Is Pudge's name on the list?

[Jpup]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3909861

Pudge Rodriguez seemingly admits to steriod use in this article.

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. -- Ivan Rodriguez looked as feisty as ever, explaining why he's physically and mentally ready to play baseball.

The 14-time All-Star catcher, though, is still looking for a place to play.

Rodriguez said he might sign soon with the Florida Marlins, Houston Astros or New York Mets.

Or, he might need to stay patient.

"I don't know where I'm going to play, but a team is going to win the lotto when I sign," Rodriguez said Sunday night in an interview with The Associated Press. "I still feel I can play three or four more years, to be honest, because of the way I take care of myself."

The way Rodriguez took care of himself in the past has been questioned, most notably by former teammate Jose Canseco.

Rodriguez's mood changed when that subject was broached during a wide-ranging interview in his 44th-floor apartment overlooking Miami Beach.

Is the 37-year-old star known as Pudge on the list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids during baseball's 2003 survey?

"Only God knows," Rodriguez said softly.

Canseco, a former teammate in Texas, has alleged he injected the steroids into Rodriguez.

Another former teammate, Alex Rodriguez, recently said he used performance-enhancing drugs while with the Rangers.

"Alex is a great guy, he's the best player in baseball and he's going to be OK," Ivan Rodriguez said. "People don't know how hard he works."

Alex Rodriguez said the culture of the game was different when he used drugs to improve his performance.

Ivan Rodriguez begrudgingly agreed.

"It happened and everybody has to move forward," he said.

Looking back, no one can match some of feats that Ivan Rodriguez has accomplished since his career began in 1991 with the Rangers.

He is the only player in baseball history with at least 13 Gold Gloves and a career .300 average or better.

He has three more Gold Gloves, earning one as recently as 2007, give him three more than Johnny Bench and almost double the total by Bob Boone, who is third on the list. Among position players, only Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson has more Gold Glove awards.

Rodriguez has caught 2,173 games, trailing only Carlton Fisk (2,226) and Boone (2,225) in terms of longevity behind the plate.

"Absolutely, I'd like to break Mr. Fisk's record," he said. "And, another goal is 3,000 hits.

"But really, my love of the game of baseball is what motivates me to work out five days a week to stay ready."

Rodriguez, who has 2,605 career hits, would likely have to play a few more seasons to join the 3,000-hit club.

And, he'd have to play much better than he did last season.

Rodriguez hit .295 in 82 games last season for the Detroit Tigers, then finished with a .276 batting average after struggling at the plate with the New York Yankees.

The Tigers dealt Rodriguez, who sparked the turnaround when he signed with them in 2004 after helping Florida win the World Series, and didn't re-sign him because they didn't think he was a No. 1 catcher and knew he disagreed.

"I still think I'm an everyday catcher and that's one of the things that disappoints me when I hear people say I can't play every day or I'm a part-time player," Rodriguez said with piercing eyes as the Atlantic Ocean crashed on the beach and dusk led to orange, yellow and shades of gray to fill the sky. "People don't know how hard it was on me to go through a divorce from my wife of 15 years and how much that drained me physically and mentally.

"But now, I've been happily married for two years to a great woman, my kids are great, my ex-wife is good. I just want to play baseball because I know I have a lot left in me."

While Rodriguez can't hit like he did in the past, his play behind the plate is still strong. His caught-stealing percentage ranked third in the AL last season after ranking fifth and first the previous two years, among catchers with a minimum of 600 innings behind the plate, according to STATS.

Rodriguez is excited to play for Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic next month, but he's eager to join a Major League Baseball team.

"It's hard to be sitting here at home a few days after pitchers and catchers reported," Rodriguez said. "I hear Florida, Houston and the Mets are trying to do some things to sign me.

"I would love to be with any team right now, but I can get ready quick because of the way my body and mind are prepared to play right now."

[RedsBaron]

I have no proof, but I've long suspected that Pudge juiced. He sure didn't give a definite denial, did he?

[blumj]

I have no proof, but I've long suspected that Pudge juiced. He sure didn't give a definite denial, did he?

Canseco again. Not that I'd call that proof exactly, but I wouldn't call it nothing, either.

[RFS62]

I have no proof, but I've long suspected that Pudge juiced. He sure didn't give a definite denial, did he?

Yeah, me too. How sad if he didn't that it's now reasonable for us to speculate that he did.

Pretty unfair to the guys of this era who didn't juice.

[hebroncougar]

There surely will be some interesting cases for writers to decide on when it comes HOF time. Rodriguez would do himself a huge favor by coming clean.

[SunDeck]

My prediction is that it will become a non-issue that this player or that player was using steroids. It will become known that so many players were on the juice that it will be practically impossible to punish anyone. That's sickening to me, and I must admit that my own interest in baseball has waned greatly in the era of steroids.

If anything good comes out of this it will be that the players association and the owners will be exposed for allowing the environment of steroid use to persist.

[RFS62]

My prediction is that it will become a non-issue that this player or that player was using steroids. It will become known that so many players were on the juice that it will be practically impossible to punish anyone. That's sickening to me, and I must admit that my own interest in baseball has waned greatly in the era of steroids.

