Well, he finally did it. Mark McGwire came out and admitted he used steroids. And to his credit, he didn’t half admit it either. He flat out came clean.
I don’t really know how to weigh in on this. First off, let me say that Mark is a great guy and was an excellent teammate. I’m happy for him that he’s made this statement. He must feel like a thousand pound gorilla is off of his back. I’m also happy that he’s back in baseball as the hitting coach for the Cards.
Whoa!
Mark’s smart, by making this admission, he just made his job about a million times easier. Can you imagine the grilling he was gonna take from the press if he hadn’t put some closure to this?
Hopefully something good will come of this. Maybe it will pave the way for other ball players to come forward, and in doing so, change the game. It’s a long shot, but maybe. If you would like to read more about McGwire’s statements, click here.
By the way, do you remember the blog post I wrote about the weird tendency of athletes who are juicing to be photographed with no shirt on? In the “Geez, Put Some Clothes On” post, I basically say that a half nude photo of an athlete is pretty good indicator that the guy is using performance enhancing drugs. This isn’t a “for sure”, but pretty close. So even though this upcoming Vanity Fair cover photo was actually shot in 2006 (he’s much bigger now), it’s the classic roid-athlete-shirt off for the magazine image. Like I said, not “for sure”, but definitely raises another red flag for me.
Here are a couple of the biggest off-season deals so far. One I can understand and one I don’t get.
First off, the deal I like. Adrian Beltre to the Red Sox for one year at about $10 million. The best defensive third baseman in the game, a very solid clubhouse presence (especially as a Latin player…hard to put a price tag on that), and potentially a solid offensive player if he can regain that LA mojo (not sure about the steroid issue on that though).
THE third base glove...Adrian Beltre.
Now the deal I don’t understand. Matt Holliday to the Cards for a billion dollars. Seriously, what kind of Jedi mind trick is Scott Boras playing on these poor GM’s? Will somebody tell me who was in the bidding war that jacked up the price on this guy? I’m pretty sure the Cards outbid the Cards by about 30 mill.
With this signing, two arguments go flying out the window. One, collusion. Two, medium market teams can’t afford the price tag of the big boys. The Cards get Holliday for about $16 million a year for 7 years! That’s a great effort by Boras in a down economy and with nobody else bidding. Say what you will about him, but that boy good at what he does.
So now I would assume Pujols is going to ask for more money than that when he becomes eligible in a couple years. And rightfully so as the best player in the game. Would the Cards rather have Holliday than Pujols? Can they possibly afford both? I’m going to have to check in with my man Buster Olney’s insider baseball blog for the scoop.
In my book The Art of Catching I go into the proper catching mechanics and techniques for a play at the plate. Where to set up, peripheral vision/field awareness, how to tag, how to block the plate, when to block the plate, safety, etc.
Before I go any further, you DO have my book, right? You DO know what I’m talking about, correct? What are you waiting for? You don’t have to be a player or coach to have it. Trust me, it’ll enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the game regardless of your relationship to baseball.
O.K. back to the play at the plate thing. I was saying that in the book I give a step by step breakdown of this situation. When I teach the technique for blocking the plate I cite Mike Sciocsia as the man. I always thought that the proper mechanics for this play had it’s beginnings with him. And it may; however, just the other day a buddy of mine sent me a great little clip of Thurman Munson taking the plate away with perfect technique.
The only thing I’d change about Thurman’s play is I’d advise catchers to keep their mask on for safety. Outside of that, this is a great little clip to learn by.
