I still hate the A's, but I do love blogging

When it comes to the Angels I almost always have something to say; however, when it comes to blogging about it, I don’t always make the time.  That doesn’t mean I don’t want to write about them – it’s just that sometimes life has a way of getting in the way of all the things you want to do every day.

I have to admit that writing a blog and keeping it up is hard work.  I was reminded of that when I read a piece recently by one of my favorite writers – Joe Posnanski who wroteabout the passing of a long-time Atlanta Braves Blogger named MacThomason.

In his piece, Posnanski wrote about the difference between all the blogs that are out there “…the real difference between them is the commitment. Few last. The idea of writing every day about your favorite baseball team fits right into the ‘sounded good when I started’ category.”

How true.

I knew that going in.  My goal when I started was to have some staying power in this game and not fade into oblivion.  It hasn’t been easy.  When I go a few days or even a few weeks without posting, I feel guilty.  I feel like I’m letting a few loyal readers down.  I even get nudges every now and then when I don’t post.

So – today’s post is for those that nudge and in a small way for Mac Thomason who had a great deal of staying power – even in the midst of fighting for his life. 

When I started this blog, I started out by telling the world how much I hated theOakland A’s.  That first post took place nearly three years ago and as I write this today – it’s the A’s and my disdain for them that inspired me to blog now.

There are lots of disappointing things about this season and there are plenty of things that make me want to rant and scream, but the one thing that bothers me more than anything else is the fact that the Oakland A’s are in a pennant race.

Are you kidding me?

I would be perfectly happy if they faded into the darkness of never-never land and became absolutely irrelevant till the end of time.  No such luck.

Lucky for me – my Angels just swept the A's (to ease some of my pain) and if everything goes the way I hope – they’ll do the same thing in four games next week.  Now – that; would make me smile.

I’m not going to go back over all the reasons I don’t like the A’s – you can find that in my original post from 2009. 

Here’s what I have to say today about the A’s.  They’ve had a good run, but quite frankly – it’s time for it to end.  Billy Beane is not a genius and there isn’t going to be a miracle in Oakland this year.  I know the hordes of Beane admirers are hoping for something more, but it’s going to end soon.  It has to.

Look – believing in Billy Beane is only going to give you false hope.  Save yourself the agony and realize that although he’s made brought a lot of attention to sabermetrics – he hasn’t found all the answers and I’m guessing he isn’t going to. 

Don’t look at me like that.  I’m telling you the truth.  That team isn’t going to win a championship in the near future, period.  Their story might make for a good movie, but it makes for a lousy season.  Just saying.

By the way – if there are so many stinkin’ Billy Beane fans, why don’t they show up at home games?  They might as well rename the ball park Tombstone – because it’s as a dead as it gets.

Enough about the A’s.  I really want to talk about my Angels; our Angels.

I know they’re not out of the woods yet – but they’re showing signs of life.  I like it.  In fact, I love it.  Now, I know some of  you would much rather ignore the recent play and focus on all the bad stuff that has taken place all season long and to that I say…Meh... 

Even when I’m at my lowest point in a season – the last thing I want to do is sit around and complain about my team with other fans.  Sure, I’ll write about it – but to actually engage in that kind of a discussion with other people is about as appealing as being stung by a hundred hornets.

There are few things I dislike more than complaining about my favorite baseball team with other fans.  Even when I’m totally dissatisfied, I can’t stomach hearing complaints from other fans for some reason.  Angels talk with Terry Smith after an Angels’ loss is nauseating.  That old saying about "misery loving company" is lost on me.

So here’s the deal; I know it sounds cliché, but let’s just take things one game at a time.  Next up is the Detroit Tigers who in many ways mirror the Angels.  Here’s a team with a big payroll and huge expectations… they signed Prince Fielder to a monster contract, have some really solid pitching with guys like Justin Verlander and yet – by most people’s standards – they’ve under-achieved. 

