Mitchell Report...Do any names surprise you?

[indiandi]

I guess with so many players doing the Roids these days, I shouldn't be surprise by anyone on the list.  But I was definately bummed by seeing a couple of names:   Jack Cust (DH for Oakland);  he just killed the ball when he first arrived with the club last May/June.  I was really looking forward to him sticking with the team this year.
F.P. Santangelo (Utility IF):  He's out of ball now, but played with Oakland and Giants at the end of his career.  He's now a morning sports talkshow host at KHTK in Sacramento and did work at the local sports radio station.  He's good at it.  I would never call him a star, but he was a fan favorite and you could count on him in the clutch.

I'm also bummed that players like Clemens, and Bonds, that were great players before starting the roids, felt they needed to go that route. 

I was glad I didn't see names like Tony Gwynn and Suzuki weren't on that list.

[Vezna31]

One of my favorite players of all time, Lenny Dykstra, was on the list.  There is no denying looking at his rookie card and then looking at pictures of him once he was on the Phillies of how much his body bulked up.  I remember hearing steroid talk way back then.  In my opinion, it did affect HR production.  Lenny hit like 27 one year as a leadoff man when he was mostly an OBP man.  One thing steroids doesn't do is increase your TALENT.  It still takes incredible skill to hit a 95 mph fastball.  I don't believe steroids affected batting average as much as HR production.

[indiandi]

You're right, roids don't increase talent.  However, they do increase blood flow to the muscles, which allows for rapid recovery of the muscles from daily wear and tear and/or injury.  That's why pitchers took it.  Not for the bulking factor, that's the last thing a pitcher whats to do, but for the recovery time.  They would need it mid to late season when their arms would begin to get tired and they may drop a mile or two per hour on their fast ball.  They couldn't afford to lose any volocity against the hitter who was doing roids to stay strong and fresh throughout the season.  As the hitters stayed fresh, their BA wouldn't drop toward the back half of the season.  Therefore it would affect BA as well has HR production.

[monkeymaker]

I agree with you Andie.  Roids and HGH impact all areas of an athlete's performance either directly or indirectly.  From energy to competitiveness to strength to speed to endurance and conditioning, these drugs are very helpful.  Testosterone boosters just aren't fair. 

I'd be so pissed if I was a clean player knowing that others were better than me because they juiced.  I'd probably rat them out.  Too bad more players don't feel that way.  They all suffer because of it.

[Vezna31]

It's getting pretty ugly with Clemens and McNamee.  I think Clemens is guilty, which sucks.  He was one of my favorite athletes.