Bleacher Report - Articles by Omar Gonzalez

Albert Pujols Doesn't Run On Juice

Omar Gonzalez — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:20:35 -0400

I’m thinking about burying any credibility I have.

I have the shovel in one hand and my self-written obituary in the other.

I am taking a stand.

I believe that Albert Pujols’ home run streak is the real deal, and not tainted through the use steroids or any type of performance enhancers like HGH.

Pujols currently has 30 home runs in 2009 and according to MLB.com, is on pace to get 62 home runs by the end of the season. Not enough to catch the current single-season home run leader, but enough to surpass the real record.

The last time an MLB player passed 60 home runs in a single season was Barry Bonds, 72, and Sammy Sosa, 62, in 2001. Both these men have been linked to steroids and are the faces for the steroid era.

This is why it is so hard to believe that any player who overachieves in the post-steroid era is not influenced by performance enhancers. The game has such a dark cloud over the players the public once loved.

Go back to 1998, to the famous “Home Run Chase” between Mark McGuire and Sosa.

As a young child, I remember sitting with my father in front of the television, watching those two players just compete. Night after night. Homer after homer. Just to see if it was either McGuire or Sosa surpassing Roger Marris’ home run record of 61.

My father and I personally were rooting for Sosa to win.

It was McGuire who eventually won with 65 home runs for the season and the heart of Americans.

What a difference a decade makes.

Now, The New York Times reported on June 16 that Sosa is one of the 103 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 and McGuire still tells Congress that he doesn’t want to talk about the past.

We thought we witnessed history, not forgery.

Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Jason Giambi were once proud players who people trusted to be the best. Instead, they are the faces of the steroid era. The trust that once existed between these baseball giants and the fans who pay their salaries is broken. They are no more than Luchadors who lost their masks.

Can it be repaired? Yes and No.

No, because it only takes one blog to damage a baseball player’s image.

Back in 2006, a blog written by Will Feitch, columnist and former contributor to The New York Times and GQ, suggested that he had “80 percent” faith in a source who said a Kansas City-based strength and conditioning coach was on the redacted names in the Jason Grimsley report.

“Does (the trainer's) name sound familiar?” Leitch wrote. “If it doesn't, he—and we assure you, this gives us no pleasure to write this—has been Albert Pujols’ personal trainer since before Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft.”

A photo of Pujols was included in the blog.

The problem with the blog is, the trainer’s name wasn’t found anywhere in the report.

People outside the sports blog-a-sphere brought attention to the claim, including Keith Olbermann, who ran the story in his MSNBC “Countdown” program.

Pujols, shocked by the report, threatened legal action against Leitch and media outlets that published this information. Leitch later retracted this blog and wrote a correction entitled “A Deeply Regrettable Wrong,” apologizing the trainer and Pujols.

That is the world we live in.

So, can it be repaired?

Yes, because of the new intense steroid policy that MLB has instituted.

According to MLB, since 2004 the new steroid policy has seen 43 player suspensions for performance-enhancing drug use, including Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers, formally of the Boston Red Sox.

The new policy tests players for various steroids and other drugs. The policy has given the sport a cleaner image, but not without criticism. The system doesn’t institute blood testing, which is the only way to detect human growth hormones.

Good first step for a long journey for baseball to get a clean image. Thanks to Giambi, Bonds, and Sosa, we have to wonder if the numbers we see are legit.

I’m here to say I believe that Pujols’ numbers are not enhanced, and here’s why I believe this to be true.

Bonds’ stats from the early ‘90s are extremely different from the numbers in the early 2000s.

In 1991 and ‘92, Bonds won various awards in his late 20s and early 30s, including eight Golden Gloves and three MVP awards.

He was a finesse player who focused on fielding and base-running. His average in home runs per season was about 34.

By age 33, Bonds was a sure first-ballot hall-of-famer, but this was the year that ended his seven-year All-Star streak. His stats were good for any baseball player, but not for Bonds.

