What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

[Jistic]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Youre assuming nothing is being done in the scenario you put in front of me but in reality MLB is testing for this. They (MLB and Congress) should approach it going forward but this spectacle before us is a witch hunt.

And you're assumming that MLB is doing serious testing. Apparently congress doesn't see things that way..

Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a Hall of Fame pitcher invited to testify Thursday, said baseball's antitrust exemption might have to be re-examined if changes aren't made to the sport's drug-testing program, which was recently modified to include a 10-day penalty for first-time offenders.

"The penalty phase of the settlement is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen, compared to the other major league sports," Bunning said. "If they don't make more progress the next time they sit down and talk about steroid abuse, they won't have the last say. The possibility exists that baseball would be looked at a little closer than it is right now."

[Jistic]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Youre assuming nothing is being done in the scenario you put in front of me but in reality MLB is testing for this. They (MLB and Congress) should approach it going forward but this spectacle before us is a witch hunt.

And you're assumming that MLB is doing serious testing. Apparently congress doesn't see things that way..

Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a Hall of Fame pitcher invited to testify Thursday, said baseball's antitrust exemption might have to be re-examined if changes aren't made to the sport's drug-testing program, which was recently modified to include a 10-day penalty for first-time offenders.

"The penalty phase of the settlement is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen, compared to the other major league sports," Bunning said. "If they don't make more progress the next time they sit down and talk about steroid abuse, they won't have the last say. The possibility exists that baseball would be looked at a little closer than it is right now."

[glucklich]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

And you're assumming that MLB is doing serious testing. Apparently congress doesn't see things that way..

I agree the first offense penalty is kind of a joke and I think Selig is as incompetent as the next guy (so I can see this leeway as a problem) but if they are comparing it with the IOC then yeah it seems like its too lenient but at the end of the day the most relevant question is its effectiveness as a deterrent. In any case, I dont have a problem with Congress taking Selig to task. I think there are more important things but I have no problem with them looking in on Selig. What I object to, is this witch hunt that is really not necessary. Some of their "motivations" are moderately justifiable although thats just a rationale they give to win public support. I think the real reason is that its an opportunity for them to be visible in addressing a popular issue so they can gain politically. I think its more driven by politics than a concern for public well being and for them to pretend otherwise is extremely disengenuous but luckily for them there are a lot of people who choose to believe them and also that that they are and do what they purport.

[glucklich]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

And you're assumming that MLB is doing serious testing. Apparently congress doesn't see things that way..

I agree the first offense penalty is kind of a joke and I think Selig is as incompetent as the next guy (so I can see this leeway as a problem) but if they are comparing it with the IOC then yeah it seems like its too lenient but at the end of the day the most relevant question is its effectiveness as a deterrent. In any case, I dont have a problem with Congress taking Selig to task. I think there are more important things but I have no problem with them looking in on Selig. What I object to, is this witch hunt that is really not necessary. Some of their "motivations" are moderately justifiable although thats just a rationale they give to win public support. I think the real reason is that its an opportunity for them to be visible in addressing a popular issue so they can gain politically. I think its more driven by politics than a concern for public well being and for them to pretend otherwise is extremely disengenuous but luckily for them there are a lot of people who choose to believe them and also that that they are and do what they purport.

[Grandmaster1]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

This whole "we gotta protect the players" crap is starting to annoy the hell out of me.

[Grandmaster1]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

This whole "we gotta protect the players" crap is starting to annoy the hell out of me.

[blackceasar]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Selig is an idoit, a puppet of the owners and has very little power... CHECK.

Jose Can you See Conseco is a bitter washed up "could have been" player who is bitter about the things he did in baseball and got caught for them and got lots of bad press for them. He wrote a book to get paid and to give the middle finger to Major League Baseball. (he had nothing to loose).... CHECK.

I think some people here are missing the whole point though about illegal and banned. Beer & Alcohol is not illegal, but it is BANNED for consumption in my office or outside of the office during work hours. If I go out on my lunch break today and have 4 beers and come back to work and its found out that I had some beers I could be fired. If Im drinking here on the job I could be fired or have some action taken against me. Before I worked where I work now I worked at another Marketing Firm in which we actually could consume beer on fridays during work hours (part of the perks). Now the difference between the two places is that its banned in one and not in the other but its not ILLEGAL for me to consume beer on my job...meaning I cant go to jail or be arrested or even given a ticket for having a beer at my desk but I could be fired. because thats COMPANY POLICY, NOT GOVERNMENT LAW.

