Terry Francona Takes the Blame In the End of His Regime

He was an hour earlier than expected for his meeting with the Red Sox, which was absolutely acceptable by the franchise.

When Terry Francona drove his 2005 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL65 AMG to Fenway Park for a lengthy meeting with general manager Theo Epstein and team executives, he probably felt the tension, given the September orgy of 20 losses as the Red Sox floundered with a nine-game hold on a playoff spot.

The reality is that Boston blew its chance and became the first ever team in baseball history to enter September with a nine-game lead for the AL wild card and miss the postseason. The truth of the matter is Boston's season was squandered, with complacency, arrogance and the lack of chemistry.

The recent allegations surfaced through the night, revealing that the Red Sox players were, with the disrespect shown toward Francona, drinking alcohol in the clubhouse during games they weren't on the mound as a starter. There is much suspicion in Beantown, as clubhouse chemistry and the shortage of discipline evoked the greatest collapse in baseball history, that an unbridled relationship is broken between Francona and the Red Sox.

Shortly before Friday afternoon, he left the meeting and his job status remained still in limbo, even when he reportedly told the Boston staff members Thursday that he'll not return. There's a sense he was burned out with his role and had become detached, not committed or driven to be the voice in the Red Sox clubhouse, a few days removed from a historic collapse.

It's not hard to assume that Francona was frustrated with the chemistry issues and the poor leadership, worn down by a divided clubhouse and ballclub in tremendous turmoil since the abysmal meltdown at the worst possible time. The pitching staff may seem relatively blameworthy -- for a starting rotation that finished 28th in the majors in consistent starts, but something else was wrong with this team and unfortunately it is the end of the Francona regime.

In the end, he is the fallen and most scrutinized guy in the Red Sox drastic collapse. He was the man blamed intensely on Yawkey Way, and he decided what was best for him by stepping down as manager. The well-accomplished manager in modern Red Sox history will be relieved of after eight seasons of success with eight wins, five playoff berths and two World Series titles.

These days, as we all know, Tito is blameworthy for the heartbreaker at the end of the season, missing the postseason after a horrifying collapse scripted a horror movie in Beantown. Bearing a dire transition, one that seems surreal in a town that admired Tito, he was an ideal suitor for the Red Sox managerial role with his capabilities to protect his players from criticism.

Before his team was blew the wild-card chase was eliminated from contention, Francona supposedly had a bond with his players. The culpability has not disappeared, and much talk has been fixated on the latest debacle that sort of tarnished the Red Sox, a club taunted for its epic failure. This was the team that needed a change in its fragile culture when it spent an estimate $200 million last offseason to revamp the lineup and contend with the Yankees for the AL East.

But it wasn't enough. It was embarrassing and painful to watch the Red Sox in September. Sadly and clearly, the Red Sox couldn't even manage an 8.5-game lead in less than a month and finished a staggering 7-20. And remember, this came after Boston was considered to be the greatest baseball club for the ages. But what did the Red Sox do with the chance to win the pennant? Blew it. They simply blew it and were badly ridiculed.

He might not deserve it, but 90 percent of the time the manager is hit with the blame -- and Francona happened to be the manager of an unbalanced and perplexed franchise. It was built with talent and arguably had the deepest depth in the majors, until the last game of the season when Jonathan Papelbon delivered the ill-advised pitch to Robert Andino.

It's easy to blame the closer for blowing a one-lead save with one strike left, but many are to blame for Boston's failures. There are, though, many who could take a burden of the blame or slightly some of the responsibility for the saddest ending during one of the captivating nights in baseball, all while the Red Sox mastered history in a negative fashion, no doubt. This time, a lot of people will blame Epstein for the horrible brand of baseball played in the last month.

By now, he feels plenty of the blame for signing incompetent free agents to his $161 million roster and destroying chemistry as the players never blended in together as an effective ballclub. The strategy of the blame game was in full force when designated hitter David Ortiz acted like he was the team's pitching coach and suggested that Alfredo Aceves should have been in the rotation, frustrated with the struggles of rookie starter Kyle Weiland and even Francona.

Since he likes to play the blame game, then why don't we compete with Ortiz, who hasn't played like Big Papi, but Big Slumpi? He tried to race into second base and knew damn well he couldn't run fast enough to beat it, and as a result, he was thrown out. There is definitely something terribly wrong with this team, and Epstein should be held accountable to some degree as well, not only Francona, who ended the franchise's 86-year drought in 2004.

Though he is to blame for stabilizing a clubhouse of a disoriented culture with the lack of consistency and decorum, Epstein -- in his ninth season as Boston GM -- has foolishly invested in futile players and failed to masterfully develop a sturdy pitching rotation. In all, he overspent for John Lackey, who is worth shopping around but no team is interested in accepting his $45.75 million he is owed over the next three seasons.

There are two problems here. The first, which the unworthy outfielder Carl Crawford is set to earn $19.5 million next season, is wastefully spending too much on unproven names. The second is letting the pitchers drink beer at the workplace during games they didn't pitch, one way players can lose respect for their manager and feel they could get away with almost anything. So in every sense, Francona had to leave.

It calls for a change of scenery in Boston and there comes a point typically when a franchise makes changes, which would serve for a brighter purpose in the future. It's simply understood that Francona never earned the fair share of credit he truly deserved. But under his tenure, the organization lived through adversity and stumbled by the instability of his players and ineffectiveness.

