George Mitchell seems like a pretty useless guy right now.
“The (players’) association told us this is just a witch hunt,” Sheffield told USA Today. “They don’t want us to talk to them. This is all about getting (Bonds).
“If this was legitimate and they did it the right way, it would be different. But this a witch hunt. They’re just trying to collect a lot of stuff that doesn’t make any sense and throw the (expletive) against the wall.”
Donald Fehr, executive director of the players’ association, said he has offered advice to players but it’s the players’ choice whether to cooperate.
After the leaks of secret testimony in the BALCO case, the players will never cooperate again.
It’ll be interesting to see if Mitchell follows through on his semi-veiled threat: if his investigation isn’t thorough, the whole thing could end up back in Congress. That one day of testimony was so earth-shaking, just think what could happen if a Congressional committee held a full hearing and everybody had to testify under oath.
The BALCO testimony leaks were bad, but outside of MLB control. It’s the subpoenaed, supposedly anonymous testing that’s got to have the players riled against the MLB.
If I were a player, I wouldn’t hand over anything because I’d have no idea where it would end up.
What did Sheffield call “Bonds” that ended up as “(Bonds)” in this article?
If we laugh off this process, it will surely go back in the closet and we can all believe in the sanctity of baseball until someone hits 100 HRs in a season.
Congress puts some pressure on the game . . . something may pop out. Real pressure that can change the environment for the better can only come from the customer . . . the fans.
The fans need to demand a change . . . have you seen http://www.livetrue61.com?
If congress passed a law disallowing MLB owners to clasify Players as a piece of capital equip on tax returns, baseball would be more affordable. Right now, Barry Bonds salary is the same as GM buying a lift truck.
Go bug the NFL – they have a bigger problem
“What did Sheffield call “Bonds” that ended up as “(Bonds)” in this article?”
“Him.” They just disambiguated the pronoun.
“After the leaks of secret testimony in the BALCO case, the players will never cooperate again.”
Balco was a federal investigation, regardless of leaks players subpoenaed and immunized will cooperate in the future. Or go to jail. They never would have cooperated with Mitchell’s investigation in the past. No change, just spin.