February 23, 2005
THE JUICE CHRONICLES
As a longtime A's fan, I've always liked Jose Canseco, his florid
personality, & wild off the field antics (even after he went to the
hated Yanks). The controversy over his tell-all roid romp,
Juiced, is perfectly in character, & it's especially rich to listen to
the chorus of denials claiming Canseco is only out for money.
As opposed to the selfless altruists in the MLB, right? The fact is, the owners, the managers, & the union had no problem with steroids putting money in their own pockets. And if some players, like Giambi, McGwire, & Bonds, were a little obvious about it, just look the other way. Some reactions to Canseco's book:
Roger Clemens: "When you're under house arrest & you have ankle bracelets on, you have a lot of time to write a book."
Clemens redux: "I knew him when he was arrogant & wouldn't even sign autographs for us. I also know his softer side. I know a different side. Maybe he's hurting for money."
Canseco on Clemens:
"He's one of the very few baseball players I know who never cheated on his wife.
I was amazed by him, to be honest. His wife should be very proud of him."
Barry Bonds: "I was better than Jose then, & I've been better than him his whole career. If he wants to go make money, go ahead. For somebody who brags about what he did, I don't see any of your records."
Mike Greenwell, 88 MVP Runnerup: "I was clean. If they're going to start putting asterisks by things, let's put one by the MVP."
Greenwell redux: “One day he hits a mammoth home run at Fenway & I said 'Jose, I’d do anything to have your power. It’s unbelievable,' & he said, 'Well, why don’t you come on down to Miami & I can give you the power."
Andy Pettitte:
"I know he's got a lot of problems in his life. Sometimes people get
desperate. That might be what's going on."
Canseco on Grieve (98 Rookie of the Year): "Ben Grieve is a kid who needed to take steroids. He had a slow bat, slow feet & average ability. I could have taken Grieve & turned him into a stud. He would have been the perfect kid to benefit from the combination of steroids & growth hormone."
Bret Boone: "I don't know the person. He doesn't know me. I've never had a conversation with him. As far as I'm concerned, it's absolutely ridiculous."
Canseco on A-rod: "He'll always give you a sentence or two to put on TV or in your newspaper. Sure, it'll be drivel. There won't be a spontaneous word there. But it sounds like ballplayer talk, & that's what matters."
Ivan Rodriguez (who arrived at Spring Training 22 lbs lighter):
"I didn't use any of that stuff. I don't need it. I've been in baseball
for 14 years & I don't need it."
Dodgers pitcher Wilson Alvarez: "My family, my kids & the people who know me, they know I don't do that stuff. People can believe what they want to believe. This is a free country, & they can say whatever they want."
Frank Menechino: "In baseball, I think everyone is just laughing at him. I think he's just a bitter person. He looks like a mob rat."
Jason Giambi: "He's delusional. Just about everything I've heard is incorrect. About (me), about a lot of people. The whole book is going to be on the fiction best-sellers."
Canseco on Giambi: "As surely as he went overboard with partying & chasing women, Giambi went overboard with steroids. He became the single most vocal, outright juicer in the game, & nobody cared."
Johnny Damon on his
own new book,
Idiot: Beating the Curse & Enjoying the Game of Life: "There's no juice involved in mine."
Kenny Rogers: "I don't want my name associated with anything Jose Canseco says. I don't want to be in the same breath."
Canseco on Mark Grace: "Mark Grace defined a slump-buster as the 'fattest, gnarliest chick you can uncover, & you lay the wood to her.' "
Joe Torre: "What goes on in the sanctity of the clubhouse, like the sanctity of the kitchen at home, needs to stay there."
Dave Stewart: "If you're an admitted steroid user, believe me, you know who uses them."
Mark McGwire: "I did not use steroids or any other illegal substance."
Miguel Tejada:
"I barely knew Jose during his career, so it is ridiculous for him to suggest we ever had discussions regarding their use. I work very hard to keep in shape,
& any suggestion that I use steroids, or any banned substance, is insulting
& not worth discussing."
Ken Griffey Jr. "Look at me, do I look like I'm on steroids? I wouldn't do that to my team or my family. I'm not going to cheat them or myself."