It was simply the smartest thing he could have done -- and he stepped down to his own ability reluctant in bearing the circumstances of the scrutiny and unnecessary stress. The bad relationship between Francona and Epstein had been in shambles for a long time, a disconnect nobody ever imagined.

It's too bad he hired Francona, but the only way to restore pride was to part ways with his manager. It's a business, after all.

Mandate for Red Sox: Win for Survival... Or Else

The swarms of Red Sox critics are downgrading the franchise located in Boston, a town that prides itself on baseball and crowds one of the oldest ballparks in the majors, Fenway Park. The front office rarely gets much sleep, reacting to the tension that hovers aggressively over the Red Sox, a franchise still in a pennant race for the wild card.

It defines common reasoning to believe in the Red Sox not to discount them from reaching the postseason, peaking through the Green Monster in autumn, and it's almost implausible to neglect Boston, flirting and staying in the race to expectedly clinch a postseason berth. If so, as we all know, the Red Sox will have to qualify for the fall classic only by winning the wild card, but if not then Boston is unworthy.

The uncertainty of baseball lies in the American League, with a tight, tense, crazy and unpredictable wild-card race that has the people in New England nervous, panicking over Boston's horrible pitching and injuries. This is about a team that has faltered and debilitated at the worst possible time, and where it stands now with the sudden meltdown, the Red Sox are doomed against the Yankees if they lose in a three-game series this weekend.

The way things are happening for the Red Sox, a World Series favorite have plummeted in prior weeks and have no longer been relevant or intimidating. As if owning the third-highest payroll in baseball is not enough, the Red Sox are 5-16 in September, unraveling and falling apart before our very eyes. As the archrival Yankees clinched a playoff berth and won the divisional title, the Red Sox are barely in survival with less than a week left to play, and as of now, Boston is inevitably marred in much trouble in September.

The more the Red Sox struggles pitching and aiming toward clinching the wild-card, the more Boston declines in chase for a postseason spot that could renew the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry if the franchise can succeed and rid the travails for one of the enticing clashes in sports.

This team was supposed to win 100 games as one player said he was highly optimistic at the start of training camp, but as it turns out the Red Sox weren't ever worthy of masterfully reaching triple-digit victories in the win column, not as much as Boston has been hit with injuries or withered, not as much as Terry Francona has cascaded as the voice of the Red Sox in the managerial role.

One of the problems here is Carl Crawford, a high-profile outfielder who merely has 18 stolen bases and has been a disappointment when people begin to wonder whether he's worthy or overpaid. Based on that, since he's not flawless or productive, he's partly the blame for the Red Sox failures this season, a bust for earning $20 million a year.

For weeks now John Lackey has been the buffeted starter in the pitching rotation, a component in arguably the deepest starting lineup in the history of the franchise, but more astonishingly he has played worse than a little leaguer. In fact, a little league pitcher at the moment could toss better than him and probably could win more games. That's just how bad Lackey is pitching of late.

With the struggles -- and as the bullpen has been heavily used lately -- it's about survival and keeping composure. It's about performing efficiently with all potential and balance in one of the deepest pitching rotations, not underperforming and financially wasting profit from its payroll. So meanwhile, the Red Sox can't take comfort in that they'll win the wild-card race and clinch a playoff berth, putting all kinds of burdens and scares on themselves, only leading by a game.

The losses to Lackey’s career aren’t so friendly, but more than ever, it is horrifying for a big-game pitcher winning in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series to roughly disappoint. He's allowing runs to score, he's getting bullied on the mound, he's yielding hits, and he's becoming an unwitting scapegoat of all the team's fiascoes. Through it all, he has not earned a win in five straight starts since Aug. 23, finishing 0-3 in that stretch.

The reality -- if you've had not noticed by now -- is the foolishness of Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who has been described as a masterminded architect. The concept of spending immeasurable millions for one player was unwise, since the Red Sox are losing games, which is the reason he is blamed for the underachievement of Crawford and for even bringing aboard an injury-prone Erik Bedard.

The point is, Bedard has won one game since joining the Red Sox late in July from a trade, and again he's injured in September in which he's a non-factor in chase for the pennant. This isn't about Bedard, because it takes a total team effort to win in baseball. It's about the Red Sox as a whole, but what is unacceptable is the amount of losses, especially in September.

There's nothing spectacular about Adrian Gonzalez either, the first baseman who has swung poorly against the Yankees and Rays and owns a hideous batting average. It's a sign of weakness Gonzalez has shown ever since his arrival in Beantown and nowadays fans are deprived of greatness, whether the Red Sox faithful overlooks the field from the Green Monster view or sit in cozy seats behind home plate with a sellout crowd on hand.

This isn't really worth it, if your hometown team is underperforming or not exceeding all standards in what was supposed to be the best ballclub in baseball when it turns out to be irrational. Maybe it's because the Red Sox are considered a high-market franchise in which Boston was projected to win the World Series?

Those are the facts, and one can argue that this is maybe why the Red Sox are over hyped in a sense? Given the notion that Boston was in first place on Sept. 1, it was probable and believable, but not three weeks later. There's only a full week remaining and they were dispatched from the top spot in the division by the Yankees, a team the Red Sox truly disdain and has antipathy towards being that pinstripes and Sox just don't blend in together.

