I'm not usually one to trash other people's stories or blogs, but I came across this piece over at "Bleacher Report" about Chipper Jones and the suspicion of steroids. I'm probably giving too much credence to a nothing-blogger, but BR is syndicated by Google and so this story gets spread around more than it should. That, and I'm sure there are others who believe this player and that player did steroids, and want to say it without proof. Here is how this guy drums up the goods against Chipper:
"I don't think there's any reason I can't play through 40," he said. "Long as I don't let my body go, which is not going to happen. I'm too active year-round to let my body go."
Hmmm...Maybe Chipper is not only active year-round, but he is also taking some kind of performance-enhancing drug that has gone undetected by the MLB for the past several years.
Hmmm.... maybe your idea of even fan-based journalism is to throw poo against a wall and see what sticks. This kind of article is such insipid nonsense it just gets me all wadded up inside trying to denounce.
Maybe this rant is really about a place like Bleacher Report giving people like this a voice, and that voice being syndicated by Google News right along-side other articles. Is there any editorial control at that site, or are they just trying to generate eyeballs to sell more ads.
Every time a player tests positive for PHD, or a new player is linked to PHDs, folks go mad trying to tie this person or that person to some sort of steroid. The ultimate reality is that we'll never get a fully qualified list of all the players who were using. The players and their union will fight this tooth and nail, because the players aren't just protecting their name, they're protecting their brand and all the endorsements that go with it.
It's good that baseball is finally being vigilant and cracking down on players who use illegal substances, but this all-consuming need to hunt down everyone and anyone who might have used is pointless. We don't need to make this the era of fingerpointing and witch hunts by other players or by the fans.
0 recs | 61 comments
I couldn't have put it better myself
BraveBronco0121 - February 11, 2009
Maddingly frustrating. Good baseball player does not equal juiced for four years. I think in 10 years people are going to look back at the early 2000s and realize just how good a player like Chipper Jones actually was.
kalesi - February 11, 2009
I think I’ll sacrifice a live chicken so he can play 150 games to remind people how good he actually IS.
soup du jour - February 11, 2009
Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Is very bad.
mburris1 - February 12, 2009
I wonder
How long it’s going to be before Adam LaRoche is going to get called out for his ADD medication, being a performance enhancer, since it “helps him focus.” And subsequently how much scrutiny Craig Biggio’s career is going to have because had it too. Know who else has been taking it – our new starting pitcher, Derek Lowe.
I expect Chipper Jones to make another candid statement about the whole situation, that ESPN and SI will blow out of proportion, fairly soon.
royhobbs - February 11, 2009
ding ding ding
ESPN’s Chipper Translator: “every player from this era is going to have to answer questions about ped’s” = “Arod did steroids, hgh, had sex with a goat, stole a cup of change from a homeless dude, wears dresses in private and eats kittens. Did I mention he did steroids?”
Rafael Belliard's SLG % - February 11, 2009
Wow
the lulziest part of the entire “article” is in the comments section where the author calls Chipper a “34 year old journeyman”. What a douche.
Rafael Belliard's SLG % - February 11, 2009
“douche” is too weak of a word
VegasAces - February 11, 2009
If by “journeyman” he means best switch hitter in 40 years, then yes, he’s a journeyman.
kalesi - February 11, 2009
Don’t feed the trolls!
VictorW - February 11, 2009
If there is a shred of justice left in this world may it’s hammer fall squarely in the center of this jackass’ head!
scstrato - February 11, 2009
Did anyone look at this author’s bio?
I wonder why he chose Chipper to write this article about? Bush league.
Smoltz's Beard - February 11, 2009
“author” is too strong of a word
VegasAces - February 11, 2009
+1
Smoltz's Beard - February 11, 2009
“write” is too strong of a word…
sddbaker - February 11, 2009
+1
VegasAces - February 11, 2009
I would stop watching baseball if Chipper ever did do it........
He’s been my favorite player for years and years now. I followed him in the minors and everything. It pisses me off to no end what this hack job has assumed.
Bud needs to put closure to this. He needs to have the union release all 103 names.
He needs to denounce Bonds, MAC, Sosa, Clemons, and anyone else on the list records.
