FanHouse Steroids

When the Phillies signed Raul Ibanez to a three-year, $30 million deal this past offseason, there were quite a few people skeptical of giving a then-36-year-old (Raul turned 37 last week) outfielder $10 million for three years. Especially when we all saw how much other free agent outfielders ended up getting elsewhere. Plus there was the fact that, at 36 years old, no matter how well he's played, he has to start declining at some point.

Well that decline is yet to start. Ibanez is hitting .327 with 20 homers and 55 RBI for the Phillies this year, exceeding just about anybody's expectations. Of course, given the culture of today's game, in which we seemingly find out about a new superstar using steroids (though not raping or killing anybody) every few weeks, it's only natural to be somewhat suspicious of Ibanez's performance.

The Major League Baseball Players' Association today announced that former big-league pitchers Rick Helling and Mike Myers are joining the union staff as special assistants to the Executive Director.

On the face of it, not surprising. Helling and Myers were active in the union in their playing days, both serving on the executive board.

But Helling, as Tom Verducci explained in The Yankee Years was ignored by the union when he attempted to warn about the rise of steroids use.

I have a hunch that baseball writers care more about steroids and PEDs than baseball fans. For one, any opportunity to moralize is an instant cure for writer's block. But more importantly, harping on offenders now makes writers who should have asked better questions several years ago feel like they're making up for lost time.

Will basketball writers someday be moved by feelings of guilt? Earlier this month, Tom Ziller made a compelling argument why NBA fans shouldn't worry about a steroid problem until there's actual proof such a problem exists. But how are fans supposed to see proof if those with access don't pursue it?

It's hard to get superstars to admit that they used steroids. Heck, you have to basically catch them with the syringe stuck in them to get an apology. But there's one former superstar who readily admits that if he played in another era, he would have cheated. That former superstar is Darryl Strawberry.

"Hell, yeah, I would have used them!" he thundered when asked a hypothetical about himself. "Are you kidding me? I mean, c'mon. Some things are part of what athletes go through, and they happen."

Heck, why not? Strawberry was pretty much a part of everything that athletes go through, why not steroids, too? You see Strawberry, like Alex Rodriguez, was young and stupid. But when he got older, he apparently got wiser, as he resisted the steroid temptation in the '90s.

Odds are if you're reading this site, you're aware of the fact that on Wednesday afternoon first pitches will be thrown all over Arizona and Florida. Yes, the Spring Training schedule gets under way tomorrow with 16 games, and I couldn't be happier about it. Now baseball fans can focus on the battle for the fifth spot in their team's rotation instead of who is or who isn't doing steroids.

Besides, there's no reason to worry about steroids anymore anyway. Just ask the head of the players union, Donald Fehr. He'll gladly tell you that there is no problem, for it has been fixed.

Over the last few years there have probably been more than a few baseball fans who feel like they've learned a bit too much about those who play the sport. Instead of hearing all about their steroid use, these people would prefer to live in denial about any such problems with the sport and just watch baseball. Bud Selig is no doubt an example of this type of baseball fan.

Well, Bud and the rest of those fans should probably do everything in their power to avoid Barry Bonds' trial over the next few weeks, because if you think hearing about players injecting themselves -- or in some cases, having Jose Canseco do it -- in the butt with steroids is too much, then you're going to faint during Barry's trial. On Wednesday Barry's lawyers filed a motion to ensure that his testicles can't be used as evidence against him.

Isn't it laughable how everyone has an opinion now? For years, baseball people were hush about steroids, protecting their dirty little secret as if the masses were morons when, in fact, a lot of these men are the uneducated rockheads. One such creature is Ozzie Guillen, manager of Barack Obama's Chicago White Sox, who went mob boss on us in 2006 when pitcher Jason Grimsley served as a steroids informant in a federal investigation.

"Shoot the (bleep),'' said Guillen, who viewed Grimsley as a snitch. "The only thing I can say is that a former player should shut up and go. Shut up and move on. We don't need these guys. Baseball is better without him.''

The New York Yankees assembled a legion of hungry media members Tuesday at their spring training facility for Alex Rodriguez's press conference. This press conference was, of course, designed to let people ask him questions about his admitted steroid use while with the Texas Rangers, in addition to his interview with Peter Gammons and his wild accusations directed towards Selena Roberts.

After the jump, a recap of the event.

I don't know if you know this or not, but since he's commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig seems to think this gives him special privileges that nobody else in America is entitled to. Why, as commissioner of baseball he's not bound by the ex post facto laws of our society, which means he's allowed to suspend Alex Rodriguez for breaking rules that weren't yet in place.

In these troubling times, where you can't simply follow the game of baseball without hearing about steroids everywhere you turn, we could all use a moral compass so that we can have something to tell our children. When it comes to the Alex Rodriguez saga, Pete Rose, who was banished from baseball for betting on games while he was a manager, is happy to provide us with that moral compass.

"Being my good and close friend, I was disappointed about A-Rod's admission."

Yeah, he should have waited until he had a book to sell, right Pete?