If anything good comes out of this it will be that the players association and the owners will be exposed for allowing the environment of steroid use to persist.

I think you're right. I think it will finally be an accepted fact that so many players juiced that it will be, as you said "practically impossible to punish anyone".

And as a result, cheating will have paid off for the guys who made more money or stayed in the bigs longer. And the guys who didn't cheat were at a competitive disadvantage.

In the end, they're all going to be tarred with the same brush.

[Yachtzee]

I think what has been ignored so far is that much of the steroids seems to be coming out of certain clubhouses, Oakland, Texas, New York, in particular. I think there should be some inquiry to find out, with such rampant use in some clubhouses, whether certain organizations went beyond turning a blind eye and actually facilitated use for players.

[RedEye]

Guys, this is really turning into a witch hunt now. Shouldn't we just, like, move on? People have cheated ever since organized sports began. The longer we are concerned about this, the longer it dominates baseball coverage. Change starts from the bottom up. If we want baseball to move on, we have to do it first.

[RedsBaron]

I think you're right. I think it will finally be an accepted fact that so many players juiced that it will be, as you said "practically impossible to punish anyone".

And as a result, cheating will have paid off for the guys who made more money or stayed in the bigs longer. And the guys who didn't cheat were at a competitive disadvantage.

In the end, they're all going to be tarred with the same brush.

While I expect that ultimately the use of steroids will not result in an absolute barrier to HOF induction, it will still make the selection of candidates more difficult. There will be players such as Bonds and Clemens, whom most people believe were clearly HOF worthy even without steroids, but then there will also be others. For example, had he stayed "clean" would Mark McGwire have accumulated HOF stats? McGwire from ages 32 through 35, 1996-99, hit 52, 58, 70 and 65 HRs. Without those four seasons, his career total would be only 338.
I have a hard time generating tremendous sympathy for those who didn't cheat whose accomplishments are now arguably unfairly called into question. Call it the Buck Weaver precedent. From all evidence, Weaver never took any money from gamblers nor did anything other than play his very best in the 1919 World Series, yet he too was one of the Black Sox who were banned from the game. His offense: He failed to blow the whistle when he knew that teammates were throwing games. The guys who stayed cleaned nevertheless arguably failed to blow the whistle on the cheaters.

[RedsBaron]

Guys, this is really turning into a witch hunt now. Shouldn't we just, like, move on? People have cheated ever since organized sports began. The longer we are concerned about this, the longer it dominates baseball coverage. Change starts from the bottom up. If we want baseball to move on, we have to do it first.

Why should we move on? If we are to move on, then why have a Hall of Fame? Selecting players for the Hall of Fame of necessity involves considering the past, not ignoring it.
I agree that Selig's reported consideration of reinstating Aaron as the career HR leader is silly, and I do not advocate suspensions for those players who tested positive for steroids in 2003--yes, we can move on from that.

[redsmetz]

While I expect that ultimately the use of steroids will not result in an absolute barrier to HOF induction, it will still make the selection of candidates more difficult. There will be players such as Bonds and Clemens, whom most people believe were clearly HOF worthy even without steroids, but then there will also be others. For example, had he stayed "clean" would Mark McGwire have accumulated HOF stats? McGwire from ages 32 through 35, 1996-99, hit 52, 58, 70 and 65 HRs. Without those four seasons, his career total would be only 338.

That would assume that McGwire's career would have ended at that point. Of course, we don't know and certainly you would expect some tailing off from earlier numbers, but I'm guessing that if things had gone right, he may have finished in the lower 400's (I estimated about 425). That would have put him in the range of other players who have made the Hall, but there are some exceptions (Canseco and Kingman to name two, but Dawson is still looking in at 438). There are a number of players who have just finished their careers in that range too. I'm not sure we'd have called it borderline, but it's not far from that area. We'll never know though.

I'm not one to say "get over it", but baseball really needs to come to grips with what took place and how to address the numbers. I don't think the solution is what Selig has suggested as a possibility and bravo to Hank Aaron for saying "no thanks". But the fact is, this era is now riddled with beefed up stats and there's no getting around it. I do agree with those who have said players have looked for edges throughout baseball's history, some legal and some not. And some of these tainted players had Hall of Fame careers. I don't know what the best solution is, but baseball needs to come to grips with this part of its history.

[Sea Ray]

Selfishly speaking, from the standpoint of Reds fans this will help their case that Johnny Bench was the greatest catcher of all time. I think Pudge had a good case to unseat Bench with that honor but now folks can write off Pudge as being a steroids induced marvel.

[hebroncougar]

Guys, this is really turning into a witch hunt now. Shouldn't we just, like, move on? People have cheated ever since organized sports began. The longer we are concerned about this, the longer it dominates baseball coverage. Change starts from the bottom up. If we want baseball to move on, we have to do it first.

I'm not sure it's a witch hunt if they are guilty. It's not like they are throwing a spitball, or stealing signs. They were participating in illegal activity, according to the law, not just the rules of the game.

[Big Klu]

Canseco again. Not that I'd call that proof exactly, but I wouldn't call it nothing, either.

Jose Canseco is a slimeball, but I don't think he's been wrong about one yet.