Quick Thoughts on Today’s Steroids Hearings & Players

First off, I didn’t see the first panel which apparently included gripping testimony from the parents of children who died due to use of steroids. I did, however, watch the baseball players’ panel, and below are my reactions to how the players did:

Mark McGwire: May have been better off going to jail than showing up for this beating. He kept saying, “I’m retired. I’m not here to talk about the past. I’m here to bring a positive message for the future.” He refused to answer any questions pertaining to his playing days, including any questions about steroids or performance enhancers. In what I think may have been bad advice on the part of his lawyer/representative, McGwire also offered to be the chief spokesman for some kind of national anti-steroids campaign designed to tell kids that steroids are bad – to which Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC) adroitly asked, “How do you know that steroids are so bad?” An awkward pause ensued, and McGwire looked a deer in the headlight and could say nothing. To McGwire’s luck, however, Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) interrupted by saying that McGwire didn’t have to answer that question, but the damage was already done: How can McGwire be the chief spokesman for something that he can’t talk about? It’s absurd. Another tough question/statement came from Representative Mark Souder (R-IN), who noted that if Enron executives or former President Richard Nixon had used McGwire’s “I’m not here to talk about the past” line, then the House Government Reform Committee would serve no purpose. It’s probably never good to be referred in the same sentence as Enron and Richard Nixon, and no, it was not a good day to be Mark McGwire.

Jose Canseco: Began by looking very nervous and the picture of him turning away from McGwire as McGwire read his opening statement will likely grace the front page of many of tomorrow's newspapers. As the hearing progressed, he became much more comfortable and well-spoken, though looked stunned when Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) asked him if he was going to write a new book to reconcile all of the inconsistencies between his book and his testimony (in his book, he praises steroids as some kind of panacea; in his testimony, he didn’t – and his sheepish response to Lynch’s question was “I wrote the book two years ago” and things have since changed. Yikes). Canseco was, however, the only one to claim that steroids are a serious problem, but undercut his message by continuously referring to his book, almost as if he were on an infomercial.

Curt Schilling: Most articulate and most comfortable, by far. I believe the only one who considered steroids use to be “cheating.” Also said, “in 19 years in the big leagues, I have never seen a syringe.” Called Jose Canseco a liar on several occasions, and chastised him for ratting out ex-teammates. Careful, thoughtful answers, but may have underplayed the significance of the steroids issue, and overplayed the capacity of self-regulation by Major League Baseball and the Players' Association.

Sammy Sosa: Didn’t say much, other than that he never used steroids. Highlight may have been responding in English to Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s question in Spanish.

Rafael Palmeiro: Like Sosa, didn’t add much other than vehemently denying ever using steroids and echoing whatever Curt Schilling said.

Frank Thomas: From a satellite location on monitor, Thomas eloquently read a well-written, though generic-sounding opening statement, but had no other involvement. Chairman Davis noted that Thomas and Schilling were there only because they are strong proponents for tough testing.

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