I’m not sure of the Union and MLB agreement with current drug testing but it should be random for all teams every month of the season and should include the off season. If they don’t like it let them go on strike and we can get the college boys, high schoolers, farm leagues, jap league, whomever is not in the union. Eventually the guys would cave in because if not then their career with baseball is over. If Bud did this it’s not like he’s taking money from the players or position MLB HE WOULD ACTUALLY BE DOING A COMMISH JOB BY PROTECTED THE IMAGE OF MLB.
Bud needs to create a clean slate and complete BREAK of the past and the future. His legacy as a commish is at stake. He has the opportunity to truly do something about it and sustain the overall integrity of the game.
Charmin519 - February 11, 2009
Haha...
…the article has been deleted by a site admin now. Wonder why.
Smoltz's Beard - February 11, 2009
No shit...
… they sure waited a while, that article had been out there since yesterday. Huh, maybe I have some pull around there?
gondeee - February 11, 2009
Article Deleted by Administrator
Haha. I guess that thought that mess was retarded too!
KC Ryan - February 11, 2009
the new guy
Howdy, as my first post I just thought I’d weigh in on a completely non-controversial subject by saying yeah. . . ridiculous accusation. ‘Cause you know, Chipper’s stayed so injury-free and bounced back so quick over the years. Must be performance enhancers. “Go Mets,” ya douchebag.
Meatloafin' - February 11, 2009
You forgot to complain about the job Frank Wren is doing, or bitch about the original Tex trade. Get with the program.
Smoltz's Beard - February 11, 2009
+1
Alternately, mention the names “Peavy”, “Dunn”, and/or “Dye”. Doesn’t matter if you’re for or against, just bring them up somehow
VegasAces - February 11, 2009
Don’t forget how much Martin Prado is a better starting 2B than Kelly Johnson.
And James Pharr.
royhobbs - February 11, 2009
I thought he was traded to the Royals and is having surgery on his rotator cuff?
soup du jour - February 11, 2009
Prado?
Please Prado is Omar Infante at best. He was always an under achiever until a couple of month last year. HE IS A REALLY GOOD UTILITY PLAYER AT BEST.
Jessero - February 11, 2009
You’re clearly new.
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
This is ridiculous
Everyone knows Odarp is replacing old man Larry “HGH” Jones after Wren dumps him at the trade deadline.
VictorW - February 11, 2009
who’s Larry?
Swo12bv - February 11, 2009
and furthermore. . .
Meatloafin' - February 11, 2009
You are ingratiating yourself to me quite quickly thusfar.
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
haha…awesome
Smoltz's Beard - February 11, 2009
Um
All of it?
royhobbs - February 11, 2009
What I would give
to see what his answer to that question was…
Hizilla - February 11, 2009
Its all the Player Unions fault
Major league players were alerted by the players union to the possibility of a test coming in 03 and told players to “clean up”. Im pretty sick of hearing about their shady antics. Bad for baseball
bravesguy311 - February 11, 2009
Blame
Bud Selig is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
The Players Union is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
Barry Bonds is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
Alex Rodriguez is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
The media as a whole is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
The mass hysteria over the use of performance enhancing drugs is not to blame for the post about Chipper.
The idiot at Bleacher Report who posted it is 100% responsible for his own stupid, irresponsible post.
Atlanta_Chris - February 11, 2009
i would say that
the following have at least a little to do with it:
Bonds for putting the PED controversy on our front-page
the Players Union for trying to hide/cover up PED use
A-Rod for reviving the beast
Media – this is all driven by them
Mass Hysteria – fuels the media which pushes it even more
and of course, chipper’s parents – without them, we (read – THEY – IE – Retarded haters) would never suspect chip of doping
justincredubil02 - February 11, 2009
abreu....
signed for 5 mil. kind of absurd that we couldnt beat that offer. i sure hope frank has something up his sleeve.
ryan c - February 11, 2009
Angels are kinda obsurd for giving him that much?
He is old…I would have guaranteed like 3 mil with incentives for up to 6…
justincredubil02 - February 11, 2009
Not only old...
…but can’t play his position like he used to. Better suited as a DH at this point.