There are drugs out there that I can go get a prescription for and take and it be legal. There are drugs out there I can get without a presecription and take it and it still be legal. There are drugs out there I can take and it be legal BUT if I were in the MLB that same drug might be on the BANNED list. If Im playing for the cubs and Im taking preformance enhancing drugs that are BANNED by BASEBALL but arent ILLEGAL then whats the need for government intervention? If I get busted, Im out of baseball. Once Im out I can go to the drug store and keep on taking them. BANNED by BASEBALL and ILLEGAL arent always the same thing. Do you think if I have a beer at my job (which is banned here) going to get me arrested? Nope. Could the government even come in my office and get me? Nope. But my employer can fire me for it because thats THIER POLICY.

Yeah steriods have fugged up baseball. Im not denying that but as much as your heart might bleed for pro baseball its NOT your place or the governments to step in and fix it so fans can be happy. Congress is stepping in because they want VOTES, and they have lobbyists, etc. When's the last time politicans have done something for absolutely nothing? They dont. This is a PR move by congress, nothing more.

Selig is a joke,
Conseco is a joke
The Owners are a joke
The players as a whole are a joke.

If they really wanted to get rid of it and really clamp down in this isse they could have and would have a loooong time ago..but the reality is wether they point the finger at one another or not, they ALL benefit from it. It boils down to money. Seeing that there is no salary cap in baseball and teams can spend whatever they want, there is an inscentive to make as much money as possible. Owners want to make alot of cash so they can get the best players. The best players want the most amount of money so they do the drugs to become the best (not all, just the users), The more money the owners can make the more lucrataive contracts they can offer ALL players. Some bigger than others but they ALL benefit from the juiced up superstars that fill the seats and sell the merchandise. Selig wins, the owners win, the players win...the fans...well........ lol

[blackceasar]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Selig is an idoit, a puppet of the owners and has very little power... CHECK.

Jose Can you See Conseco is a bitter washed up "could have been" player who is bitter about the things he did in baseball and got caught for them and got lots of bad press for them. He wrote a book to get paid and to give the middle finger to Major League Baseball. (he had nothing to loose).... CHECK.

I think some people here are missing the whole point though about illegal and banned. Beer & Alcohol is not illegal, but it is BANNED for consumption in my office or outside of the office during work hours. If I go out on my lunch break today and have 4 beers and come back to work and its found out that I had some beers I could be fired. If Im drinking here on the job I could be fired or have some action taken against me. Before I worked where I work now I worked at another Marketing Firm in which we actually could consume beer on fridays during work hours (part of the perks). Now the difference between the two places is that its banned in one and not in the other but its not ILLEGAL for me to consume beer on my job...meaning I cant go to jail or be arrested or even given a ticket for having a beer at my desk but I could be fired. because thats COMPANY POLICY, NOT GOVERNMENT LAW.

There are drugs out there that I can go get a prescription for and take and it be legal. There are drugs out there I can get without a presecription and take it and it still be legal. There are drugs out there I can take and it be legal BUT if I were in the MLB that same drug might be on the BANNED list. If Im playing for the cubs and Im taking preformance enhancing drugs that are BANNED by BASEBALL but arent ILLEGAL then whats the need for government intervention? If I get busted, Im out of baseball. Once Im out I can go to the drug store and keep on taking them. BANNED by BASEBALL and ILLEGAL arent always the same thing. Do you think if I have a beer at my job (which is banned here) going to get me arrested? Nope. Could the government even come in my office and get me? Nope. But my employer can fire me for it because thats THIER POLICY.

Yeah steriods have fugged up baseball. Im not denying that but as much as your heart might bleed for pro baseball its NOT your place or the governments to step in and fix it so fans can be happy. Congress is stepping in because they want VOTES, and they have lobbyists, etc. When's the last time politicans have done something for absolutely nothing? They dont. This is a PR move by congress, nothing more.

