Re: Mitchell's report to reveal many names
I like to call this whole investigation the "Creampuff Files", because basically, this was just a PR move by MLB and Selig to try and show the public and the government that they actually did something about the steroid problem by sugar coating it and placing very suspect and vague blame. Selig went out and got a senator buddy who happens to be a member of the board of directors of a prominent team to sugar coat a supposed in depth report of what transpired during the steroid era, but in reality, what they did is just feed the public a few names out there so that people believe that this wasn't as huge a problem as it really was.
They threw a few big names out there that were already suspected to please everyone and a bunch of scrubs that no one will look into. Then Mitchell goes as far as to say that he doesn't recommend punishment for past actions, but that he urges Selig to do so if the actions of certain players were so grave that it tarnished the integrity of the sport. When asked by a reporter that if he meant that referring to Barry Bonds, he said it wasn't targeted at one specific player. When asked to put a "number" on the level of gravity of a player's offenses, he refused to give examples. So wait a minute, Selig is supposed to hand pick certain players that he considered to be more guilty than others and punish them by HIS judgment, but the others who he doesn't consider "grave" enough and ones that weren't mentioned get a free pass? Nice.
The report also dodged putting any responsibility directly on Selig for all this happening on his watch, but it didn't hesitate to criticize the Player's Association repeatedly. It is quite ironic that almost none of the media outlets are mentioning the fact that this directly involves Mr. Selig and might implicate him criminally because: a) There were illegal substances being trafficked IN the premises of MLB's clubs and by officials that worked for them, and b) It IS a known fact that baseball, the Player's Association and Mr. Selig looked the other way when confronted with the problem of drug testing because of baseball's economic problems in the 90's. So isn't the head of a corporation and/or entity responsible for corruption and or illegal matters that happened while they were in charge, SPECIALLY if said entity stood to profit from it? Which it clearly did because these drugs that were used directly influenced the breaking of records and the rise in attendance and marketability. Some of the drugs weren't marked as illegal, but as I understand, if a said drug and or substance is not approved by the appropriate entities that regulate them, they are considered illegal to be distributed on any level. Which brings me to my next point...
Mitchell was asked if the federal government would pursue charges against players who were brought in the report, which he replied that they usually prosecute those who are distributors and not the users themselves. But as pointed out by ESPN's legal analyst Roger Cossack, if players themselves incurred in actions of sharing steroids with teammates, then they are liable for charges of intention to distribute. Of course, this is all INCREDIBLY hard to prove, but the hilarity of this all is that we're expected to believe that this is a credible in depth report when Mitchell had absolutely NO power to make people talk beyond the jurisdiction of MLB and Bud Selig, as it was the case with Jason Giambi being threatened to be suspended if he didn't cooperate. But they had no power to subpoena or indict players, team officials, and or anyone involved in this. So in reality, this is all just a very speculative report based on the testimony of certain people with very low credibility. And apparently, the federal government has no interest in pursuing such routes, according to Mitchell's experience working for the Department of Justice.
But does that mean that any of it didn't happen or wasn't true? Of course not, most of us aren't THAT naive. But it just goes to show you that this was just an attempt to make believe that they are trying to uncover the incredible mess that was (and is still in some cases) the steroids era, and just imply on it instead of pursue the truth and clean up the sport , which is what Mr. Selig would like everyone to believe. Obviously, that's just a pipe dream, and in the Land of Make Believe, the "Creampuff Files" stand as serious documents. In the real world, some of us know better than that. Nice try.
I like to call this whole investigation the "Creampuff Files", because basically, this was just a PR move by MLB and Selig to try and show the public and the government that they actually did something about the steroid problem by sugar coating it and placing very suspect and vague blame. Selig went out and got a senator buddy who happens to be a member of the board of directors of a prominent team to sugar coat a supposed in depth report of what transpired during the steroid era, but in reality, what they did is just feed the public a few names out there so that people believe that this wasn't as huge a problem as it really was.
They threw a few big names out there that were already suspected to please everyone and a bunch of scrubs that no one will look into. Then Mitchell goes as far as to say that he doesn't recommend punishment for past actions, but that he urges Selig to do so if the actions of certain players were so grave that it tarnished the integrity of the sport. When asked by a reporter that if he meant that referring to Barry Bonds, he said it wasn't targeted at one specific player. When asked to put a "number" on the level of gravity of a player's offenses, he refused to give examples. So wait a minute, Selig is supposed to hand pick certain players that he considered to be more guilty than others and punish them by HIS judgment, but the others who he doesn't consider "grave" enough and ones that weren't mentioned get a free pass? Nice.
The report also dodged putting any responsibility directly on Selig for all this happening on his watch, but it didn't hesitate to criticize the Player's Association repeatedly. It is quite ironic that almost none of the media outlets are mentioning the fact that this directly involves Mr. Selig and might implicate him criminally because: a) There were illegal substances being trafficked IN the premises of MLB's clubs and by officials that worked for them, and b) It IS a known fact that baseball, the Player's Association and Mr. Selig looked the other way when confronted with the problem of drug testing because of baseball's economic problems in the 90's. So isn't the head of a corporation and/or entity responsible for corruption and or illegal matters that happened while they were in charge, SPECIALLY if said entity stood to profit from it? Which it clearly did because these drugs that were used directly influenced the breaking of records and the rise in attendance and marketability. Some of the drugs weren't marked as illegal, but as I understand, if a said drug and or substance is not approved by the appropriate entities that regulate them, they are considered illegal to be distributed on any level. Which brings me to my next point...
Mitchell was asked if the federal government would pursue charges against players who were brought in the report, which he replied that they usually prosecute those who are distributors and not the users themselves. But as pointed out by ESPN's legal analyst Roger Cossack, if players themselves incurred in actions of sharing steroids with teammates, then they are liable for charges of intention to distribute. Of course, this is all INCREDIBLY hard to prove, but the hilarity of this all is that we're expected to believe that this is a credible in depth report when Mitchell had absolutely NO power to make people talk beyond the jurisdiction of MLB and Bud Selig, as it was the case with Jason Giambi being threatened to be suspended if he didn't cooperate. But they had no power to subpoena or indict players, team officials, and or anyone involved in this. So in reality, this is all just a very speculative report based on the testimony of certain people with very low credibility. And apparently, the federal government has no interest in pursuing such routes, according to Mitchell's experience working for the Department of Justice.
But does that mean that any of it didn't happen or wasn't true? Of course not, most of us aren't THAT naive. But it just goes to show you that this was just an attempt to make believe that they are trying to uncover the incredible mess that was (and is still in some cases) the steroids era, and just imply on it instead of pursue the truth and clean up the sport , which is what Mr. Selig would like everyone to believe. Obviously, that's just a pipe dream, and in the Land of Make Believe, the "Creampuff Files" stand as serious documents. In the real world, some of us know better than that. Nice try.
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