The Angels post-season hopes have a lot riding on every game they play from here on out and with the Tigers and the A’s coming to town, I’ll be disappointed if the stadium isn’t rocking.  Our team is playing meaningful games in September and that’s what it’s all about.  Who’s with me?

Three Guillen's walk into a blog and the author ends up praising Mike Scioscia

I have had a few days to digest the events surrounding the Angels/Tigers game that took place this past Sunday. I’ve listen to some commentary, read some comments (including a great piece by one of my favorites Joe Posnanski) and I’ve come to some conclusions and opinions of my own; some of which may surprise you.

I write this as a huge Jered Weaver fan and an even bigger Angels fan.

That being said, in my personal opinion Jered Weaver acted in a manner that was detrimental to the team. I’m not condemning Weaver and I’m not saying that I would have done anything different myself, but upon a great deal of reflection I think Weaver was absolutely wrong in the choices he made Sunday.

What Jered Weaver did was act in his own best interest. If you want to take it a step further, you could say he was simply selfish.

I’ve been saying for some time now that I believe the Angels margin for error in winning the west is very slim. Losing Weaver for even one start could prove to be the difference between making the play-offs and an early off season. You see Weaver was suspended by major league baseball for six games (he’s appealing) which could equate to one less start.

I understand why he acted as he did and I’m not angry with Weaver. I even empathize with him to a certain degree. I guess you could say I don’t expect baseball players to be perfect (which might tell you something about why I’m probably a little more tolerant of blown saves than most fans), but I would like to think that they put their team first on a regular basis.

As I watched the events unfold Sunday and Weaver threw over the head of Alex Avila something struck me. I knew for certain that this was Weaver taking matters into his own hands. If I know anything about the way Mike Scioscia manages his ball club, I know that he does not seek out retaliatory actions in the course of a game. It’s just not his style and more importantly, it’s something he simply doesn’t believe in.

It’s also something that probably makes a lot of fans crazy and I imagine it may even bother some of his players (this was one of the problems Jose Guillen had when he was an Angel).

I believe that Scioscia knows every win is precious and I’m guessing that he doesn’t like to give opposing teams any kind of advantage (like not being able to put in his best players). He wants to win as much as anyone – but he also wants to win playing baseball the “right” way. I believe he wants to attack games in a respectful fashion and stay clear of any “one-ups-man-ship” that is so prevalent in today’s sports and society as a whole.

Baseball is rich in unwritten rules, codes and the like; however, I believe Scioscia answers to a higher code. Scioscia is as traditional and “old school” as they get, but I think he differs in the area of “gamesmanship” from most. He doesn't let tradition or secret codes get in the way of winning.

When I listened to Scioscia talk to the media on Tuesday prior to the game, it was clear in my mind that Scioscia was focused on the big picture. It wasn’t about whether or not Weaver should have done what he did – it was about how his actions could impact the team and influence the course of the season.

He never came out and spoke out against Weaver (not his style), but when I read between the lines, I concluded that he wasn’t pleased (again, my interpretation) because he was focused on winning a division.

Mike Scioscia get’s it. Scioscia is the guy who is always going to take the high road and his primary focus is to get his team to think, work and act like a team. Getting 25 individuals to focus on being a team is a difficult task. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach knew how to do this better than anyone and his results speak for themselves.

Mike Scioscia swims upstream and against the tide every day. He’s not Ozzie Guillen (who openly talks about retaliatory actions) and holds himself to a higher standard than most of us. His view isn’t a “world view” per say and it reminds me that I too must rise above that kind of thinking as well. Perhaps his way is a direct reflection of his faith; perhaps it’s a reflection of his character. Perhaps it’s both because the two are intertwined. In any case, it makes me respect and admire him all the more.

You see, Scioscia’s take on baseball often helps put life in the proper perspective for me.

I have to believe that Scioscia is disappointed in Weaver because Weaver strayed from the agenda at hand and that’s to win the American League West. Remember John Lackey’s last game as an Angel (it was game 5 of the 2009 ALCS)? Remember how Lackey reacted when Scioscia came to remove him from the game against the Yankees? Lackey uttered something along the lines of “C’mon Sosh, this game is mine.”

