Much has been said on the net about Damien Cox's recent column that asks the question if Jose Bautista is using steroids? Bloggers everywhere are asking why Cox isn't getting the same backlash that Morris got in his piece last year that Raul Ibanez used steroids.
I don't really care about that however, it's not really surprising that sportswriters would bash bloggers and defend sportswriters, that's just par for the course. I'm more concerned with how Cox, in his short little piece, mentions how Toronto "has quietly become known as a bit of a nest for alleged steroid abusers over the years. Clemens played here. Gregg Zaun has been implicated. Ditto for Troy Glaus". I personally find it amusing that a "nest" for steroid use can be attributed to Clemens playing in Toronto in 1998, and two other players who were implicated of steroid use. And that because of those instances, Jose Bautista's homerun increase is likely caused by steroids. Meanwhile, Bautista is playing during drug testing. I would think whatever "steroid nest" the Blue Jays had has gone away since there have been 3 GMs, several different managers, and essentially a complete roster overhaul. That'd be like saying Vlad is using steroids in his comeback year on the Rangers because Arod, Palmeiro, and Juan Gone were using steroids there 8 years ago.
Baseball is prone to flukey seasons and Jose Bautista's success is likely due to a total change in his swing and some dumb luck, not because of steroids.
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