Must admit that my VERY FIRST thought was, wow, Big Mac had some plastic surgery done.
That aside, I was struck by McGwire's thought that the steroids only was to recover from injury and that they were not performance enhancing. I can't buy that argument. The talking heads on MLB also jumped all over that one. Putting that aside, my thought is what the hell, unless McGwire is an Oscar-worthy actor, he is certainly contrite, he has certainly anguished over this, so what's the point in continued persecution? That doesn't mean "put him in the Hall of Fame." And, please, do not compare this to Pete Rose. Not the same crime at all.
Plus, "The Media" has given passes to the contritious Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, and Alex Rodriguez (who all played in New York, coincidentally), so doesn't Mark McGwire deserve the same brand of forgiveness?
By the way, how about MLB's Ken Rosenthal? Talk about a hanging judge! I think he'd only have been happy if McGwire would have agreed to being crucified at home plate on Opening Day. I think Harold Reynolds was the most practical of the MLB commentators. Then again, Harold has had his own issues regarding the need for forgiveness.
McGuire's contention that he would have 70 home runs in 1998 without steroids due to his "hand-eye" coordination and the genetics his parents gave him is so ridiculous that its laughable. Costas did a good job probing Big Mac but could not get him to agree that steroids pumped up his performance. Another laughable moment: when Big Mac said he didn't want to look like Arnold or the guy who portrayed the Hulk. That's exactly what he did look like!
ReplyDeleteVery cheap shot at Harold Reynolds.
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