1. Books detailing drug use. 2. Connection with Balco. 3. Grand Jury testimony. 4. Personal trainer and good friend was a well known steriod dealer.
well I may have misunderstood but the whole thought of olympic testing in team sports is still overboard. the olympics are comprised mostly of individual competitions, cycling is an individual sport as far as the guy who wins. steroids, hgh, blood doping, directly affect win/loss outcomes in those sports. I understand baseball's individual records are "sacred" in the history of sports in this country, but the only thing that matters is wins and losses. and right now there isn't even proof that steroids drastically helps these guys' performances let alone outcomes.
No, blood doping was brought up only as an example of something that CAN'T be tested for, by anyone, yet. The French are always accusing Lance Armstrong of it because they really have no way of detecting it (although someone claims to have developed a test that can detect it over there...sort of dubious). As Nick said, the blood test would just be to test for all the things that MLB players MIGHT use so that no one can claim that such and such player might still be using. I don't think they can ever test for everything because, odds are, the cheaters will always be ahead of the tests if they are really motivated (and the millions of dollars these guys make is plenty of motivation). I doubt blood testing will ever be allowed by the union, and I doubt that MLB ever seriously tries for it...but it would clear up some of the paranioa that fans have that any player that is currently exceling might be using some sort of banned substance.
1. Books don't always tell the truth and in this case it brings up a hot button topic that is currently in the media. Could be more of a ploy to make money than find the truth 2. Just because you have connections with certain organizations doesn't mean you partake in all of their activities. 3. I don't know anything about that so I won't comment 4. My friend deals mar1juana and cocaine but people don't accuse me of being a weed or coke head.
The key with Bonds was that this was a guy who had never hit over 50 HR's in over 12 years in the big leagues, and he allofasudden hit 73. That HAS to raise suspicion, even if you're ultimately clean. What Pujols is doing in his first 5 years is just sick... and even though he's still improving, his rookie year was still about as good as any year a player can have. THAT is a major reason why he's had less suspicion... the guy seems like he's simply a "natural"... like he was born to hit in the big leagues.
This was in response to what the difference was between Pujols and Bonds. Pujols has no links to steriods besides being a baseball player and hitting a lot of home runs.
I just gained a little more respect for Pujols: Cardinals Slugger Tells People to Give Bonds a Break ST. LOUIS -- Albert Pujols defended Barry Bonds on Wednesday, saying he respects the accomplishments of the San Francisco Giants' slugger. Pujols was in the St. Louis lineup after a nasty slip and fall and felt good enough to discuss the widespread belief that Bonds' pursuit of Babe Ruth's hallowed 714-homer total is tainted by alleged steroid use. Bonds is one shy of tying Ruth for second on the career list. Pujols also addressed whispers that have followed him since he broke into the major leagues in 2001 that he fudged on his age. Last year's NL MVP said people have been "too hard" on Bonds. He and the Cardinals play the Giants for the first time next week in San Francisco. "I know he's probably made some mistakes in the past, but come on, give the guy a break," Pujols said. "Respect the numbers in the career he has put up." Pujols feels like he's under suspicion, too, because people don't believe he's really 26. "You know how many times I hear -- and I'm sick and tired of people saying it -- that I'm not 26?" Pujols said. "I know how old I am and I know that I don't use any of those bad things people are talking about that I use." Pujols said in the current climate, players seem to be guilty until proven innocent. "People talk. That's their job, to write something stupid without finding out," he said. "Like Barry, people are talking about him and they haven't found anything out about the guy. They're talking about making the guy a bad guy. Prove the point first and then you can write anything about it. But before, leave the guy alone." Pujols added that Major League Baseball could test him for illegal drugs "every day if they want." "I don't need any type of things like that to help me out with my game," said. "I don't need to do anything more than what I've done in the past or doing right now. "I'm happy with my career so far and what I've done in my career, and I don't need anything extra." Pujols, who leads the majors with 19 homers and 48 RBI, also fouled a ball off his left shin on Tuesday and was a lot more sore than usual. But he was determined to keep playing. "I'm a little banged up," Pujols said. "But when I'm out there performing I'm going to do my best and I'm going to forget about any pain that I'm going through." Not long after a rain delay of 101 minutes Tuesday night, Pujols slipped on the plastic on-deck logo that had become dangerously slick while chasing Jose Reyes' foul pop near the Cardinals' dugout in the eighth inning. Pujols said the thought crossed his mind that the logo was going to come into play just before he slipped. He landed hard on his back and was down for several minutes before deciding to stay in the game. "Right before I called for the ball I knew I was going to step on it, I think, and I knew I was going to have problems with it," Pujols said. "Hey, it happens. I'm glad it only had to happen one time before they took it out." Pujols said his upper back took the brunt of the impact, and he also felt his neck pop, but somehow he avoided banging his head, too. "It could have been worse," he said. "I could have broken my neck, I could have broken my back. The good Lord was watching me." Pujols had back issues before the slip. He missed his only game of the season earlier this month due to a lower back strain. "This doesn't help," trainer Barry Weinberg said. "Someone with a good back would be sore today. So, I'm not surprised that he's sore." Manager Tony La Russa, who's been testy recently when he feels Pujols gets too much attention, seemed to believe reporters were interested in Pujols' condition because of his star status. "It doesn't concern me any more because it's Albert," La Russa said. "So maybe we should pull the whole team off the field after rain delays and forfeit?" Just like he wanted to be in the lineup on Wednesday, Pujols said he did not want to leave the game on Tuesday. "The last thing I want to do is my spot comes up with the game on the line and me being out of the lineup when I know I could have stayed there and hit," Pujols said. "If I can't play, I'm going to come out. "But if I'm able to do some damage I'm going to stay in there, and I felt I was fine."
