Those aren't my sentiments, but those of many of the McCovey Chronicles readers. It's a little weird to me. Some of the response to Barry and the juice:
There is one thing I have never understood about complaints with steroids in baseball. People seem to complain that certain people were using, and believe their records are tainted. But, if steroids are widespread, why do they matter? [from a competitive standpoint] Sure, the few guys [assuming the ~85% number] who weren't taking steroids may have been screwed, but isn't there a pretty much level playing field if nearly everybody is on the juice?
i can see the fallout already. More emo press conferences ... more "I'm not speaking to ..." and less playing time for Barry.
More after the jump...
I guess the lesson here is to not be the best. The Yankees get criticized for spending the most, but the Red Sox don't for spending nearly as much. Bonds gets demonized because he puts together the most amazing season ever, but Sosa generally gets a pass.
From my personal end, I don't really care what Bonds put into his body then, and I don't care what he puts into it now. Morals be damned... as long as he's playing for the San Francisco Giants I'll take every hit he gives the team with a big fucking smile on my face.
yawn
Its possible that the lack of flexibility hurts as much as the big muscles help. Anyhow, my point is that this is old news at best and doesn't really matter.
I equate the whole thing to the speeding laws in the great state of California. So what if the limit is posted as 65!! That means I can almost always go 80 on an open stretch, unless that stretch occurs somewhere near King City as I'm hurrying to get into the Giants game.
I won't pretend to know all the nuances of steroids. What I think I know is that steroids don't magically make you stronger, you still need to devote your time to build up your muscles, you still need to put the work in. It allows you to work out more often because your body needs less rest time before you exercise again. So basically, you still need to earn your bigger muscles by putting in the work.
Gatorade enhances athletic performance. Ban it.
This is what makes the hysterical response as Grant mentions above so frustrating. He didn't get signs relayed via code from the bleachers. He didn't pay off opposing pitchers to throw only change-ups. He worked incredibly hard...
To be fair, plenty of reasonable commentary as well. I just picked a few out that I thought were interesting.