Say It IS So, Mark!

Robert DeNiro's face was in my living room late Monday night appearing on a television movie about an emotionally troubled Giants fan entitled, oddly enough, "The Fan". And though I nostalgically watched a scene of a Giants game shot at Candlestick Park (with the late, great Rod Beck pitching), I had to turn it off soon thereafter because the dark character portrayed by Robert DeNiro was disturbed me. While the character's problems were not primarily a product of his endemic frustrations over being a Giants fan in general, I suspect they significantly contributed to his overall internal turmoil based upon my personal experiences as one (a Giants fan, not a disturbed person).

This is all by way of contrasting the interview I heard Mark McGwire give to Bob Costas on mlb.tv earlier in the day. There were similarities in the two personalities that left me personally troubled. Over the radio, I could almost hear Mark's internal demons wrestling with his conscience over an issue that has haunted fans of American baseball lo this past decade. That dirty little secret is: performance enhancing drugs (or "PEDs" for short). Mark made himself the poster child of that widespread affliction when he testified before Congress some five years ago and said, well, nothing at all about his incredible home run records and whether or not they were related to his use of PEDs. In his defense, Mark McGwire certainly cannot be accused of lying to Congress that day but neither did he choose to tell the truth What frustrated the congress people and Americans the most was that his adamant and repeated refusals to address any questions about the use of PEDs came to symbolize major league baseball's refusal to address the overall problems of PEDs that had taken over the American past time.

So fast forward to 2010 and Mark McGwire is now finally prepared to come clean on the issue of PEDs so that he can return to work for the St. Louis Cardinals as a hitting coach this season. So when it is his time to come up to the plate and answer the questions posed by Bob Costas, what does Mark say?  Essentially, the slugger said his usage of PEDs did not affect his home run totals one iota. Say what? "Not even a little bit?" asked Bob Costas. "Nope! It was all my natural God-given abilities, parental-given DNA structure, and shortening my bat swing," replied Mark (paraphrased). "So, why did you take PEDs?" asked Bob. "To get back on the field quicker after my injuries. I didn't want to let my teammates down, y'know," was Mark's excuse. Incredible!

This exchange brings up a host of other questions and issues such as; Why did he feel the need to apologize to Roger Maris's widow if he didn't cheat to break the 1961 single-season home run record? If his home runs were unaffected by his use of PEDs, why didn't he tell this to the grand jury and Congress when they asked about it in the first place? Why should PEDs even be banned if they cannot affect a person's God-given abilities? And on... and on... and on, etc. But what astounded me the most was upon learning the next day that Mark McGwire and the St. Louis Cardinals had hired President George W. Bush's former press secretary, Ari Fleischer, over a month ago to prepare Mark McGwire for this first public interview. Really? And this was the best they could all come up with? PEDs have nothing whatsoever to do with a player's baseball statistics?

Okay, I do not intend to bash the Bash Brother here. Like Robert DeNiro, we all have our own personal demons we must wrestle with on a daily (if not hourly) basis. None of us are perfect. And perhaps, over time, Mark will reflect further upon this matter and come to modify his positions closer toward the realm of reality as we know it. But if this is the height of the bar that is set that one must jump over before he gets rehabilitated back into baseball's good graces, then I must say that the muscled-bound Barry Bonds has nothing to fear in the future (besides, perhaps, a tainted jury pool). Sayyyy, when is Barry's trial going to get started anyway? And wasn't Barry indicted some five years ago... by George W. Bush's attorney general, Alberto Gonzales... who was the same man that refused to give Mark McGwire immunity... that would have allowed Mark to more truthfully testify before Congress in the first place? Hmmmm.

On a brighter note: The Giants did sign first baseman, Aubrey Huff, to a one-year contract last week. I am hopeful because Aubrey has put up some impressive offensive numbers in the past and his signing does not severely impact the eventual development of fellow first baseman Travis Ishikawa whom I believe has a ton of future upside. Also, this signing puts Mark DeRosa in leftfield thereby leaving Nate Schierholtz alone in right. This year, I am going to be Nate Schierholtz's biggest fan. I like Nate's God-given abilities, his shortened bat swing, and the fact that he has the face and attitude of a hockey player. Hmmmm baby!

Go Giants!