Statement from Bud Selig
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- February
- 12
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This from the commissioner:
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am saddened by the revelations concerning Alex Rodriguez’s use of performance-enhancing substances. While Alex deserves credit for publicly confronting the issue, there is no valid excuse for using such substances and those who use them have shamed the game.
“What Alex did was wrong and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and reputation. His actions are also a reminder to everyone in baseball — under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished. Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50 games. Eradicating performance-enhancing substances from the game of baseball has been my first priority over the past decade and it is important to remember that these recent revelations relate to pre-program activity.”
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In other words, he won’t be getting suspended.
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on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 4:14 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Talk about a guy who shamed the game. Heck of a job on your watch, Bud.
Fire Bud
Bud needs to go.
sounds hypocritical and a little ridiculous
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am saddened by the revelations concerning Alex Rodriguez’s use of performance-enhancing substances.”
On behalf of baseball fans everywhere, I am saddened that you are still the commissioner of MLB. Please resign and give back the 18mil that you have stolen.
Selig’s such a hypocrite.
I posted this on the last thread – but here’s a really interesting contrary view on ARod:
http://www.latimes.com/news/op.....4119.story
Blameless Bud:
http://ac4.yt-thm-a01.yimg.com.....735059520a
Pete,
You might as well put this back on the other thread. We’ve already raked Selig over the coals. He hasn’t done much to change my opinion.
Borrow David Stern for a year to clean up Selig’s mess. He’s not afraid to make tough, unpopular decisions.
Selig thinks he’s fooling people. He’s not. He’s incompetent, unaccountable, and has no credibility.
“Eradicating performance-enhancing substances from the game of baseball has been my first priority over the past decade” Decade?? Really?
Give me a break Bud. Talk to the hand
So does the past decade start from 99 or 98? The difference is somewhat critical to his diligence
If you are going to discipline or suspend A-Rod, commissioner, you must release the names of the other 103 players on that list and give them the same penalty.
That was a real self-serving statement by BS. Remind us about how Alex damaged his own reputation without damaging the game’s reputation- which the ‘roids scandal has. It wasn’t your testing that outed Alex, it was enterprising journalism. While BS was counting his money from McGwire and Bonds’ records, the league had no testing and no penalties.
A guy on WFAN had the best response. MLB and the union have shamed the game, A-Rod has done wrong and let people down.
Cashman(on WFAN with Francesa) sounds like he needs a stiff drink.
I really hope Selig is not gonna suspend A-Rod for doing steroids BEFORE the rules were in place. I would seriously start a riot and I’m sure the players association would go to war big time over this.
“Cashman(on WFAN with Francesa) sounds like he needs a stiff drink.”
Either a drink or a nap. He sounds tired. I’m sure these last few days have been extremely draining. I can only imagine what kind of shape Alex is going to be in. I think that we should prepare ourselves for him getting off to a very slow start.
“Drip, drip, drip” from Cashman.
Ironic. Hilarious.
Considering that Canseco was being welcomed by chants of “Steroids” in Fenway in the late ’80s and the ’90s looked like a Mr. Olympia contest, MLB has done a hell of a job on PEDs. It’s hard to appear credible when you have no credibility.
m,
please explain?
Wait a minute – Joe Torre wrote a book!!!
“I really hope Selig is not gonna suspend A-Rod for doing steroids BEFORE the rules were in place. ”
If you read the last sentence in his statement posted above, he’s pretty much conceding that he’s not going to punish him.
Either a drink or a nap. He sounds tired. I’m sure these last few days have been extremely draining. I can only imagine what kind of shape Alex is going to be in. I think that we should prepare ourselves for him getting off to a very slow start.
=======================================
Agreed
Clare – it’s from the interview on WFAN – about how the names keep coming out and he’d prefer they all come out so we can all move on
There was monkey testosterone back in 1889?
“Wait a minute – Joe Torre wrote a book!!!”
