Tom Verducci - irresponsible journalism

I have been a long-time SI subscriber and I coincidentally just renewed for another year earlier this week (free t-shirt and Bears fleece - cool!). Well after reading some of Tom's article in this week's SI, I may be asking for a refund (after I get the free t-shirt and fleece). Tom linked Sammy Sosa in with all the other TRULY busted MLB steroid users in his article on Manny Ramirez. Here's the quote from Tom's article:
Of the 15 players who hit the most home runs from 1993 through 2004, Ramirez is the 10th to be connected to performance-enhancing drugs by positive tests, the Mitchell Report or news reports, joining Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Juan Gonzalez and Mo Vaughn in the rogues' gallery. (The five not associated as such are Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell and Carlos Delgado.)
Does he know something none of the rest of us know? And when I say "know", I mean KNOW, not guessing or speculating. Sammy was not involved in BALCO, was not in the Mitchell Report other than being included in a list of players that didn't respond to a questionnaire sent to his lawyer by Sen Mitchell, and has not been linked in any way, shape or form to any doctors, clinics, clubhouse attendants, or even Jose Canseco. So what's up with including him in this list of dirty players in the cover story for a major sports magazine?

I remain baffled as to why the Cubs organization treats Sammy the way they do. Sammy helped bridge the gap between lovable losers and playoff contenders. He carried the Cubs for 10 years when they had NOBODY else. He had arguably the greatest single season ever that was not performance enhanced by drugs (1998 and heck, what about 2001?). He brought in HUGE revenue for this franchise that helped get them over the hump of a big market team with a small market mentality.

Since he left so unceremoniously following that final game in 2004, he has hardly been mentioned in this town. He hit more HRs than Mr. Cub himself and yet, his number remains to be given away to the weakest of ball players including a former 5th starter that has never made a playoff roster (Jason Marquis) and now to the latest knucklehead free agent (Milton Bradley).

As much as I love Ryne Sandberg and begged for his inclusion in the HOF, his numbers are NO WHERE NEAR what Sammy's numbers were. Yet nobody (I'm not positive as I cannot find a way to check) ever wore Sandberg's #23 following either of his two retirements. It's a travesty that the Cubs are treating Sammy with so little love. If no love, how about at least a little respect?

Steroids in MLB

Well, with Manny getting busted for steroids today, I guess now's the time to throw in my 2-cents on the subject. As you can tell from my screen name (i.e. 21daman), I am one of the lonely remaining Sammy Sosa fans. Do I think he MAY have done steroids or some other performance-enhancing drugs dating back to 1998's historic HR record chase with Mark McGwire? Yes, I do, BUT you have to admit the only reason anyone can think that is based purely on speculation and circumstantial evidence including the timing. He has NEVER been mentioned in any context of steroid use including all the infamous cases such as BALCO or the Mitchell Report.

Did his numbers spike during the steroid era? You know they did! Guilty, right? Did he get caught with a bottle of the now-banned substance Andro? Nope. Innocent then? He wasn't involved in BALCO or named in the Mitchell Report. Must be innocent? But then he showed up in front of Congress and acted like he didn't know a word of English while speaking through his attorney. Very suspicious...so which is it?

In this country, you're guilty until proven innocent in court, but NOT in the court of public opinion. In the court of public opinion, it's all about hype and who speaks the loudest and/or most often. How about that Favre signing in Minnesota? Oh ya, that was COMPLETELY wrong! If you watched SportsCenter at all on Wed, you saw every other story was about Favre and how it was basically a foregone conclusion that he would be playing for the Vikings this season and yet, not so much. So, if you had a vote and it was time to vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame with Sammy on the ballot, would you vote for him? If so, don't you feel like you have your head in the sand if you don't believe he did steroids to help boost his numbers? If not, why not? What REAL evidence are you basing your decision on?

OK, so forget the HOF, why haven't the Cubs retired his number? Sammy absolutely carried the Cubs for a LONG time and put "butts in the seats". His numbers from 1998-2001 are absolutely ridiculous and his numbers shortly before and after that 4-year span, he was pretty darn good too. Sammy played 15 years for the Cubs and finished his time here as the all-time leading HR hitter. Greg Maddux only pitched 9 seasons for the Cubs including the beginning and twilight of his career (i.e. NOT the best years of his career) and Mad Dog still got his number retired last weekend. Yes, since Sammy's untimely dismissal from the Cubs, a couple of not-so-deserving players have donned the #21 - Jason Marquis and now Milton Bradley. Now MB is supposed to turn it around and be pretty good for the Cubs, but Marquis was signed as a #5 starter and wasn't even included on the playoff roster in 2007 or 2008 (maybe that was teh problem - naaah!).

So first, how do the Cubs as an organization that gained SO MUCH from Sammy not show him ANY respect by keeping guys out of the #21 jersey? Second as a player, how can you wear that number knowing what Sammy meant to this orgamization for so long? It's not like the Cubs reitred Santo's #10, Billy Williams' #26, or Sandberg's HOF #23 right away either. I truly believe the time will come when the Cubs finally retire Sammy's #21, but I guess that time isn't quite yet.

I'll expand more on my steroid thoughts in future posts. What are your thoughts?