David Ortiz: Didn't use steroids, but was "careless"
by Randy Booth on Aug 8, 2009 3:48 PM EDT
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PrintDavid Ortiz's press conference was held earlier and, to no surprise, he said he never used steroids:
... David Ortiz stated definitively that he "never used steroids" or bought them, but acknowledged that he was "careless" when he was "buying supplements and vitamins over the counter," and that he may be guilty of taking supplements that he didn't know contained banned substances.
"I definitely was a little bit careless back in those days when I was buying supplements and vitamins over the counter -- legal supplements, legal vitamins over the counter -- but I never buy steroids or used steroids," said Ortiz, who revealed he had been tested 15 times and two more times in the World Baseball Classic since 2003 with no positive result.
OK, we all knew he was going to deny using steroids. That isn't the shocker. But saying he was "careless" does not help his case. Because now, if it comes out that he definitely used steroids, he could say: "Oh, well. Looks like something I was careless about happened to be a steroid. Pardon me?"
I love David Ortiz, but I just don't get the sense that he's being 100 percent truthful. Am I the only one that thinks that? Am I also the only one that would rather just hear the flat-out truth, no matter what that may be?
Papi may be telling the complete truth. If so, great. But if it comes out that he did more than he admits, he's another superstar that has his name dragged through the mud on his own accord.
After last night's game that finished in the wee hours of this morning and Ortiz's wishy-washy statement, this is an ugly day in Boston Red Sox history. Aug. 8, 2009 could go down as the day the Red Sox's season ended.
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i have to disagree with you here
the union has shown that the list has little validity, and he has never failed a drug test. you’re just feeling cynical cuz of last night
I'm scared
I’m not feeling “cynical” because of last night — I just don’t like how Ortiz played this one out. It seemed fake to me and I find it extremely unfortunate.
I feel the same way
The MLB union, by the way, is like defense attorneys: always protecting their client regardless of whether they are innocent or not.
by ccthemovieman on Aug 8, 2009 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Just curious
Did the union defend A-Rod? I didn’t follow his case much; mainly because seeing that Katie Couric interview every morning was getting sickening.
+1
I tend to believe the explanation that he never “used steroids” – imagining that this stereotypically involves one ending up in a toilet stall in the locker room with your uni pants around your ankles and Jose Canseco holding a hypodermic needle filled with Hulk-semen – but I would guess that he’s underselling the atmosphere in the clubhouse (and all the team clubhouses) regarding legal, illegal, semi-legal and grey-market supplements. I’d imagine that it was probably like the “two-pots-of-coffee” clubhouse environment, with one regular pot, and one pot labelled “unleaded” which was laced with amphetamines. Unfortunately, he can’t say any of that without implicating other players who were his teammates.
It’s disappointing because I wanted one major league star (ideally before they’re implicated in PED-use, but I’m not a total moron) to come out and basically admit that everyone used, but point out that everyone (the league, front offices, fans, media) knew this (or reasonably should have known it), but no one cared until they had to. The reason people like Ortiz waffle on this is because fans and people like Buster O. and Howard Bryant turn it into a reason to be outraged. I think the most intriguing story about the steroid-era is the clubhouse drug-culture, but the second most intriguing story is how the media (and remember that at the time, they actually were journalists and not analysts or op-ed people) basically ignored it.
When they’re burning witches at the stake, no one admits to being a witch…
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 8, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
What about Manny's 15 passed tests?
Is he innocent too?
Or did the Red Sox front office have insider info about when the tests were coming?
It took Ortiz 10 days to figure out what he could get away with denying.
Yankees WS titles stop
When testing regime starts. Just saying…
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 8, 2009 7:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Saying what?
That they’ve been clean for the last 6 years? That they should have gotten Mitchell on staff? That they need to hire a chemist?
I just said...
…that the Yankees stopped winning world championships the same time the league clamped down on PED usage. You can draw your own conclusions about whether those two facts are related, and what they mean…
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 8, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Just as the red sux start winning...
with a doped up ramirez and big pop p.e.d
Good point.
I think the Mitchell was biased argument is weak,
let’s make the argument that the NYT staff/managing editor is biased and allowed that story full of anonymous quotes & illegally obtained info to run.
