I only watched the last inning.  Good game.

Posted by dahsdebater on 9/12/2014 4:53:00 PM (view original):
Well, I think we both wish neither were banned.  At least on principle.

Yes, I have no issue with PED.  But MLB does and both players(Davis/A-Rod) violated the rules in hopes of gaining an edge.   If one's a cheater, both are cheaters.

Davis was an idiot because he'd already tested positive once and kept doing it. He's selfish and it could end up costing his team. But this does not even compare to 'roids. He has used Adderall in the past with a legal prescription from a doctor and MLB's blessing. And then MLB suddenly says "K, time's up...can't take it anymore." What changed? MLB suddenly decided he was cured of whatever problem he was dealing with, despite his doctor still prescribing him the medication?

There's a reason that a second offense for this gets you 25 and a second offense for 'roids gets you 100. Not even close to being the same thing. And for MLB to give someone an exemption for several years and then suddenly stop granting it seems really fishy, because obviously they agreed at one point that Davis needed the stuff.

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/12/2014 2:55:00 PM (view original):

Posted by dahsdebater on 9/12/2014 2:50:00 PM (view original):

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/12/2014 2:45:00 PM (view original):

Posted by dahsdebater on 9/12/2014 2:42:00 PM (view original):
There were 116 positive tests for Adderall in 2012 that were allowed by TUE (therapeutic use exemption).  (I'm using the 2012 data since 2013 and 2014 data haven't been released to the public)  Davis had a TUE for Adderall as recently as last season.  His mistake was in not renewing the paperwork with MLB in the first place.  My best guess is that when he wasn't hitting this year he decided to start taking his Adderall again without clearing it with the league first.  Pure dumbassery.  But still doesn't have the feel of egregious cheating to me.

By this reasoning, A-Rod wasn't really cheating after 2007 while using 'roids.   He just decided to start using again without league approval.

How do you figure?  Was he still treating the same thing?  Did he still have a prescription?

It's not the same scenario at all.

I assume he was.   

Does Davis still have ADD?

It's the same thing.   You just don't want "your guy" to be labeled as cheating. 

I call BS on this too. I can't speak for dahs, but the last thing I want to do is root for someone who blatantly cheats the game. I gave Braun the benefit of the doubt initially too, until more evidence came out - now I think he's a piece of garbage. I have no problem calling a cheater a cheater and certainly don't want to look foolish rooting for one.

But as dahs said, this is clearly not a cut and dried case of cheating. For all we know he kept taking it to function in his everyday life and his positive baseball tests were a result he knew he was risking.

I'm not sure, but I think it's up to him to apply for an exemption each year. I haven't read that MLB refused him, just that he had an exemption last year and doesn't this year. That could be on him.

I read a report that he had it up to 2012. MLB refused him last year, which is when he got his first positive test. So he didn't even bother applying this year. It doesn't say why they refused him in 2013.

Posted by bad_luck on 8/29/2014 11:24:00 PM (view original):
Great. Kazmir has still been better this year.

How about now?

You were right. Tillman was better.

Yay!

I wish the Royals would stop losing.  If they come back in the 9th today they'll be tied with the Tigers.  I'd much rather face the team that doesn't have the last 3 AL Cy Young winners in their rotation in the ALDS.

Well, the O's took care of those 3 Cy Young winners. Ironically enough, the struggling Verlander was the only one they didn't beat.

If their SP continue to keep them in games, their offense and bullpen are more than enough to take them all the way.

Just doesn't make any damn sense...

I'm not complaining.  I'm just saying, that series really didn't look good going in.  Certainly didn't look like it would be a sweep for the O's.  At this point I'd take Detroit's lineup over Baltimore's, and I'd take their starter in every game of the series.  The only advantage the O's should have had was in the bullpen.

That advantage was huge; the entire difference in game 2.  But seriously...

Any team can beat anyone on any day. This isn't basketball. Playoffs are basically a crapshoot. 

Posted by burnsy483 on 10/6/2014 4:23:00 PM (view original):
Any team can beat anyone on any day. This isn't basketball. Playoffs are basically a crapshoot. 

Exactly. Even the worst team in baseball usually wins 60 games. Any team can win three, especially a playoff team.

Anyone who doesn't think the O's are good is fooling themselves.

The O's may not have the names but their starting staff has performed well all season. Lowest ERA was 3.29 and highest was 3.65 (if you count Gausman instead of Ubaldo). I credit Dave Wallace - he's obviously got these guys more focused and attacking hitters more than they were a year ago.

As far as this series goes, the O's are playing better as a team and their defense is also significantly better than Detroit's. Throw in the fact that Ausmus sucks at managing, and it's not much of a surprise they won. But I agree, I didn't see a sweep.