Baseball doping

It's disturbing how what is released in the media an what actually is happening behind the scenes are often two vastly different things. I of course remember the two Blue Jays World Series victories, but I also remember the very next World Series was cancelled because of a strike/lock-out. The stoppage turned me off baseball for a few years, like many other baseball fans, and also like many other baseball fans, I eventually returned to the sport.

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in the 1961 season, a mark that lasted until 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both broke that record with 70 and 66 home runs respectively. Since then that mark of 61 home runs has been broken four more times, most recently in 2001 when Barry Bonds hit 73 (the current record). The drive the point home a bit further, before 1961 the record was 60 home runs. Babe Ruth achieved that mark in 1927. Only once in 70 years with a player hit over 60 home runs, since the World Series was cancelled in 1994 it's happened six times.

It wasn't the home runs that brought me back to the game. For one it's the pitching that interests me most. I just eventually missed the game, but how many of us consider the increase in home runs to be a calculated move by the owners and MLB to bring fans back to the game?

We all know there is doping in baseball, Bonds and Roger Clemens head the list of scapegoats, but what people don't know is that there are many more people to blame, people that somehow skirt responsibility. When people began to take note of steroid use in baseball, Bud Selig claimed that he knew nothing about it and then proceeded to try and stop it. This of course cam after fans had returned to the game. In 2005 he said "I never heard about it."

What people don't know is that when Selig owned the the Milwaukee Brewers, he did know about it. Brent Starr, a former Cleveland Indians trainer, said that he was at a meeting in 1988 between the owner's group and the Players' Association in which team physicians told the owners that there was a doping problem that needed to be addresses. Selig was there too, but 17 years later he claimed to be hearing about the problem for the first time.

So what happened? The only thing that makes sense to me is that the owners always knew about doping, and once they saw attendance fall, they encouraged it, or turned an even blinder eye, although I don't see how that could be possible. Once fans were back in the seats, they condemned doping. If it wasn't already public knowledge that doping existed, they probably wouldn't ever have done anything about it.

I'm not saying the players aren't at fault, but if you ask an average fan who the culprits are, they would probably respond with Clemons, Bonds, or maybe they'll say some trainers were at fault. All of those people are at fault, but so are the owners who are capatalizing on the players using steroids, but few fans point any of the blame at them.

The "Mitchell Report" is a farce, aimed at putting all the blame on players that aren't able to make them money anymore.

George Mitchell wrote the report when he was  on the board of the Boston Red Sox. It makes sense that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were both not included in the Mitchell Report. The Red Sox needed them to win the 2004 World Series, so of course Mitchell excluded them.

I would also note that while the Mitchell Report ruined the careers of many players, it was all based on hearsay, and none of that hearsay affected Bud Selig or any of the league's owners.

Owners need to be brought into the spotlight. They need to be questioned by grand juries about how much they knew about doping, but I doubt that will ever happen, and that is a crying shame.

Leafs out of playoffs again

The one thing I noticed about Toronto sports writers is that other than the odd word against the coach and the team in general, most of them only say negative things about the fans. As if we have anything to do with the team's futility. These "journalists" seem to have a hate on for fans. I would like to remind them that for the most part the people booing former players at the ACC are not fans, they are corporate slugs that need the Leafs to win to look good in front of clients. Let's remember that the average Leaf fan can't afford to go to the games. Why don't they talk about the huge ticket prices for a team that hasn't made the playoffs in six years? Why don't they talk about the huge profit the team makes? Instead they blame the fans for giving the team all that money. Again, it's not the fans giving them money, it's the corporate slugs. The only guy I know with season tickets has admitted to hating the Leafs since he was a kid, but it's a good way to show potential investors a good time.

Anyway, enough of all that. I live in Montreal anyway so I don't even have the option of going to the ACC, and really the prices in Montreal, while cheaper, are also quite expensive. I did manage to see Halak's 55 save performance against the Washington Capitals in last year's first round, and how did I get those tickets? Through Kate's work of course.

The Maple Leafs again finished the season strongly after a terrible start, but it wasn't enough to squeeze into the playoffs. In other years, these strong finishes have done much to encourage the fan base for the following year, and this year is no different.

High Hopes

Next year may end up being another wasted year, but there are more positives than usual, and one glaring question that must be answered before the Leafs can do anything close to winning a playoff game.

