Attacking the supply side: Curt Schilling exposes new twist to baseball’s PED scandal

Curt Schilling is a lightning rod.  You either love him or you hate him.

Growing up a Red Sox fan, I obviously loved Schil.  Not only did he bring the Arizona Diamondbacks their only World Series title, he did the same in Boston, his bloodied sock bringing two championships to a city that hadn’t seen one in nearly a century.  For that reason alone, Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame.  Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

But recently, Schilling dropped a bomb larger than any ticker-tape parade.

Since retiring, Curt Schilling has become an analyst for ESPN.  His outspokenness makes him a must watch considering we never know what’s he’s going to say next.  He’s opinionated and crass but also honest and sincere in his convictions, something we lack from many of our sports analysts these days.

On Colin Cowherd’s daily radio broadcast, Schilling told America that, towards the end of his career as his health started to decline, people within the Red Sox organization encouraged him to use performance enhancing drugs.

Stop… the damn… presses!  The needle on the record just scratched and the music has come to a screeching halt.

This isn’t Jose Canseco bringing a pocket full of needles into a locker room asking if anyone wants a taste.  This isn’t Alex Rodriguez’s Dominican cousin bringing him a quick fix in a brown, paper bag.  And this isn’t your old college roommate bringing over a bag of weed.  This is a team, a professional sports franchise, openly encouraging its roster to break the game’s rules by supplying them with illicit drugs.

Suddenly Bud Selig has a much bigger problem on his hands, one he’s ignored since they first etched his name on his office window door.  Chickens, meet roost.

Look, at this point, no story that emerges from a sport as dirty as professional cycling should ever surprise us.  Lance Armstrong’s sitting in a corner somewhere saying “Damn, that sport’s dirty.”  But a franchise supplying its very own players with steroids?  That’s big fucking news.

Selig now has some serious decisions to make.  If he wants to man up and continue his personal crusade against all those who broke his law, then he better come down on the Red Sox and come down hard.  I’m talking Roger Goodell-New Orleans Saints hard.  How could the Boston Red Sox not be investigated after Schilling’s allegations?

If Selig can somehow prove that high-ranking officials within the Red Sox organization encouraged their players to take drugs to enhance their performance, why shouldn’t they be penalized?  Players are suspended fifty games for their first violation.  If the Sox distributed PEDs to three of their players, that’s a season worth of suspensions right there.  That is, of course, until Detective Selig finds out that other organizations were doing the same thing.  We wouldn’t have enough teams to field a season.  But hey, Selig’s cancelled the season before so why not do it again, this time for a far more valid reason?

Perhaps Selig should consider stripping Boston of their championships.  (Hang on, the entire city just hopped in a bus to drive south and kick my ass).  But what good would that do?  Reggie Bush was stripped of his 2005 Heisman Trophy but anyone who watched him play football that year knows he was the best player around.  Similarly, in 2004 and 2007, the Boston Red Sox were the best juiced team in a league full of juicers.

It’s really no surprise that news like this has leaked.  It’s just surprising that it took this long.  After all, teams are out to turn a profit just as players look to sign that big contract.  If baseballs travelling 500 feet puts butts in the seats, why wouldn’t teams employ a staff of locker room, drug-pushers to ensure that would happen?

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign focused on combatting the supply side of the drug issue, cracking down on cartels around the globe.  Perhaps it’s time for Commissioner Selig to adopt that strategy by focusing not only on the users but on his very own baseball teams that are supplying them in the first place.

Please follow and like us:
Pin Share

47 Replies to “Attacking the supply side: Curt Schilling exposes new twist to baseball’s PED scandal”

  1. Pingback: Attacking the supply side: Curt Schilling exposes new twist to baseball’s PED scandal - BallHyped Blog Network, MLB | BallHyped Sports Blogs

  2. I keep trying to think of something funny to write,but this is just too depressing. Shit meet fan.

  3. Schilling deserves to be in the Hall. Dude was nails in the biggest of games…And I HATE the Red Sox. As for the PED’s/steroids, it’s no surprise. Guys will always try to get that edge on the competition. I’m not condoning it, just saying I don’t see it as the deciding factor of greatness that others do. Denying Bonds, Clemens and the rest on this moral high ground stuff is lame. They did what they did on the field and nothing these uppity sportwriters/HOF voters say can change that.

    On that note…PUT PETE ROSE IN THE HALL.