At the very least, it is now imperative for the Red Sox to survive a terrifying collapse and dismiss the dismal meltdowns in recent weeks. It almost means that Jonathan Papelbon can't afford to blow another save as he did Tuesday night against the Orioles, a night that turned into a dreadful nightmare. It's good to hope he doesn't have to take full responsibility for another loss this season.

For almost a decade, if not an entire decade, Josh Beckett has been known as a big-game pitcher, but not now on decline and slightly accountable for the Red Sox enlarged 6.77 ERA in September of their starters. The 23 errors in the past 21 games will come back to haunt Boston, all of which is daunting for a city that culturally think highly of baseball, and comes together inside Fenway Park and sings "Sweet Caroline."

But even Neil Diamond knows it's not so sweet in Beantown, just as much as Red Sox fans grasp similar vibes. As it stands right now, Dustin Pedroia is distraught and incensed and David Ortiz is Old Papi, not Big Papi and has witnessed his first real collapse with the Red Sox. He also has a confused state of mind, and so does team captain Jason Varitek. Now would be a good time to erase the outrage. As of quickly, the Red Sox are submerging into quicksand, unless they turn it around. Again, it's call survival.

Bye-bye, Boston. Unless the Red Sox avoids further misery, then they'll not have to wave farewell. It's all about winning for survival.

Big Papi Resurrected in Mesmerizing Slugfest: Red Sox in Chase for Pennant

ANAHEIM--Every time he walked near the dugout finishing his home run round on the nice, breezy summer night at Angel Stadium, the crowds were as wild and terrifying as the craziest attractions at Disneyland.

Parts of the site cheered as others booed David Ortiz, the once-sleazy and deceitful slugger who addressed at length during a press conference his bewilderment of how he tested positive during the league’s 2003 drug testing survey. In truth, given the massive homers that sailed over the walls in Southern California, he’s now steroid-free and authentic in every at-bat by lofting surging shots out of the ballpark with the Steroid Era gradually fading.


All I know is he’s ultimately a charismatic and adorable superstar in Boston, wildly cheered in front of a desirous crowd that sells out at the cozy and traditional confines of Fenway Park, the oldest ballpark currently active. However, much of last season he was a fallen star, disdained when caught for dragging down purity and deceiving the game using performance-enhancing drugs.

Few, if any, trusted the fraudulent so-called Big Papi, though supportive fans at home applauded Ortiz as if he hadn’t committed a shameful crime. But as of recently, he’s no longer the careless saboteur that sadly stained Boston’s World Series pennants, he’s no longer the criminal of baseball, and he’s no longer accused for tainting the Red Sox triumphant moments.

In the beginning of his revelations, he was disliked and ripped heavily for buying supplements and vitamins over the counter, smudging his reputation and spotless batting averages that vastly declined when the accusations developed. Maybe he wasn’t the Big Papi we were familiar with months ago. Maybe he was Big Slumpi, right?

Back then, we saw a disillusioned slugger gripe frequently at the press for criticizing his inefficient batting average and lowly performance. Back then, we saw the bitterness of a poisonous designated hitter with limiting struggles, after he finished the month of April with a .143 batting average, .238 on-base percentage, and only one homer and four RBIs. If you ever wondered about the implications of his languishing capacities, he was propagated as a stigma in baseball.

This is a game of momentum and parity, a game that requires much patience and self-discipline during at-bats. The biggest story in baseball is obviously the sudden improvement and reproduction of Ortiz, who had the befitting mechanics in the annual All-Star Home Run Derby Monday night. He blasted 11 homers in the final round for a total of 32 in the festivities.

In the end, he pulled off a vital comeback with a 13-homer second round to ultimately defeat runner-up Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins. It all started with Milwaukee’s Corey Hart, whose blazing long ball soared over the left-center field wall as he compiled 13 homers in the early rounds to lead all participants.

But usually, if you haven’t noticed, participants lose mechanics, a groove, and hits lacking power following the Derby. All this could obviously lift the assurance of Ortiz, and then, he could uplift the Red Sox to potentially a surge in the second-half of the regular season as they aggressively chase for the pennant.

With all the hyperbolic tension, he has acted like a prima donna, he has cried like a baby for his porous swinging, and he has stuck out more than any other batter to hear all the ridiculing and criticism. The outrage easily led Big Papi to believe that fans had personally betrayed and scorned him, devastated by his fraud and phoniness. Here we are a year later, and he’s one again an admirable slugger in the game, forgetting about the erratic or pseudo home runs and clutch shots in the late innings.

Maybe he was a sham no one trusted and lost all credibility while remaining vague about his substance use, but he represented the Red Sox by capping the honors in the Derby and possibly increased the chances of starting the second half on a hitting streak. Maybe he was the biggest disappointment in the game, but he was the biggest star in the All-Star event and remorseful of his diabolical sins.


This time, he validates all the intangibles it takes to polish as a productive hitter at nearly every at-bat and has amassed hits in a resurrection. In contrast, he once ranked 45th among AL players in OPS, but he now currently stands at sixth and has been a factor in Boston’s overall progress. Most obviously, the Red Sox have greatly outplayed their most hated rivals, the Yankees.

That is, of course, when Big Papi has competent appearances at the plate. And rightfully, he lofted the trophy featuring two crossed bats, dedicating a wondrous moment to former Major League pitcher Jose Lima, a Dominican Republic native who died when paramedics discovered him in cardiac arrest at his Southern California home in May.