Further,let’s make the argument that it was some anonymous Yankee fan who leaked this info to further tarnish Manny & take down Ortiz. Or, the reporter is a Yankee fan who doesn’t even have a source but fabricated it all bc he/she hates the Sox & knows reporters don’t have to reveal sources. See how silly it all sounds? Conspiracy theories—pfffffffffft!
I believe Ortiz & the MLBPA rep when they said Ortiz didn’t know he was on the list or what he tested positive for, I also believe the rep when he explained about inconclusive tests. That being said, it would not surprise me to find that Ortiz or anyone on any MLB team really did use steroids at one time or another.
Not sure how or why Sox/Yanks/other team fans want to gloat or point fingers or whatever over these revelations.
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Of course he used.
And so did Manny. So take your “asterisks” and know that it is what it is — and NO ONE is innocent. Just an entire era that will simply be defined by “users” and “non-users”.
In the meantime, this Yankees fan was happy about last night’s 15 inning win — but after seeing replay after replay, I will forever regret that the win had to come by the bat of a “user” at the expense of a fine young 23-yr old kid who looked like he has some juice on the ball but found himself plucked from Pawtucket and thrown into into the jaws of the Sox-Yankees lion pitching to A-Rod in the bottom of the 15th.
Yanks deserved the win because they were threatening all night — but the kid deserved better too. Next time i hope its Papplebum. But that’s just me.
+1
I mean, apart from the Yankees winning thing…
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 8, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions
You said, " NO ONE is innocent",
so, if you want asterisks then it is asterisks all around, not just to the Sox.
Baseball is a game that I don’t play or profit from so I don’t “regret” things related to the game. It’s not that serious. I did not watch the game but that “kid” pretty much signed up for this, isn’t the goal to get to the big leagues?
By the way, the name calling & wannabe taunting kinda lower you to Paps’ level- I find his antics to be juvenile. But that’s just me.
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Girardi pitched to...
a Dodger?
The past is ashes, Mass. And best kept that way, considering recent Red Sox revealings…
Yawn
the past is always the past except when Yankee fans decide tout 26 titles or 1918,then the past is present & relevant but thanks for the pithy statement
Considering fairly recent Yankee revealings, I guess it’’s all the same…Clemens was a big part of the Subway Series WS and , Pettitte was there for the 1996+ WS victories ( we KNOW he CLAIMED the PED he used was just to help him recover….)
So, in line with your asterisk comment.:.it’s asterisks all around my friend
The sig line I choose to use isn’t any of your biz …OTM regs know what it is, trolls- not so much
Funny how Yankee fans have awoken from their slumber, you all must be well rested after sleeping since 2000.
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Like I said Mass
Asterisks all around, so drop your Sox. I was talking about baseball. A little paranoid myopia has you assuming i was placing the Yanks above anyone else?
No one is innocent in the steroid era. (But here, since you brought up 2000…
1918. Then * and *.
(See, 1918 is still all you got.) Good luck tonight. Or maybe even 4-8 will help you sleep better.
baseball games don't keep me up at night
it’s not that serious
I am not paranoid but sometimes people HAVE been out to get me and as far as myopic? Well, my prescription glasses & lens help.
Drop your insults and get real, & get a sense of humor, if you meant ************** all around, then why are you even posting here? I think you just don’t have a refutable argument. You can have the last word.
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
What is the list???
In defense of the Pops and by that means all the people on the substance abuse list. When I was in High School they sold GHB over the counter at GNC which is now illeagal. What is the list of banned substances and does it include over the counter supplements? On the other hand I am a little sick of all the players claming ignorance on the subject. It is becoming the new I didn’t inhale joke.
David Ortiz Arias
Not only is he a liar, he’s a coward as well as a phony.
Why did you say "liar" and "phony"
Those mean the same thing. Unless, of course, you wanted to jam as many insults into once poorly constructed sentence as possible. Well done, sir, well done.
by Gnick on Aug 9, 2009 1:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Perhaps...
He was suggesting that he lied in is statement about “vitamins and supplements” and means he’s a phony is his teddy bear persona. But what do I know. I’m not a member of the so superior new england elite.
silly part I
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Whatever...
Yankees fans were too scared to say shit in the beginning of the year, and all of a sudden they’re all mouthy.
