MLB Baseball 2009 Season Thread

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:27 pm

Jack Clark has always been one of my favorite Cardinal's home run hitters....

Jack Clark: McGwire 'should be banned from baseball'
By Rick Hummel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/14/2010

Former Cardinals slugger Jack Clark, talking about players who admitted to having taken steroids or who have been suspected of it, said today: "A lot of them should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire."

"All those guys are cheaters," said Clark, who was the Cardinals’ main power threat on the 1985 and 1987 National League championship clubs.

"A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez): Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro: Fake, a phony.

"(Roger) Clemens, (Barry) Bonds: Fakes. Phonies. They don’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

"They should all be in the Hall of Shame. They can afford to build it. They’ve all got so much money.

"And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin. The whole thing is creepy.

"They’re all creeps."

McGwire and Clark are scheduled to appear this weekend at the Cardinals' Winter Warmup event.

"I'm not even going to say hello to him." Clark said of McGwire. "I'm not going to shake his hand."

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:32 pm

Pics of Coach McGwire. Gotta admit he still looks like he could rake some balls over the fence. He's stayed in pretty good shape.

http://stltoday.mycapture.com/mycapture ... ubAlbums=0

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:34 pm

So, Beltran is going to miss 12 weeks? WTF? Couldn't have waited or had surgery right after the season?

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:17 pm

props to Jack Clark.

today's world needs individuals like him. Willing to take a stand in the name of principle regardless of offending someone.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:19 pm

sportdan30 wrote:So, Beltran is going to miss 12 weeks? WTF? Couldn't have waited or had surgery right after the season?

this was the topic all day on local NY radio today. I don't get Betran's timing either

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:35 pm

vinny-b wrote:props to Jack Clark.

today's world needs individuals like him. Willing to take a stand in the name of principle regardless of offending someone.

This just in: Jack Clark has been moved to Fox Sports Mid-West 8 to cover high school volleyball.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:00 am

greggsand wrote:This just in: Jack Clark has been moved to Fox Sports Mid-West 8 to cover high school volleyball.

lol. I believe you.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:14 am

greggsand wrote:
vinny-b wrote:props to Jack Clark.

today's world needs individuals like him. Willing to take a stand in the name of principle regardless of offending someone.
This just in: Jack Clark has been moved to Fox Sports Mid-West 8 to cover high school volleyball.

Wouldn't surprise me. Actually, he does do some post-game work for the Cardinals. Seeing that the ownership took to welcoming McGwire back with open arms, Clark might be on thin ice.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:23 am

Banned? But Mark says that the drugs didn't impact his performance and were only to keep him healthy!!

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:09 am

RobVarak wrote:Banned? But Mark says that the drugs didn't impact his performance and were only to keep him healthy!!

Hey!...Thats what Joe Buck said all summer long in 98. That the andro in Mark's locker was for medicinal purposes and that his god was being unfairly questioned by those two or three brave souls who actually SAW what the filthbag was doing.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:17 am

The rest of the Jack Clark article continued this morning, along with quotes from Andy Van Slyke:

Referring to some of the admitted steroids users' tearful apologies, Clark, who was the Los Angeles Dodgers' hitting coach several years ago, said, "They're not really a man's man. They're just whimpering boys who are just sad to watch.

"They try to put it off on somebody else. I don't know how they sleep at night, looking at all their fame, let alone the money they took by faking everybody out and lying to everybody. ...

"I don't know. I'd rather take my 340 home runs (11 seasons of more than 20) legitimately instead of taking that stuff to be phony."

Former Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke, agreeing in part with Clark, said, "I never condoned a player who used steroids while they played, but I've never been mad at a player. But I think if you have an opportunity to tell the truth and you continue to be disingenuous and lie, then there's every right for people to be upset by the continued lying or finger-pointing.

"There's a lot of finger-pointing by Mark McGwire. He blames it on not being tested and he blames it on the era. Why would you blame baseball for taking steroids?

