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Wednesday, February 28, 2007 |
Pickoff Moves
Catching up on some stuff from yesterday...
Today's Birthdays
Orlando Alvarez LAN,CAL b. 1952, played 1973-1976
Al Humphrey BRO b. 1886, played 1911, d. 1961-05-13
Rufino Linares CAL b. 1951, played 1985, d. 1998-05-16
Frank Malzone CAL b. 1930, played 1966, All-Star: 1957-1960, 1963-1964. A three-time Gold Glove winner with the Red Sox, with whom he spent all but one year of his career; he played behind Paul Schaal on the 1966 Angels who somehow managed to lead the league in attendance despite finishing sixth. The Halos wouldn't accomplish that feat again until 1982-1987, when they placed first or second in attendance all six years.
Marty Perez CAL b. 1947, played 1969-1970
God Is A Bullet
- You may have heard that an Internet pharmacy selling anabolic steroids has been linked to Gary Matthews, Jr. U.S.S. Mariner takes the high road; the Rev wonders what better priorities the cops might have had, and David Pinto misconstrues his reaction; the point isn't that the police are to blame so much as law enforcement needs prioritization, and this is hardly an important case — except to a DA who wants to make a name for himself.
- Juan Rivera provides a gory account of his injury:
"I looked down, and my shin was going this way and my foot was going down," Rivera said, pointing at a 90-degree angle from his shin. "I could see the bone."
It looks like an All-Star break return is in the cards.Rivera, who was still on crutches when he arrived in Angels camp Monday, thought immediately of his future.
"I think, maybe I don't play baseball anymore," Rivera said. "But later that night, I thought in my mind that I would be back."
- Jered Weaver's first appearance on the mound keeps getting pushed back, and now it seems he won't be ready until next week at the earliest.
With only two scheduled off days in the first 35 days of the season, the Angels will need a full five-man rotation in April, and Scioscia said there is still enough time, barring a setback, for Weaver to open the season in the big leagues.
Lefty Phil Seibel, acquired from the Red Sox for Brendan Donnelly, has been told he might start for the Angels but so far is being considered exclusively a reliever. Other, more likely possibilities are Dustin Moseley, Chris Bootcheck, or Hector Carrasco. - Bartolo Colon's rehab is continuing on pace, but there's no way he's ready for opening day.
- Garret Anderson overrates his own contributions to team defense:
But the Angels' veteran left fielder also was somewhat offended by media reports framing the Matthews signing as one that would ease the burden on Anderson and right fielder Vladimir Guerrero.
I can't disagree."I've heard that several times this winter, and I don't really know what it means," Anderson said. "I don't think I've been a liability out there, other than the fact I haven't been able to play. I know I took a lot of heat last year because I played hurt. I should have just not played. I wouldn't have taken any heat for that."
- Former Angel first baseman Daryl Sconiers is helping out on a San Bernardino County survey of the homeless: he is one himself, you see.
- Russ Martin, batting sixth (and can you believe we're having this discussion?).
- Former Dodger Clem Labine had brain surgery to "investigate on a mass in his head".
OT: Something For Helen
Hurry back, love.
Comments:
I disagree this is not an important case. This case involved doctors making a lot of money off pushing drugs that were hurting people. As the main article stated, the drugs were sent out with syringes and no instructions, and people were getting infected. These were medical professionals who were willing to allow harm to come to others for a buck.
I also notice that people are a lot less likely to believe steroid use when their favorite player is accused. Gary Matthews has a career year at age 31, but he passed his drug tests. Now there's some doubt. I took a lot of crap last year when I noticed the same things about Jermaine Dye and David Ortiz. Career years in your early thirties are not that common. They should continue to raise red flags.
I also notice that people are a lot less likely to believe steroid use when their favorite player is accused. Gary Matthews has a career year at age 31, but he passed his drug tests. Now there's some doubt. I took a lot of crap last year when I noticed the same things about Jermaine Dye and David Ortiz. Career years in your early thirties are not that common. They should continue to raise red flags.
pushing drugs that were hurting people
Demonstrate who these drugs allegedly harmed, along with specific injuries because of the drugs (rather than the uninformed use of the needles), please. Diabetics otherwise unconversant with medical practice daily and safely inject themselves by the hundreds of thousands. That is, the real problem here was that because the government had made the active ingredient a controlled substance, the people involved had injured themselves in a way that would have been unlikely to happen had there been no such controls, i.e., they could have learned how the proper precautions to prevent infection.
As for your totally baseless comment regarding whether I am a fan of Matthews, Jr., anyone paying attention to this space for more than the last 24 hours would recall that he is far from my favorite player; moreover, my position on steroids has been consistent since day one.
Demonstrate who these drugs allegedly harmed, along with specific injuries because of the drugs (rather than the uninformed use of the needles), please. Diabetics otherwise unconversant with medical practice daily and safely inject themselves by the hundreds of thousands. That is, the real problem here was that because the government had made the active ingredient a controlled substance, the people involved had injured themselves in a way that would have been unlikely to happen had there been no such controls, i.e., they could have learned how the proper precautions to prevent infection.
As for your totally baseless comment regarding whether I am a fan of Matthews, Jr., anyone paying attention to this space for more than the last 24 hours would recall that he is far from my favorite player; moreover, my position on steroids has been consistent since day one.
I actually agree with you that steroids should be legal, and players who want to use them should annouce that they using them. Then fans can decide if they want to cheer or not. Doctors can watch to make sure the dosages are correct and their aren't any side effects or liver disease.
But that's not going to happen. There is no desire in this country to legalize drugs. The reality is fairly evil people like these doctors and pharmacists are going to prey on people who think they are going to get strong with their drugs. They're developing compounds that can't be detected. I don't think these are passing the muster of the FDA. So maybe these drugs aren't hurting anyone, but maybe the next batch will. Or the batch after that. Somehow, the cost of using these drugs needs to be made high enough that people won't sell them or people won't use them, because our ideal world isn't going to exist for a long time.
But that's not going to happen. There is no desire in this country to legalize drugs. The reality is fairly evil people like these doctors and pharmacists are going to prey on people who think they are going to get strong with their drugs. They're developing compounds that can't be detected. I don't think these are passing the muster of the FDA. So maybe these drugs aren't hurting anyone, but maybe the next batch will. Or the batch after that. Somehow, the cost of using these drugs needs to be made high enough that people won't sell them or people won't use them, because our ideal world isn't going to exist for a long time.
In which case, aren't the side effects -- of the world we do inhabit presently -- far worse? I don't understand the itch to degrade the situation.
I was trying to think of ways to improve the situation in the present context. Given that we have laws, enforcement of those laws against users might raise the cost of doing drugs high enough that athletes scale back. Law enforcement is concentrating on the supply side of the equation, but it strikes me that it's easy to replace supply. Maybe they should try the demand side.
This nation's law enforcement agencies, in their Quixotic War on Drugs, have already tried and failed with a demand-side approach.
# posted by 
: 3/01/2007 10:58:00 AM
: 3/01/2007 10:58:00 AMNewer› ‹Older
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