Brent Mayne

Half a Confession

Here we go again. Everybody’s curious to get my take on the steroid issue. Thankfully, I already put it down in writing…see my September 17th, 2008 blog titled “Steroids/HGH/Sports Enhancing Drugs” for all I have to say on the subject. 

OK, good, A-Rod confessed. He took the only road he could have taken…..almost. The thing is, he only half confessed. Do you mean to tell me that he ONLY took steroids for those three years? Wait a second, maybe he is telling the truth. Those three years may very well have been the only three that he used STEROIDS. Trust me though, he didn’t quit all performance enhancing drugs at that point. What exactly is the “clear” and the “cream” anyway?

The proof is in the pudding folks. The guy’s body simply has not changed one iota from 2003. If anything, its gotten better! This is not what happens when you quit using. What happens when you quit using is what happened to Pudge Rodriguez. One year he’s Pudge and the next year he shows up and he’s just Ivan. He’s literally half the human body that he was the year before. Detroit had to be pissed. They paid for all of Pudge, but only got half-a-Pudge.

Which brings up a whole other subject. I’ve said this many times before, but once again for old times sake, this “problem” of performance enhancing drugs goes all the way to the very tippy top of baseball. I don’t mean Bud Selig is using (at least I don’t think he is) I mean he knows and knew. Same goes for the Union, same goes for the general managers, same goes for the managers. All of em. Nobody is above this mess except for the odd player who said no. At the very least, baseball’s upper office folks heard the rumors and turned a blind eye. The bottom line for them is not the integrity of the game or the health of the player or the well being of the youth of America. The bottom line is are people showing up to the games, flipping on the TV and wearing Yankee hats, and is the player producing. That’s all. They’re all guilty. Period.

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”                      ~  Gordon Gekko   (From the movie “Wall St.”)

“It’s all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.”    ~ Gordon Gekko

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A-Roidasaurus

No game in the world is as tidy and dramatically neat as baseball, with cause and effect, crime and punishment, motive and result, so cleanly defined ~ Paul Gallico

 
Alex Rodriguez guilty? Who’s next? People didn’t believe me when I said a good, solid 85% minimum from about 1995 on. No kidding. If you don’t let steroids in the Hall of Fame, you’re only gonna see a couple guys make it in from the whole time I played. Maybe Jeter, maybe Kent, maybe one or two others. The rest are all guilty.

Baseball is cool because eventually it will expose you. You can cheat, you can think you’ve tricked the game, but eventually it’ll catch ya. Maybe you’re not doing your work, trying to slip by not taking extra batting practice or ground balls. Maybe you’ve taken the easy route by taking performance enhancers. Maybe you’re on your yaght with Madonna thinking you’ve outsmarted the game. Nope. Baseball has a way of finding out. You just can’t cheat the game. Pretty cool. Better him than me…I’m sure glad I’m not that guy who’s looking over his shoulder wondering when his number is gonna get called and he’ll be exposed.

It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the accusations. Will he lie on top of the lie, ala Clemens or Bonds? Will he hide behind his people-Boras, the union, etc? Or will he come clean and be honest? His life depends on it. I hope he understands that he’s only got one real choice. I hope he understands that baseball will eventually find out the truth.

A tricky ground ball is headed your way, Alex. Make the right play. ~ Fred Claire

Fantasy Camp

Don’t tell me about the world. Not today. It’s springtime and they’re knocking baseball around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball ~
Pete Hamill

I just got back from coaching the Kansas City Royals Fantasy Camp in Arizona. It was a week long camp and a great experience. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect going in. I mean, a bunch of old guys coming out to have a baseball fantasy? Could be sketchy, right? Well, when the dust all settled, I’m here to report that it was a blast.

