A New Asterisks for MLB

The Josh Hamilton fairy-tale is obviously one of the most talked about stories of the first half of this MLB season. A former first pick that was out of the game for 3 years taking the American League and Major League Baseball by storm in his first full season back in the Majors has to make sports writers everywhere giddy with the possibilities. And on top of the incredible RBI pace, and the all-star selection, the 28 home runs traveling an average of over 450 feet in 1 round of the Derby is just another chapter in this amazing story. When the capacity crowd at Yankee stadium started to cheer his name I literally got chills. But is he really a positive role model?

Hamilton missed three years not because he was serving our country like the greats of WWII and the Korean War, not because he was coming back from some horrific injury or disease like paralysis or cancer, and not because of some injustice from the league or the government, but because he was a drug addict. I know when he was out of the game he had no formal training regiment, and the only batting practice he did was by feeding quarters into a cage at the local sports club, and I am not trying to diminish his accomplishment, it is amazing, but that doesn’t make him a role model for everyone. And his recovery and return to grace is a great story, and must be written and told throughout the US and the world as an example of what perseverance can do, and that no matter what your current situation, you have the ability to be great.

However, the way in which this story is told is just as important as the story itself. The important lesson is that he came back and became what he should have been all along, and if he hadn’t succumbed to addiction just imagine what he could have accomplished. Many of the stories and broadcasts from the past months are ready to coronate Hamilton as the next face of MLB. But many of them fall short of explaining the full lesson here.

It is not okay to lose 3 years of your life to drugs and alcohol.

We cannot teach our children that being a druggie and a slacker is ok as long as you eventually come out of it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with Josh Hamilton, I think he is a great example of what a person should do if they find themselves overcome with drugs and alcohol. My problem is with the media who is so ready for a positive role model to take over from the steroids era that they will take anyone who comes along. What about the real winner last night Justin Morneau, or David Wright, or Chase Utley, or any other guy who has done it the right way?

Every person, young or old, who has or will ever suffer from addiction problems, can use Hamilton as a positive example of what can happen when you commit yourself to sobriety. It proves the resiliency of the human spirit that you can come back from the depths and achieve your greatest potential. I sincerely hope that this is not an anomaly, and that Josh Hamilton will continue to become one the great ball players of this generation, but we must be careful to put these lessons in the proper context. I never want my child to grow up like Josh Hamilton.

Pants not only on fire, but bleeding, apparently.

Clemens testimony to Congrefs includes a series of questions about how, on a certain occasion, possibly more than once, people in his clubhouse noticed that his ass was bleeding through his uniform pants. To wit:

From the blog of the formerly mustachioed Jayson Stark:
11:41 a.m. ET
Curt Schilling had the bloody sock. Roger now has the bloody pants.

Rep. [Tom] Davis reported that McNamee had testified that Mike Stanton once noticed that Clemens was bleeding through his dress pants -- which caused him to start carrying band aids around, presumably for his bleeding butt. Yikes.

Prompting the following surreal exchange:

Davis: "Mr. Clemens, do you recall bleeding through your pants in 2001?"

Clemens: "I do not."
End Quote.

So the duly elected representative (Republican) of Virginia's 11th Congressional District —who will not be seeking re-election — spent this morning asking the Rocket if he remembered his ass bleeding seven years ago. At which point Clemens maintained that he didn't.

I have decided that Roger is the liar here. He has more to gain from lying than McNamee does, in my estimation, and more to lose if the truth is damning. Because at this point, if he falls on his sword, he only does it to try and reduce his perjury penalties, and really he's even gone past THAT point of no return.

Three points for discussion amongst the group:

1) After all this, and the possible fallout in which anything could happen to Clemens including jail time, will he still beat Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame? Will he get in there ever?

2) What tarnishes his legacy more, the fact that he took steroids, or the fact that he straight-up, bald-face, lied directly into a camera about it, then did so again under oath, AFTER he was caught?

3) Who benefits most from Clemens being hung out to dry?

My submissions:
1) I think at this point, he doesn't beat Pete in, cause he gets stuck on the outside with him for eternity.

2) I can forgive someone for cheating if they're at least somewhat remorseful once they get nailed, but I don't sense that from Rog (or from Pete Rose, frankly), and that just makes them seem like they think they're above the law. So to Hell with that.

3) I don't think anyone is as happy about these ridiculous proceedings as Barry Bonds. For the time being, at least.