“This is my fourth time, so I'm just kind of used to the experience,” Ortiz said. “I wanted to come here and make sure the fans enjoy what we do.”

“I’ve been dealing with so many things the past few years,” Ortiz said. “Coming back here (to another All-Star game), I want to thank the players for giving me the opportunity to be here. This is a job that we have, but it’s called a game. That’s what I try to do during the season—have fun with my teammates and make sure everything goes the right way.”

There’s no need for us to feel disappointed or bitter of Big Papi. The fallacies unquestionably were unexpected from a player who once said that he was tired of a sport sullied by performance-enhancers and had a solution for more severe punishment. He clearly believed that all players in the majors should have been tested three or four times a year, and banned for testing positive of substances.

Unfortunately, he was one of those wicked drug users, but he was also one of those beloved and premier sluggers in the game. With the horrible beginning to the regular season, Red Sox manager Terry Francona had options of juggling his batting lineup and benching Ortiz against lefties or even summon him to pinch hit in late-inning situations.

For a short moment, he had continued his struggles by hitting three-for-33 in June. In other words, he was worse than a Little Leaguer and swung desperately at anything thrown in the strike zone. But then, he batted .480 with seven extra-base hits and 10 RBIs in a seven-game stint to finish off the dreadful start. And he’s currently seeing the ball superbly. It was convincing evidence in the slugfest. You saw it with your own two eyes.

Once again, he’s the most dangerous designated hitter in the American League.

If I were you, I'd encourage your team to walk him.

Baseball on Brink of Self-Destruction? Be Responsible, Selig

As curiosity strikes baseball faster than CC Sabathia’s fastball or even Cliff Lee’s curveball, you must come to realize baseball is a sport caught in hazed, gloomy clouds. The game is the root of all evil, casting hideous and despicable conceptions on what was America’s Pastime, but now America’s Disgrace.

In a way, the game seems like it’s on the brink of self-destruction when all you hear about are syringes and pills, rather than purity and artistic features.


The beauty of the game capitulated and crippled, allowing uncertainty to implode all the positive hallmarks. To be honest, this is a sad moment, a rampant stage when the game is eclipsed of all the outrageous scandals. Just so there’s no one befuddled, the Steroid Era continues.

Either a player tells on himself, or the mysterious list of 104 players keeps giving away stunning results and overwhelms us all. Why every time a name is linked our jaws drop and eyes shut in disbelief?

Come on, we’re living in the Steroid Era. But worst is, we’re living in a generation when an apathetic commissioner ignored the emergence of steroid buzzes. Right in front of Bud Selig’s eyes, there were signs of performance-enhancing drugs, literally equipped to contaminate the competitive nature in the mid-1990s. But his mindless persona, gave players the authority to juice the game.

In other words, he allowed and urged players to deceit and ruin integrity. Trust me, Mr. Bud is a rogue. He refused to institute a steroid bust, raiding criminals of the game on a regular.

Trust me, Mr. Bud is an idiot. He has done little to mend sorrow. For instance, you’d think he’ll have firmness to address the issues and crack down on insidious sluggers, maybe by enforcing harsh sanctions.

But the first idea that comes to mind, he’s ashamed of all the steroid revelations, a list of shameful announcements and all the scandals to shame the majors. In what was viewed as purity and cleanness, now is gazed as a toxic waste and practice for the one’s admired to strengthen their performance and master an advantage in the hitting department.

What! That’s so terrible. And they should be proud of themselves? Not a chance. It’s a disgrace whenever anyone hoax the game, and being proud of yourself for such ignominy is a sickness, insecurity or even low self-esteem.

If Bud had used his useless noggin before a hellish age ravaged the majors, baseball wouldn’t have egregious steroid crisis. Fine, establishing a policy to avoid performance-enhancing drugs is condoned, but all players won’t be encouraged to give up their fraudulent habits.

If Bud initiated a plan to resolve drugs before turning chaotic, he wouldn’t have to stress over integration or a shameful regime corrupting. He’s an absent-minded baseball commissioner who needs to be responsible, not an irresponsible goon. But, unfortunately, he’s a goon.

Everyone is laughing at Bud, the big clown of the majors and refuses to perform his biggest act. That’s taking accountability for cleaning up a contaminated sport, even though the game is suffering of mortals.

The longer Selig sits and waits, the longer the game is irreparable, which means it's hard to recover from an era of sleazes and when drug emporiums are inside clubhouses. If he’s not aware, the use of banned substances merely forges worst scenarios and stains the aspects of baseball. Until he takes action, we not even remotely close of pasting the steroid stages.

Meanwhile, Selig is inane and even in denial for believing the game is past the Steroid Era. He is, again, not utilizing his brain properly if he thinks the average player is clean and hasn’t committed hideous crimes. Anyone with a functional brain understands clearly that there are plenty of baseball stars who haven’t been caught. Ah, yeah!

By using common sense, many of them were smart and cleaned out their systems in time of random testing. By using common sense, baseball isn’t clean. And by assuming his sport is clean, Selig is characterized as goof in denial of what has happened to the game.

Until baseball has an accurate test for HGH and steroids, Selig could repossess credibility, but until then, his credibility is diminished. Behind the scenes there are players right now tricking Selig by using HGH and maybe even steroids.

