Mixed Reviews For Big Mac’s Return
Andy Pettitte addressed his use of performance-enhancing drugs and moved on. So did Alex Rodriguez.
Both are enjoying splendid autumns. New Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire could follow that path toward redemption — if he chooses to.
Here is what some of our favorite pundits are writing about this:
Tracy Ringolsby, FoxSports.com: “Manny Ramirez has been caught violating baseball’s drug-testing policy, and Dodger fans never wavered in their hero worship. Barry Bonds remains an icon in San Francisco despite grand jury charges dealing with his association with performance enhancing drugs. So what’s the knock on McGwire? Better yet, what’s the knock on baseball for allowing McGwire to return?”
Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle: “McGwire has paid as high a price in shame as anyone in baseball. Debate his guilt all you wish, but nobody else has done eight years under the covers, even if it was self-imposed.”
Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports: “He’s done his best Chaplin impersonation, living in a black-and-white world where no words are spoken. And, in a way, that sets him up perfectly for what he’s about to encounter: The necessity to finally talk about the past, put it into context, explain why he used performance-enhancing drugs and ask the public for forgiveness. McGwire cannot opt for silence. It will turn into a never-ending storyline. Should he choose enlightenment – should he do what he should’ve on Capitol Hill four years ago, when even a dose of humility and accountability would have saved him from the resulting shame and turned him into a martyr instead of a pariah – he’ll be a hero. Someone who grew from his travails, learned to face them and helped others by doing so.”
Terence Moore, FanHouse: “This can’t end well. In fact, unless the city of St. Louis is just into the bizarre — you know, such as plans to replace that large arch downtown with a Starbucks or something, this will end sooner than later. Mark McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach? I’m still waiting for the punch line. In order for this to work, McGwire has to discuss what he hasn’t wanted to discuss forever, and you know what that is. Instead, he spit at a bunch of congressmen during a hearing on steroids during the spring of 2005 on Capitol Hill by telling them, ‘I’m not here to talk about the past.’”
Buster Olney, ESPN.com: “Pettitte and Rodriguez have provided a possible road map for McGwire to use as he returns to baseball as the Cardinals’ hitting coach. The slugger has never really addressed the issue of performance-enhancing drugs since leaving baseball in 2001 . . . McGwire has the option of talking about the past now. He has the opportunity to invite all reporters to a onetime news conference in which he’d address questions about his possible use of performance-enhancing drugs — one time, and one time only — and then move on. But the guess here is that he won’t do this. With Tony La Russa standing at his back, I’d bet that what he will do is say right from the get-go, ‘I’m here to be the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, and this is what I will discuss. I’m not here to talk about the past.’”
Ah, but everybody else likes talking about the past . . .
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering if McGwire will see his own shadow when he finally comes out of his hole this winter:
- Are you getting the idea that the Yankees are overshadowing the defending World Champions in this World Series?
- Is there anything wrong with getting a concession stand snack while your team is comfortably ahead?
- Are the Lakers certain that Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest will make a compatible pair this season?
- Has Daniel Snyder assembled the worst NFL team that big money can buy?
TEBOW WAS A TINY TIM
Not that long ago, some Rams fans were actually campaigning for the team to draft Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to save their team.
But as he showed against hapless Mississippi State – while completing just 12 of 22 passes for 127 yards and two interceptions returned for TDs – he is no sure bet to even play quarterback in the NFL, much less lead a team to greatness.
After that game, he declined to speak with reporters.
“He’s very frustrated,” Florida coach Urban Meyer told reporters. “He’s used to playing at a certain level.”
MIKE LEACH IS LOSING HIS MIND
Well, that’s a little strong. But Leach came unhinged after his heavily favored Texas Tech team took a 52-30 beating from Texas A&M. Earlier this year, the Red Raiders had crushed Kansas State, a team that routed the Aggies.
“We talked about not listening to our fat, little girlfriends. We said we’re not going to compare (Kansas State) scores,” Leach told reporters. “Well, ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee.
“I’d like to have a dollar for every time somebody said how many points we’re going to score. It’s all a bunch of crap. We got what we deserved . . . If it was easy, I’d be coaching the Swedish bikini team.”
No word on whether the Society of Fat, Little Girlfriends plans to stage a campus protest over Leach’s comments.
MEGAPHONE
“I think that it’d be fun to try to build my own team. We talk about it all the time. Sometimes we say, ‘What is that guy doing? Why did he draft that guy? Why did he make a trade for that guy?’ Some of these guys have done a bad job, plain and simple.”
NBA commentator Charles Barkley, campaigning for a GM post.
INBOX
From the electronic mail bin:
“I have to take issue with something you said in this article, or maybe just the wording you used . . . ‘is that a road that big mac wants to travel? Lets hope not, that would be bad for him’ . . . in my opinion that sounds very threatening and unnecessary. Also in my opinion I hope that he takes the stance of ‘I will answer any questions that have to do with being the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and that’s it’ because I don’t think he should have to answer any questions about his past playing days, that is history, and media people, especially the great media people of St. Louis as you guys refer to yourselves should move on. Now we all agree that he embarrassed himself and the Cardinals in front of Congress, and he has to live with that, but what business is that of any of the media members or me for that matter?”
