This is a quote by a man that has been in a media whirlwind as of late. You say this players name, first thought that comes up is Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This player has admitted to the use of HGH and apologized to his fans, the Yankees’ fans, and the fans of baseball. He could, and probably will, be called to the stand to testify against his former “best” friend, Roger Clemens, who refuses to admit to using HGH or anabolic steroids. This player didn’t avoid the questions about his use of HGH at a 45 MINUTE press conference before his first day of spring training at the Yankees’ camp. He sat and took the heat, not making excuses. Still people label this man as a cheater to the game.
Andy Pettitte…
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201-113
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3.83 ERA
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1,844 Ks
The Quote in the headline pretty much sums up Andy Pettitte’s character, he is a fighter. He is competitive and is in the business of baseball for one reason, to win. Andy Pettitte is a husband and father to four kids. He holds the all-time record for most starts and innings-pitched in the MLB post-season. This cheaterwon the Good-Guy Award from the New York Sports Photographers. Also a winner of the Warren Spahn Award , which is given to the top performing left-hander. Twice Andy has been a twenty game winner and four of his fingers are heavy with world series rings. Consistent is what he should be labeled, as he has never had a losing season in his career. All this has been overshadowed now as he was named in the most infamous document in the history of the MLB, The Mitchell Report.
December 13, 2007 was a day that Andy Pettitte must felt like someone just low blowed him with a sledgehammer. This was the day that The Mitchell Report was released and the day that Pettitte fell into the media’s fire. Mitchell received information on Pettitte from none other than Brian McNamee. McNamee stated that he injected Pettitte with HGH two to four times in the 2002 season to help Pettitte heal from an elbow injury. December 15, 2007 was the day that Pettitte came forward and said he did indeed use HGH on two occasions to help heal from an injury, not help enhance his performance.
Now Andy Pettitte must live with the consequences of his use of HGH, but he must suffer the worst punishment of all…shame in the eye of the fans. Wait though, was he wrong in what he did? First, he was wrong in possessing the hormone because he did not have a prescription. The HGH came from a prescription given to his ill father, so yes he broke the law in that sense, but what about in the sense of breaking the rules of baseball? In 2002, the season Pettitte injected himself twice in one day, MLB did not have any rules banning the use of HGH. Pettitte had sustained an injury to his throwing elbow that could have altered his season and even his career. He wanted a fast and full recovery from this injury and as baseball fans we know that elbow injuries can really hurt a pitcher career. When his trainer, at the time Brian McNamee, came to him with a solution that would make the healing process fast and VERY helpful, Pettitte jumped at it. Put yourself in your shoes, you are presented with a solution that could keep your baseball career on the high and do it legally (in MLB’s mind). He used HGHJ to recover from an INJURY.
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cheat-er
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-noun
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a person or thing that cheats
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Cheat
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-verb
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to deceive
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-noun
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a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds
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a fraud
Andy Pettitte… A fraud? An Imposter? He was deceiving?
Pettitte said he was not trying to enhance his performance, or in other words he was not trying to deceive us with his game or being an imposter. How could you be an imposter in baseball you ask? Easy, you take HGH to be a better pitcher, to gain an edge on players, which in my eyes is trying to be an imposter of a dominant pitcher. Pettitte was saving his career and hoping to be able to recover from this injury and be able to player for many more years. He took TWOshots of HGH in the same day that is it… He was not cheating. Maybe he was desperate, but one thing Pettitte was not doing was cheating. He had good intentions, in his mind is seemed to be like taking an advil for headaches, just another prescription drug to help get over an injury.