And who exactly knows if the embarrassed man ever gets it. But, apparently, he doesn’t get it. It’s unfair delivering favoritism towards Mark McGwire, when there were those who came clean on national television or were linked to using substances.

For instance, Alex Rodriguez confessed to the world of his PED use, but wasn’t credited for revealing the truth. Instead he was belittled and blasted by Selig, who didn’t have any compassionate reactions when he stared at cameras and into the television releasing a sincere admission and apology to betrayed teammates and fans.

That’s a whole different story for McGwire, the cheater who has been described as paragon, even though his flimsy excuses are mind-boggling and inadvisable. So the explanation and apology is good enough for McGwire, in which he’s awarded and endorsed for poor judgment. It doesn’t make sense, when he used steroids during his playing career and wondrous milestone.

Although it's seen as an asterisk, a tainted McGwire was responsible for saving the game of baseball and broke the home run record in a single season. But now, a remarkable record is tainted and meaningless as Selig is dumb for the self-defense of McGwire. If Selig deeply cared about integrity, he would punish those who violated the rules and treat all players fair whether right or wrong.

If so, Pete Rose would have been reinstated. For six years, he has been ignored and signaled out. He has nicely begged Selig to reinstate him, but the commish quickly responded and shock his head no. Rose apologized for gambling on the game, constantly, when McGwire apologized one time.

There’s something wrong with the picture here.

Baseball is a messy sport. And as long as Bud oversees the league, the majors are faced with doom and malevolent scandals. I’m not allowing impunity to the fraudulent slugger Manny Ramirez, who resides in a neighborhood called Mannywood, but he was suspended 50 games last season for using a female fertility drug.

I’ve watched the league frail before my very eyes, and have never felt so betrayed, hoodwinked or cheated in my life. David Ortiz was a big name, the big slugger who arising when he suddenly was noticed as a big-name star in Boston. But no wonder why he crushed long-balls over the Green Monster.

Yes, indeed, his name unveiled from the list. Trust me he was never a Big Papi. Sammy Sosa’s name revealed deceitfulness, too. A-Rod is forgotten as the next home run king, after his name surfaced from the list.


Oh no, Selig! You have a serious crisis on your hands. What will you do to resolve it? I know nothing. If Bud hasn’t taken any action during a horrendous regime, why would he take action now? His successor, Fay Vincent, would’ve taken an important stance on the steroid issue. I know that for a fact.

There is someone in this country attacking Bud Selig verbally. He is, Jose Canseco, and still is gushing over alleged users. If you need information or details on the Steroid Era, find the man with the most credibility, the man with the most specifics and truth.

Each time he singles out a name formerly it usually are signs of the truth. There’s no one time that Canseco has been deceitful or spoke spiteful of players. Hell, I’ll believe him, before I believe Selig. That’s the truth.

Bud should be ashamed of himself for advocating juicing. If he’s not willing to address issues and punish players of iniquities, they'll continue to get away with juicing and damaging integrity. If so, doesn’t that make Bud a dope?

Absolutely!

Big Papi's Vague Explanation Does Little To Clear Doubts of His Drug Usage

Maybe it’s the biggest scandal in baseball.

Maybe the union is hiding important information. And maybe baseball is to embarrass of unveiling the truth.

All of us as citizens shouldn’t believe a word coming out of the mouth of David Ortiz, the latest name leaked to the 2003 list of the 104 players involved in the Steroid Era, or a mystical union.

None of them can be trusted, after lying directly to us as there are still myriads of tainted players living a lie. Wow. Let’s just say this is a crisis the union and Ortiz has twisted, making it difficult to muster truthful evidence.

I’m befuddled, disappointed and hopeless of a sport that is suffering from a wretched era of poison syringes, disgusting pills and more perplexing drugs out there.

But the latest criminal is Big Papi, of revelations yet again setting a destructive image on the majors. It has reached a point of fatigue, shame and stupidity on certain levels.

Like Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, and Manny Ramirez, he uses the excuse method to escape from the criticism and frenzied queries.

When Big Papi’s name was leaked to a report 10 days ago, the story has developed a BIG MESS and remains to put a freeze on the game. Disgracefully, baseball scandals continue to highlight a demoralizing season, and now reduce the moods of many passionate fans.

For a while, I considered boycotting the game, but realized there are more positive perceptions, still existing. In the meantime, a mysterious list of anonymous players is lingering and uncovering names. Unfortunately, the guilty sham is a likable guy who has amassed homers and RBIs, establishing a home in Boston to emerge into a primary source.

With Ortiz’s heroics and brilliant swings, he’s the favorable player and praised mightily, helping the Red Sox prevail in two World Series titles this decade. But their titles have generated lasting questions on if the triumphant effort was actually tainted of Manny Ramirez’s and Ortiz’s unlawful supplements.

Aside from the apparent supplements Ortiz pumped into his massive body, wasn’t he the so-called slugger who insisted that every player should be tested on a regular and if a player tested positive to serve a harsh punishment? Yes, it was him.

Now that his name is portrayed as a cheater, Ortiz denies any relations to the other frauds. Judging Ortiz’s popularity among major league players and his development into a well-beloved fan favorite in Boston, fans will still brace him after he was caught cheating.

The least Ortiz can give to fans is an explanation on how he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Now, it seems like a good time to release guilt and humiliation off his back with a truthful answer.

