Fay Vincent on Bonds Situation

[runningshoes]

Vincent says this is the biggest crisis to hit baseball since 1920.

"I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's the biggest crisis that's hit baseball since the '20s and the Black Sox scandal," Vincent said yesterday, referring to the conspiracy by players on the Chicago White Sox to fix the 1919 World Series.

"The generic problem of steroids in baseball has been brought to a head by the Bonds situation.

''It's really an enormous mess because it has threatened all baseball records, everything that was done in the '90s forward is suspect because of the likelihood that lots of players were using steroids."

Is it?

[Brian McKenna]

shhhhhhhhh! don't wake up bud - he doesn't want to deal with this today.

[Captain Cold Nose]

shhhhhhhhh! don't wake up bud - he doesn't want to deal with this today.

Evidently, Mr. Vincent didn't want to deal with it while he was in charge, either.
Is it the biggest crisis? Very likely, because the type of influence the gamblers had did not spread as far as the use of these performance enhancers allegedly does. The action taken is going to effect a heck of a lot more than the couple dozen or so banned under Landis's watch.

[Bench 5]

Keeping blacks out of baseball up until 1947 was the biggest crisis in baseball since 1920. But other than that I have to agree with Vincent that the steroid issue is the next biggest. Its unfortunate that the owners fired him because unlike Larry Bud Selig, he actually cares about the game. Larry Bud doesn't give two hoots in hell about the integrity of the game because he has no integrity himself.

Even more than just individual records what about the integrity of the games and playoff chases? Does anyone think that San Fran would have been nearly as competitive if Bonds were de-juiced the past several years. Without him they were average. With him they were a contender and made it to the WS. Same thing goes for the Giambi led A's, Sosa with the Cubs etc. Teams with a disproportionate amount of clean players were at a competitive disadvantage.

[Brian McKenna]

Evidently, Mr. Vincent didn't want to deal with it while he was in charge, either.
.

i agree - giamatti and vincent are not the heros/martyrs they're made out to be - giamatti chased palone and postema out of the game - vincent's difficulties were a little less subtle but perhaps a little more widespread