to watch.  

And furthermore, we sort of feel like we'd be more outraged if Sosa - or, say, Chipper Jones - didn't juice.  Because if it was as widespread as we believe, or as Jose Canseco wants us to believe, then we would like to think that our heroes were willing to do whatever it took to stay competitive, to stay on top.  If that's what the game demanded, then so be it.  Is that unfair?  Absolutely.  But we don't think there's any moral high ground in being able to look back and say "yeah, I batted .250 in the majors, but I did it without steroids!"  If you're good enough and competitive enough to get to the very top level of baseball, not only are you more disposed to take drugs that'll help you compete, but if you get that far and don't take the extra step that so many of your peers are taking, at the cost of your own career...well, we have to wonder why.

We understand the health effects of steroids.  We understand that they were illegal by law, if not by the rules of the game.  We understand that not everyone has access to the same kind of drugs.  But if baseball wasn't interested in testing, and steroid use became widespread, and the media was just as willing as the rest of us to turn a blind eye while we all became enthralled by 100-mph fastballs and 500-foot bombs...then who's to look back now, after the fact, and say "It's Wrong!  They didn't do it The Right Way!"  We certainly don't feel that holier-than-thou compunction.

Oh, and one more thing.  ESPN ran a reaction on Sosa's positive test from Fergie Jenkins.  In it, Jenkins said that he was surprised, because he'd always thought that Sosa had accomplished what he did "through his own hard work."  We feel like a lot of people believe that if you take steroids, they're just some magic substance that makes your muscles huge and lets you drop dongers with the best of 'em.  But, of course, they aren't.  The amount of work that guys like Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, etc. had to put in to get where they did is incredible.  Yes, steroids can make it easier to put on muscle and shorten recovery times.  But you still have to put in the work in the weight room to make it happen.  And just because you get big doesn't mean that you can all of a sudden hit home runs whenever you please.  The degree of hand-eye coordination and pitch recognition skills that is required to hit like they did, the amount of cage work and pitching drills people were doing...it's insane.  It's harder to be a pro athlete than just about anything else in the world, and all anyone who juiced was doing was trying to better their career in possibly the most physically and mentally demanding field in the world.  And it's naive of us to say that we wouldn't do the same in their situation.  

So, there: hopefully that's our last word on steroids.  Kids: they're bad.  Unless you're a professional athlete, and everyone's doing them, and the sport isn't testing for them, and you stand to make millions upon millions of dollars if you do them.  In that case, go nuts.