I’ll never forget it.

Like just about every other Angel fan at or watching the game I wanted Lackey to finish that game. I was rooting for Lackey more than I was rooting for the team.

I was wrong; and dare I say - we were all wrong and Scioscia was right. It wasn’t “Lackey’s game” at all – that game and the decision to pull him was about what was best for the team. Regardless of the outcome (the Angels did win that one) – Scioscia’s decision was based on what he believed needed to be done to win the game and not necessarily appease Lackey.

Most fans think that particular moment sealed the Angels’ fait and there was no way Lackey would resign with the Angels. I have come to believe perhaps that’s only half true and that it was actually Lackey’s fait that was sealed because Scioscia saw someone who continually went against the agenda.

It’s the kind of stuff that sent Jose Guillen packing. Guillen hated the fact that whenever an opposing pitcher hit him his teammates (the pitching staff) didn’t retaliate. He didn’t understand. Guillen made things about him. Lackey made game of 5 of the 2009 ALCS about him and this past Sunday – Weaver did the same.

There’s a great book written by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life.” The first line in the book hits you like a ton of bricks. It simply reads “It’s not about you.” That idea goes against the grain of just about every “world view” and yet – success really does come when we understand it’s not about us.

Jered Weaver made the wrong choice on Sunday. I don’t hate him or condemn him for it. Like I said earlier, I probably would have done the same thing. I simply want to acknowledge that I believe he made the wrong decision.

It’s like driving. Ever been behind a “slow poke” when you were in a hurry? Ever tail gate that person or pass them and shoot them a glare or worse? Ever have the tables turned on you – where you were driving along minding your own business and someone came up on you like a bat out of hell? You didn’t like it much did you? And yet – we often do things to others that we don’t want done to us.

We know better; however, sometimes we do the wrong thing anyway. I have to believe Weaver knows better and I’m certain his manager does. I just hope that when all is said and done it doesn’t cost the Angels a pennant.

On a personal note – writing this post was an enjoyable process for me. I have to admit, when the events unfolded Sunday, I felt a certain amount of obligation and/or pressure to post something in a timely manner; however, I had a problem. Every time I tried to put my thoughts into words, something was wrong.

My original goal was to focus my wrath on Carlos Guillen and rant about the pathetic and “bush league” behavior he demonstrated. Now we both know that’s something I can really sink my teeth into and yet – it just wasn’t coming together like I wanted.

I kept putting the post aside and continued to think about what I saw and what I had heard and read in the aftermath. I knew there was something at the core of all of this that struck me and it just took a couple days for it to surface. I know enough about myself that my immediate reaction to things is often different than what comes to light with time and reflection.

Weaver was in the moment. If he had more time to reflect and consider the consequences he might have made a better decision. He didn’t have that luxury.

I know the natural reaction to what happened to Weaver via Carlos Guillen is to do exactly what Weaver did. I also acknowledge that would most likely be my own natural reaction as well. I also understand that it not ought to be because I am "not of this world” and in his own way Mike Scioscia reminds me of that “code” every now and then.

It’s funny - this post started out being about Jered Weaver and somehow ended up being a tribute of sorts to Mike Scioscia. You know what? I’m okay with that.

To say the Angels are blessed to have Mike Scioscia as their manager is an understatement on so many levels and I admire the way he stays true to his beliefs and doesn’t waiver in the course of what others think or more to the point - of what others want him to do. He takes his responsibility to actually manage the team seriously and he owns it. It’s a beautiful thing.

Like Weaver, I’m not perfect and that’s not to say Scioscia is. Even though Scioscia is a terrific manager, he doesn’t always make the right decisions on the field (no manager does). However, I am confident the reasoning behind the decisions he makes is based on a core set of values that represents exactly who he is. What we see is what we get and I appreciate that very much.

The amazing thing is that Scioscia is probably even a better person than he is a manager.

On a somewhat funny note... did I just reference three different Guillen's in this post (Carlos, Jose, Ozzie)? I guess I did.

