McGwire Comes Clean, Records Still Stained

ST. LOUIS — It was bound to happen sooner or later, and Mark McGwire admitted as much in his MLB Network, one-on-one interview with Bob Costas on Monday night.

McGwire told Costas, and for that matter the entire baseball world, that his hiring as the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals without doubt sped up his desire to come clean about using steroids.

And why not? He realized he would have otherwise been harassed endlessly throughout the baseball season by reporters and heckled by fans of opposing teams until he said the words.

But while numerous professional baseball players have admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, have sat through interviews, and have done so much to say and do the right things following their carefully crafted statements, there was something different about McGwire’s admission.

He didn’t do it in front of numerous cameras, photographers, and sports writers. He didn’t have his agent, a lawyer, or Brian Bartow, the Cardinals’ Director of Media Relations, comfortably (or uncomfortably) seated next to him.

Instead, he did his best to answer honestly and unscripted the questions that Costas posed during the one-hour, live interview, and left very few questions unanswered.

He even volunteered information that might have never been otherwise uncovered.

There will still be detractors that will bash, trash, and discount McGwire’s records, and say that he cheated. (Note that by rule, he nor Barry Bonds or any of the others accused during that time period broke the rules as there were no rules in place to be broken.)

And even if fans, writers, or simply those who like to disagree have doubts that McGwire was telling the full truth, the fact is, his approach and response to the allegations was different than those that came before him.

There was no dancing around the questions, no non-denial denials, but rather sincere regret for even putting doubt in the minds of his fans, friends, teammates, and family.

But as many tears filled his eyes, his goateed chin quivered, and his focused stare never broke Costas’ attention, the MLB Network studio analysts still refused to accept McGwire’s answers in full. They wanted something more.

Much of their disapproval came with McGwire’s belief that the performance enhancers were never necessary for him to put up the eye-catching numbers he did at the end of his playing career. They just wouldn’t have it.

Costas remained persistent in continuously asking whether or not McGwire believed there was any correlation at all between his remarkable offensive numbers and the fact that he admittedly used steroids.

And each time, McGwire remained consistent in his belief that he had no doubt in his mind that he would still have been able to produce similar numbers throughout his career.

Still, the former slugger said he used the drug only sparingly and in small doses, and in the initial report, that he had only used in 1993 and 1998 (with the exception of a couple of weeks during the 1989-90 offseason).

If those admissions are true, consider the numbers:

In 1996, McGwire hit 52 home runs, and his 1997 total (which was shared between the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals) only jumped up six to 58. In the memorable and now disputed 1998 season in which he battled with Chicago Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa, ultimately setting the new home run record, McGwire’s home run total increased by 12 to 70—not out of the question for a one-year difference, especially for a guy that crushed 49 in his 1987 rookie season.

For many, there is still that doubt. And with so many other athletes having admitted or been accused of using steroids, the numbers, though never recorded illegally, will be tainted in the court of public opinion. If only there had been appropriate testing prior to the 2002 season, like McGwire says he wished had happened, perhaps the usage would have been slowed, and we would all know for sure those same numbers could have been produced, and little doubt would be in place as to who should really hold the title of Major League Baseball Home Run King.

McGwire returns; allegations and criticism to follow

ST. LOUIS — So the season is over and changes were expected in the St. Louis Cardinals’ clubhouse, but things look oddly familiar.

Tony La Russa is still the manager, Dave Duncan is back for another season to continue his mission of turning around the careers of pitching has-beens. And Mark McGwire is wearing a Cardinals uniform.

No, it’s not 2001. But stories from nearly a decade ago are likely to resurface throughout this offseason and into the 2010 campaign.

Hal McRae is out as St. Louis’ hitting coach, and general manager John Mozeliak and principal owner, Bill DeWitt Jr. have brought the former Cardinals slugger back to coach up the hitting abilities of the current Redbirds.

McGwire has taken a lot of flak for going into hiding after the congressional hearings that accused him and others of abusing performance-enhancing drugs. McGwire denied all claims and infamously repeated the line, “I’m not here to talk about the past.”

Now that he is back in the spotlight, he might have little choice. McGwire is expected to speak soon via conference call and will then take questions from reporters.

Just curious — has a line been set on the over/under of questions that will refer to PED’s? Maybe answering questions over the phone will be a little easier to handle, but there is little reason to think it will keep reporters from asking the questions. And what will his response be?

By midseason, all of the hype around McGwire’s troubled history might have passed by. But there might be other problems. There’s no question that he made his mark in Major League Baseball by hitting home runs and at one time, setting the single-season record that has since been broken.

But remember that high-priced outfielder Mozeliak lured away from Oakland? Matt Holliday came into his own and eventually broke out of his slump that had A’s fans frustrated, and he did it right before he arrived in St. Louis.

And his solution didn’t come until he broke the bad habits taught to him during the previous offseason and went back to what had made him so successful.

Whoever told him to get rid of that high leg kick that produced so many home runs and base hits should never be allowed set foot in a major league clubhouse. He must have no clue what he is talking about. The problem is, McGwire is the one that messed up the St. Louis Savior’s swing.

And now he will be working with the entire Cardinals’ roster, ideally to improve their swings.