Selig is a joke,
Conseco is a joke
The Owners are a joke
The players as a whole are a joke.

If they really wanted to get rid of it and really clamp down in this isse they could have and would have a loooong time ago..but the reality is wether they point the finger at one another or not, they ALL benefit from it. It boils down to money. Seeing that there is no salary cap in baseball and teams can spend whatever they want, there is an inscentive to make as much money as possible. Owners want to make alot of cash so they can get the best players. The best players want the most amount of money so they do the drugs to become the best (not all, just the users), The more money the owners can make the more lucrataive contracts they can offer ALL players. Some bigger than others but they ALL benefit from the juiced up superstars that fill the seats and sell the merchandise. Selig wins, the owners win, the players win...the fans...well........ lol

[Stu]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

I think some people here are missing the whole point though about illegal and banned. Beer & Alcohol is not illegal, but it is BANNED for consumption in my office or outside of the office during work hours. If I go out on my lunch break today and have 4 beers and come back to work and its found out that I had some beers I could be fired. If Im drinking here on the job I could be fired or have some action taken against me. Before I worked where I work now I worked at another Marketing Firm in which we actually could consume beer on fridays during work hours (part of the perks). Now the difference between the two places is that its banned in one and not in the other but its not ILLEGAL for me to consume beer on my job...meaning I cant go to jail or be arrested or even given a ticket for having a beer at my desk but I could be fired. because thats COMPANY POLICY, NOT GOVERNMENT LAW.

There are drugs out there that I can go get a prescription for and take and it be legal. There are drugs out there I can get without a presecription and take it and it still be legal. There are drugs out there I can take and it be legal BUT if I were in the MLB that same drug might be on the BANNED list. If Im playing for the cubs and Im taking preformance enhancing drugs that are BANNED by BASEBALL but arent ILLEGAL then whats the need for government intervention? If I get busted, Im out of baseball. Once Im out I can go to the drug store and keep on taking them. BANNED by BASEBALL and ILLEGAL arent always the same thing. Do you think if I have a beer at my job (which is banned here) going to get me arrested? Nope. Could the government even come in my office and get me? Nope. But my employer can fire me for it because thats THIER POLICY.

Dear lord. You're right, somebody is missing the point.

1) Possessing steroids without a prescription is a federal offense. (Illegal)
2) No MLB players have a prescription for steroids.

Conclusion:
MLB players possessing them is Illegal.

[Stu]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

I think some people here are missing the whole point though about illegal and banned. Beer & Alcohol is not illegal, but it is BANNED for consumption in my office or outside of the office during work hours. If I go out on my lunch break today and have 4 beers and come back to work and its found out that I had some beers I could be fired. If Im drinking here on the job I could be fired or have some action taken against me. Before I worked where I work now I worked at another Marketing Firm in which we actually could consume beer on fridays during work hours (part of the perks). Now the difference between the two places is that its banned in one and not in the other but its not ILLEGAL for me to consume beer on my job...meaning I cant go to jail or be arrested or even given a ticket for having a beer at my desk but I could be fired. because thats COMPANY POLICY, NOT GOVERNMENT LAW.

There are drugs out there that I can go get a prescription for and take and it be legal. There are drugs out there I can get without a presecription and take it and it still be legal. There are drugs out there I can take and it be legal BUT if I were in the MLB that same drug might be on the BANNED list. If Im playing for the cubs and Im taking preformance enhancing drugs that are BANNED by BASEBALL but arent ILLEGAL then whats the need for government intervention? If I get busted, Im out of baseball. Once Im out I can go to the drug store and keep on taking them. BANNED by BASEBALL and ILLEGAL arent always the same thing. Do you think if I have a beer at my job (which is banned here) going to get me arrested? Nope. Could the government even come in my office and get me? Nope. But my employer can fire me for it because thats THIER POLICY.

Dear lord. You're right, somebody is missing the point.

1) Possessing steroids without a prescription is a federal offense. (Illegal)
2) No MLB players have a prescription for steroids.

Conclusion:
MLB players possessing them is Illegal.

[blackceasar]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Dear lord. You're right, somebody is missing the point.

1) Possessing steroids without a prescription is a federal offense. (Illegal)
2) No MLB players have a prescription for steroids.