But as usual, like the others, Ortiz’s credibility diminished as he refused to provide specifics. Same goes for the union, doing everything they can to keep the truth hidden, saying it’s prohibited to reveal what he tested positive for because of court orders. It is bad enough they’re concealing the list from us, and now they’re not giving us details on Ortiz’s fraudulent intakes.

Well, less information doesn’t restore an excusable cause, nor does it revamp credibility. It is hard to believe anything, as Ortiz and the union sugarcoat all the facts and continue to allow the biggest scandal to ruin an unknown season, now with a list of players to surface anytime soon.

Instead of giving us useful answers, they gave us more perplexing nonsense. This forces disappointed fans to ponder and try to grasp a sense of what Ortiz really took.

In other words, we’re stuck playing guessing games, and we’re attempting to make a hard swing and understand the puzzling infamy. It is swirling around baseball faster than a 99mph fastball, and it has literally revealed more drama. By now people are tired of revelations that lack certainty, which makes it hard to believe anyone in this devastating era.

If you tell the world Ortiz tested positive for performance-enhancer, then you should come clean and tell us what he stored into his body. It’s just that simple. So, Ortiz informed us Saturday he never used steroids, and that it was vitamins and over-the-counter supplements.

And he expects us to believe that. We should be accustomed of player’s convenient excuses. We should’ve seen this protocol coming again. And we should’ve known Ortiz would classify himself as an innocent man. Don’t they all?

What we saw and heard from Ortiz were similar scenarios from others. So once again, major league baseball caught another suspect in a foolish lie. Then again, maybe the government is goons and prefers not to dwell on the infamous past.

The truth might never be revealed, with the stubborn-minded government seizing the survey list of positive test during the BALCO investigation. That was a perfect moment to remove headaches of drug issues away from a sport that was cherished for its tradition.

Meanwhile, there is some suspicion to Ortiz’s elusive story. Remember when he played for the Twins, where his name was hardly mentioned and then went to Boston and emerged into a big star? Yes!

Remember when everyone was convinced that Ortiz’s surreal power had levitated to baseball’s best? Well it has being anything but excellent, as the numbers have dropped. Those are your hints that something unfathomable created more issues, relating to the benefits of performance-enhancers.

Denying he ever used or purchased steroids is difficult to accept. No time to feel sympathy, nor time to trust a player. By giving out limited details, Michael Weiner, who is waiting to replace Donald Fehr as the next union chief, allowed Ortiz a free ride.

At least it’s what we should take from a vague conference, when Weiner touched on some points of the players who tested positive, of course reactions nobody was anxious to hear.

One of the players on the list could be one of the eight who tested positive for an illegal dietary supplement. There are allegedly 96 names included on the ’03 list and have tested dirty, but 13 of the 96 positive tests are being disputed.

The union informed Ortiz in ’04 that his name was on the list, but that he might hadn’t tested dirty. From all this confusion, we’ll never know.

From an unspecific union and Ortiz, we’ll never know.

But, each makes a brilliant cover up.

MLB--The Mysterious List Lingers: Quit Holding Secrets, Unveil Names

As baseball continues to reveal fraudulent secrets, raiding players on a monthly period, the revelations are compiling more derision. There’s a secret List that continues to release names, busting players who are cons, cheats, and corrupted baseball to stain a beloved sporting league.


The majors are currently the biggest sporting soap opera, dismantling the beauty and artistic class of the game. This has burned out the hearts of fans, neglecting much of their consciousness on subtle nights or afternoons at the ballpark with family, hot dogs, peanuts, cotton candy, and any other rituals that come with, now, a contaminated game.

We live in the Steroid Era, where it has turned baseball inevitably into a toxic wasteland. Many of us have already lost interest and deterred in admiring and rooting for the home team, of course, if they didn’t win it was a shame. And neither baseball nor the players union is winning, so I guess we can call baseball a shamed sport.

Through an entire era of deceptive absurdity, incorporates convenient excuses, and hundreds of lies from players demanding to revise features of getting ensnared for juicing. Just from the number of busted players we admired and claimed as pure hitters or weren’t believed to be an asterisk, tricked us with their unnatural inabilities.

From all over, we were convinced and never doubted that anyone was a tainted suspect of fraud. But allowing ourselves to avoid from rationalizing what has transpired, fans never faced reality and understood that facades would eventually damage baseball’s psyche.

It did.

By now, fans should be weary, upset, and burned out. I myself might decide to boycott the game for some time, since there are misleading concepts. Because there were players who failed to abide by the law and weren’t confident enough to employ natural fortitude, they’ve disappointed us by ruining our avid senses. And now, the apathetic MLB commissioner, Bud Selig, watches everything turn into a siege.

No one in their right frame of mind, persistently wants to hear about a player getting banned or leaked to a report for using performance-enhancing drugs. No one in their right state of mind, wants to continuously hear lingering issues or reports of players they greatly appreciate and relishes proclaimed as a juicer.

Sadly, baseball immerses a lingering mystery, in which the players union and the majors refuse to confide annoying secrets. Currently, what is known, baseball is in a serious steroid crisis, but the public shamelessly are only aware of four top-profile stars.

Classify them as wannabes and impostors who couldn’t perform in the game correctly, needing syringes or pills to elevate fame and potential.