Canseco on the New World: "Everybody will be doing it. Steroid use will be more common than Botox. Every baseball player & pro athlete will be using at least low levels of steroids. As a result, baseball & other sports will be more exciting. Human life will be improved. We will live longer & better. And maybe we'll love longer & better, too."
Excerpt from Juiced; Greenwell for 88 MVP Petition
Posted by Jeff at 07:36 AM | Comments (22)
January 19, 2005
CAPITAN AMERICA
SF Chron has a hilarious piece on the wild world of Latin American baseball. A's outfielder Eric Byrnes is a celebrity in the Dominican Republic, where he plays winter ball & is dubbed Capitan America. The first time he arrived, there was a crime scene outline of a body in the middle of the hotel lobby, where a guy had just been shot.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune also has a great series on baseball's frontier. Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz: "It's a good trip if you don't get shot." Pitcher Chad Moeller: "We were coming back from a road trip & someone ran our bus off the road when we were doing 60. We caught up to that car & wethe doors & shoot out the tires. Then everybody laughs."
Things are also rocking in Taipai, where prospect Carlos Pulido played:
"Everything was run by the mob there. Someone from the Mafia sent word they wanted to meet with me. So I went up to this beautiful penthouse to meet the big guy. They showed me a suitcase. Theyd it & there must have been millions in there.Baseball was introduced to Cuba in 1866, by American sailors there to load sugar. Before Jackie Robinson, African-American players were recruited by Latin American teams. In the 1930s, there were more Negro League players on the Dragones than Dominicans. In 2004, 27% of MLB players were born outside the US."My legs started shaking. I said I wanted no part of it. They said, 'We have 70% of the team on our payroll. If you don't throw the game, the guys behind you will be making errors, anyway.'Then they said, 'We know where you live.' I went to the team front office the next day & said, 'Give me a plane ticket back home."
Table lists
first foreign-born MLB players from various countries, including Afghanistan, Finland, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, & Poland. Only 26 days till the start of spring training.Posted by Jeff at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2004
JOHNNY DAMON
Born: Fort Riley, Kansas, Nov. '2 190. Red Sox CF. Bats/throws L. Known for speed.
American father, Thai mother who met during Vietnam War. Overcame childhood stuttering. High school straight A student in Orlando (with close friend Joey Fatone of NSYNC). 1992 scouted by Royals as senior. 1st full season in majors in 1996, Royals relentlessly compared Damon to George Brett in ill-fated PR campaign. Signed with Oakland 2000. Signed with Red Sox Dec.21 2001, $31 million 4yr contract. Nickname: Caveman.
1998, 2002 - Only ML player to reach double figures in doubles, triples, home runs, & stolen bases. Married to HS sweetheart, 2 kids Jackson & Madelyn. Favorites: Food- Filet Mignon, medium rare. TV - That 70's Show. Music- Cake, Creed, Pearl Jam, Our Lady Peace. Hero- Cal Ripken Jr.
On steroids: "I'm gaining weight the right way: drinking beer."
On steroids again: "I was talking to Tommy Lasorda & he was looking at my arms. I could tell he was thinking, This guy must be juicing. My dad was 6-2, 280 pounds, so I've got the genetics to be a body builder. I can start lifting weights & have a whole new me in a couple of days."
On Sox rivalry with Yanks: "It's time to give the Babe a shot of tequila & take it to the next level."
On the Bosox: "We were just a bunch of cowboys out there last year. We are not the cowboys anymore. We are just the idiots this year. We've got the long hair, we've got the cornrows, we got guys acting like idiots. And I think the fans out there like it."
Boston mgr Terry Francona: "As a group, they are borderline nuts."
Damon in 2002: "Imagine playing in a World Series in Boston. Imagine what that would be like."
On Royals fans: "These people here, they've got no clue what talent is or what winning is about. The people here are comfortable with losing."
On dropping Kevin Millar in April 2004 collision: "Think [Patriots coach] Belichick was watching that one?"
A .J. Burnett, Marlins pitcher on Damon's 2004 look: "He looks like a caveman, like he's been iced up awhile."
On baseball egos: "I go out & play not for the numbers, but for a chance to win & the thrill of playing in front of a packed crowd."
On baseball legend Ted Williams: "To willingly go off & serve your country, that's a true gentleman, a true American."
