I don't know if I'm the only person who thinks that this is a strange twist on baseball's steroid crisis, but why was Curt Schilling subpoened to the Congressional hearing? And why was he the only pitcher?
I really don't have an answer to that question, but its getting no media coverage whatsoever and I find that very curious. The rest of the current and former players called certainly weren't picked out of a hat. Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, Thomas, and Canseco among others were obviously called because they are suspected of using. Can we say the same about Schilling?
Schilling is a big guy, and if you look at him from the beginning of his career to now he's definitely gotten bigger, a lot bigger. But does it seem likely that someone of his sometimes excessive honesty would be cheating to such a gross degree? And would it even help? Power is one aspect of pitching, but it is definitely not the only thing. No steroid will give you Maddux-like control or Zito's 12-6 curve.
Maybe he was called to testify about changes he has witnessed in facing hitters during the steroid era, maybe because he is always so forthright and honest, even when he might be better off shutting up. Maybe the committee is simply trying to put on an unbiased face by not calling only sluggers, although one power pitcher does not make a particularly varied sample. Maybe they were afraid Clemens would freak out and go postal if they called his freakish size and stamina into question. Who knows?
I really have no idea what's going on with this situation, but it interests me and I want to know more. Did you hear that Bob Ley I want an "Outside The Lines" about this tomorrow!
2 comments:
I could be wrong on this...
I'm pretty sure the reason they subpoened Schilling was precisely because he doesn't use. Throughout his whole career he has been known to "play by the book" and he has always been fairly honest and vocal about his moral beliefs. I think those who chose to subpoena him did it, because they think that he will be 100% honest. In my opinion, this is completely unfair. It is as if he is being punished for being a "good guy", by being forced to leave spring training for this. It is especially interesting to look this in light of the fact that certain other players...Barry Bonds comes to mind in particular...are still down south with their teams, when they should be the ones making the trip.
anonymous #1 is right- Shill has been an outspoken critic his whole career so they wanted some one to speak out honestly about it without (presumably) having to cover his own ass. Boston Slant is right about one thing, the big Shill would talk about his left testicle for 3 days straight if press was there. Just saying.
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