Juicy Secrets: Loose Ends?

This year a once secret, confidential list of steroid users in baseball leaked. But instead of a flood of names the faucet is turned on and off naming only a few of the players. The testing that the list refers to was taken in 2003 so the league had a good estimate of who was doping and who wasn’t. Once this was done, commissioner Bud Selig promised that none of the names would be released, everyone that tested positive would remain anonymous.

But for some strange reason I’m hearing about it.

Some where there is a leak and I for one am angered. Now I don’t watch baseball all the time like other avid fans, I will never claim that I do. But when I do I like to see it as a sport played on an even playing field. But as everyone knows that’s hard to do nowadays. I’m not angry at the players though; I’m just displeased and sadden. What I’m really mad at is the puncture in league confidentiality.

But who’s responsible?

Well, while the names were to go up in smoke disappering forever federal officers seized the results as part of their own research. Never really being legally disclosed these names became only sealed by tongue, and we all know that never works. Michael Schmidt is the man behind the released the names of Manny Ramirez, Sammie Sosa, and David Ortiz. In an interview  by the New York Times, July 30^th 2009, Schmidt said he planned to talk to “Lawyers, clerks, assistants” to find out all the other names. So now every reporter like Schmidt is sniffing the trail left by the MLB and federal officers.

Now it is said that some of the players that tested positive in 2003 might not have been doping at all. David Ortiz said that he only used over-the-counter vitamins and supplements. Most would say he’s lying, hell when I heard I thought the same. The urine samples usde for the test were said to have caught at least 96 people, but 13 of them were disputed. Now is he telling the truth or just trying to pull the wool over our eyes?

I’m going to take a leap of faith and say he is telling the truth.

I was reading articales on this subject when I stumbled upon this fact. Before 2005 many over-the-counter drugs and substances could test positive. If this is true he wasn’t taking steroids. This could also mean others on the list did the same.

The whole situation is something like the pentagon papers that came out during the Vietnam Conflict. Once the list is released there will be no trust. It’s come to the point that a good athlete is suspected to be taking steroids because he hit a home run or is having a good year. Some may say “Oh he’s got to be doping, defiantly” when a good player walks up to the plate. I know I’ve done it, everyone has and that is because we have doubts. In the back of your mind right now you could probably think of a few players that would make you say “I wasn’t surprised” or “I knew it!” if they were added to this growing list. This is a witch hunt, one that won’t be ending anytime soon.

Personally I don’t think the list should be released, it would kill the sport. How would you feel about baseball if you woke up in the morning to find out everyone of your favorite players were doing steroids? How would you feel about a sport that’s best players are all on this illegal drug? It would send whatever dignity’s left in this sport crashing into the ground. Every player’s career from current players to hall of famers would be called into question. I grew up watching Sammie Sosa when I was young, he was my favorite player. Now that I know what I know I wish it had been just kept in the dark. I don’t want to know what happened in 2003. All I’m trying to focus on is the present, but it’s hard to when stuff like this is thrown out to my ears.

Someone needs to wrap this problem up and seal some mouths because if not, baseball might be in for an even bigger problems.