According to the best-selling book Game of Shadow, Bonds took a steroid called stanozolol; two years later he broke McGuire’s home run record with 72. The point is that Bonds changed from a player who used to work off his skills as an effective offensive runner and later in his career transformed into a fence buster, a home run producing machine.

Sammy Sosa was an average to good player in his early career.

He never earned awards for his skills. In 1994, he averaged .300 batting average but he only produced 70 RBI and 25 home runs. Meanwhile, the following year, his RBI was 119 and his home runs were 36, but his batting average took a hit. His average was .268.

It can’t be said when Sosa started using performance-enhancing drugs, but his stats started a dramatic increase during his All-Star years. He averaged 40.8 more RBI in each year between 1999 and 2003 than his years playing in 1992 to 1997.

What does this have to do with Pujols?

If you look at his numbers, there is not really a drastic notable difference between his numbers from when he first started to the present year.

In his 2005 MVP season, Pujols averaged 117 RBI, 41 home runs and a batting average of .330.

His career average per season is 122 RBI, 40 home runs and .335 batting average.

His numbers are consistent with someone who is improving his game by natural progression—not influenced progression. His average season is the average player’s above-average season.

This year, he is leading the season in home runs and RBI while being in third in batting average. His is having an above-average season by his standards and a great season by ours.

In this editor’s opinion, Pujols is one of the good guys in the speculation era.

Bloggers, journalists, and fans will always question if players are using the juice. In the end, if he is using a performance enhancer, then the truth will come out eventually.

But, we need a player who is doing well who isn’t on enhancers, because in a game of shadows, that little beacon of hope keeps this dying sport from dropping dead.

Omar Gonzalez is the Current-Argus Sports Editor and can be reached at ogonzalezcurrentargus.com.

Originally published in the Friday, July 3 edition of the Carlsbad Current-Argus.

Elements of a Great Pro Wrestling Match

Omar Gonzalez — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:44:46 -0400

What makes a great match?

Remember that professional wrestling is an art form and that everyone has different taste.

Some fans are drawn in by a well-developed storyline, like that of a Mickie James and Trish Status, obsessive fan angle; while others crave hardcore blood-n-guts and wild brawling (Balls Mahoney, Vic Grimes, and New Jack need to make a living).

Many fans are impressed by work-rate, psychology, mat wrestling skill, innovative moves, speed, agility, and stiff striking, regardless of the angle that brought the two combatants together.

For the majority of us, a strong angle that logically brings together two capable in-ring storytellers and climaxes with an emotional, dramatic, technically impressive battle is the absolute best set of circumstances to leave us feeling like we’ve witnessed something special.

A great example of this convergence of both build-up and payoff is the heralded Jericho/Steamboat classic feud.

The match at WM 25 was off the charts in the work rate and quality departments and the storyline had great drama. Steamboat and the other legends sought revenge for Jericho’s heinous attacks against them.

Looking for revenge, the legends fought Jericho in a handicap match. Rowdy Piper and Jimmy Snuka were eliminated, shown that they were past their prime but Steamboat was another story.

Like Susan Boyle, no one expected the Dragon to show great technically and skill for man his age, 56.

The match was seen as one of the best matches at Wrestle Mania 25 and continued the storyline even with a rematch at Backlash.

All told, this might be one of the best examples of storyline and in-ring action melding to form a phenomenal pro wrestling moment.

However, it is possible to leave the masses believing they have witnessed a great match when an unforgettable moment is introduced.

The Hogan/Andre title match from WM III contained an epic moment in pro wrestling history. Indeed it was, but the wrestling itself was terrible due to the limitations of both men.

Andre’s were no fault of his own, being brought about by his condition at the time, as his health was quite poor. The lovable giant had no business wrestling but he was determined to pass the torch to McMahon’s next big thing, indicative of true professionalism.

Hogan, on the other hand, was limited by the fact that he’s a horrible in-ring performer and never wowed anybody with his moves. Hogan played off of emotion and self-promotion.

So while the repercussions of the contest resonated for years throughout the WWE Universe, the actual match was bland.

