Blogging the Bloggers: Raul Ibanez, Bobby Valentine & David Letterman
Posted by Anthony Stalter (06/12/2009 @ 3:28 pm)
- DEADSPIN discusses the unfortunate ambushing of blogger Jerod Morris, who is catching massive criticism for his piece about Phillies’ outfielder Raul Ibanez-steroids piece. For TSR’s take on the situation, click here.
- UNCOACHED groups together a photo gallery of the most noteworthy Yahoo! baseball profile pictures.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS says that Japanese fans really want manager Bobby Valentine back.
- As the Penguins get ready to take on the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, THE LOVE OF SPORTS ranks the top 10 “road warriors” in Game 7s.
- TONY BLOGS.NET has video of David Letterman sending Steve Nash to the NBA Finals.
Posted in: MLB, NBA, NBA Finals, NFL, NHL
Tags: Bobby Valentine, Bobby Valentine Japan, Detroit Red Wings, Funny MLB Profile Pictures, NBA Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Raul Ibanez, Raul Ibanez blogger, Raul Ibanez blogger comments, Raul Ibanez blogger steroids, Raul Ibanez Phillies, Stanley Cup Game 7, Steve Nash
Ibanez irate over blogger’s PED speculation, but is Inquirer columnist to blame?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (06/11/2009 @ 2:46 pm)
A story gaining major national attention over the last couple days is a story that Jerod Morris of Midwest Sports Fans wrote about 37-year old Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez, who has been on a tear (.325, 20 HRs, 55 RBI) to start the 2009 baseball season.
The motivation behind Morris’ article (which you can read in full here) was to prove that Ibanez’s incredible start wasn’t due to the possible use of steroids or any other form of performance-enhancing drugs.
Here’s an excerpt from Morris’ article, although I implore you to read the entire piece because he dedicates most of the post to trying to prove that legit factors (i.e. the ball parks he’s played in, the pitchers he’s faced, etc.) have led to Ibanez’s fast start.
Thirdly, it’s time for me to begrudgingly acknowledge the elephant in the room: any aging hitter who puts up numbers this much better than his career averages is going to immediately generate suspicion that the numbers are not natural, that perhaps he is under the influence of some sort of performance enhancer. And since I was not able to draw any absolute parallels between his prodigously improved HR rate and his new ballpark’s hitter-friendliness, it would be foolish to dismiss the possibility that “other” performance enhancers could be part of the equation.
Sorry Raul Ibanez and Major League Baseball, that’s just the era that we are in — testing or no testing.
The above except was enough to compel Philadelphia Inquirer columnist John Gonzalez to write a piece entitled, “A cheap shot at Ibanez.”
Here’s an excerpt from Gonzalez’s article:
Read the rest of this entry »