Is it Friday yet?

When the news first came out that Jered Weaver wasn’t selected for the All-Star game I was pretty annoyed. I usually don’t get too worked up over the selections because I've come to accept that the way players are picked is flawed in many ways.

That doesn’t mean I want to change anything, mind you; I just recognize the All-Star voting for what it is; an imperfect process.

The way I see it – no matter whose doing the voting, good players are going to be left off the team. Some say we should leave it to the managers – but then you have morons like Joe Girardi picking his own players. How about the writers you say? Well, they can’t even get the Hall of Fame voting right as far as I’m concerned. Everybody has a bias or an agenda of some sort – so I just accept the All-Star game as it is. If the fans mess it up, so be it.

That being said, it doesn’t stop me from being somewhat upset when someone like Weaver is snubbed. Now, I wasn’t annoyed to the point of losing any sleep over Weaver’s slight and although I thought about blogging about it, I didn’t. As things turned out, my procrastination paid off because the great writer - Joe Posnanski summed things up perfectly in his own blog. Trying to top what he had to say would be pointless.

Posnanski wrote this about Weaver, “I just don’t get why people don’t know more about him and appreciate his talents. A good argument could be made that Jered Weaver should be STARTING this All-Star Game in front of the home fans. Instead he’s not even on the team at the moment. That’s just lunacy.”

Now, I’ve been saying for quite some time that I could see Weaver starting the mid-summer classic so I really enjoyed Posnanski’s piece. I invite you to read his whole piece about Weaver because he really sums things up pretty well. I probably would have done a lot more ranting. And he's right - more people should know about Jered. They can start by reading this blog more often. Just saying...

Basically, Posnanski freed me up from having to rant yet again. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy ranting as much as the next guy, but this time my work was done for me. Thanks Joe!

One last thing about the All-Star voting. I can't believe a franchise that draws more than 3 million fans each year can't mobilize themselves some how to vote more Angels into the game. I just don't get it.

Which brings me to an issue that's even bigger than Weaver’s snub and that's the Angels lack of offense and generally horrible play (Besides word is Weaver might still be added to the team).

The Angels have now lost four of their last five games. That’s just not getting it done. They’re limping towards the All-Star break and trail the Texas Rangers by 4.5 games as of this morning (and trail by six games in the loss column which is not good).

I mean look at the 25 man roster and you’ll see names like Paul McAnulty, Cory Aldridge and the like. Now, I happen to appreciate a guy like McAnulty because he’s a Dirtbag; but a roster that boasts power bats like Reggie Willits, Kevin Frandsen and others is not going to generate enough offense to over take Texas.

Add in a bullpen that’s capable of blowing up on any given night and you have a recipe for disaster. I hope Tony Reagins has something up his sleeve. Even though Mike Scioscia is a miracle worker, he needs some help moving forward.

And what’s with Scott Kazmir? My wife Cheryl is not a fan. She regrets the fact that she actually owns a Kazmir T-shirt and any time she hears his name she has a few choice words to say about him (nothing profane mind you). Now, I know a player is pretty awful when it comes to that. Cheryl would never actually boo Kazmir, but she’s not going to be baking him any cookies in the near future either.

I really bought into the whole off season training thing that was reported about in the spring and believed he would get his “swagger back.” Boy was I wrong (not the first time).

I am beginning to think about two words for Kazmir and those words are “head case.” I don’t understand how a guy who’s been in the majors as long as he has, thinks he can get by on two pitches? As Scioscia said in a July 1 piece in the LA Times, “Some of the issues that have plagued Scott," Scioscia said, "have been a little redundant."

Ya think?

While I’m rambling on here – did anyone notice that Rich Thompson got called up? Anyone notice that this happened shortly after I blogged about the need to add him to the 25 man roster? Probably not…

Of course, I probably shouldn’t even mention it myself since his one outing so far wasn’t the best. Oh well… It was basically in mop duty. Who wants to pitch in those situations?

