Comments on: Blogger accuses Ibañez of taking steriods; gets called out on it

By: Max

Max — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:40:58 +0000

Seriously, Mark? Are you kidding me? Ken Rosenthal ripped him to shreds? If anything, he ripped Rosenthal to shreds! Rosenthal didn’t even understand what Jerod was saying! He looked like a little kid having a temper tantrum! The blogger never even said that he thought Raul is using steroids! Quite the opposite, actually; he does not think that Raul takes steroids! The entire point of his article was that, in this day and age, thanks to douchebags like Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa, there’s no way of knowing who’s is on steroids and who isn’t, with MLB’s awful testing system, and that you kind of have to be at least a little suspicious when someone is on a tear. He set out to disprove that Raul is doing them, and concluded that for someone hitting about 25 HR in 5 seasons in Seattle, an ultimate pitcher’s park, it’s not impossible for him to hit 35-40 in Philly, an ultimate hitter’s park!

By: Fink

Fink — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:37:55 +0000

Gonzo needs to be sent back to the Muppet Show for his blatant attempt at tabloid journalism. Who cares what a po-dunk blogger from a website that no one has ever heard of thinks? It only became news because that muck-raking loser Gonzo made it news. He knew exactly what he was doing. If a reputable source, or at least a well-known source (i.e. a source that we have actually heard of before) had made the accusation, then it was news worthy, but to give credence to some unknown blogger is completely ridiculous. What’s next? Digging up some made up trade rumor posted by some kid on a message board and reporting it as an actual rumor? I think that Gonzo works for the wrong Inquirer. He should be working for the one that starts with an E. Fucking clown!

By: Merrill

Merrill — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:28:39 +0000

What a freakin’ douche. Here is some additional research for that blogger who was too LAZY to be responsible. Raul is a martial artist in his spare time, studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While this has nothing to do with baseball, it speaks to his overall degree of fitness, and the fact that he is involved in another sport that focuses on coordination and natural strength. But maybe JRod doesn’t think that coordination has anything to do with hitting a baseball. Moron.

By: mark

mark — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:22:28 +0000

Ken Rosethal just ripped this guy to shreds on ESPN for irresponsibility.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:04:10 +0000

Maybe Raul’s body fluids is exactly what the blogger wants.. who knows, he may have some odd collection…

By: Dave Brown

Dave Brown — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:34:44 +0000

There ain’t nothin’ cheap about getting cheap laughs, Meech! You’re a tremendous slouch. And tell that asshole to stay away from your home run ball next time!

By: Reverend Paul Revere

Reverend Paul Revere — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:06:44 +0000

Raul is carrying my fantasy team

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:32:11 +0000

Fucking kudos to you Meech for not linking that clown. He just wants attention.

By: Dash Treyhorn

Dash Treyhorn — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:28:12 +0000

So this guy writes a piece because his fantasy buddy thinks that Raul is on the juice, and HE gets to go on television? Come on!

While I don’t know that I would go as far as to say that JRod accused Ibanez (”heavily suggested that it was certainly a possibility that he may or may not have engaged in a certain something” might be a better way of putting it), I do understand where he is coming from as a “journalist”. Bud Selig made his bed, and now the rest of the MLB has to sleep in it, which means everyone is now under suspicion. It’s unfortunate, especially for the guys like Ibanez, who have never given anyone a reason to doubt them.

Having said that, JRod needs to provide more evidence than “the numbers” if he wants to suggest that Ibanez, or anyone else, might be using PED’s. Number don’t prove anything, especially numbers on June 10 (which he also eludes to) And to be fair, he did do a fair amount of research into opposing pitchers, stadium size, etc so I can’t crucify the guy too much.

My biggest beef with this is how Gonzo handled it. In his article, he said “Then JRod dismissed all the evidence of opportunism…”, when in fact, JRod did give credence to the fact that he is playing for the reigning champs and in a lineup that is conducive to hitting. Or that maybe Raul is just on a torrid streak, or that his off-season training regimen has left him “…is in the best shape he’s ever been in.” JRod did acknowledge that there could be other factors besides PEDs – but Gonzo chose to ignore that, it seems.

Was JRod in the wrong? I don’t think he was. Although he had nothing besides Raul’s statistics to back up his theory, it wasn’t a one-sided attack. It appeared that he actually tried to dispel the use of PEDs through some research. But then again, I think he is better off not doing an article like this, especially when there is no proof beyond what he has done on the field. That is what reeks of sensationalism and lacks of credibility. It’s like when the Manny story broke – every third post on the message boards were “It’s only a matter of time before Pujols is outed…” or “Johan better be prepare a statement…” These kind of statements and articles, no matter how much evidence you have to refute them, are only doing more harm than good.

Maybe this is the journalist in me getting all worked up because two people (JRod and Gonzo) dropped the ball on the issue, or maybe it’s because I’m a homer.

But then again, maybe I’m just jealous because I don’t get to be on ESPN.

By: GBGB

GBGB — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:13:12 +0000

JRod is going to be on Outside the Lines? Are you kidding me? Some random person sets up a website and writes an unsubstantiated opinion that Ibanez might be doing steroids. I have no problem with someone expressing his ideas, but his website is exactly where that type of unsubstantiated opinion from an unknown author should have stayed. I thought Gonzo did a disservice by giving JRod free advertising in the Inquirer. Now ESPN is putting him on? Hey, I believe Ibanez might be using a corked bat. Can I be on ESPN tomorrow?