Can we go back to talking about Torre’s book? I’d prefer it over this Alex stuff.
Did somebody wake Selig up ? Nope. He’s still clueless.
I had a great relationship with Joe Torre.
oops, that’s a quote from Cash
Rishi February 12th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Wait a minute – Joe Torre wrote a book!!!
=============================
lol
Cashman talking about the book now. Does not plan on reading the book.
Someone buy this man a bottle of whiskey..or some coffee.
Cash: I thought Joe and I HAD a great relationship.
SO much said in that 1 little word.
Punishing A-Rod for testing positive in the 2003 test would be a direct violation of the CBA. Punishing A-Rod for admitting to steroid use from 2001-2003 would close the door on any future admissions.
Thanks Rishi. Wonder if he’s worried about other names on the list.
I’ve heard conflicting reports about whether or not the teams were told about specific players’ 03 tests. I would think not, expecially since it appears that ARod wasn’t even sure if he had tested positive.
Sounds like Cash won’t be sending Joe Torre a Christmas card this year. LOL!
Joba wannabe sentenced:
http://web.yesnetwork.com/news.....amp;vkey=1
to answer a question about how his relationship is with Joe Torre.
Cash says he can sleep at night knowing he had Torre’s back every day he was here.
Yawn.
If he wants to solve the problem, the first step is to realize he’s one of the problems.
Resign, effective tomorrow, and that would be the most useful thing he could do to begin to tackle this issue.
He’s a failure and as big a fraud as the players he continues to throw under the bus.
If not, his statements and everything else is just noise.
He can’t do anything to Arod for a 2003 positive test.
Sometimes, its better to say nothing and actually look like you are engaged, rather than talk (even through a statement) and folks can see just how out of touch you are.
Bud Selig – I always thought you got a bad wrap, but this is just absurd.
This is like a dad yelling at a little kid for hitting a classmate while he beats his wife at home.
Maybe not the greatest analogy but maybe Bud’s not the greatest commissioner.
pat,
To be fair, he put emphasis on the word ‘great’. The ‘had’ was subtle, but I think all the smart people caught it.
pat,
ARod said something similar – about how he thought he had a good relationship with Joe in 07, he thought they were pretty close.
Why is everyone so upset about this? This is great!
I’d like to personally thank Bud Selig for infuriating Yankees fans and baseball fans alike while simultaneously causing them to aim both barrels of the moral shotgun straight at the commissioner’s office where it belongs. I think I’m more than happy to deal with Selig’s ludicrous statement if it means that A-Rod can get a break from Yankees fans. He could use all the support he could get.
All we need is a report that Joe Torre took steroids and the entire thing can come full circle1 lol
relationships changed when the book deal came along? looking for material??
good interview and response to The Book
I just don’t understand how he can say that this subject has been his “first priority over the last decade.”
However, two things can be said about that:
(1) – I’m pretty sure he didn’t start being Commissioner ten years ago.
(2) – I’m pretty sure steroids weren’t rampant in the sport just ten years ago.
He kind of gave fans an opening to really lay some responsibility on him. (As if we didn’t already.)
m
I put the highlight but the message was clear.
Clare
February 12th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Selig’s such a hypocrite.
I posted this on the last thread – but here’s a really interesting contrary view on ARod:
http://www.latimes.com/news/op.....4119.story
————————————————————
“Performance Enhancing Drugs” (amphetamines) have been used in baseball (and in all sports) in one degree or another since soldier/ball players came back from WWI. US soldiers got them from German prisoners, and brought them home. They helped in the long firefights when people were on the go for three or four days. Ballplayers used them to get going. They became even more prevelant in WWII with German shock troops and the SS.
US soldiers also used them. Pilots really gobbled them for the 13 hour flights. Ralph Kiner (HOFer) was a pilot of a PBY (large sea plane) and said when he came back in ‘46 and especially in ‘47, they were all over the locker rooms. Of course, he didn’t admit to it. I used them for a good portion of 36 years to recover from 7-14 day patrols. Ball players used them mostly to recover from hangovers but also to stave off or recover from fatigue during the season.