Jeff Tarble
La Russa would agree with your stance, as do many fans and even some media types. But a lot of media types have a hard time turning the page. A lot of reporters believe the media failed to report on baseball’s steroid abuse when it was rampant, so they are making up for lost time. As you can see from the excerpts I referenced earlier in Tipsheet, some columnists can’t wait to get after Big Mac.
Elsewhere on STLToday.com
Stonewalling the media would only make life worse for McGwire.
Fans were surprisingly supportive of Big Mac’s hiring during Monday’s live chat. But they were still vexed about the Rams’ decline.
Already talked about this yesterday. Bad move with McGwire. It’s not supposed to be about Tony bringing his buddy on board. It’s supposed to be about helping develop young hitters and about helping older hitters figure out what they are doing wrong when they go into prolonged slumps. Forget the steroids issue. This is a lifetime .260 hitter who struck out 25% of his plate appearances and who did nothing but swing for the fences — not exactly credentials for becoming a hitting coach for a top-notch franchise like the Cardinals.
And do people really believe Mr. McSurly is going to come clean about the steroids and become Mr. Media Nice Guy? Why would McGwire even want to come here, having shown no loyalty to this team or to this town from the day he retired? Wrong move all the way around.
So that means that since Tony LaRussa didn’t have a noteworthy major league career as a player that he wouldn’t be a very good manager? Your logic is horrible about McGwire not being a good coach. He’s already been a hitting consultant for a few major leaguers, including Skip Schumaker and Matt Holliday. You can attack his character all you want, but let’s wait and see about what kind of coach he will be.
While I really like Billy D, it is very hard to watch DeSean Jackson run up and down the field and wonder why he is not doing that in a Rams uniform. That was a total blown pick, while Avery may turn out to be a good player, no way he is on the level of Jackson.
That is what the Rams need more than anything - SPEED.
The ownership of the Cardinals must be really dumb or really in love with TLR. Why would they ever agree to this? Even if #25 is the best hitting coach in MLB, what is the upside for the organization? There is no way they can keep him from addressing these issues. If he can’t show up to face this so called media, how is he going to do when the national media comes calling? This could be a year long pain that gives very little in return.
I doubt DeSean Jackson would be successful as a Ram. The Rams do not have an imaginative offense to take advantage of his skills or an offensive line that allows a quarterback to deliver the football.
The McGwire hiring is purely political. It makes Tony happy for the final year of his contract, which in turn will supposedly cause Dave Duncan to return.
Gordo, in some of the media reaction, there’s an element of self-fulfilling prophecy there. I’ve seen too many reactions along the lines of “McGwire must speak or else he’ll be harassed by people with questions” from people who fully intend to be one of the harassers. These ploys reinforce my already low view of journalists in general and sportswriters in particular. If there’s something to report, report it; otherwise, leave it alone. It’d be refreshing to see some sportswriter call out his brethren with a “put up or shut up” challenge when it comes to allegations and evidence.
A self-perspective of writers worried about how they did not investigate ball players during the steriod era. Refreshing. Now can we assemble a group of journalist to harp about the lack of integrity by the media during the Obama campaign? You know, why didn’t someone ask him about his outstanding record as a legislature with no bills submitted, or his lack of a birth certificate or college transcript. The easy questions.
uh…go Blues?
There has never been legal proof that McGwire used any illegal drug. There has only been the statement of a disgrundled former ball player that wasted away all his money and has resorted to anything and everything to get money including the writing of books that branded others through his word only and without any proof to back them up. Just maybe, just maybe McGwire is not guilty and if so, please tell me why he should confess to something he didn’t do. If he was guilty, tell me why should he confess to something yet not proven just because a group of sport reporters are playing God and want him to. I have no proof McGwire was involved with steriods and until I do, I look at him the same as all players of that era not proven users as innocent until their proven guilty.
For me there is no creditability with sports reporters who play God as the steriod era judge, jury and excutioner. These are the same guys, Bernie included, that had the access to clubhouses, dugouts, players and owners that we as fans did not. If Steriods were so heavily abused in that era and was so rampant through out baseball, you want to tell me that none of these guys seen or heard anything? They would have to have been deaf, dumb and dorky not to have had some inkling of it. They knew or at least had some suspicion it was taking place but apparently didn’t have the balls to report what they knew. Even now, these guys are still playing games with the subject. Writers like Passen has very few times found anything good to write about St. Louis and if you read his entire column, it sounds like McGwire is destroying baseball and the world as we know it unless he is prepared to say all the words Passen wants said. Also as pointed out, the LA writers can find no wrong with “Manny being Manny” despite testing proof of his usage but theyio condemn McGwire, where there is only speculation but no legal proof of usage. Sports writers and their moral issues are pretty much hypocritical as far as I’m concerned. Buster Olney might try writing about one of his own, Steve Phillips and his 22 year old sweetie. A sports reporter that has just shamed his family and hurt his young children. Think what you will of McGwire, but have you ever seen or heard anything of him being anything other than a good family man and a good citizen. McGwire’s character is just as good and very much better as some of these hypocrite sport writers.
The Blues Suck!
Ken:
The first intelligent post I’ve read on this website in a LONG time. All of these St. Louis sportswriters knew or at the very least suspected what was going on, but they are not interested in the truth, just newspaper sales. Heck, if they were competant journalists, would they be covering sports for the Post Dispatch?