Ed Wade and the Astros ought to be embarrassed

[KFDM COOP]

Ed Wade and the Astros ought to be embarrassed

In 2003, Adam Piatt's locker was located next to Tejada's in the Oakland Athletics clubhouse. According to Piatt, Tejada asked specifically if he had any steroids. Piatt believed that Tejada asked him because Piatt was in good shape and generally friendly with him. Piatt had several conversations with Tejada before a transaction occurred. Piatt admitted he had access to steroids and human growth hormone and agreed to obtain them for Tejada. Piatt recalled that he provided Tejada with testosterone or Deca-Durabolin, as well as human growth hormone. Piatt emphasized that he did not know whether Tejada actually used the substances. Piatt's bank provided two checks deposited into Piatt's account that had been written to him from Miguel Tejada. The checks are dated March 21, 2003 and are in the amounts of $3,100 and $3,200 respectively.--George Mitchell's report on baseball and steroids

When Ed Wade got the requisite question about Miguel Tejada and steroids, he blew off the guy and moved on. I guess he had no good answer. I guess he knew what was coming. I guess he didn't care. Yes, I know general managers all over baseball made moves this winter without regard to George Mitchell's report on steroids.

That said, the Astros look really bad this afternoon. They made a questionable deal for a guy they knew had been linked to steroids. They sent a message that they didn't care whether the guy cheated or not.

They sent a message that the rules apply to others, not to them. You can probably guess what will happen next. People like me will huff and puff and then we'll move on, but this week we learned an important lesson about our local baseball team.

You're about to tell me I should have known Miguel Tejada was going to be on the list. I didn't. I probably should have, but I didn't. I was told Wednesday morning that Jeff Bagwell was in Mitchell's report. He wasn't. I was told the same thing about Albert Pujols. He wasn't.

In one email, Jon Daniels stated that he had "some steroids concerns with Tejada," and cited Tejada's decreased productivity over the second half of the 2005 season.413 In order to provide Tejada with information about these allegations and to give him an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.

Miguel Tejada is a player fans will like. They'll forget that he's a cheat. They may eventually forget that Clemens and Pettitte are cheats, too. They're stained forever, their accomplishments diminished. They're not going to the Hall of Fame unless they've got great explanations for why their names are in the Mitchell report. I hope it was worth it for Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and the others. I hope they're okay walking through the rest of their lives known as cheats.

This isn't complicated. If you felt one way about Barry Bonds, you ought to feel the same way about these guys. They're cheats. They used illegal substances and violated rules. They had choices to make, and they made the wrong choices.

No matter how they spin it, you shouldn't lose sight of that fact. They're cheats. Don't tell me the Mitchell report is incomplete. Of course, it's incomplete. It's the best George Mitchell could do with the power he had. Some players escaped. Some will never be known.

What does all of this mean in real terms? Not much. If there's a suspension, it'll only be a brief one. Both have pocketed millions, and they're not going to give it back.

It's about how they did what they did. It's about letting people know that ethics meant nothing. Hey, others were doing it, so I had to do it. That's not good enough, boys.

The report includes the names of four of the top 10 home-run leaders of all time: Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmiero.

In 1999, Barry Waters, the director of team travel for the Houston Astros, received a telephone call from an employee of a hotel where the Astros had just stayed, reporting that a package had arrived at the hotel addressed to an alias that was used by Ken Caminiti, who then played for Houston. The hotel forwarded the package to Waters, who opened it and found glass vials containing a white liquid that he believed to be anabolic steroids and pills that he believed to be vitamins. Waters did not deliver the vials to Caminiti, but believing incorrectly that there was no policy requiring him to report the incident, he did not report the matter to anyone else with the Astros or to the Commissioner's Office. Caminiti later admitted that he had used steroids during his playing career in a widely read Sports Illustrated article that was published in June 2002.

Posted by Richard at December 13, 2007 10:01 AM

[bears99]

I knew that Tejada would be in the report. I dont think anything can be done to him since he hasnt actually tested positive for anything . Im personally sick of hearing about steroids in baseball. They need to move on already.

[PURPLE 4EVER]

I knew that Tejada would be in the report. I dont think anything can be done to him since he hasnt actually tested positive for anything . Im personally sick of hearing about steroids in baseball. They need to move on already.

MLB NEEDS to enforce the law of the land.

It is illegal to possess or use steriods.

[dan06lcm]

Its illegal now , but when most of these guys were found to have used them it wasnt.  If they test positive now, then suspend them.

[BigB BigD]

I am sick and tired of the steroids issue too. This report does nothing for baseball and is nothing more than finger pointing and accusations that stems from a personal trainer and a clubhouse employee. I read the report by the way.

The Astros should be embarrassed? Has Richard followed the Astros for very long? They are an organization that is known for standup baseball. The Astros upgraded the shortstop position offensively and I believe would not have done so without making sure Tejada is a man of character and high morals. When they signed Lee, they stated when they announced his signing, that he represented what the Astros have strived to build over the years....character and a mentality toward baseball in general that fits the Astros.

Several years ago they got rid of Julio Lugo due to a domestic violence charge involving his wife. Smooth cut him. When I think of the Astros I think of things like Biggio taking a pay cut to allow for the salaries of Clemens and Petitte. The Astros should not be ashamed or embarrassed for signing Tejada, an innocent man.

I have not learned anything about our local baseball team this week, as stated by the author. I know my local baseball team.....what I did learn this week or today to be more specific, is that some promoted bat boy and an old retired fat cat from Washington can sway the opinion of some and produce an article such as this. If this guy thinks the Astros should be embarrassed then I guess he should go pull for a righteous, clean nose organization like the yankees.

Signed

Fan of baseball

Fan of the Astros

Fan of Innocent until proven guilty

[bullets13]

Amen!  I don't see the point of going back and drudging up dirt on people who were using steroids several years ago.  Many players did, and were kind of even expected to, and nobody enforced any steroid-related rules then.  I think it's great that MLB is taking steps to eliminate steroids now, but i don't see what will be gained by this modern-day "Mitch" hunt.  You shouldn't go back and punish players for what they've allegedly done in the past.  In most cases, there's little or no physical proof anyway.  And as for the astros signing tejeda... who cares?  Maybe if they signed him the day after the report came out, but not several days before.  Should they be ashamed of all of the hundreds of players in their system through the years that have used steroids?  For a long time they were a generally accepted part of the game.  Now that they aren't, show me a current positive drug test, and i'll show you grounds for a suspension. 

[Ruckdad]

Its illegal now , but when most of these guys were found to have used them it wasnt.  If they test positive now, then suspend them.

Wrong - They have been illegal - by the law of the land - for many, many years.  It doesn't matter if baseball did or didn't have a policy.  Baseball cannot superced the law of the federal government or any of the states in which it operates. 

However, I think baseball has made progress on the issue, and for them to go back now - several years after a player's involvement with steroids and punish them doesn't make any sense.

[bears99]

Even out the playing field and let em all use it.  ;D

[BigB BigD]

Mclane and Wade on Tejada...

"We had not had any prior knowledge," McLane said. "It surprised us, but we felt when we made the trade that Tejada would be a significant help to the Houston Astros, with his playing ability and his leadership. We're glad to have him."

Said general manager Ed Wade: "I'm happy that he's on our club. We're going to put a club on the field that's clean, follows the rules on and off the field, respects the game, and we're going to follow guidelines. We're very happy he's on our club."

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071215&content_id=2327008&vkey=news_hou&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou

Not embarassed...  ;D