On gratitude. "I grew up with pretty much nothing. My parents worked all day. I was always very humble with anything that was given to me or I was blessed with. That's why I've kept this even keel."
On playing with injured knee in 2003: "When you put on a uniform, you feel like you have to have some kind of respect for the game & a little injury is not going to force me to take off. They pay me a lot of money to play this game & play it well & I felt I did that."
On his hirsute look: "I feel like a good-looking guy."
See also Johnny Damon Fan Club ; Llama Butchers: Gratuitous Damon Slam
UPDATE: Sox up 2-0 in World Series, but Keith Burgess-Jackson looks forward to their crash: "Those of us who love watching Boston fans suffer wouldn’t want St Louis to win in 4, 5, or 6 games. It must be a 7-game Red Sox defeat, & it must come after Red Sox hopes have been raised to their highest level. The question is not whether Boston will lose in 7 games, but which player becomes the Bill Buckner for a new generation. I say Manny Ramirez."
Posted by Jeff at 06:34 PM | Comments (18)
October 01, 2004
I C H I R O
"I don't know too much about history." Ichiro Suzuki
Seattle Mariners #51. Right-fielder. Throws right, bats left. Bat: white & blue ash from Japan. Unique athlete who excels at everything but home runs: .300+ for 4th straight year, 5th in league in steals, dangerous throwing arm, 3 5-hit games this season. One hit short of broke George Sisler's 1920 season hits record of 257.
Born Oct. 22, 1973 Honshu Island, Japan. 5'9, 170. Father was baseball phreak, gave son 1st baseball & bat at age 3. Joined Little League at age 6. Father specified special protein diet; not allowed to eat anything without father's approval. On father's relentless drilling as a child: "Sometimes it was pretty hard to take. It bordered on hazing. I suffered a lot."
At age 18, selected in 4th round by Orix Blue Wave due to small stature. Japanese batting champ for 7 years, 3x MVP, 7 consecutive Gold Gloves.
1st Japanese position player to sign with MLB. 1st Seattle contract $13 million. Second contract: $44 million, 4 years. 1st season .350, MVP, Rookie of the Year, Players Choice, league stolen base leader. Gold Glove 3 years running. 1st player to top All-Star voting first season. 1st & only MLB player to use given name on jersey. Dream: to pitch 1 major league inning.
Favorite food: beef tongue. Likes: golf, rap, washing car (Nissan Cima). Favorite movie: Miss Congeniality. Has never studied martial arts. Married sportscaster Yumiko Fukushima in LA to escape Japanese media. On why he fell for his wife: "She cooks very well. She can make anything, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, everything. She makes breakfast, lunch, dinner, every day. It's great."
Given private dressing room after Japanese website offered $2 million for nude pics.
On the Zen of baseball: "You don't turn in a spectacular performance because you happen to be in supreme condition that day. It's the times when you're in a normal mental state that you have a chance to turn in a great performance."
Ichiro on Ichiro: "Hopefully kids could look at me & see I'm not muscular & not physically imposing, that I'm just a regular guy. "
On becoming only other player besides Pete Rose with 2 50-hit months: "It's probably harder to dig those records up than to get the records."
On the Zen of glove maintenance: "It is imperative to set aside a period of self-reflection each day. That's what the time with my glove represents for me. There's a special meaning in reflecting back on your day's work while paying homage to a piece of equipment that helped you."
On difficulty with English: "Vocally, I can't be more of a leader. What I can do is lead by example."
On playing the national anthem before games: "I like it. Japanese don't do that. It makes you think Americans really value their country and have a lot of pride in it."
On cultural anthropology: "The Japanese have a strong tendency to suppress their own feelings. That's the Japanese character. They kill their emotions. They don't throw bats or break things like Brett Boone."
On the Yankees signing ARod: "The Yankees should just practice until October & start playing in the playoffs."
Brilliant Seattle sportswriter David Locke 4/28/04: "The reality is bleak. The Ichiro that Seattle fell in love with may no longer exist. The player who made opposing teams look like the Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons is gone."
See Bio at JockBio, Ichiro Daily Update site, Robert Whiting interview in TimeAsia, Ichiro Sunglasses
Posted by Jeff at 01:06 AM | Comments (0)