Two more games in Chicago and then on to the hated A’s. Meanwhile the Rangers face off against the two worst teams in the AL – Cleveland and Baltimore. Oh joy…

Speaking of joy – the All-Star weekend is upon us! Finally! Cheryl and I will be up to our eye balls in all things All-Star related. And yes, I’ll be blogging about the whole experience. It all starts Friday with FanFest.

We had an amazing time in 2008 when the All-Star game was at old Yankee Stadium and I’m kind of thinking this can’t possibly live up to that event. Never-the-less, it’s duty that we welcome with open arms and it should be great fun.

Man, I love baseball.

Right on time

I mentioned last week that I started reading a great book called “The Soul of Baseball” by Joe Posnanski. Well, today I had just finished reading the very last word just as my train arrived at my destination. I thought to myself this must be symbolic. Here, I had just completed this amazing journey through history at the exact moment my train came to a stop. I realized that even though I was done; I had really only just begun.

As I walked out of the train station, my mind began to think about all the people I could tell about this book. Words probably can’t justify how beautiful this book is and yet, I feel the need to try. I feel compelled to try and convince you or anyone else that will read this or listen to me in person that they need to know about a man named Buck O’Neil and his journey through life.

I suppose I could quote various passages from the book, but my fear is that you will somehow feel like you’ve received the gist of it all and decide you don’t need to read it for yourself. That would be a tragedy. Trust me; you’ll only be cheating yourself if you don’t. So, I’m not going to quote it at all; instead, I implore you to get a copy for yourself and when you’re done reading it; pass it on to someone else.

Prior to reading this book; I knew very little, if anything about the Negro Leagues. I don’t know why I never bothered to learn more about it and I’m guessing that like most of you, I had this image of what I thought it must have been like back then. My image wasn’t a pretty picture. Well, I was wrong; in fact, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Posnanski (through the eyes of Buck O’Neil) paints a picture of the Negro Leagues that is fascinating, uplifting, inspiring, entertaining and hopeful. Amazing images danced through my mind as I read about Buck O’Neil’s journey through life. I could envision Baseball fields I have never visited in my mind. Men, whose faces I have never seen came to life on the pages in this book. Stories I had never heard before became something special for me to share with others. And one man’s life became an example of what it means to be truly blessed.

Buck O’Neil has given me many more reasons to not only love baseball more; he’s also shown me how to appreciate life itself. It’s a precious gift for sure.

O’Neil often said he was “right on time” when it came to where he was at any point in his life. He didn’t wish to be born at a different time and had no desire to change anything about his life.

I believe the end of my train ride today combined with my reading the final word in the book at the same time some how relates.

Whenever I get off the train and head up the escalator and out into the city; I’m often greeted with the stench of urine in the air. I always feel like my senses are being assaulted. Things like this tend to taint my view of downtown L.A. and I can’t get out fast enough.

However, today was different. As I walked to my office, I searched the faces of the people walking or standing about. I wondered about their stories and believe it or not, I wondered how the life lessons in a book like the Soul of Baseball might impact their lives.

O’Neil was a man who had every reason to be angry or bitter or even sad and yet instead; he was loving, gracious, humble, and kind.

Posnanski’s life was changed by his relationship with O’Neil. No doubt O’Neil impacted many lives in positive ways over the course of his lifetime and his wisdom and strength to do that was born out of his love for baseball.

You have to love a game that can do that.

Eight days until pitchers and catchers report.

Baseball is good like that

I have a confession to make. When I started blogging I hadn’t really read any other blogs. I kind of just jumped in; however, it wasn’t long after I started that I decided I should go out and see what else was going on in the blogosphere.

My searches eventually lead me to Joe Posnanski’s Curiously Long Posts blog. Posnanski is an accomplished columnist and author and when he’s not writing his blog, he’s writing for Sports Illustrated.

I love reading his blog. He doesn’t even have to be writing about baseball for me to find it interesting.