The coaches (Kevin Seitzer, Willie Wilson, Dave Howard, Brian McRae, Jeff Montgomery, Dennis Leonard, Mark Davis, Frank White, John Mayberry, Les Norman, Marty Pattin, Greg Pryor, Jamie Quirk, Jon Warden, John Wathan, and Jerry Terrell) were responsible for about 70 campers ages about 32-75 or so. We split up into 6 teams and played double headers every day with the exception of one day in which the campers played the alumni. For that “game” I caught 6 innings and played 12 in the infield. Ouch.

It was a long day, from about 8 in the morning till 10;00 at night. We had breakfast, Kangaroo Court, game, lunch, game, shower, some kind of dinner event, then sleep and repeat.

The campers all played really hard and with tons of passion. It was a pleasure to see. They all had their own unique stories of how they got there and where they came from. Doctors, lawyers, IRS agents, cops, teachers, you name it. They came from as far as Australia. There were a lot of father/son combos and one family had eight campers. Some had skills, many didn’t. But really, it didn’t matter. To a man, everyone had a great time, made lifelong friendships, and got a taste of the bonds that develop from playing on a team.

I’ll leave you with a picture of what happens when you don’t play baseball for about 20 years and then come out and play a week’s worth of double headers. You may have to click on the photo to see the discoloration and get the full effect. This camper blew out both hamstrings the first day…but didn’t miss an inning the entire week. The white cream on there is some kind of icy hot or something. Suffice to say, by the end of the week, there were some gimpy fellas.

Torre’s Book

Ok, someone give me a read on why Joe Torre is putting out a tell-all book while he’s still in the game. Are the financial times that bad for Joe?  Can’t make the yacht payments?  Honestly. For a manager leading an organization to break the code of silence – while he’s still active – I don’t get it. I don’t get it even if you’re out of the game.

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There isn’t enough money out there to make me bury my teammates. And if there was ever a guy who could do it, it would be me. I might very well have been the only guy not doing roids. I’ve got a ton of ammo on a ton of subjects, but it ain’t gonna happen. Well, never say never. If someone’s got an extra 20 million sitting around and they want a tell-all authored by an old catcher, I think I might just be the guy to sell his soul.

Hey, all that being said, the book kinda looks good in a National Enquirer type way, right? Torre’s got a crafty media blitz going on and he may just have sold me a book.

Dave Demarest Podcast done

Alright sports fans, I’ve got another podcast in the can. This Art of Catching podcast features one of the greatest high school baseball coaches of all-time, Dave Demarest. Here are some of his vital statistics….

In his 34 years Dave became the only coach in the history of California High School baseball to be ranked in the top three in both wins (753) and winning percentage (.780)…his overall record…753-213. Dave’s team’s won 22 league championships, advanced to 7 CIF Finals and won 3 CIF Titles. Also during his tenure the school produced 33 Division I players and 20 drafted players. Current Aztecs in the major leagues are Bobby Crosby (Oakland A’s), Gerald Laird (Texas Rangers), Ian Stewart (Colorado Rockies), and Ian Kennedy (New York Yankees).

For his accomplishments Dave has received several “Coach of the Year” honors:

24 – Garden Grove League

4 – Orange County (LA Times & OC Register)

4 – Southern California (CIF)

3 – California (Cal-Hi & CCA)

5 – District 8 (BCA, ABCA, NHSACA)

2 – National (NHSACA)

Dave also has also been involved with youth baseball outside of La Quinta H.S.:

8 – Connie Mack World Series…2002 World Champions

1989 – Sunbelt Classic (Gold Medal)

1991 – U.S. Olympic Festival in Los Angeles (Gold Medal)

1992 – USA Junior National Team in Monterey, Mexico (Silver Medal)

2002 – Super Series in Atlanta (Gold Medal)

2004 – U.S. Championships in Joplin (Gold Medal)

2004 – “AFLAC” High School All-Star Game”

So here’s the deal. This is by far the best podcast I’ve put out so far. If you’re into the finer aspects of the game don’t miss this one. If you’re an aspiring coach and looking for guidance, don’t miss this one. If you have any interest in picking up some fascinating offensive schemes, don’t miss this one. The guy is solid. One of the best coaches at any level, anywhere. Period.