Most likely, these people live in Des Moines or Fresno, and became baseball fans between ‘96 and ’02. They’re bitter that the sugary tit of acceptance, love and popularity that came with Yankee fandom was ripped away from them by the Angels (and subsequently by the Marlins and Red Sox) once MLB started a testing regime with some teeth and suddenly (and coincidentally, I’m sure) the Yankees stopped winning World Series. They think “player development” means having their retarded-infant front office look at fantasy baseball sites and developing a list of the players with the most RBI to sign for millions more than most teams can spend on their entire infield. They probably claimed they were Rays fans last year – saying that they had been for ten years or so.
Bottom line, they’re heartless, gutless pussies who never cheered for anything without first looking to see what the popular kids were doing first. Fuck them and fuck their anti-competitive teams assembled by a collection of morons and a vegetable drooling on his hospital linens.
Except for Jetes and Mo, they’re cool…
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 9, 2009 5:20 AM EDT reply actions
I love Mo, Jeter is OK in my book too
I say this often but the ‘B is for bandwagon’ foolishness bugs me. Sox fans have always been loud & proud, often foolishly, in support of the team hence the silly " Yankees $uck" chant when indeed the Yankees did not $uck. .
Many Yankee fans fail to analyze or admit why they are Yankee fans, it is easy to throw support behind a team that has a history of winning and as we’ve seen from those Yankee fans, easy to put a paper bag over your head when they are losing.
In 2001, you could not find a Yankee fan after the Dbacks stunned them. 2003? Same thing. And 2004? Pfffffffffffft! Now, of course, 2004 doesn;t count, right?
One team with possible & confirmed PED user(s) beat the other team with possible & confirmed PED user(s) .
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
If you want to believe that....
One of the silliest posts I’ve ever seen anywhere. It’s quite the opposite sunshine. One never saw any red sux hats ever outside of boston before 2003. Now you do. But one suspects not for long. Conversely you’ll find ardent and passionate Yankee fans around the world. This has been the case for the last 90 years. Even during the bleak years of the 1980’s.
26 Championships with number 27 on the way will do that.
You’re flash in the pan is over and you know it.
Wait, I dont get it
“for the last 90 years” — your post is full of jacka$$ity, How old & traveled are you that you can make these claims? I haven’t been around 90 years but do travel a bit & did see Sox fans OR people in Sox gear outside of Boston , outside of MA & outside of New England, outside of the east coast – heck outside of the USA pre 2003. I know & recall this because it always made me smile to see someone with a ‘connection’ when I was far from home.
Anyway, it is a dumb argument because many who wear baseball caps aren’t even baseball fans, they wear caps to ‘rep’ a city PLUS many people are transplanted fans, so you just don’t know. It’ is plain silly of you to attempt to make this point. I don’t care who has the bigger fan base, I just know that Sox fans existed all over pre 2003 & you do too.
Please rephrase this: “You’re flash in the pan is over and you know it.” as it is nonsensical.
FYI — if fans come along BECAUSE a team is winning, isn’t that bandwagoning? Re-read the ‘27 on the way’ sentence in your post….
And finally, can I borrow your crystal ball sometime?
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Hm.
12 total SBN posts, joined July 31, 2009. Apparent Yankee fan who only posts on OTM. Strongly suggests (a) coward PSAer who doesn’t want to use his actual user name; (b) front-runner who only grew a pair once the Yankee scratched their way back to .333 in the season series; or © both.
Appreciate you proving my point for me.
Is “26 Timer” a reference to the stints in rehab or the times repeating the fifth grade?
Rock me, sexy Jesus...
by nuthinboutnuthin on Aug 20, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Speak for yourself sunshine...
There was never any panic in the Yankee camp. The Yanks were injured in the beginning of the year. After winning eight in a row the Sox never pulled away so it was comforting in truth. We all knew when the Yanks closed the gap (actually gained the lead) the Sox would be put away for good. Looks like we are there.
The Yankees have won 26 championships to the Sox’s three. One would think you need a bit more on your side. You make a good point in that the sox only won once you had a doped up manny and pop p.e.d. on your side.
Number 27 is on the way…….
silly part II
I gotta go, we are having a meeting of the “so superior new england elite” but thanks for calling me sunshine. I do try to brighten days for peeps especially since we had a rainy summer.
"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."
( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)
Ya know, I realize we don't shove our titles down your throat like you do...
But we have 7 championships. Yes, we were a pretty damn good team before 1918 – back when Babe was a pitcher.
@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation
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