RainDelay - February 11, 2009
Well Put
Jessero - February 11, 2009
Abreu is also piss poor defensively and probably would’ve gotten his panties in a bunch about shifting to left-field for Jeff “I won a gold glove” Francouer.
jwrocks - February 11, 2009
here's a reminder...
just in case you forgot who you are talking about…
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?playerID=110029&statType=1
11 straight years of 150+ games, a career .400 obp, 6 straight 100 rbi years, 10 straight 20 stolen base seasons, career slugging right at .500. and you say he’s not worth 5 mil? and no, he has already accepted a move to left field because there’s somebody named vlad for l.a. post with sense please, not with those braves tinted glasses on. 5 million is a bargain for abreu’s caliber.
ryan c - February 11, 2009
Whoa dude, no need for the hostilities. The fact that a lot of people don’t like him is defensively, and the point that I was specifically making was his defense is not up to par of what the Braves appear to be looking for. The shift thing, fine, you pointed it out that he’ll have to do that. Pat on the back for you. Offensively, yeah, he’s great, but maybe they are looking at a different route and there are other things we don’t know about that would make him a “clubhouse cancer” or whatever term they use for off-field issues.
jwrocks - February 11, 2009
just as bad...
off-field issues? dude….research….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Abreu
check out the community awards.
any other reasons?
jw, it just makes sense to back up your posts with facts, not an uneducated opinion…just sayin’
and it’s not hostilities, it’s just sense. alleging that bobby abreu being a clubhouse cancer is just as bad as saying chipper was on ’roids because he stays injured.
saying he is overpaid is absurd. he was a bargain, bad defense and all and the braves, for whatever reason, missed out on him.
ryan c - February 11, 2009
DRIVE THE NAILS THROUGH FRANK’S HANDS
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
Agreed. Uneducated opinions rule the internet though, as you know. Mine was specifically a unbaised view of the two main points Braves fans seem to have with Abreu and possible, wide ranging possibilities, why he wasn’t pursued by Atl. For 5 million, yes, he’s worth that, but the market has changed and obviously with the news we found out about today thanks to gondee we know the Braves don’t have that much money to burn anyway. My only beef was the “post with sense, please,” comment. I mean most people try, I know I fail sometimes, but sometimes you gotta let idiots like me just have their say and be done with it.
jwrocks - February 12, 2009
I agree with your points, but I feel like I should mention that linking to wikipedia doesn’t do much for me. Using it as a tool to get to the sources it references is great though.
VegasAces - February 12, 2009
perpetual debate
My friends last night started bringing up ol’ Lurry Wayne and how he prob was juiced, and, to save my breath and to cope with rising anger, i just brought up his stats. He’s been the most consistently consistent awesome hitting switch hitter since his second season. Aside from games played, and subsequent hits, his numbers are basically averaged out over his career. ONE year, in 99, he hit about 6-8 HR over his avg, and got his deserved MVP.
So thats my piece. They came right back saying well, that one year, 1999, was the year he prob juiced.
After calling them douchebags and wishing their departure, i scratched my head thinking “Et tu – Chipper?” I am not changing my opinion, but I am very curious to see how others would have responded to that.
traphicg - February 11, 2009
rookie mistake - commenting on my own post
but….. given Chip’s personality, if he did use anything in 99, and thats why he was so good, why the hell would he stop the next season? I would assume someone who would have those results would continue to use them. You dont hear ANYONE coming out and saying “Yeah, i did use that stuff for one year” – its always an era, or a handful of years, etc…..
traphicg - February 11, 2009
Chipper, roids, and wrestling.
The only thing that I would ever suspect Chipper of juicing for, would be his propensity for injury. His numbers have for the most part always been good, consistent throughout most of his career. But the constant injuries are what make me question his past, in light of current events.
It’s going to sound silly and likely absurd, but bear with me here; my reasoning is due to professional wresting. As if my asshole fingers don’t already make me sound like enough of a doofus here on a regular basis, I admit to have a long history of watching pro-wrestling. Guys like Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Ric Flair, Steve Austin, etc, etc. But what it boils down to is that it was never any secret that wrestlers ’roided up with due regularity, because their physiques were part of their livelihoods. But as the years passed, and the ages rose, lots of the big names from the 1990s were still doing whatever it took to stay on top, namely steroids.
tl;dr – Singling out one guy, Kevin Nash here – 6’11, Michigan St. hoops center back in the day, went the path of pro-wrestling, big mo-fo. Well into his forties, he became very injury prone. Upon coming back from one of his injuries, he came back looking awesome – like he hadn’t missed a day at the gym, but everyone knew he just was back on the juice. Booked in a tag match, to ease him back into television, he gets the tag, gets in the ring, and he fairy hops over a guy whose on the mat. Nash lands, and immediately buckles. Torn ACL, out for a year.