  4. After reviewing a myriad of possible comments rattling around my melon, I’ve decided not to comment at all. 🙂

  5. schilling’s greatest asset is also his greatest weakness
    his matter of fact frankness in answering cowherd’s questions were both refreshing and admirable
    but like all actions, there are consequences
    did he violate baseball code by airing dirty laundry that was supposed to stay in the clubhouse?
    can’t see him being invited anywhere near fenway in the near future
    and i can’t imagine anyone affiliated with the red sox in any way being too thrilled with his admissions
    not that he cares
    and that’s the beauty of schilling
    he doesn’t care what you think — in fact, i doubt the thought even crosses his mind
    he’s going to tell you what he thinks because, quite simply, it’s what he thinks
    can you imagine him at home?…

    wife: “honey, does this dress make me look fat?”
    schilling: “no, the dress has nothing to do with it?”

    for anyone who missed it, here’s a link to the interview

    http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8921054

    definitely worth a listen
    also talks about about braun and a-rod

  6. Bleed…

    Here’s my point.

    Selig’s entire witch hunt has been against the players but are we honestly to believe that the teams themselves weren’t at all responsible?

    I’m not buying it.

  7. Yaz…

    Looks like you and Aer are on the same page.

    There’s long been rumors that PEDs were rampant in those Red Sox clubhouses but I ask you, why has nothing been done about it?

    All we’re looking for out of the commissioner’s office is a little consistency.

    Is that too much to ask or is Selig just afraid of what he’ll find?

  8. I…

    If that’s the case, Selig is also a believer in those unwritten rules because as he has yet to make a statement about or follow up on Schilling’s accusations.

    Has anyone seen Selig comment on this? Please send the link if so.

  9. I get ya Rev. MLB’s approach is entirely opposite of how the NCAA approaches it. They punish and blame the program for anything and everything while the Reggie Bush’s of the world go on to their riches in the NFL. Meantime, the MLB clubs are like Vegas dealers who rub their grubby mitts together and exit stage left.

  10. Bleed…

    That’s actually a great comparison. I hadn’t thought of it that way.

    It sure is odd how these different sports police themselves.

    I just think someone needs to come up with some answers.

    I also want to hear an educated sports fan claim that all the teams in the league are scot-free of guilt when it came to condoning such a culture.

    We knew the Rangers turned a blind eye. We know LaRussa did as well. So why are the players the only ones being penalized?

  11. I admired Schilling when he played. He was a horse and played the game the way it was supposed to be played.

    Howevah, since his retirement, he has said anything in a desperate attempt to stay relevant. I can’t take him at his word on anything now. It’s gonna take some witnesses for me to buy his stories.

  12. I don’t know why a guy like Schilling would even say something like that, even if it were true. Maybe he’s trying to deflect away some of the bad press that he got over that $75 million loan he defaulted on from RI for his 38 Studios enterprise. One thing is for certain, we’ll never know the whole truth about this, just like we’ll never get all the facts about Ray Lewis and the murders all those years ago. On an up note, Rajon Rondo only has a partial tear in his right ACL.

  13. Hence the term “lightning rod” in the post. I knew it was only a matter of time before one of us questioned Schilling’s relevance… and that person is the loin-clothed Han.

    Han-o-man, let me ask you a question then follow it up with a sub-part of another question.

    Do you honestly feel that Schilling made this story up just to keep his name in the media … and then here’s the sub-part of question 1A.

    Let’s assume Schilling never made these accusations. Do you feel that baseball teams in general were entirely innocent during the steroid era or rather do you find it perfectly probable, even likely perhaps, that teams were encouraging their players to take PEDs?

    That’s what I find so intriguing about Schil’s statements. Up until now, we’ve only heard of organizations turning a blind eye to drug use but never openly encouraging it.

    I’ll let you think about that for a while.

  14. Snake…

    I heard that about Rondo. I heard he’s seeking second or third opinions. If only he played for the Sox, they’d juice him right up and he’d be back out there in no time. Zing!

    Look, one athlete’s bad investment, and that’s a list that lines up around the block, has absolutely no bearing on the issue at hand and that is, did they or did they not, or any team in the league for that matter, supply its players with PEDs?

  15. What do I think? It’s a story that a clubbie or trainer or somebody told Schilling that PEDs are the way to go? In case people haven’t figured it out, all of MLB – not just the Red Sox – was complicit in allowing this whole thing to explode. This is the first year in which it appears that they’re taking the job of ferreting out drug offenders relatively seriously. And even now, how is it that a third-rate newspaper discovers damning information bout PED use from a clinic that MLB already knew about?