With all the constant steroid fiascoes, circulating and clouding up the league, maybe it answers why union chief Donald Fahr is stepping down, exhausted of a fragile season that centralized a crime scene, ignoring all the legit attributes of the game.

It is a terrible season of devastation and embarrassment that Fahr is choosing to escape, impairing a long legacy that is frail, soiled by leaked names.

Distressed outrage that taunts and points fingers directly at the union is enough to make the boss step down of his commands. It isn’t only stressful, but also insulting and scrutinizing to Fahr, who seems to be liable and blamable, especially when the union has no intention of revealing the list and have access.

But baseball has mishandled the doping ordeal, allowing it abruptly to describe the game as a Drug Dealing League, rather than Major League Baseball.

In other words, sadly, you have DDL, rather than MLB.

Still, the majors have found excuses to keep performance-enhancers silent, sweeping it under the rug. And they are still refusing to unmask the truth as if they’re in denial and embarrassed of disadvantages it has breed. So they want us to believe the list wasn’t supposed to ever exist.

The union was unsuccessful in disposing the list that was never supposed to be announced publicly. That’s a lie. See, the majors are big liars just as the players.

But somehow the feds were able to grab the list from under the union to probe names involved in sick scandals. Assuming the feds are done with their investigations, the New York Times somehow was able to obtain access and now is leaking out names that appear to be on the list. Maybe this will be a suitable time to get it over with. Maybe this will be a good time to quit hiding the truth.

The more the union and the majors hide the fact of the matter, the more humiliation it will present and the more it will weaken the game. Just this year alone, baseball is in limbo, as it is hard to believe what anyone says. With the list publicized, it is a moment for the majors to get steroid havoc off their chest.

After all, there are more important things to focus on like Albert Pujols’ exceptional Triple Crown chase, which is eclipsed by the complex juiced era. Many of us are uncaring about syringes and pills, but are caring of RBIs, OBPs, homers, and wins.

All we are asking is for the lingering list to vanish, and by reporters leaking names month to month, we are long past the dreary and exhausting reports. It’s to the point when reports have rattled our brains and gotten on our last nerves, upsetting us as we can’t focus on the magnifying fragments.

The only alternative for clearing up cynical complexities is to UNVEIL THE LIST, UNMASKED THE TRUTH. Otherwise names will continue to reveal into a public ruckus and it will hover over the game eternally.

None of the names that have being unveiled is a surprise, but are appealing to learn baseball’s criminals. There isn’t much of a secret as names one by one continues to startled us.

From the anonymous list of players in 2003, four top-notched players have being taunted, targeted, disregarded, disliked, and destroyed by fans. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez surfaced into infamous spotlight on Thursday.

Then in June, Sammy Sosa was announced as a cheater, after he had already used a cork in his bat years ago. And then in February, there was Alex Rodriguez whose name came out before training camp.

Good enough hints to inform major league baseball of a preposterous rift in a sport everyone just wants to move on. It is a list of 104 players, not four players. It is appropriate to inform us of the other 97 players who were lying to us. Of course they’ll refuse to have their names announced, but it is something that has to be done.

Knowingly, none of the guilty players will talk. That is from former to present players whose names may be on the list. But not when it can defame and diminish their livelihood and fans from bracing them, including Hall of Fame legacy. Oh well, the anonymous 97 brought it on themselves and no must face the dangerous aftermath of losing prominence.

But if baseball wishes to move on, just bare the infamous list for your own welfare.

Ortiz's Juice Taints Red Sox as Scandal is Limbo

We can just image how a nation of Red Sox devotees feels hearing about the latest steroid fraud. Pathetically, it is sicken and confounded of a player's name to be linked to a list of juicers. And it is misleading to a town that pledges most of its time to cherish Fenway Park, one of the world’s finest venues, where a multitude of fans crowds the Monster Seats to witness a wonderful overlook onto the field from above the well-known Green Monster.

They are inspired to arrive and crowd the place in a streak that is everlasting. Even on frigid nights, the proud fans are full of joy and spirit, most of them wearing red jerseys and cheers for the Red Sox.

For now, there’s nothing to cheer or be proud about the beloved team, in a town that has always been committed to baseball. Although, the Boston Celtics and the Boston Three Party brought triumph to a motionless town a year ago, and a robust Tom Brady is set to return to New England in the upcoming season, pursuing to strive and amass another title. But there’s not one professional team that can top the likable Red Sox.

But if a player test positive for using any banned substances, fans will became disappointed and speechless. They will become perturbed to grasp an understanding on conquests in recent years. Faced with dismay is Red Sox Nation, observing a dispirited nation unfortunately plunge into a downfall, which arrived unexpectedly and molded a tainted nature among a slight dynasty. David Ortiz was the last purist hitter standing in the game, a cure of all humanity, a cure on integrity and a cure on the game, until it crumpled in the latest name unveiled from the list.

Yes, Big Papi is now a Big Fraud. His name uncovered by testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, and is now considered the biggest scandal in baseball. So like the rest of the juicers who have joined the Juicer Club, have tarnished their Hall of Fame legacies. Failing to realize the jeopardy of dismissing natural capabilities to fuel a system with trickery juice, proves lack of optimism and integrity on a game they are supposed to play with a zealous attitude, not an impersonal demeanor.