I would be arrogant too if I were him. I would then easily kick your ass for calling me names. ps. I sent you an email the other day.
Pujols... are you kidding me? He's a monster this year. Season .317 AVG 22 HR 54 RBI 45 RUNS Projected .317 AVG 84 HR 206 RBI 171 RUNS Pujols homers in third straight game as Cards sweep KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- When Albert Pujols is at the plate, there is no such thing as wasting a pitch. Albert Pujols is on pace to smash the single-season records for home runs and RBI, but he's hardly impressed by those numbers. The slugger explains why in this week's Sunday Conversation. Kansas City right-hander Scott Elarton learned the hard way Sunday when his delivery to the extreme outer part of the plate was driven by Pujols to the opposite field and into the Royals' bullpen. Pujols homered in his third straight game and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Kansas City 10-3 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep and send the Royals to their ninth straight loss. "He's an unbelievable hitter," Elarton said. "He's probably the best hitter in the game right now. I wanted to waste a pitch (with the count 1-2). I felt like I had a pitch to waste and he hit it out of the ball park." Kansas City (10-31) has the worst record in baseball and has been swept nine times this season. Pujols, who leads the majors with 22 home runs in St. Louis' 44 games, reached the homer mark in the second-fewest games in baseball history. Bonds did it in 43 games in 2001. "He's a once in a lifetime thing, not once in a lifetime, but he compares to anybody who has ever played the game is a better way to say it," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said of his star first baseman. Pujols, who went to Fort Osage High School and Maple Woods Junior College in Kansas City, also leads baseball with 54 RBI, 46 runs scored and 118 total bases. He already had a four-game homer streak this season between April 15-18. "It's not about me," Pujols said. "It's about the team. We got three wins and that's what we want to do." Next up for the Cardinals is a three-games series at San Francisco, where Bonds is tied with Babe Ruth for second place with 714 career home runs. "He's put up some great numbers in his career," Pujols said. "He's the best player in baseball right now." The Cardinals have won five straight for the first time since July 10-18, 2005, and are a season-high 14 games over .500. They have dominated their cross-state rivals in interleague play, winning 10 of 11 from Kansas City. Jeff Suppan, who pitched for Kansas City from 1998-2002, beat the Royals for the first time in five career outings. Suppan (5-3) yielded seven hits and two runs in six innings and improved to 3-1 in four May starts. He also offered some advice on how to pitch to Pujols. "Very carefully," Suppan said. "There are so many ways he can beat you. He's the one guy when he comes up in big situations it seems like he produces more times than not. He's continued to improve. It's fun to be on this side of the uniform with him." Chris Duncan, recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, and Hector Luna homered in the fifth. Duncan hit a two-run shot to center, and Luna connected for a solo homer off Elarton (0-5). Elarton, who is winless in 10 starts, gave up five runs on five hits, three of them home runs, in six innings. Elarton had retired 10 in a row before Pujols' home run. "I can live with that," Elarton said. "The other two were bad pitches." Elarton is finding it difficult to live with the losses. "You get mad," he said. "We're just terrible. There are no two ways about it. We're pretty much bad in every facet of the game." The Royals stranded 11 runners and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. "They had their chances," La Russa said. "We were all nervous in the dugout. We prevailed, but there were some nervous moments." The Cardinals batted around in a five-run seventh, which was highlighted by Jim Edmonds' two-out, two-run single after Pujols was walked intentionally to load the bases. Scott Spiezio had a run-scoring single in the inning, and another scored on John Rodriguez's RBI grounder. Larry Bigbie came home on a throwing error by Royals reliever Andrew Sisco. "Quite frankly, they've got a much better team than we have," Royals manager Buddy Bell said. "You make a mistake like that (Sisco's error), we just can't cover it up." Matt Stairs led off the Royals' fourth with a double and scored on Paul Bako's two-out single. Aaron Guiel homered in the sixth for the second Kansas City run. Angel Berroa's seventh-inning double scored Stairs with the final Royals' run. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260521107