Bottom line is, the popular belief was that sure, steroids allow the body to recover faster, to allow more working out, which creates more muscle, but consequently, it weakens the integrity of the muscles, which leads to higher risk of injury. Basically fucking around with what nature intended, and as the body gets older and has higher demands, the risk is increased even more.
Chipper enjoyed nine seasons of 135+ games, where he produced wonderfully. 1999 was great, but I’ve always thought his 2001 was better, overall. I for one do not wish to see his name ever associated with PEDs, and would rather just hope that he’s just a naturally injury-prone fellow with bad luck. But given what I’ve witnessed through pro-wrestling, I can’t possibly rule out the worst.
royhobbs - February 11, 2009
I thought Nash tore a hamstring that night on Raw…regardless, it was fucking hysterical
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
I always thought
that using anabolic steroids allowed your muscles to get huge but didn’t make your ligaments stronger, thus the major injuries such as ACL tears associated with it. HGH meanwhile just made EVERYTHING able to grow and helped heal faster. If Chipper used ‘roids he sure didn’t use enough to get huge, and his feet and muscle injuries don’t seem to be of the type associated with them. Also, the injuries he DID have seem like they would have healed a lot faster and caused a lot less problems if he was using growth hormones.
That being said, I went to high school with a certain former Braves pitcher and have what he had to say about how widespread using that stuff was even in college baseball in the early 2000’s, and while I’d be surprised and disappointed to hear someone like Chipper or Smoltzie (RIP) juiced at some point, after all that’s come out I can’t say I’d be in total disbelief to hear anyone was on it. I agree with the sentiment we should just all come clean (you know, all “us” professional baseball players), be shocked for a minute and then get over it, kind of like Clinton had to give his little BS “I didn’t inhale” half-admission but Obama owned up to snorting coke, and in ten years simple posession will probably be completely decriminalized. . . the times they are a’changin.’ Asterisk, asterisk.
Meatloafin' - February 11, 2009
basically what it is is… u muscles grow much faster than they are supposed to… however since steroids dont affect ligaments. THusly, what ends up happening is the muscles around the ligaments are so strong they tear them. Bascially the ligament cnt keep up with the muscle growth. Strangely enough the same is true with your bones. Your bones actually get stronger as you get bigger. However, the quick increase of steroids doesnt give your bones time to get stronger in the same time.
NOW YOU KNOW!!!!
Swo12bv - February 11, 2009
busy day....
adam dunn is now a nat……abreu and dunn gone in a day. let’s hope the yanks will take prado and a pitcher for swisher. the last 2 cheap power left fielders for way below market are gone.
ryan c - February 11, 2009
Klesko is out there…just sayin’! haha.
jwrocks - February 11, 2009
Pretty sure Ryan is retired. Looking at his career numbers, I didn’t realize he was such a monster.
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
My ex-girlfriend’s big sister’s husband keeps up a little house Klesko has in Jones County, Ga…he comes hunting down here every year…
bwellnjonesco - February 11, 2009
Yeah, Klesko was such a horse….dude would put everything into that swing. I heard about his retirement recently, that’ why I brought it up. Sad news in a way, another one of the Braves players from the 1995 team thats now hangin’em up. Show how long ago that really was!
jwrocks - February 11, 2009
Chipper, Smoltz, Glavine & Jason Schmidt are all thats left, and the last 3 could go this season.
bigjoe - February 11, 2009
The Pitching is what will get the Braves moving this season
Hi everyone, I am new to the blog…I had a Braves fan write an article for me on how the Braves rotation should not be over looked…and if you ask me the Braves are “Juiced” legally that is…..
http://www.rbimagazine.com/2009/02/donE280%99t-overlook-a-revamped-braves-rotation/
Squid22 - February 11, 2009
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