It’s true, McGwire worked with Skip Schumaker to improve his hitting performance and he did, in fact, have a decent season. Maybe he can work wonders and help the rest of the Cardinals improve as well.

True Cardinals fans will likely welcome the former home-run king back to Busch Stadium with open arms. Once he arrives, the PED allegations won’t matter and the only things that will be remembered are the good times and winning moments. The most overplayed video clip at the beginning of next season will probably be that of McGwire’s record-setting home run and the high-fives exchanged between he and Sammy Sosa after he rounded the bases.

Regardless of the media bashing that will likely take place, the red-headed Redbird will always have a place in the heart of St. Louisans.

Let’s just hope he stays away from Mr. Pujols.

MLB regular season roundup and comparison of predictions

It’s been awhile, but now might be as good a time as any for Midwestern Banter to return to action. And what better way than to continue talking baseball.

Is it safe to consider an end-of-regular season roundup for Major League Baseball? Perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that there will be a one-game playoff to help decide the AL Central.

Thanks to the NFL and the Minnesota Favres, we will have to wait an additional day. But as for preseason predictions, here is how Midwestern Banter fared in picking the 2009 MLB winners.

Preseason picks

	American League East New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays Baltimore Orioles	American League Central Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Cleveland Indians	American League West Los Angeles Angels Oakland Athletics Texas Rangers Seattle Mariners
	National League East Florida Marlins Philadelphia Phillies Atlanta Braves New York Mets Washington Nationals	National League Central Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals Milwaukee Brewers Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros Pittsburgh Pirates	National League West Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies San Diego Padres Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants

Final Standings*

	American League East New York Yankees Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Baltimore Orioles	American League Central Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Kansas City Royals	American League West Los Angeles Angels Texas Rangers Seattle Mariners Oakland Athletics
	National League East Philadelphia Phillies Florida Marlins Atlanta Braves New York Mets Washington Nationals	National League Central St. Louis Cardinals Chicago Cubs Milwaukee Brewers Houston Astros Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinnati Reds	National League West Los Angeles Dodgers Colorado Rockies San Francisco Giants San Diego Padres Arizona Diamondbacks

Midwestern Banter took quite a bit of flack from readers and comment posters about this year’s predictions. Though the Chicago Cubs presented their usual collapse, MB decided to give the Northsiders and General Manager Jim Hendry the benefit of the doubt. Like clockwork, the Cubs flopped without even a respectable end-of-season fight. The Cardinals were, however, the MB’s wild card pick.

A link to the original post had been initially included, but all comments have since been deleted by the respective posters – perhaps to save face. Here is one commenter’s post following the initial picks:

“To think the Cardinals are in competition to go anywhere after their 162nd game of the year is not only a stretch, it won’t happen. Wainwright and Carpenter are top of the line pitchers. That’s no secret. Pujols is their offense. Ludwick and Ankiel are are not quality hitters but they will go into an occasional 7-10 day hot streak. In all reality, there is nothing else positive to say about the Cardinals. I do hope the Cardinals exceed your expectations. And I also recommend you do not set yourself up for a lot of disappointment. If you want to see how things will actually turn out, you should read my picks for this season.”

– Jim Skinner

Though Mr. Skinner’s picks were nowhere to be found, it might be safe to assume he is a Cubs fan, or maybe enjoys watching the Pirates or Orioles. Postseason baseball is officially here, but for those disinterested, there’s always football season…or next year.

Sanchez, Jets are overhyped match made in media heaven

It’s rather curious that the No. 5 overall pick is already getting much more coverage than the draft’s top selection.

It would seem that a team which failed to win a single game last season and drafted the top-rated quarterback in the draft would be the best story.

The Detroit Lions have been looking for a quality pick – any decent pick at all – for who knows how long, and have virtually an entirely new front office. They got that in Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Conventional wisdom might suggest that Detroit’s story would be headlining all sports shows, national print publications and Web sites.

Instead, the national sports media is showing the same bias it has been accused of for years.

Instead of Detroit being in the spotlight, it is the New York Jets and former USC quarterback, Mark Sanchez. Now before comments and emails begin flooding this way, the previous statement likely tells the story: New York, USC.

But why is a quarterback who has barely started for one full season, didn’t graduate from college and really hasn’t proven nearly as much on the field as Stafford more deserving of air time?

If anything, a team with a history of losing that would make even the Chicago Cubs feel good about themselves should be getting pumped up.

The difference and reason is really quite simple. However unfair it might be, it’s simple.

New York and Southern California have such a common, sexy appeal to the coastal press corps that the fit couldn’t have been better if the quarterback was drafted by his hometown team.

Imagine if it were the Jets who had gone 0-16 last season and selected with the No. 1 overall pick, Stafford. The story would have been genuinely covered as the top story coming out of the draft.

It’s also somewhat difficult to believe that Sanchez would be getting the same amount of coverage if he had been picked by the Lions. Then the likely story line would be about how Detroit made another mistake, and Stafford and the Jets met at the corner of Destiny and Dynasty while waiting for the Super Bowl bus to arrive.

Where are the inspirational and motivational stories of Michael Oher (OT, Mississippi) or Aaron Curry (OLB, Wake Forest)? Those are the stories worth telling. Those are the stories that truly make sports worthwhile.