Conclusion:
MLB players possessing them is Illegal.

First of all MLB players can get a perscription from a Doctor for sterriods. They just cant take them and be MLB players. So see they can get them even own them, they just by MLB rules put them in thier system..so then again...for some of the players that NOT ILLEGAL. If im a doctor and I can legally subscribe Sammy Sosa a steriod then I can. Period. and legally he can have it in his possession because I wrote his presecription. now what he does with it while being a pro baseball player is ALL ON HIM. He takes them, gets busted hes not going to jail..hes going to get suspended. You act like because someone cant take something because of thier line of work prohibits it means they cant legally have it, buy it, or own it. My job prohibits me from having alchol while on the job, but the liquor store can still sell it to me. If I choose to get liquored up while in the office. Heck even if I have been convicted of a DUI that doesnt all of a sudden make it illegal for me to drink or own alchol..i just cant legally drive.

[blackceasar]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

Dear lord. You're right, somebody is missing the point.

1) Possessing steroids without a prescription is a federal offense. (Illegal)
2) No MLB players have a prescription for steroids.

Conclusion:
MLB players possessing them is Illegal.

First of all MLB players can get a perscription from a Doctor for sterriods. They just cant take them and be MLB players. So see they can get them even own them, they just by MLB rules put them in thier system..so then again...for some of the players that NOT ILLEGAL. If im a doctor and I can legally subscribe Sammy Sosa a steriod then I can. Period. and legally he can have it in his possession because I wrote his presecription. now what he does with it while being a pro baseball player is ALL ON HIM. He takes them, gets busted hes not going to jail..hes going to get suspended. You act like because someone cant take something because of thier line of work prohibits it means they cant legally have it, buy it, or own it. My job prohibits me from having alchol while on the job, but the liquor store can still sell it to me. If I choose to get liquored up while in the office. Heck even if I have been convicted of a DUI that doesnt all of a sudden make it illegal for me to drink or own alchol..i just cant legally drive.

[Pared]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

What doctor in their right mind would subscribe a healthy young adult steroids without a basis of reasons, primarily being poor health? They'd risk losing their license.

You're REALLY reaching out to left field to prove a point here.... The fact is steroids are illegal unless prescribed, and in no way are they only "illegal in the eyes of the MLB." The point is these players need to show they have acquired these drugs LEGALLY, if they do, in fact, admit they used them. That's the angle the gov't is going after. Are they singling out a publicly known figure? Yes, but that happens ALL THE TIME, as it's a way use one person as an example to get a message across.

[Pared]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

What doctor in their right mind would subscribe a healthy young adult steroids without a basis of reasons, primarily being poor health? They'd risk losing their license.

You're REALLY reaching out to left field to prove a point here.... The fact is steroids are illegal unless prescribed, and in no way are they only "illegal in the eyes of the MLB." The point is these players need to show they have acquired these drugs LEGALLY, if they do, in fact, admit they used them. That's the angle the gov't is going after. Are they singling out a publicly known figure? Yes, but that happens ALL THE TIME, as it's a way use one person as an example to get a message across.

[Stu]

Re: What is your take on the Congress and MLB?

First of all MLB players can get a perscription from a Doctor for sterriods. They just cant take them and be MLB players. So see they can get them even own them, they just by MLB rules put them in thier system..so then again...for some of the players that NOT ILLEGAL. If im a doctor and I can legally subscribe Sammy Sosa a steriod then I can. Period. and legally he can have it in his possession because I wrote his presecription. now what he does with it while being a pro baseball player is ALL ON HIM. He takes them, gets busted hes not going to jail..hes going to get suspended. You act like because someone cant take something because of thier line of work prohibits it means they cant legally have it, buy it, or own it. My job prohibits me from having alchol while on the job, but the liquor store can still sell it to me. If I choose to get liquored up while in the office. Heck even if I have been convicted of a DUI that doesnt all of a sudden make it illegal for me to drink or own alchol..i just cant legally drive.

I guess I don't see the point of your argument. Theoretically, yes a doctor could prescribe steroids for an MLB player but none of the players in question have a prescription, so by possessing them they would in fact be breaking the law.

Alcohol doesn't require a doctor's prescription so I don't know how that example is even relevant.