Say What?!?

I nearly spit out my coffee this morning while reading the sports section of the Inquirer. In the midst of various notable baseball tidbits was this gem:

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland said yesterday that, while he does not condone the use of performance-enhancing drugs, most fans don’t care about the issue.

“The people who care about it probably don’t like baseball,” Leyland said.

Come again?

Mr. Leyland has obviously not been reading the posts here at MLBlogs, from bloggers like Emily at I Live For This, Jen at A Diatribe from a Journalism Student, or Julia at Julia’s Rants. They don’t just like baseball, they love baseball. And judging by the comments to some of these posts, many other fans feel the same way – there is no place for PEDs in this game.

It is thinking like this that has allowed the problem to perpetuate. For Mr. Leyland to allow this quote into the press is irresponsible.

12 comments

  1. irishsoxkid19

    Wow, apparently, he’s been in Motor City too long. True fans do care. Those who don’t know the difference between the Red Sox and the Reds are the ones who care less. Mr Leyland, get a clue!! Seriously, it’s for your own good at this point.
    -Holly
    http://irishsoxkid19.mlblogs.com

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  2. mattpeas

    i kind of agree with Leyland, alot of fans really dont care. The reception Manny has gotten since his return has been supportive, nobody will boo Papi. Fans just want wins and homeruns, some could care less how it gets done as long as their team is winning

    http://pittpeas.mlblogs.com

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  4. heartruss

    I don’t know what to say on this one. Manny served his suspension without much comment and did not throw the blame to anyone else. Ortiz pretty much said that he didn’t know he took any illegal drugs and that it must have been contained in his vitamins. I cannot boo Manny while he is a Dodger . I will never boo a Dodger. Others such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still deny they ever did anything, Clemens actually throwing his wife under the bus by saying it was her drugs.
    I, as a nurse, find that truly illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, marijuana and alcohol (yes, alcohol) have actually harmed and killed people. It makes my job much harder. And alcohol is legal although it harms others and the person himself with the illness it eventually causes. And all that is a drain on all of us..
    The fact that names seem to seep out of that list causes me to wonder the timing of it. I tend to think there has been much illegal hanky panky going on with all that. I don’t know.
    I cannot pass judgment on people because I myself am not perfect, and never will be. I think I have more of a problem with people who have used the drugs but don’t want to take the penalty. I figure later on those who did take steroids or other PEDs will feel the effects on their bodies with brittle bones, etc so they will pay their penalty in that respect.
    With athletes seemingly getting better and stronger, the competition is more and more stressful. Could it all be better diet?? Better exercise. Better nutrition. I don’t know.
    Just my opinion.
    http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com

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  6. rrrt

    Cat, ranting is quite alright. What initially bothered me about Leyland’s quote was not necessarily whether or not he agrees with the use of PEDs, but that he felt the only people who cared about PED use probably didn’t actually like baseball. From what I’ve read here on MLBlogs, a majority of us DO care, and we ARE fans. Granted, “caring” about the issue could mean your opinion could fall on either side of the debate. Hopefully those who have used PEDs in the past will admit to it if need be – I can’t really call it “wrongdoing” because it wasn’t against the rules of baseball at the time. Personally, as far as the “list” goes, I wish they would either release the whole list, or destroy it once and for all. What’s done is done. We need to move on.

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  7. crzblue2

    When Manny was suspended for using whatever it was that was ilegal, I wrote a post that I do no condone that and I don’t BUT he served his suspension and I know it was killing him not to hit because that guy loves to hit. He followed the rules of the suspension.
    .
    Like Cat, I do not believe in booing ANY Dodgers. I did not boo Andruw Jones last year as bad as he was doing for us and I was not going to start with booing Manny. He served his suspension, apologized to the fans and to his teamates so I was ready to move on. My motto is “just don’t do it again.”
    .
    I do have a problem with people that have used PED and have denied it like Sosa and Clement. I am suspicious of others that deny it, I am suspicious of players that have hit a lot of homeruns one year and this year’s number are no where close to where they were the year before. So I have names in my mind that I think “did he or didn’t he.”
    Emma
    http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/

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  8. iliveforthis

    Thanks for the link post! Let me tell you, I’m disgusted that people don’t care about this issue. It’s a huge issue, and it’s going to ruin the sport if we don’t stop it. I am a Red Sox fan, but by no means condone what David Ortiz did and can’t ever respect him the same way. I never boo any major league player, regardless of what has happened. Right now, it sounds like there’s the possibility that players who were on that list contested what happened. It’s hard to figure out this mess. I can’t believe people don’t think that fans care, and I can’t believe there are fans who don’t care. Maybe I should send Jim Leyland my letter.
    Emily
    http://deconstructingthoughts.mlblogs.com/

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  10. rrrt

    You may be right, Jane. The few lines I quoted above are the entirety of what appeared in my newspaper. Apparently, the quote is from a longer column in a different outlet in which Leyland says he is “sick and tired” of all the steroid talk. I think he could have chosen his words better, and I think whoever edits these news nuggets for the paper did a disservice by not including the quote in its full context.

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