I’m calling for every DEAD Hall of Famer to be exhumed and tested for MONKEY TESTOSTERONE.
Then let’s see all the current ballot wielders get all high and mighty.
SJ- Don’t you know that is what is in his green tea? That is what keeps him awake on the bench during games.
I’m wondering if it would help Alex if he took out a full page ad in all of the NY metro papers apologizing for his steroid use and thanking the fans for their support.
Laura – my sister (a huge A-Rod supporter since people were booing him in 2006) said the same thing last night
Good response Cashman to the book stuff.
Laura,
There’s no need for Alex to do something that Bud Selig’s already done for him with this statement. But on the flip side, it could get some more fan support.
“Laura – my sister (a huge A-Rod supporter since people were booing him in 2006) said the same thing last night”
If I were him, I’d do it. He’s gotta go the extra mile here. There are people who are going to boo him regardless, but there could be some people that are on the fence that he could sway over to his side.
That LA Times article makes me laugh. This has been my opinion all along. People are full of crap. The media is really pushing this story line that this group of players started this mess in baseball. Even the so called historians don’t put it in perspective.
At this point, Alex needs to shut up and play.
Actions, not words, will get him through this.
One action should be to take that 30 million dollar “HR clause” in his contract and agree to donate the money to charity.
That would be an action that supercedes any words, or other gestures, he can make right now.
Hopefully, his gang of 184 “crisis managers” realize that simple fact.
“There’s no need for Alex to do something that Bud Selig’s already done for him with this statement. But on the flip side, it could get some more fan support.”
I’m talking about doing a statement addressed specifically to Yankee fans. I could care less what the rest of the world thinks. I want him to be able to play in his own ballpark w/o being unmercifully booed.
I agree with you SJ. Selig has been a total joke from day one. From having an all star game end in a tie to looking the other way on the steroid problem that was sweeping through players. Is there anyone that can $HIT can him or does he have to step down to ever lose his position?
Spring training cant come soon enough.
Did anyone else have a dream last night of PETER on the treadmill with roller skates on?
SJ44
February 12th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
At this point, Alex needs to shut up and play.
Actions, not words, will get him through this.
One action should be to take that 30 million dollar “HR clause” in his contract and agree to donate the money to charity.
That would be an action that supercedes any words, or other gestures, he can make right now.
Hopefully, his gang of 184 “crisis managers” realize that simple fact.
————————————————————
He may as well. Then the next big issue was that the money he donated was used as a tax deduction.
Come on SJ, there’s no way A-rod is giving away $30 million, nor should he. I’m sure he’ll donate some of his dough to an anti-drugs charity or something like that but 30 million? I don’t think so.
“At this point, Alex needs to shut up and play.”
I would agree except that I think he’s going to have a hard time playing when everyone is booing him. He was booed before at home, but this time, I think it will be worse. If he could get some of those people on his side before the season starts, that might help him get off to a decent start.
“Laura – my sister (a huge A-Rod supporter since people were booing him in 2006) said the same thing last night”
Actions not words are necessary. Words without actions would make him look what people accuse him of- being a phony.
Is the 30 mil part of the 300 mil or an extra bonus?
SJ44,
I disagree about the charity thing. I don’t think he should make any promises regarding future money – hey he might even decide to retire once he gets his ring. I can’t see him doing it before a championship, but if people keep vilifying him for doing the same things as most of his peers, and trying to expose what he does in the bedroom, I could see him saying the hell with it.
But I completely agree that it all depends on how he plays. I’m hoping he plays well and has a great time in the WBC – I think that will lead to a great year.
I know he had mechanical problems, but his whole media problem in 06 started with the WBC decision, and I think that contributed to his down year. However, I think he’s learned a lot since then, and hopefully it won’t happen again.