"That's like me saying the reason I was drunk driving was because I knew that on this particular highway, they didn't have anything for me to blow into."

Clark criticized McGwire's initial statements that McGwire's swing and mechanics were good enough that they would have allowed him to hit the record-setting 70-homer total he achieved in 1998 without the aid of steroids.

As if he were speaking to McGwire, Clark said, "No, because your hand-eye coordination was not good enough. You're kind of a big goof. You had one thing. If you uppercut a ball, you might hit it.

"If his hand-eye coordination was so good, why did he feel the need to apologize to the (Roger) Maris family?" Clark asked.

"It's shame that he thinks we're all stupid, that he only did (steroids) because of injuries. That's such a cop-out, such a lie. These guys did (steroids) to take the money to pump up their egos and then take their consequences down the road.

Van Slyke played many years in Pittsburgh with Barry Bonds, who has been at the center of the steroids-HGH issue.

As to whether Bonds would ever pull a McGwire, Van Slyke said, "If he does come forward, I hope he'll be truthful. One thing about Barry. He's not afraid to speak the truth. For the last four years (since his appearance before a congressional committee), McGwire could have said something."

Clark said the steroids abusers and suspected users "are all lucky they didn't end up in jail. It's all comical to a certain point. It's a three-ring circus. It really is.

"From (commissioner) Bud Selig to Tony (La Russa) to A-Rod to Manny Ramirez to Palmeiro ... what a joke."

Clark insists that Selig and La Russa, among others, knew more about the use of steroids 10 to 20 years ago than they were letting on.

"(McGwire's) own manager never knew that (Jose) Canseco and McGwire and anybody else ever had taken steroids?" Clark said. "Trust me, from (a former player), I have a lot of insight into who did what and when but I'm not even going to talk about it. It really doesn't matter.

"This thing stretches a long way back and it's really ugly and just really shocking. ...

"These guys are playing the game for their own benefits and it's really disgusting. ... They go up there and shed a tear and they think all is forgotten. Well, it's not forgotten and it never will be."

Clark and McGwire both are scheduled to be at the club's Winter Warm-Up this weekend. Should they meet, Clark said, "I'm not going to say hello. I'm not going to shake his hand. He's a sad excuse for a player in the industry of baseball. Just seeing him in uniform makes me throw up.

"He should not be in baseball. He should be banned from baseball more than ever."

lexbur · Post by **lexbur** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:51 pm

It's beginning to look a lot like Opening Day...

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:34 pm

Former Dodgers and Redsox outfielder J. Offerman losing his cool. This dude needs major anger management. And he was to work with the Tigers' organization?

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:20 pm

sportdan30 wrote:Former Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke, agreeing in part with Clark, said, "I never condoned a player who used steroids while they played, but I've never been mad at a player. But I think if you have an opportunity to tell the truth and you continue to be disingenuous and lie, then there's every right for people to be upset by the continued lying or finger-pointing.

"There's a lot of finger-pointing by Mark McGwire. He blames it on not being tested and he blames it on the era. Why would you blame baseball for taking steroids?

"That's like me saying the reason I was drunk driving was because I knew that on this particular highway, they didn't have anything for me to blow into."

I don't condone anything that the steroid users have done, but guys like Van Slyke and Clark also need to get off their high horses. Cheating has gone on in baseball since the beginning of the game. The reason these guys used steroids is because it enhanced their games and they knew they could get away with it. If players like Clark could have made millions of dollars more by using steroids, and they knew everyone else was doing it, and they knew you would likely not get caught, I guarantee a lot of the old timers would have done the same thing.

That doesn't make what they did right, but once baseball decided to look the other way, no one should have been surprised by what happened.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 12:12 am

Brando70 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:Former Cardinals outfielder Andy Van Slyke, agreeing in part with Clark, said, "I never condoned a player who used steroids while they played, but I've never been mad at a player. But I think if you have an opportunity to tell the truth and you continue to be disingenuous and lie, then there's every right for people to be upset by the continued lying or finger-pointing.