This week; I read something Posnanski wrote that struck a cord with me. He wrote, “I have tried hard to write about the fun side of sports, the optimistic side of sports, the bright side of the street.” The context (in this case), isn’t important; what is important (at least to me) is that Posnanski focuses on the part of sports that we should all focus on; the fun and the optimistic side of it all.

Life is hard; a lesson we learn all too often. Thank God we have things like baseball or music or books or whatever one chooses to help take our minds off the things that make life difficult at times.

There have been times when writing this blog has been a struggle. There are times when I have a hard time coming up with creative, fun content. That usually leads me to rehashing what everyone else is already doing and that’s not what I intended to do here.

I need to make sure I keep having fun with this blog and keeping it fresh for those who take the time to read it. Fortunately for me, I don’t think that will be too difficult, as I’ve managed to have a good time with this blog most of the time already. Posnanski’s post just served as a friendly reminder.

I also need to focus on the positive things about baseball and I should try to stay on the optimistic side of things. That means letting go of the bitterness of seeing John Lackey sign with the Red Sox (something I write about more for effect than anything else) and not getting too worked up over projections that cast the Angels as an under-dog. I’ll still have fun with those things, but I’ll try to use less venom. Besides everyone loves an under-dog, right?

And… just so we’re clear; that doesn’t mean I’ll go any easier on the A’s. I get too much pleasure out of bashing them.

One more tid-bit about Posnanski. One of my co-workers (also named Joe), who shares a fondness for Posnanski let me borrow a book Posnanski wrote called “The Soul of Baseball – a road trip through Buck O’Neil’s America.” I just started reading it, but it’s a magnificent lesson on making lemons out of lemonade. I highly recommend the book. You will find it inspiring, funny, and I guarantee it will put a smile on your face. I think I will be a better baseball fan for reading it.

Buck O’Neil has provided me with a great reminder that a lot of good comes out of being enthusiastic and positive.

Take my in-laws for instance. My father-in-law Charles likes baseball. I don’t know if he loves it the way Cheryl and I do, but I know he likes it enough to watch it whenever it’s on TV over anything else.

Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to the stadium this past season with Cheryl and me; mostly because navigating the stairs became a bit of a challenge, but he definitely pulls for the Angels all the time.

Maybe he likes the Angels because his daughter is such a big fan. Charles grew up close to Boston, but I think he loves his daughter more than any team he grew up watching and pulls for the Angels because he wants his daughter to be happy.

My dad was like that. He always took an interest in my favorite teams and the players that I followed.

My mother-in-law, Millie has also become a big time Angels fan and loves going to a few games every year and when she’s not at the stadium with us; she’s usually listening to the games on the radio (that’s dedication!). I think Cheryl’s and possibly my own enthusiasm for the Angels has rubbed off on her. Now, if we were pessimistic and negative all the time, she probably never would have taken an interest.

I believe our stories about spring training, our friends in Section 514, our adventures in autograph collecting, and the games themselves have combined to help fuel Cheryl’s mom and dad’s interest. I’m guessing they had to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.

Baseball is one of the best things all four of us share together; and Angel baseball gives us something specific to rally around. The game is great like that. In fact, it’s beautiful that way.

We also have some dear friends named Mickey and Karen who are also Angel fans. I may be mistaken, but I kind of think our enthusiasm has rubbed off on them too; at least to the point where they follow the team more than they used to. Karen even tapes games that she goes to in person; just so she can go back and see things she might have missed.

I love hearing things like that and I love how baseball brings people together.

The 2010 season can’t get here soon enough. It will be great to have a season to follow with family and friends once again. Baseball may be just a game; but it’s also something special we can share with one another.

Often times it’s a game that’s passed down from one generation to another. In our case, it’s sort of being passed up a generation (to Cheryl’s parents) and that’s more than cool in my book. It’s never too late to become a baseball fan and there’s always room for more to join in the fun.

Drawing my own conclusions on Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire’s return to baseball has me conflicted. On one hand I was kind of ignoring all the opinions and comments surrounding him. On the other hand, I feel like I need to form my own opinion and take a stand on not only McGwire, but the whole steroid issue.