    What happened in 2008 is not noteworthy except for the obvious disdain MLB had at the time for doing anything about it. What is noteworthy is that chicken-shit Schilling thought he could make himself relevant again by doing some grandstanding. Sometimes he’s incisive (Valentine will crash in burn in Boston), but not naming the person who did the deed makes him look weak and self-important.

  16. Chris,

    Long time……….been outta range. Missed your writing.

    Only Schilling question is, “Was that blood or Ketchup on his sock?”

    Nobody likes kiss and tell attention whores. Something’s amiss when a guy buys a couple of WS tickets(PHL/TOR) for a deceased parent. Dunno, maybe I’m warped.

  17. That being said, Unc, shouldn’t Major League Baseball teams be held accountable?

    The New Orleans Saints had their head coach and GM, not to mention players, suspended for allegedly attempting to injure other players, aka breaking the rules.

    The Patriots and their coach were fined millions for filming other teams, aka cheating.

    Heck, David Stern fined the Spurs for benching players on a road trip.

    When are baseball teams themselves going to held accountable for their role in all this and not just the players?

  18. Chris

    Does that really surprise you at all ? I mean the owners and league hierarchy made tens of millions of dollars during the steroids’ era and some lame a#s fans with their apathy even knowing they’ve been cheated, saw nothing wrong at all .


    Schiling
    , himself has become something of anathema and a#shole ! . His electronics’ video gaming company (38 Studios) goes bankrupt through his mismanagement , having received millions in taxpayers’ monies(Rhode Island) , and his dumb a#s seeks to maintain his misfortune comes from the fact his creditors were unwilling for he and his partners to turn things around . You take $100 million of anyone’s goddamn money, you had better a have plan to pay it back , rather than making damn excuses , as Schilling continues to do , to this day .

    Speaking of @ss wipes , have you heard Yankees’ owner Hal Steinbrenner voice his concerns concerning A Rod ? Boy , that organization from top to bottom has become a joke , as there really does seem to be a complete lack of intelligence amongst the executives , managerial staff , and amongst several of the players , themselves .

    Courtesy of Bloomberg News

    Steinbrenner Voices Concern Over Rodriguez Drug Report, AP Says

    New York Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said he is concerned about reports that third baseman Alex Rodriguez used banned drugs as recently as last season, according to the Associated Press.

    The Miami New Times reported last week that Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star and three-time American League Most Valuable Player, bought performance-enhancing substances from a clinic in Coral Gables, Florida. Major League Baseball said it is investigating the report, which Rodriguez has said is false.

    Speaking today at the team’s minor-league complex in Tampa, Florida, Steinbrenner said the allegations against Rodriguez were “a concern, but it’s out of our hands,” AP reported.

    “We will cooperate with MLB in any way we can, any way we’re asked to,” Steinbrenner said, according to the AP.

    Rodriguez, 37, could miss the entire 2013 season after having hip surgery last month. There is $114 million left on the 10-year contract he signed with the Yankees after the 2007 season.

    ESPN reported last week that Rodriguez received injections directly from Anthony Bosch, the owner of the Biogenesis of America clinic.

    ===================================
    Click on link to read in full.
    ==================================

    What will it take for the morons within baseball’s hierarchy to do something , rather than this constant idiocy we’re still seeing from Selig ?

    Left you a response concerning the NBA piece written and the plight of the Lakers . They take on the Heat this Sunday . That will be a monumental beat-down , that will be applied by the Heat as they kick the Lakers’ @ss .

    Tophatal ………..

  19. Jed…

    You can have it… until they determine the Cards were doing the same thing.

    Like LaRussa never knew what was going on with McGwire. I mean, come on, man. He’s another one in this whole mess that got off scott-free.

    Look, all I’m saying is that MLB needs to be a little more consistent when doling out punishment.

  20. Bets…

    I was about to send out a search party, brother.

    Did you suddenly lose internet connection?

    And now all I can think about is Ricky Bobby leaving a ticket for his dad to every race.

    If you ain’t first, you’re last.

  21. Of course every team, in every major professional sport, does whatever it takes to have their best athletes in the starting lineup. That’s been going on for decades, with whatever means were available. Not exactly groundbreaking news there.

    So, now Schilling wants to get all self righteous? He took millions from MLB, and never so much as a peep while he was still playing. His business tanked, his guest spots on tv and radio are drying up, so he drops a supposed ‘bombshell’…. to stay relevant.

    Like I said, I admired the way he played the game…. but, off the field he’s a jackass who thinks he’s smarter than the other players. His time is past, he needs to let it go.

