Big Papi tained like the rest

There are a couple of factors people must consider when they start scapegoating the players in these situations.

#1 MONEY, let's not be dumb here money is a big issue and if you're fighting to make a MLB team from a AAA team then we're talking a difference at MINIMUM is around $270,000. Play a couple years in the bigs and you're set for life.

#2 Education, aside from boxing, baseball is a sport where the majority of top teir athletes never even went to college and perhaps aren't equipped to make the best of choices. And hell when the team doctor or even your own strength coach gives you vitamins or "supplements" these guys probably didn't ask too many questions about them.

I think eventually people will come to grips with people cheating in baseball, it's not the first or the last time it will happen. We've gone through, the all-white/all-black eras, the greenie era (those were amphetimines), the steroid era, and any number of gambling issues....the game is still the same, and if a guy like Gaylord Perry can make it into the Hall of Fame then hell there is a chance for Bonds, McGwire, and maybe even Jose Canseco......ok well maybe not Jose

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Originally Posted by Lyle

There are a couple of factors people must consider when they start scapegoating the players in these situations.

#1 MONEY, let's not be dumb here money is a big issue and if you're fighting to make a MLB team from a AAA team then we're talking a difference at MINIMUM is around $270,000. Play a couple years in the bigs and you're set for life.

#2 Education, aside from boxing, baseball is a sport where the majority of top teir athletes never even went to college and perhaps aren't equipped to make the best of choices. And hell when the team doctor or even your own strength coach gives you vitamins or "supplements" these guys probably didn't ask too many questions about them.

I think eventually people will come to grips with people cheating in baseball, it's not the first or the last time it will happen. We've gone through, the all-white/all-black eras, the greenie era (those were amphetimines), the steroid era, and any number of gambling issues....the game is still the same, and if a guy like Gaylord Perry can make it into the Hall of Fame then hell there is a chance for Bonds, McGwire, and maybe even Jose Canseco......ok well maybe not Jose

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Not sure what your point is here. Are you saying that you accept the story that these guys actually might not know that they were taking performance enhancing drugs? Sounds like you are just making someone else, ie the trainer, the scapegoat.

I'm saying that not many baseball players are going to get into MENSA.....and especially considering language barriers and youth and everything, I wouldn't doubt that a lot of guys took steroids and either didn't know it or were just too trusting of some people around them...like for instance Gary Sheffield who claimed to UNKNOWINGLY use steroids given to him by Barry Bonds' trainer. I wasn't trying to scapegoat the trainer, just the education these guys have....it ain't the greatest

The money is the big influence though, some poor guy that defected from Cuba has a chance to make at least $300,000 a year in the MLB and live in America, shit, I would load up on roids so damn fast my own head would spin!

fair enough, I can't argue that, just disagree. Guys like Sheffield aren't that stupid. Nor are the trainers. Feed players illegal drugs without their knowledge? I doubt it. Personally, I just think the players would happily lie through their teeth and let someone else take the fall in order to protect their precious images and their multimillion dollar contracts.

They could either do that or see results and just decide not to ask questions so as to maintain their innocence