You see whenever someone brings up McGwire or steroids, I never really know what to say. I have lots of different views on multiple levels regarding the whole subject and at the same time; I find the whole conversation to be somewhat tiresome.

Perhaps you are like me and are wrestling with the same issues. Well, I think it’s time (at least for me) to sort through all the thoughts running through my head and come up with a concrete opinion. Hopefully it won’t be nearly as painful as I’ve made it out to be in my head.

So here I go…

First of all when the word got about all the steroid use in major league baseball, I was very disappointed (to say the least). I always hate it when any sport makes more headlines off the playing field than on it. Never-the-less, I refused to let steroids steal my enjoyment of the game of baseball. I still continue to watch and immerse myself in America’s favorite pastime.

Only problem was I kept hearing this annoying chatter going on in the background about steroids that just wouldn’t go away. I’d think about it from time to time; get a headache and then go back to ignoring it. Well, I’m not going to do that any more.

I’m betting/hoping that some of you (who share my “pain”) can relate to the process I'm about to go through.

I think doing steroids is wrong on many levels. Most of all, it’s illegal and unhealthy. I believe those who have used steroids need to be held accountable for their actions and they should have consequences attached to what they’ve done. The problem is that’s easier said than done.

Fact is we don’t know who all those people are and many of us are uncomfortable with assigning judgment to players who have not been proven to have actually used it. Also, every time we start trying to form an opinion on one player, all the other players suspected of using steroids get lumped into the conversation, along with a whole host of “what if’s.” The discussion becomes confusing and at times overwhelming.

The problem even goes beyond that (okay, maybe this is more painful than I thought).

Judging people isn’t something a part of our society really enjoys doing much these days. For some, the lines seem to have blurred to some degree about what’s right and what’s wrong and the whole political correctness thing has gotten out of control. “Tolerance” is the new favorite word and it’s become “uncool” to pass judgment.

Well, that makes me crazy. For the most part, I don’t think the lines are really all that blurry, if you take the time to analyze things. Face it; darkness hates the light. Anytime you try to shed the light on the truth; those who want to cover it up try to turn out the lights.

Now I know this whole conversation could get derailed right here and we could get into this long debate about what’s right and what’s wrong and what standard is being used to make these decisions.

Forget that. I’m not here to do that. I’m going to assume we all have some basic understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong.

Before I move on, let’s get something straight. I know that no one is perfect (myself included). We all make mistakes and sometimes we use poor judgment in making decisions. That doesn’t mean we can’t recognize right from wrong or even call someone on it when they’re doing something wrong. Make sense?

I know this is yet another place where a lot of people get hung up. They think that since they’ve screwed up a time or two, they themselves have no right to tell others when they’ve screwed up. I say, get over it.

You know the old saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”? Let’s use that standard and it will make it easier for us to move forward. It’s okay to be against something we were guilty of at one time, as long as we recognize it was wrong then and it’s still wrong now. Wrong is still wrong.

So where does that leave us with Mark McGwire?

McGwire has admitted using steroids. He’s also apologized for it. Now as Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated points out – a lot of people have a problem with McGwire’s apology.

Posnanski wrote, “I didn't agree with or even follow everything McGwire said, but I never thought that was the point. I never thought apologizing was an Olympic sport with stoned-faced people judging how straight his toes were pointed and if he made too big a splash. McGwire is not a public speaker. He's not a philosopher. He's not a politician. He is not even an especially open person. He is a guy who dedicated his life to hitting baseballs hard. Expecting him to become Hamlet doesn't seem fair.”

Posnanski feels like it’s time to forgive McGwire and I agree with him.

That doesn’t mean I think he should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. For me forgiving McGwire means he should be allowed to pursue his work with the Cardinals and move on with his life. I don’t need to know all the details of his steroid use and I’m not going to spend time crucifying him for it either. He admitted it was wrong. No need for me to hammer home the point. I’m also not going to critique his apology and quite frankly; like Posnanski, find that exercise ridiculous.