"There's a lot of finger-pointing by Mark McGwire. He blames it on not being tested and he blames it on the era. Why would you blame baseball for taking steroids?

"That's like me saying the reason I was drunk driving was because I knew that on this particular highway, they didn't have anything for me to blow into."
I don't condone anything that the steroid users have done, but guys like Van Slyke and Clark also need to get off their high horses. Cheating has gone on in baseball since the beginning of the game. The reason these guys used steroids is because it enhanced their games and they knew they could get away with it. If players like Clark could have made millions of dollars more by using steroids, and they knew everyone else was doing it, and they knew you would likely not get caught, I guarantee a lot of the old timers would have done the same thing.

That doesn't make what they did right, but once baseball decided to look the other way, no one should have been surprised by what happened.

Pretty much agreed. I def thought it was interesting that McGwire got a standing ovation at this cards event the other day & Jack Clark was booed. Just more evidence that most people DO NOT CARE... (including this guy)

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 3:07 am

greggsand wrote:
Pretty much agreed. I def thought it was interesting that McGwire got a standing ovation at this cards event the other day & Jack Clark was booed. Just more evidence that most people DO NOT CARE... (including this guy)

That was a crock of BS, what a joke some Cardinals fans are.

Yeah, give a guy a standing ovation for finally telling the truth - I mean, would he have come out if he didn't decide to be the Cardinals hitting instructor?

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:29 am

MizzouRah wrote:Yeah, give a guy a standing ovation for finally telling the truth - I mean, would he have come out if he didn't decide to be the Cardinals hitting instructor?

in the past years, have viewed Cardinals fans as the best fans in baseball. This disapointed me.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:30 am

vinny-b wrote:
MizzouRah wrote:Yeah, give a guy a standing ovation for finally telling the truth - I mean, would he have come out if he didn't decide to be the Cardinals hitting instructor?
in the past years, have viewed Cardinals fans as the best fans in baseball. This disapointed me.

Agreed. Im very dissapointed. I would expected more from Cardinal nation than to be just any other fans.

In the end all fans are fans and all they care about is their own team's and players performances at pretty much any cost.

In my rant about the players, management and the media I forgot the fans who also turned a blind eye to the disgrace.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:41 am

vinny-b wrote: in the past years, have viewed Cardinals fans as the best fans in baseball. This disapointed me.

Ha! They've led the league in sanctimony, tunnel vision and excusing malfeasance for decades. Tony LaRussa is right where he belongs in so many ways.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:41 am

King Felix signed a 5 year/80 million (approx) contract via Jon Heyman.

next up, hopefully Joe Mauer signs his extension

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:47 am

Looks like the Mets are acquiring Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels to sit in at centerfield... no word of who's going out there yet, however. I hope it's Castillo.

Take a chance on Sheets and Wang while you're at it, Omar.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:50 am

Slumberland wrote:Looks like the Mets are acquiring Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels to sit in at centerfield... no word of who's going out there yet, however. I hope it's Castillo.

Has there ever been a bigger dropoff talent wise? Beltran to Matthews Jr. Eeesh. I guess if he gets back on the juice he'll be serviceable.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 1:50 pm

it is January 22. Have never witnessed this large amount of free agent players, this late in the off-season. Not even remotely.

way too many players, and not enuf interested teams. Among them:

Ben Sheets
Jon Garland
Erik Bedard
Jarrod Washburn
Jose Contreras
Russell Branyan
Hank Blalock
Ryan Garko
Chad Tracy
Carlos Delgado
Orlando Hudson
Ronnie Belliard
Miguel Tejada
Melvin Mora
Orlando Cabrera
Johnny Damon
Jermaine Dye
Xavier Nady
Jim Thome
Brian Giles

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:10 pm

I wouldn't mind C. Delgado to be playing back for the Jays but at a decent pay cut.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:04 pm

Ankiel to................. the royals?