Sosa Tested Positive in 2003

[eanelson4]

per the NYT.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/sports/baseball/17doping.html?_r=1&ref=sports

 

Can't say this is exactly the shocker of the century. Probably not even all that newsworthy (unfortunately)

[TheCrew07]

I've come to the conclusion that Griffey and Thomas were probably the only 2 clean players in the game. Sosa was obviously cheating anyway he could, this might be the least surprising revelation in some time.

[RU Rah Rah]

I don't doubt that Sosa used, but I'm not a huge fan of this kind of reporting:

 

"The lawyers who had knowledge of Sosa's inclusion on the 2003 list did not know the substance for which Sosa tested positive. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified as discussing material that is sealed by a court order."

[eanelson4]

Blame the union for not destroying the results of the test. They made their own bed in this one.

[liveforoctober]

I've come to the conclusion that Griffey and Thomas were probably the only 2 clean players in the game. Sosa was obviously cheating anyway he could, this might be the least surprising revelation in some time.

I concur. It makes you want to go give Yount and Molitor a big hug, doesn't it?

[SeriesFinale]

Yeah, I didn't like it when A-Rod got his based on these results and in this manner, and so I can't claim to be OK with this, either.

 

THAT SAID...

 

I try to avoid schaedenfraude because we all know how quickly it can turn around, but I had to see what the NSBB fellas had to say, and some of the posts were really specious: "Not particularly surprising. Not even really disappointing. Kind of just inevitable, really. Like when your 99 year old great aunt you haven't seen in 10 years dies. You're kind of vaguely sad, but aren't entirely sure who the flowers should be sent to."

 

Give me a break! Cubsdom WORSHIPPED this guy--I know there's no penance they as a fanbase can or should do, but to pretend it's no big deal is ridiculous. I almost respect the deluded outright-apologists there more.

[DocLuna7]

Didn't he "officially" retire only in the last few weeks? I am guessing its not realted, but interesting timing nonetheless.

[Invader3K]

So will they finally take down the Sammy flag at Wrigley now?

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm just dumbfounded by this....

 

"The lawyers who had knowledge of Sosa's inclusion on the 2003 list did not know the substance for which Sosa tested positive. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified as discussing material that is sealed by a court order."

 

If you don't want to be identified, maybe.........shut up? I will NEVER stick up for Sosa, but this is a smear campaign. There isn't anything else that this could be about. I'm baffled by baseball's own insistence on continually digging skeletons out of the closet.

[Paul77]

I've come to the conclusion that Griffey and Thomas were probably the only 2 clean players in the game. Sosa was obviously cheating anyway he could, this might be the least surprising revelation in some time.

I concur. It makes you want to go give Yount and Molitor a big hug, doesn't it?

I feel bad for kids who grew up looking at Sosa & Big Mac the way we did Molly and Yount. Of course Molitor had some serious demons to deal with in the 80's, so maybe I'm just a hypocrite.

[stoops17]

I just want this 2003 list to disappear completely or be released in full. I don't like this trickle of info from it that puts baseball's drug problem back onto the front page when something new but old comes out. I'd like to settle the past so we can move on and deal with the new issues that crop up.

 

And I can't say I am really all that surprised either. Interesting to see it was the same year as the corked bat.

[SeriesFinale]

I feel bad for kids who grew up looking at Sosa & Big Mac the way we did Molly and Yount. Of course Molitor had some serious demons to deal with in the 80's, so maybe I'm just a hypocrite.

Selig talked about this on the Dan Patrick show as well...how amphetimines and recreational drugs were as big if not bigger problems and as much a detriment to the credibility of the game. Intimated "Cocaine Molly": "We had issues in our clubhouse in Milwaukee!"

 

Of course, he was actively trying to distract from the steroid issue, but I hear him.

[Tailgat0r76]

Man; after the corked bat and now steroid positive test, I don't think Sosa should get in the hall of fame. And he's a Cub; that doesn't help his case either.