Ortiz has disappointed his family, a game that has already relapsed into a darken shadow of poisonous uproars as a steroid crisis has exposed a stain that will probably never be removed. But in the Steroid Era, amid a series of steroid scandals, Big Papi isn’t a nickname, disappointing, upsetting, misleading and shattering the hearts in Boston, where he was the most likable slugger to illustrate tremendous joy.

And he flourished into the primary slugger in the Red Sox championship runs, hard driven and batted with productive power. But none of that matters at all, and we can assume Boston’s 2004 and 2007 World Series titles were a con, tainted of juicing calamity.

Maybe the Red Sox were cursed after all in ’04, the year they snapped a curse that never ended. The curse of the Bambino still exists, haunted spirits that propelled 86 years of misery. But there is mind-blowing sorrow creating a national disturbance and formulating disgruntled fans.

At the very least, they reckoned the two miracle races were legitimate, not another trick that caught Major League Baseball by surprise. Oh, but it shouldn’t. Often this year, the wonderful season is interrupted and partly dismantled with the steroid trilogy revealed. Thus far, the ‘09 season has revolved around nothing but juicing the system and violating baseball’s law. This has overshadowed players with successful seasons.

For instance, St. Louis’ slugging first baseman Albert Pujols can make history books with perfect numbers, on pace to conquer a remarkable milestone. Good citizens are well aware and have followed Pujols’ Triple Crown status. Well, a possible Crown watch is an outcast of performance-enhancing drug debacles that have lasted longer than a decade, brainwashing our positive morale.

In this era, performance-enhancers have reduced our trust level, which has condensed spirit and initiative among the game. If you have brain cells and are rational about the infamous scandals that have sabotaged the 09 season, you are resentful, dreary and forlorn. It is deceptiveness and betrayal whenever players settle to pump bodies with juice, revealing a loss of confidence, of which they espouse drug use. So, average players decline to showcase their natural capabilities of swinging without a banned substance.

This year has focused in on steroid busts, interrupting the glorious game with hazy clouds covering baseball’s beautiful landscape. In a year that has produce more revelations than RBIs, homers, triples, doubles and singles, Alex Rodriguez unveiled from the list, Manny Ramirez’s name unmasked from a drug prevention policy and Sammy Sosa failed the test as well, following the so-called Big Papi, who cheated just like the rest.

For more than a decade, he fooled us with a phenomenal slugging percentage, belting power shots and was recently the dangerous hitter in baseball that most pitchers walked and never took a risk of allowing him to knock one out. In what seems to be a fraud, pitchers should now be more lustful throwing a hard pitch down the middle.

No longer can Ortiz intimidate anyone, nor can he hit as potent, obviously needing juice to drive his mighty shots over the Green Monster or even onto the streets behind the hideous wall in left field. Ortiz and Ramirez are the latest names from the list, so we can assume the Red Sox were tainted. They sabotaged the glorious and extraordinary moments of Curt Schilling’s heroics in Game Six of the ALCS, when he pitched with a bloody sock to bolster the Red Sox to historical comeback in major league history, after trailing 3-0 against the New York Yankees in major league history.

Now all the home runs are called into question, including the walk-off shots Ortiz and Ramirez belted to shatter the hearts of fans across the nation, but exhilarating the hearts of Red Sox Nation, who are now stunned of the revelations, convinced it was done legitimately. They are obligated to an explanation, of which Ortiz should address the media and give a sincere apology to fans that trusted in his game.

They were convinced it was artistically done as well as owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein. That is why they shipped off Ramirez to avoid distraction and psychological disturbance, as chemistry gradually dwindled. Basically, Ramirez was a cancer and abandoned the Red Sox in each game by switching into an indolent outfielder, refusing to retrieve groundballs or give chase to ones that rolled to the wall in left field. But in Ortiz’s ordeal, getting busted for steroids is a distraction that will form media frenzies, questioning the Big Fraud to deliver specifics. In mere moments, Ortiz’s legacy is battered and will never be the same, failing to realize a drug bust diminish credibility and the way fans brace his game.

Fact is that his legacy is tainted, but some fans will support the guy they refer to as Big Papi, when they really shouldn’t after a bust just changed the entire season for the Red Sox. Let’s assume the Red Sox were on the verge of entering a World Series showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And let’s assume Ramirez will be able to seek vengeance against his former club in a championship series that will produce much hype.

Point to the matter is that it will consist of Ramirez and Ortiz, MANNY BEING A DOPE IN MANNYWOOD vs. BIG FRAUD OF BEATOWN. What a series that should be, right? Yes, a series of frauds who disappointed us all, by taking advantage of the game in their foolish acts. One good thing is that both helped the Red Sox win a World Series in an erroneously of course, two big criminals who ruined Boston’s prosperous pursuit.

Now the town is stuck in a tainted crisis, and is identified as baseball’s most tainted team in major league history, all because of two dense and wannabe sluggers. Now it is appealing to see if Ortiz receives as much adulation as Manny in a naïve town called Mannywood. Normally, Ortiz receives cheers from fans before every at-bat and if he drills a homer to delight ecstatic fans at a night at Fenway.

I’m not sure if the Red Sox are convinced their titles are tainted with juice stains.

And I’m not sure, if the Red Sox are cursed or not. But their titles are tainted with poisonous syringes from the biggest dopes, Ortiz and Ramirez.

That’s just pathetic.