The Leafs' strong finish was longer than usual, giving the impression that it might carry over till next season.

The team had four 20 goal scorers, two 30 goal scores (Kessel and Kulemin) and Graboski just missed 30, finishing with 29. Macarthur had 21.That's not bad if these four can reproduce those numbers, and the Leafs can add another scorer with their 20+ million in cap space.

The biggest question, actually there are two, is goaltending. Will Reimer be able to reproduce his season? If so I think the Leafs will be a good bet to make the playoffs, if not they'll be hoping to win the lottery (at least they have the first round pick in 2012.

Goaltending is going to make or break next year unless the Leafs can drastically improve on special teams, especially the penalty kill. If you trust your penalty killers, players can play more aggressively without worrying that a penalty will result in a goal against. Since Burke wants to build a rough-and-tumble team, the penalty kill must be among the best in the league if the team has any hope of success.

I'm looking forward to the off-season  moves Burke make. I wouldn't expect Richards to be a Leaf, but Burke may be able to pull off a blockbuster nonetheless.

As far as the teams that are in the playoffs, here are my predictions. Yes, I know five games have already been played, but one game does not a series make.

Eastern Conference
(1) Washington over (8) New York in four
(2) Philadelphia over (7) Buffalo in seven
(3) Boston over (4) Montreal in six
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Tampa Bay in six

Western Conference
(8) Chicago over (1) Vancouver in seven
(2) San Jose over (7) Los Angeles in six
(3) Detroit over (6) Phoenix in five
(4) Anaheim over (5) Nashville in six

Matt Cooke apologizes

Matt Cooke, possibly the most violent player in the NHL's modern era, has apologized for his elbow to the head of Ryan McDonagh. The apology came after he was suspended the remaining ten games of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. Forgive me if I find it hard to believe his sincerity.

"I realize and understand, more so now than ever, that I need to change," Cooke told Pittsburgh reporters Monday night. "That's what I wanted my message to be.

"I'm fortunate that Ryan McDonagh wasn't hurt," said Cooke. "I don't want to hurt anybody. That's not my intention. I know that I can be better. ... I made a mistake, and I'm the one who's accountable for that. And I take full responsibility for it."

How can you not intend to hurt someone when you deliver a flying elbow to their head? Of course he meant to hurt McDonagh. When Cooke meant to say is that he didn't intend to end McDonagh's career, although he must have known it was a possibility. McDonagh did not actually sustain significant injury, but that shouldn't matter anyway, and who knows if he's hiding concussion symptoms to continue playing. What should matter is the intent, the elbow, and the player's repeated violent activities that fall outside of the rules and expectations of the sport.

The suspension is deserving, and Cooke's words are meaningless.

NHL fumbles on Chara hit

It's been an interesting week in Montreal since Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara rode Canadiens' forward Max Pacioretty into that hazardous part of the glass between the benches. Some people say Chara was just finishing his check like all good NHLers do and some say he intentionally pushed Pacioretty into the wall of glass at the end of the Bruins' bench. It's impossible to know what Chara was actually thinking so let's look at some of the facts.

The game is fast, but Chara's hit was late and surely a Norris trophy winner is thinking quick enough on the ice to know that he was putting Pacioretty in danger.

The Bell Centre is not known for being one of the safest rinks to play in. The padding that Pacioretty hit looked like it was about an inch think, and when you travel as the speeds hockey players travel at a one inch think piece of foam is as useful as using a pillow to catch a skydiver whose chute failed to open.

Chara isn't known as one of those players that goes around hurting people, but he is a giant and it takes less effort from him than others to do damage to people. I saw a lot of him when he played for the Senators, and while I agree he is not a violent offender, nor is he going to be a Lady Byng candidate anytime soon.

The NHL is desperately trying to reduce head injuries in the NHL. Air Canada has threatened to pull their sponsorship and who knows how many other companies will follow suit if the problem is not resolved. I know NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's response to Air Canada was that there are a line of potential sponsors, but even so it's just bad business to look weak on the head injury front. With this in mind it becomes difficult to understand why the NHL would not suspend Chara.

Suspensions should not be decided on the damage caused. The body is both frail and durable at the same time which makes it capable of sustaining great damage from minor collisions and minimal damage from major collisions. Suspensions should be decided based on the act and the intent. Chara pushed Pacioretty's head into a wall of glass while travelling at high speeds long after Pacioretty had passed the puck, even if he didn't mean to hurt him a suspension is warranted. And why should it be no games or 20 games, as was suggested by Don Cherry?