[SeriesFinale]

Another NSBB classic:

 

I really don't like that guys did steroids. I really hate the guys who lie about it. As long as regular testing is used from the major leagues to the minor leagues to the college and high school ranks, I'm fine with letting it go from there.

 

I still have a lot of cool Sammy memorabilia. I think a bit less of him, but he was awesome to watch in the prime of his career. Lying (jerks) like Bonds, Clemens, Palmeiro and anyone else I'm not currently thinking of can rot in (eternity), though.

Wow. Deluded much? The guy testified before congress under oath.

[craigharmann]

The guy testified before congress under oath

He testified? I thought he forgot English in front of Congress!

[Invader3K]

Anyone else remember Sosa's little episode with Rick Reilly (I think that's the guy?) as well? Kind of makes him seem like a hypocrite in retrospect.

[iluvlamp]

I am shocked about these reckless allegations. Shocked, I say!

 

Just another piece of garbage.

[NYChez]

One step closer to this actually being true...

 

ttp://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/turns_out_craig_counsell

[stoutdude04]

We should give him a break. We all know someone else gave it to him and he didnt know what he was taking.

[eanelson4]

We should give him a break. We all know someone else gave it to him and he didnt know what he was taking.

It was Vitamin B12, right?

[crewcrazy]

Give me a break! Cubsdom WORSHIPPED this guy--I know there's no penance they as a fanbase can or should do, but to pretend it's no big deal is ridiculous. I almost respect the deluded outright-apologists there more.

To be fair, the love for Sosa wasn't unanimous among Cubs fans at the end. Sure, a lot of the casual fans worshiped the guy and he was the reason why they became fans in the first place, but I think you also have to remember that he left Chicago on really bad terms. There was the fiasco with him leaving his last game as a Cub early before the game was finished, the corked bat controversy, and the sneaking suspicion that he was on something. I saw some posts on NSBB that went something like "I always knew he did, always hoped he didn't, always realized how foolish that hope was, and am still disappointed with the news." I think that's a very reasonable stance to take from a Cubs perspective.

 

At the same time, I can understand the people who say it's not a big deal. If anything, the only thing this does is provide those who thought he wasn't clean with their first piece of solid evidence -- it's not really as surprising as the Alex Rodriguez story, and I'd bet that it's not nearly as surprising as the other 100 names on that list. In that respect, I can understand why people would think that way...at this point, we're all kind of dulled to this kind of thing and really should just assume that every player from that era was on something . Then again, as part of a younger generation I grew up during that era and haven't had a hard time feeling that way...maybe I'm in the minority.

[TooLiveBrew]

We should give him a break. We all know someone else gave it to him and he didnt know what he was taking.

 

It's not like guys whose careers dictate physical fitness should have to be responsible for what they put in it, right?

 

Maybe Mo Vaughn will sue some junk food companies because they didn't tell him their food contained crappy ingredients.

[LouisEly]

And in other news, the sky is blue.

 

Someone just for kicks want to post a picture of him circa 1999-2000? You know, because it didn't look like he was juicing at all.

[RightFieldCoder]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Njt9ULWWYTo/SitkWxFFvkI/AAAAAAAAAgs/17OFxyGkmXs/s320/Steroids_Sammy-Sosa___484x363.jpg

 

 

http://homerderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/sammy-sosa-comparison.jpg

 

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/09/sports/09steroids.1.600.jpghttp://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2009/06/16/306-sosa-mcgwire.jpg

 

And one of my favorite photos of all time:

http://homerderby.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/sammy-sosa-4-21-03.jpg

[Invader3K]

I don't think anyone really thinks Sosa/McGuire/Bonds/etc didn't use steroids or HGH or whatever. I think this "slow trickle" of players being revealed is just beyond stupid. It's unfair to the players involved, and it's damaging to baseball as a whole. They should just reveal the whole list and be done with it at this point. Most fans don't even really care anymore, because we've become so numb to it, I think.

 

Another person Jose Canseco was correct about, though.