Now that being said, I’m not saying McGwire shouldn’t be allowed into the HOF either.

What?

Hear me out. There are so many different sets of criteria being used by those who vote on the HOF that the whole thing has become somewhat of a joke (at times). I mean one could go absolutely insane reading and listening to why a writer voted for or didn’t vote for a player. The whole process is very subjective.

So here’s my thing. If someone thinks that McGwire should be left out of the HOF because he used steroids, I’m fine with that. If someone believes that his numbers were HOF worthy in an era when the perception is that everyone was doing steroids, I’m fine with that too. I don’t necessarily agree, but I’m fine with people coming to that conclusion.

Remember, everyone has their own criteria for HOF consideration anyway. The process is already flawed; steroids just make it even more complicated and since everyone has their own process anyway; what does it matter?

To make matters more confusing, we also have suspicions about a lot of players, who haven’t been proven to use steroids and/or also haven’t admitted using them either. There is also the big “worry” that someone could get into the HOF that just didn’t get caught.

Well, I say you have to judge each player on a case by case basis. Think about this; doing so is actually no different than what HOF voters are doing now.

HOF voting is what it is. Some people think Bert Blyleven belongs in the HOF (me too) and some don’t. Those people are using different criteria (right or wrong) to make those decisions. Same thing applies to each individual suspected of using steroids. The whole process lacks consistency to begin with. Why should judging suspected steroid users be any different?

I know there’s this underlying need to have a blanket policy on all of this, but I don’t think that’s possible. It’s icky. It’s complicated. It’s a lof of things, but it’s also worth continued discussion.

Okay, so maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t given my actual opinion on McGwire just yet. And maybe you’d like to push me a little and ask me if I would vote for McGwire (assuming I had a vote).

Well, I would vote no to the HOF. Why? It goes back to my belief that there has to be consequences for his actions. He received plenty of accolades for what he did at the time, but now it’s time to be held accountable. I believe there has to be a downside for what he did and the consequence should be no HOF induction.

This is where someone throws in the argument that some and possibly many or most of the pitchers he was facing were also using steroids. You’ve heard that argument… the “everyone else was doing it” argument. To that, I go back to that old saying that “two wrongs, don’t make a right.” No blurred lines for me on this issue.

If this ultimately means there isn’t a lot of representation in the HOF for the “steroid era;” so be it.

Next, one might ask what the consequences are for all the other players who used steroids that never put up HOF numbers. Quite frankly, I don’t know (health issues aside) and I’m not going to think about it much. I don’t have time to worry about all that. Cop out? Not really. I’d have to address each player on a case by case basis and that’s not an exercise I’m planning on engaging in on this post.

So, back to McGwire. In my opinion, he shouldn’t get into the HOF; however, I’m fine with him pursuing a life in baseball. For better or worse, he apologized for his actions and like I said earlier, I’m not going to critique his apology. He used steroids. He admitted it. He apologized for it. As for the timing and motives; only McGwire and God know the answers. McGwire didn’t have to say anything and I’m inclined to give him some credit for coming forward on his own. Time to move on.

As for all the others; it really does come down to making a judgment on a case by case basis. Let’s just say that if a player is known to have used steroids, I’d rather they didn’t get in the HOF (assuming their numbers qualify them). If they’re suspected of using steroids; I’d have to weigh the evidence for or against them. I know that being put on trial in the court of public opinion is hardly ideal, but the whole HOF process is a trial of sorts anyway.

Am I leaving myself open to criticism and possible mistakes? Yes, but you also have to remember, I’m not actually voting (unless you count my future contributions to the Baseball Bloggers Alliance).

So there you have it. I think using steroids is wrong, regardless of the era and culture of that time. I think those who use it need to face the consequences for their actions. If they are compelled to apologize, I will respect that and not try to give too much thought to their motives for doing so; especially if they come forward on their own accord, as opposed to being caught first (an important distinction in my mind).

It won’t change my opinion on whether or not they’re HOF worthy, but it will allow me to move forward.