Still, it certainly seemed like a great match at the time and the body slam was heard all over the world.

So which elements do wrestlers need to incorporate in order to perform a great match? Emotion, intensity, innovation, high-flying, technical prowess, self-destructive bloodshed, comedy, power, or speed? What’s the right combination?

Classic ECW fans witnessed a wacky spot-fest with huge risks, insane acrobatic feats and plenty of “holy s**t” moments but that wasn’t what made the promotion a beacon of great matches.

However, the fans also preferred to see a more old school, mat based game of human chess.

This was brought by wrestlers Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Jerry Lynn, RVD, Terry Funk and other wrestlers who relied less on weapons but more on in-ring skill.

For many of us it’s hard-hitting intensity that catches the eye, the likes of which can often be found in matches between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe.

Some fans look for comedy and zany antics, like the recent angle involving “Santana” Marella and DX vs the Spirit Squad.

No matter the buildup, if you take two huge names and put them in a match it is almost guaranteed to be great, Hogan/Warrior or Rock/Austin, Michaels/Hart, and Michaels/Austin.

Shawn Michaels’ name keeps popping up in the category of an amazing in-ring storyteller.

The Heartbreak Kid has a knack for making memorable moments, as evidenced by his last two Wrestle Mania matches, against Ric Flair and the Undertaker respectively.

Both bouts had a bit of that special feeling based on the mere fact that in each case the two legends hadn’t faced each other very often over the years, thus avoiding constant matches.

Now that I think of it, Michaels and Angle had a special sort of chemistry too, as did Angle and Lesnar. Their matches always seemed important and somehow more than the average one-on-one affair.

On the other side of the coin is a match where the viewer goes in with no expectations whatsoever, and is blown away by the quality of the in-ring action. One prime example would be the John Cena vs. Jack Swagger match at the 2009 RAW draft special.

The result was basically a given, as anyone watching knew that Cena was not losing to the young ECW champion but watching the match you believed he could of pulled it off.

The ten minute match showcased Swagger’s great mat skills and gave creditability to the character when he constantly dominated Cena throughout the match.

Also, Cena masters the role of the underdog so well. His facial expressions and brawling skills are what sells the comeback kid personality that the character that Cena excels at.

A great match that was at was expected to be a squash match.

Storyline vs. skill, big moments vs. modest venues, famous rivals vs. untested opponents; no one ingredient is more critical than another in the recipe for great matches.

It’s simple: any time you believe you’ve just seen a great match, you have.

If a contest entertained you, impressed you, or pulled you into the drama and emotion of the story, it was worth your time. If you found the violence, or comedy, or strategy of a match to your liking, it did its job.

If two wrestlers wowed you with incredible high spots, painfully realistic strikes, or incredible submission holds, then it was a great match for you.

That’s all that matters.

T.O. Be or Not T.O. Be?: The Best Teams for Terrell Owens

Omar Gonzalez — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:38:22 -0500

With the only NFL team that would be able to put up with Owens, now doesn't want him, the line to reject "the player" has been long and many.

Now if a team would only look at the performance on the field then they would realize that Owens still a No. 1 option on almost any field.

The following top three teams could benefit from having this misunderstood individual.

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners could be the perfect homecoming for 81. With Mike Singletary might be able to control T.O. like Parcells because the "Samurai Mike" is unafraid to put his star players in check, i.e. Vernon Davis.

New Orleans Saints

Despite head coach Sean Payton denying the report, Drew Brees has a strong arm and loves to distribute the ball to various positions like Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey. With an addiction like T.O. Brees would spread the defense further and are able make opportunities for every player on the ream and might give Brees the MVP award next season.

Oakland Raiders

The most obvious choice. Al Davis will take him. That's it. They will still be in the running for the 1st pick of the 2010 draft and a lot of unwanted media attention.

No matter where T.O. goes, remember, at the age of 35, he is well past his prime and was second in dropped passes last season. He might be more trouble than he's worth, but he might not.