I think they should give him five for hitting Pacioretty into a dangerous part of the boards well after he had passed the puck. It's not going to hurt the team significantly, and it lets fans and sponsors know the NHL is working on reducing injuries, and it lets the players know that they have to try to avoid hurting each other out there.

Probably as a result of the NHL's decision to not suspend Chara, the Montreal police are now investigating the hit. It's a typical passionate response, but not one that I think will lead to anything further.

Instead the Canadiens, who could meet Boston in the first round of the playoffs, will take matters into their own hands and either start a number of fights with the Bruins when they next meet, or they'll hurt one of the them.

I've said it before on this very blog that the NHL's system with dealing with offenders is poor. Here once again they have failed, and who knows what the repercussions will be in the long run this time.

PuckLife magazine: Ben Maxwell

In December I wrote a piece on the Hamilton Bulldog's Ben Maxwell for PuckLife magazine. Just a few days ago, the Montreal Canadiens' prospect was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes.

This month I'v been assigned Emerson Etem, an Anaheim Ducks' prospect currently playing the the Medicine Hat Tigers. Let's hope Emerson has some sticking power, so I don't see all the players I interview get traded.

Here is the original version of the Ben Maxwell article. The published version, which you can read if you subscribe to PuckLife magazine, had some changes. I'm not posting the updated version for two reasons, one) I can't figure out how to copy the article out of the pdf-type file PuckLife magazine is distributed in and, two) as most writers will tell you: I didn't like the editor's changes.

Here, unaltered, is the Ben Maxwell article.

Ben Maxwell's master plan

Despite being stuck in the AHL with a two-way contract,
Maxwell's got the talent and drive to become a fixture in the NHL

There are a number of differences between the AHL and the NHL, many of them financial. Those financial differences often decide which league a player will start the season in. For North Vancouver
native Ben Maxwell, who was drafted 49th in 2006 by the Montreal Canadiens, a group of players with one-way contracts is the biggest reason he's putting in a third season for the Hamilton Bulldogs.


“I was looking to make the team this year, obviously it didn’t work out. There weren’t a lot of spots,” explained Maxwell. He has played only 20 games in the NHL in the past two seasons, despite his escalating success in the WHL and AHL since 2003. The key is that Maxwell has shown a solid ability to improve. He's averaging more than a point per game this year for the Bulldogs.


Another year in the AHL is probably not going to hurt Maxwell's development, but it's not going to do much for it either. Every game is now a try out for Maxwell, a chance to show the big club what he can do. The 22-year-old centreman definitely knows what they’re looking for. He spends his time in the AHL practising all the things his coaches – three in three years with Hamilton – preach. “Hockey players who are most effective in the NHL are usually the guys who are the two-way players, and can also put the puck in the net, and that’s what I strive to be,” says Maxwell, who's dreamed of the NHL since he was six years old, watching Pavel Bure play for the Canucks.


The Canadiens will give Maxwell a chance eventually, there's little doubt about that. The numbers he's putting up in the AHL must have Canadiens' GM, Pierre Gauthier, thinking about ways to make space for him. But like many young players on the Bulldogs, there's no rush for the Canadiens to bring Maxwell up. They're not looking to rebuild: they're coming off an improbable playoff run that saw them reach the Eastern Conference semi-finals and hope to continue that momentum this season.


So what's Ben Maxwell master plan? He's continuing to work, adding the strength and confidence that's needed to play full-time in the NHL. “Every young guy’s goal is to get a little stronger because in the NHL the guys are that much bigger and stronger,” says Maxwell. “I’ve got a little more confidence, and I think that’s a big thing in pro hockey, just finding your calm and cooling down out there and playing your game.”


He's has got the knowledge and the experience, the drive and the raw talent, now Ben Maxwell just needs some consistent playing time with the Canadiens to prove it. As he himself said, “There’s only a certain amount that the minor leagues can do to prepare you for the NHL.”

Jose Bautista signs 5-year contract with Blue Jays

Good? Bad? Ugly?

There are going to be opinions all over the place on this one, and the truth is we're not going to know if this was a good or bad deal for a little while yet. That doesn't mean everyone, including me, isn't going to speculate.