Andy Pettitte, his apology at that gruesome 45 minute press conference… I accept it, but do the rest of you baseball fans?
stars and catalysts of the rotation, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Cain and Lincecum need to be able to carry this Giants’ team, if they can go deep into games and let up minimal runs the Giants will have good odds of winning the games they pitch. Barry Zito has to have a rebound year, the Giants are paying him way to much to turn out a season containing an 11-13 record with a 4.53 ERA. The rotation will look something like this:
should be letting the young guys play in that LF spot, but Bochy and Roberts are butt-buddies and Roberts will most likely man that position. Fred Lewis, Rajai Davis, and Nate Schierholtz are the three young outfielders that are battling to make the 25-man roster for the regular season. Rajai Davis did enough last season to prove himself to have a starting spot on this Giants team. Really it’ll be between Lewis and Schierholtz for that last backup outfielder spot. All three could make the team depending on how many pitchers Bochy keeps.
help out at the top of the line-up. The line-up really is not set, but I see it as this:
comfort zone and try to cover other sports to really show off your journalistic skills. There are exceptions to this off course, there are people who cover their respected mainstream sport with perfection, such as Niteowl with baseball. I am also realizing as I get older, to become a true sports fan, you should be familiar with as many sports as possible. Get beyond the sports that fill television screnns around the nation. Let your mind expand into the different realms of sports. That is what I have decided to do, I have decided that I need to EXPAND. I start my expanding with my entrance in to the hockey world. I, Casey Lee, now announce my new beginning as a fan of the NHL.
began to look for a homestate team (California) since I only have one favorite team from my homestate. I also wanted a team that had a chance at a championship, or as US hockey fans would say, a chance at winning the Stanley Cup. My teams always seem to fall short and I hope that my new team breaks that trend. The team I selected to follow was the Anaheim Ducks! Yes the current holders of the Stanley Cup. Here comes the bandwagon hopping yelps. Like I said before I wanted a team from California and a team with success and the Ducks are both, as they are fourth in the western conference and second in the pacific division with 75 points. Yes, I did learn about the poitns system and will talk more about that later in this article.
don’t know what skills it would take to pick a rookie player that is developing, plus who wants to root for a sucky player. I decided to pick third year wing, Corey Perry. He leads the Ducks in goals, tied for third in assists, and is second in points which I also learned about. Corey Perry is only twenty-two years of age, so he is perfect to grow-up with in the sport of hockey. Perry was present in the NHL all-star game this year.
as though Cleveland wasn’t really in heavy trade talks with any franchise. This deal brings in some big names that could essentially put the Cavaliers at the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics level. Bringing in these players was a move to help the Cavaliers compete with those two power houses in the East. Ben Wallace will be a big help down low defensively, but adds little to no help offensively. Still, Wallace and Ilgauskas will be a formidable duo down low. The Cavs will also get help from Szczerbiak, his outside shooting will be greatly appreciated off the bench (where I presume he will come from). Gaining Delonte West as a backup point guard or starting shooting guard also helps this team. West has great potential and can also shoot the long ball. All in all Cleveland still has LeBron and this makes them an even better contender adding such great interior defense. I just don’t know if they can overcome the Celtics, but I can definitely see them beating Detroit (again).
having big names. The Giants are now rid of their biggest name, Barry Bonds. Bonds, in my opinion, is in the top 5 greatest ever. He was a game changing player and a player I grew to love growing up as a Giants fan. He did have his faults, as we all know, he isn’t the nicest of all people, although I have heard stories of him helping out players. It was hard on players playing with him because when someone with the presence of Bonds play s it puts pressure on other players to perform at that level. Also, Bonds frequently snapped at players and it made for a stressful and negative environment. Now that Bonds has left the clubhouse for good, it’s a new era of baseball for San Fran.
that is Dirtbag. He is what the sport of baseball is all about. He is here to play for the game and not try and be bigger than the game. Rowand lays it all on the line and is constantly putting his body at risk. Winning baseball games is what Rowand wants and will do anything to get those wins. The mentality of Rowand is that of a certain hall of famer Ty Cobb. Although Rowand does not take the views to the extreme as does Cobb, he has minor qualities that resemble the great Center Fielder. Now I am not talking skill level, no one man is close to Cobb in skill, but the way Rowand views the game. Not to earn money or be the star of the world, but to be none as a player who worked his ass off and played his heart out for his team. If Rowand can rub off this mentality on his teammates, then the sky is the limit. If this Giants team comes out everyday and plays their asses off and have the desire to win, well they could very well get those needed wins to compete for the division title. Giants players will have to take a part out of the Long Beach Dirtbags’ book and earn their respect through hard work and dedication. The Giants can push for that playoff spot as long as they pull together as a team and believe in one another. They have to not only want it though…They have to believe it.
