Optimist

That Kubel is becoming quite a Sox killer, isn't he?

There's a difference between getting booed at home and on the road.

Dear Baseball Fans: Major League Baseball has had record attendance for two years running and may set another record this year. It's early, but pennant and wild-card races are competitive throughout our divisions. Baseball is enjoying a golden age of fan support and excitement. Our great game has never been more popular. Yet, despite the good news in Baseball, there are problems. I was disappointed and angered by revelations that a Major League player had acknowledged using human growth hormone (HGH), a performance-enhancing substance banned by Major League Baseball, and had said that others were using HGH as well. Seven-hundred-fifty great athletes play Major League Baseball. The overwhelming majority are hard-working, honorable individuals who play to win the right way. But among the seven-hundred-fifty, there have been and still are those who would cheat the game to gain an advantage. They hurt not only themselves, but they unfairly raise questions about the integrity of their teammates who play by the rules and they violate the trust placed in them by you, the fans. These players who use performing-enhancing substances offend all of us who care for the game and I will not tolerate their actions. These individuals break the rules of baseball. But the use of steroids, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs in this manner is also against the law. The investigative abilities of the F.B.I. are powerful and baseball players are no different than anyone else in our society. If you break the law, you put yourself at risk. I am committed to protecting our game. The Office of Commissioner of Baseball was created nearly 86 years ago to ensure the integrity of America's pastime. I know my duty is to uphold that great tradition. Last year Major League Baseball and its players agreed to the toughest drug testing and penalty program for steroids in all of professional sports. We are proud of what we have accomplished. We ban and test for amphetamines. And, human growth hormone is banned as well. We have cracked down and will continue to crack down on steroid users, but the use of HGH represents a threat to all sports everywhere. Christiane Ayotte, the head of the Montreal Olympic testing lab, acknowledged this in an interview with "USA Today" last week. She said: "We know growth hormone is a problem. No sport is testing currently for HGH because (the test) is not available. If the test kit was available, it would only be effective for out-of-competition testing." The writers of the "USA Today" story added that while there is a blood test for HGH, "...because antibodies necessary for the process are in such short supply, virtually no HGH testing is conducted. In addition, the test only detects HGH right after injection so it's impractical for in-competition testing. As a result, there never has been an HGH positive." As Commissioner, I won't be deterred and will do everything I can to try to keep up with or even stay ahead of those who break the law and break our rules. But I suspect there will always be a few players who seek new ways to violate the rules, no matter how many we have and how often we toughen them. I also know that science can provide new ways to combat them and I will rely on our experts to keep on top of the science as it develops. In the meantime, I want you to know that Major League Baseball is taking steps to address the issue. We are committed to funding a study of HGH and how to detect it. The study will be conducted by Dr. Don Catlin, a leading expert in the medical testing field. Also, we are willing to make additional contributions to fund other studies to determine how to detect HGH and are currently reaching out to experts in the field to ascertain what other studies can immediately begin. We invite other foundations, unions, sports and the Congress of the United States to join us in pursuing the detection and deterrence of HGH use. The goal of Baseball is simple. It's a game that is to be won or lost on the field as a result of the natural talents of the game's remarkable athletes. I will do everything possible to make sure that this one goal can always be met. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/images/open_letter_sig.gif Allan H. (Bud) Selig Commissioner of Baseball http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_info/open_letter.jsp

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :lol: :lol:

Posted on another forum:

The team is going on the road for awhile, maybe that's the best thing for A-Rod right now.

Oh please, it was nowhere near his head. Considering it didn't even hit him, Randy's basically getting a 5 game suspension for a high and inside pitch. Absolutely ridiculous.

What a joke.

I just got in. How were the boos?

This was really a great game. Randy Johnson pitched a great game against a powerful offense. A-Rod got a hit...and an RBI! Cano went 3-4 and is putting together a monster June. And Andy Phillips with a HR and amazing game ending play. And with Mussina going tomorrow, there's a good chance of a sweep going into the roadtrip.

You are our good luck charm.

Amazing play by Phillips! Hopefully he just go the wind knocked out of him and is okay.

He hit an Indian. Probably not the best way to cap his otherwise outstanding night, but it'll earn him some respect from Posada (who started all this) and the fans.

JOHNSON'S BEEN EJECTED

A little barking between Johnson (not ours) and Jorge after a HBP

A-Rod doubled his RBI production for June with that one swing. And, at this point, I'll take reaching on an error.

Fans at the stadium just gave him a good hand when he came to the plate for his first AB.... ...and then boo him when he Ks, moments later. I like this approach a little better.

Something that was brought up on another forum was perhaps Jeter's still angry over those comments A Rod made in SI a while ago. If I remember correctly, he questioned Jeter's leadership; what better way to get back at him than not act like a leader when someone on the club is under fire?

I think the booing of A-Rod is completely justified. I've always defended him, since the trade went through, but I wouldn't waste breath saying something positive about him right now. I don't usually bring contracts into these kind of arguments, but come on...he's being paid $25 million to hit .125 this month? $25 million and no HR's since May 27? $25 million and a single RBI all month? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO The way A-Rod is playing, I think we would need more than Jeter to ask for the booing to stop. Something along the lines of a video request from Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and Thurman Munson might do the job... I don't think so.

Cano is having a nice June. He's hitting .444 this month and is showing signs that his power is starting to come back.

Woah, baseball is a weird game. A game that was supposed to be all about pitching (and was for 11.5 innings) ends with the ultimate offensive play.

Holy crap. What happened? I figured this game was over when the Sox scored.

Strike three! Yankee's losing streak is over! (Our last two wins have come with Wang on the mound.)

Hat trick for K-Rod