May 07 2009
L.A. L.A. Big City of Dreams…
…but everything in LA ain’t always what it seems, you might get fooled if you come from outta town…
Los Angelos is the city of sports news today. The Lakers are showing some testosterone and Manny Ramirez is being banned for it. What gives?
The Lakers apparently took to heart all the talk about their toughness and took it to the Houston Rockets in game two. Clearly, they played on edge and with more spirit in the game. I’m not surprised that Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant were at the center of it. They are championship winning players, they know how to win in the playoffs, the mental and physical toughness that is necessary. Fisher absolutely did something the Lakers needed. If this was hockey, he’d have been dropping the gloves and squaring off with an opposing team’s enforcer. He sent a message that the Rockets weren’t going to be able to push them around all series. Bryant sent another message of sorts, one that I think will play out differently. He basically told Ron Artest, “Go ahead and mess with me, you’ll get kicked out of games, and if you hit me, you’re out”. Kobe reminded Artest, and more imporantly the refs and the NBA that he’s been a repeat thug.
Game two will be pivotal in deciding this series. The blood has been drawn. The Lakers need to make sure this wasn’t a one-time thing. They don’t need any more suspensions or technicals, they just need to make sure the Rockets know they won’t get win by force. For the Rockets, they need to keep up the physical play, but avoid the antics. They need Artest, he’s been quiet and effective all year long. He’s a very good defender who’s going to make the Lakers work on offense. They can’t have him melt down.
So, Ramirez is the latest MLB player caught. I’m not totally surprised. I’m a Manny fan, I think he’s a unique player and one of the all time greats. But nonetheless, he also played in the era of performance enhancing. Regardless of what all the self-righteous players and writers say, the fact is the era was littered with far more players who used these enhancers than those who have been exposed thus far. Barry Bonds, Raphael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemons, the list goes on and on. I doubt any of those players will make the Hall of Fame, despite being worthy. The MLB faces a major problem with this. It’s not only a problem for those who took drugs, but also those who didn’t. There really is no way to know everyone who took them and how it affected them and moreover how it affected the players they played against. Those who vote have to recognize that if the best players took enhancers, than certainly other lesser players did in an effort to extend their careers or even make it to the Majors.
Millions and millions of dollars are on the line. The difference in performance late in the season, when players are worn down can be extremely costly. Playing great in April and May might get you into the All-Star game, but playing great in September and October gets you ca$h. I believe many players take this stuff, not to be stronger or directly improve their performance, but to continue to be healthy and fresh all season long and to be able to play into their late 30s or early 40s. MLB is paying for the lack of recognition of the problem in the mid 90s. They seem to play ignorant with the fans and media. But I’m sorry, I was just 16 or so when the Philadelphia Phillies made a run for the championship in 1993, and I knew something was up. Especially with Lenny Dykstra. They might not have known that players were using steroids, but they had to be aware that players were doing soemthing to make them bigger, stronger and more durable.
MLB is on the right track, they have a reasonably strong enforcement policy. They just need time for some of these older players, who were coming up in the mid 90s during this era to move on. The faster they get to a league full of players who have only played during the drug enforcement years the better they will be for it. I’m of the opinion that players eligible for the Hall of Fame should be voted on based on their merits in the game. We have no idea how to decide if someone was a Hall of Famer with or without the drugs. I’m all for the Hall of Fame creating a wing for the shamed. Put Barry, Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other scandal connected players in if their general performance is worthy. Then put them in this wing, with a plate which outlines some of the negatives of their career. A Hall of Fame is not just a place to put memorials up for the great, clean and good guys. It is a place to celebrate the history, good and bad of a sport.