Bud has disgraced the game of baseball as well as the human race.
new post…
and no one said he couldn’t apologize to the fans and still make donations / have a monster year (though I contend he has been pretty good as long as he has been here and it is only unrealistic expectations that prevent people from seeing that)
He gets booed anyway.
Whether he tested positive or not, if he doesn’t drive in a run in a big game, fans in NY boo him.
That’s not going to change.
Patrick,
He won’t live long enough to spend that 30 million.
His net worth is currently close to 400 million dollars.
If you add another 300 million to the total, its 700 million in 9 years, without any of his current investments increasing in value. We know that’s unlikely.
At this point, fair or not, people see that HR clause as a “fraud clause”. One way to eliminate the problems is to agree to donate the money. Its a solid PR move and it won’t affect his financial life.
It will however, affect how some view him. They will view him in a more positive light.
If he is interested in getting his career back on track, its a logical step to make.
Bud is a clown, but he’s been virtually powerless to do anything about the steroids/PED’s since becoming commisioner. If it is ever to get fixed for good, the party with the actual power has to step up. That’s the MLBPA. Fehr and Orza have had all the clout for years and they have, in many ways, abused it to detriment of the lemmings they represent. I put about 80% of the blame for this on MLBPA and 20% on MLB and the owners.
Only way Selig’s resignation helps solve this problem is if he remembers to stop by the MLBPA offices and puts two in the hat of both Fehr and Orza on his way back to Milwaukee.
“. . . Eradicating performance-enhancing substances from the game of baseball has been my first priority over the past decade. . .”
What? He’s been trying to do this for 10 years? Since 1998? Common Bud. Even when you realized the issue was outside of your control or ability to influence events you and the Union both were draged kicking and screaming into this testing and zero tolerance regime.
I could buy it maybe if instead of “over the past decade” he wrote something like “during this decade” but even that’s a stretch. And buy the way Bud please don’t tell us you misspoke it’s a freakin’ written statement. Your mouth piece wrote exactly what you meant. If he’s that sorry and that invested in making this right how about returning a portion of the profit the owners made at our expense during the steroid era?
Sorry for the rant, I know we’re trying to move beyond this, but that guy and his smarmy, holier than though nonsense just gets on my nerves. Never thought I’d miss Bowie Kuhn but man do I.
Bud’s a joke and he’s the one who should be ashamed about the PED issues, along with his partners in crime, Fehr-Orza. With the economy in the toilet and the corporate dollars drying up, what strategies does the $18 million man
have to drive revenue to baseball this year?
Selig is full of crap.
Selig is full of crap about what he’s been doing the last decade.
Hey, Bug the Slug:
1998 called, and it says it wants this stateent back:
“I think what Mark McGwire has accomplished is so remarkable, and he has handled it all so beautifully, we want to do everything we can to enjoy a great moment in baseball history.”
Guess you meant “everything we can” most literally, huh, Bug?
I am glad Alex Rodriguez has a guaranteed contract for the next 9 years.
I am glad alot of closet red sox fans are beside themselves because they are still mad he left them at the altar.
Historical whiners now getting very bitter.
Too bad
Selig is a joke. How can he say things like that when he has to take major blame for this whole so-called “Steroid Era”? Did he not notice it took place under his watch? It is that man’s job to deal with, and I’m sorry, PREVENT situations like what has taken place. He’s done a completely and utterly MEDIOCRE job as commissioner and he has the gall to insult A-Rod like that, and totally ignore the fact that Rodriguez’s name was the ONLY ONE RELEASED out of the 104 on that list. For the commissioner of baseball not to even mention that is despicable. It doesn’t sound like that dude has tried to take any responsibility for steroids in baseball. But I’m not surprised.
I went to MLB.com to try to find Selig’s email address, but I could not find it. Does anyone know it?
I agree with the many comments that Bud should go.
john
. “Eradicating performance-enhancing substances from the game of baseball has been my first priority…”
Hypocrisy never sleeps.