So far the Jay's GM, Alex Anthopoulos, has done a fine job. He's restocked the team's prospects, gotten rid of a couple of hefty salaries, and he's made the team a contender in the toughest division in baseball.

Few people thought Bautista would hit 54 home runs last year, setting a Blue Jays record and winning the Hank Arron Award in the process, and the bigger question is can he do it again. The frank answer is no. He's probably not going to hit 54 home runs this year, he probably won't even break 50. But that's not because he was a one-hit-wonder (or maybe 54-hit-wonder). Teams are aware of him now, they're gong to pitch him outside, walk him, throw at him, and generally try to avoid throwing him fast balls down the middle of the plate. That doesn't mean he can't hit 30 or 40 home runs. He may not match last year's success in the long ball, but he's going to earn his paycheck, that you can count on.

Not only is Bautista reputed to be one of the hardest working players on the team, he's well liked by management and the players around him.  Anthopoulos has earned my respect and, aside from what I already know about Bautista, if the Jay's GM says he's good enough to earn 64 million dollars over five years, I believe him.

Critics will say that one year does not make a player, and they're right, but those with a close eye could have predicted a break out year for Bautista last year. Firstly, he had finally settled down and was given consistent playing time in 2010. Between 2004 and 2010 Bautista played for five different teams. Secondly, his success started at the end of the 2009 season.

At the start of 2009, Bautista was on the bench, but during the season Alex Rios was claimed off waivers, Adam Lind move to the DH role, and Marco Scutaro was injured. By the end of the campaign, Bautista was a regular player.

Many fans are moving onto football by September since two of, Boston, New York, and sometimes Tampa Bay, have often clinched the playoff spots available to the Jays by fall, so it's no wonder that many didn't see Bautista hit 10 home runs in September of '09.

Consider also that the Jay's staff was pretty good about helping hitters find their swing in 2009. This year the coaches may be a bit more capable helping out pitchers than hitters, with Cito Gaston moving on and John Farrell coming in, but Bautista has already profited from Gaston and his crew's hitting advice. A couple adjustments to his swing and Bautista is putting up numbers that may see him considered for MVP this year.

If his numbers do decrease, how far do they have to drop before he's not worth his pay? He's not in the top 25 paid players in MLB, and he still makes less than Vernon Wells (now with the California, Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem). If he hits 30 home runs, keeps his great attitude, and keeps working hard he'll be well worth his pay. If he hits another 50 home runs, he'll be the best bargin in baseball.
This deal has worked out in both the player and the club's favour. Now Anthopoulos needs to get back at it and finish building a team around Bautista (and a few others already with the team of course) that can challenge the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, and those rhyming bastards, the Rays.

Versteeg to Flyers

So the Toronto Maple Leafs have regained a first round draft pick for the 2011 draft after trading their own away for Phil Kessel in a deal that left a sour taste in many fans' mouths. This first round draft pick is probably going to be a very late round pick whereas the Leafs' original pick is probably going to be around tenth overall.

The Leafs acquired Versteeg for Victor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico, and Philippe Paradis. Stalberg was a free agent Burke lured into the organization, DiDomenico was a sixth round pick and Paradis was chosen in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes and traded to Toronto for another first round pick, Juri Tlusty, who has logged AHL time this season and last, and has 9 points in 32 games this season for the 'Canes.

Any first round pick is good and this trade seems like it will be a good fit for both teams, but unless Toronto GM, Brian Burke, uses this first rounder to acquire another player it will look like a step backward. Not in the overall sense of the team's assets, but in will not help the team win now. What the Leafs lost in Kris Versteeg was a 24 year old, 50 point scoring, Stanley Cup veteran who possibly wasn't fitting in as well as Burke may have liked. What they gained was a pick that could turn into an equal or better (or worse) player in about two or three year's time, and a third round pick. A fine trade if the mandate was to rebuld.

Sure the team could wait another three years, Dion Phaneuf is only 25, Nazem Kadri is only 20, and any one else that really matters is younger than Phaneuf, but Burke isn't going to wait. There's already talk that he's got a buyer for that third round pick, and the first round pick may not survive long in this Cup challenged city either.

With the trade deadline coming it will be an exciting time for Leaf fans, as it almost always is. Burke has also stated that he intends to be active on July 1st, the first day of free agency. While Versteeg may not have worked out in the Blue and White, let's hope that Burke can find someone who can survive in Toronto and let's also hope he gets enough time to meld.