Be Consistent Curt
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by Tyduffy
In what probably does not come as a shock to most baseball fans, Curt Schilling, once again, has opened his rather ample oral cavity. This time, he does speak some sense. During an interview with Bob Costas, Schilling chastizes both Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire for using steroids. He asks Costas the rhetorical question, "If someone wrote that stuff about me and I didn't sue their butt off, am I not admitting that there is some legitimacy to it?" He has a fair point, and one that is not brought out often enough. A refusal to challenge a statement does, in the court of public opinion, count as a tacit admission of wrong doing. Contrary to what John Kruk and others will spout, this should be good enough evidence that Bonds was taking performance enhancing drugs. That statement, taken alone, is a perfectly valid one to bring up.
However, as Curt is prone to do, he also overstepped his boundaries just a bit. When asked about Jose Canseco (an admitted steroid user), Schilling states, "Everything that he ever did should be wiped clean. I think his MVP should go back and go to the runner up." Schilling takes a hard line with Canseco, stating that his entire career should be wiped off the map. Assuming that this is because Canseco used steroids and not just because he is an odious human being, than Curt would, to be consistent, have to say that about every player, including teammates.
The hero of Curt's 1993 Phillies' team was Lenny Dykstra. He lead the league in hits, walks, and runs, and doubled his previous home run total, finishing 2nd to Barry Bonds in NL MVP voting. A former body-builder and convicted drug dealer made a sworn statement that Dykstra used steroids. Another column alleges that Dykstra's steroid supplier "hung out with about half the team(1993 Phillies)" and that Dykstra made jokes about having some "good vitamins" while putting on 30lbs of muscle in the early 90's. If we get conclusive evidence that Dykstra, and potentially others on that Phillies team, were using steroids, should their World Series appearance be wiped off the map?
Or how about Luis Gonzalez on Curt's 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks World Series team? Gonzalez had one of the best seasons any player has had in recent memory that year. He hit .325 with 57HR and 142 RBI. He had only hit over 30HR in one other season (31 in 2000). Until 1998, Gonzalez had never hit more than 15HR. Yet, suddenly at the age of 31 he develops a power stroke hitting 23 or more home runs in seven of the next eight seasons, including the 31HR and 57HR years at age 33 and 34 respectively. Perhaps its not fair to pin the tail on a guy who has not been linked by any evidence (besides a numbers spike and looking like the Incredible Hulk), but if any evidence implicated Luis, would Curt be the first one running to hand back his World Series ring?
There are two statements from Schilling's interview that are telling. One, is him saying the (steroid) problem was "grossly overstated." Another was his comment, when asked how widespread steroid use was, that there were "teams that had a subculture of it." He is willing to take the popular stance and pile on guys who have been already implicated like Bonds and McGwire, but when it comes to the rampant abuse in the sport he is still, apparently, in a bit of denial. The problem is always remote and somewhere else for Schilling, but never to his knowledge or in his own lockeroom.
Curt's statements about Bonds,McGwire, and Canseco are correct, but they are not the only players who have been connected or implicated in steroid use. He had an opportunity to share knowledge at the Congressional hearings, but, instead, he waffled and played down his earlier comments. If he is going to take a serious stand on the steroid issue, he better show the same fervor to implicate his own teammates and acknowledge that he may have benefitted from their tainted success. If Curt wants Canseco to give up his 1988 MVP award, he better be willing to part with a World Series ring.