  22. These teams were held accountable for actions deemed by their respective leagues to be against the well-being of the sport. NFL teams have long ignored PED use among their players, not to mention the whole traumatic brain injury issue for which both the league and players are responsible. Should they have done something about it? Absolutely.

    Should baseball levy punishments against individual teams that are complicit in promoting a violation of the drug policy? Yes. But this ‘he said-she said’ argument between Schilling and MLB is pointless unless he comes up with a name. It’s funny that Canseco was happy to name as many names as he could fit into a book, but his motivation was 100% money; Schilling, on the other hand, wants to be seen as upholding the unwritten clubhouse rule (it stays within the family) *and* as a Karen Silkwood at the same time. He does a bad impression of both, so I’d prefer it if he just shuts up already.

  23. Al…

    In response to your question, I’d say David Price but we both know Tampa won’t cough of that sort of coin.

    Another team will though if they’re not careful.

  24. Unc…

    I guess that’s a fair argument, walking the fine line of the unwritten rule.

    But if he opens up his mouth again and “names names,” that just means you’ll have to hear from him some more.

    I see that Schilling’s not on Alex’s and Hanahan’s Christmas card list.

  25. Chris

    When Price’ contract comes up for negotiation we know the Rays won’t re-sign him but yet they offer Longoria a long term deal . Where is the sense in that , and what are Friedman and Sternberg trying to prove ? What , that they’re are the dumb f##ks I took them to be in the first place ? There is so much goddamn apathy with regard to that ownership group and the locale as a whole when it comes to the Rays that it has now become so comical . Sternberg talks about remaining there within St Pete , but he offers no clear ideas or shows that he has any resources to aid in the franchise’s retention and the lame a$s pundits and fans remains to damn clueless as to the franchise’s overall plight as per usual .

    Schilling is a simpleton, without one iota of common sense or intelligence in his entire being !

    Money ? we make it , we spend it , so what’s your beef ?

    Tophatal ………….

  26. For me, Schilling is in the same class as Favre and Armstrong. Just shut the fuck up and go away. ENOUGH!!!

  27. Al…

    The Rays re-upped Longo for considerably less than any other team would have given him.

    The organization has no choice but to hope its players want to stay here for less than they can make on the open market. Everything I’m hearing from Price points to the fact that he wants to stay a Ray or perhaps he’s just saying that. Who knows.

    Either way, if he has another season like the one he just had, he’ll be able to name his…. er, Price.

  28. Schilling is credible enough for an investigation…. but, MLB already knows that ALL teams do this. They just want to keep as many fans in the dark as they possibly can.

  29. Han…

    Therein lies the hypocrisy of the sport and those who run it.

    Maybe I’m beating a dead horse here but it just seems the institutions who created the culture should be held just as accountable as the players who broke the rules under their noses.

    I’m trying really hard to become a baseball fan again and it’s stories like these that make me wonder why.

  30. “Curt Schilling is a lightning rod. You either love him or you hate him.” This is as true an observation that has ever been made on this fine site…and I myself have been waiting for lightning to hit this guy for years. That being said, if MLB still wants to chase this drug thing by the tail they certainly have to investigate to remain consistent.

  31. …late chime in…

    Shilling is likely telling the truth and our apathetic MLB fan base simply is tired of hearing about more cheaters. Most fans would rather place their heads back in the sand.

    I think (on occasion) that the entire sport was dirty, but as speculated above, the Owners and the league office really wanted to see more offense to gain a larger gate draw.

    Only after the fecal matter is spread far and wide does MLB make ANY effort to get rid of PED’s. Canseco was a stooge. Shilling is a media whore. Selig is a consummate liar. La Russa is in thick as thieves with Selig so it is extremely likely that he also ‘knew’ at the time that Big Mac and others were using PED’s.

    Hypocrites one and all

    Speaking of hypocrites named Armstrong, who wants to wager that ‘some’ governmental official related to the US Postal team also ‘knew’ what Johan Bruyneel was doing all those years helping Armstrong?

  32. The sad part, Tree, is that we all agree and we were all duped.

    None of us give a crap about who took what when anymore.

    In retrospect, my main point with the piece was that I just wanted to see a little consistency when it comes to doling out punishment for PED use but I guess even that’s too much to ask. Why would they start now, right?

  33. My take is that ALL of organized sports would like the whole PED episode erased/forgotten as quick as possible before even more owners and henchmen are caught.

    Can’t we all just go back to the ‘good ole days’ when no one really cheated in such an organized manner?

    Oh and we still want to bitch about Maris and Rose but can’t we let all these others into the HoF?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*