Is There a Double Standard in Determining "Cruelty" for Horses?

Last Friday, New York thoroughbred breeder and owner Ernie Paragallo was charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty for neglecting the horses on his farm. Each count carries up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. More charges could be on the way.

Paragallo’s Center Brook Farm in Climax, NY has been taken over by the State Police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after more than 170 neglected horses were found on the property. The New York Racing Association has informed Paragallo that he will no longer be welcome at their racetracks nor allowed to transfer his operation to family members or current employees.

This is a tragic story. The good news is that Paragallo's negligence on the farm was caught and is being remedied.

I want to explore the issue of animal cruelty from the sense of a breeder and owner using steroids to make his horses look more fit and thus more valuable. Should this be considered animal cruelty? The animal has no say in the matter. Can a certain minimum level of injections be considered "healthy" and not "deceitful?" If so, at what point and who would make that determination? At the end of the day, why would an animal need an injection in the first place?

I agree not feeding an animal is cruel. I consider injecting an animal with non essential substances that shortens its life cruel. Do you?

Good vs. Bad Guys in the Roid Court of Public Opinion

In the roid court of public opinion there are good guys and bad guys. Some guys seem to get a free pass while others can't seem to talk about anything but roids. Why the discrepancy?

The bad guys include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Floyd Landis. The good guys include Jason Giambi, Lance Armstrong and now apparently Mike Piazza.

I have fallen victim to my own bias. Whether or not I liked a guy rather than looking at the facts clouded my judgement in the past. A prime example was Mike Piazza after the allegations raised in Jeff Pearlman's book on Roger Clemens, "The Rocket That Fell To Earth.".

Piazza is beloved in New York. He was a part of closing down Shea Stadium and opening Citi Field. More importantly, he was a part of the post 9/11 healing process. In New York's first game after the tragedy, Piazza hit a monster home run starting a Mets rally. I don't recall if the Mets won the game, but I remember the significance of that game and the HR and how it made me feel. Could one man and a home run lift the spirits of a grieving city...hell yeah. It was an unreal moment for a baseball fan in New York and one that earned Piazza tremendous goodwill in the community...even amongst Yankee fans.

Awhile back, someone raised doubts about whether Piazza played clean. Back then, I was flabbergasted. I had Piazza's back. At the time, I was telling people the overwhelming evidence is out there against Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. This was during the height of "Game of Shadows." There was nothing at the time to raise any doubts over Piazza. Yet, there were whispers.

Now one can openly ask questions and look at the actual data. How does an unheralded prospect get drafted in the 62nd round as a favor by a family friend, Tommy Lasorda, and then go on to be the greatest hitting catcher in major league history. Could everyone have missed the boat on this talent?

When one looks at the numbers, it's even more striking. After his first 470 minor league at bats (AB) over two seasons, Piazza had 14 home runs (HR), an average of one HR per every 33.6 AB. When he moved on to Bakersfield, CA he reduced that number in half to 15.5 AB. Throughout his minor league career, he had 1,390 AB's and 66 HR's for an average of a HR every 21.1 AB.

Once he made the leap to the majors and faced better pitching, he averaged a HR every 14.7 AB from 1992 - 2002. When MLB instituted the first form of steroid testing with survey testing in 2003, Piazza's average HR per AB plummeted for the remainder of his career to a HR every 22.4 AB. Coincidence, old age, injuries and / or wear and tear from catching all these years...you be the judge.

Piazza Avoids Media After Citi Field Opening

Last night the New York Mets broke in Citi Field with a first pitch from Tom Seaver to Mike Piazza. It was Piazza and Seaver who left arm and arm to close Shea last fall. After the ceremonial first pitch, Seaver went up to the press box addressing the media while Piazza headed for the exits.

Piazza was escorted by security from the field to the stadium tunnel and avoided most queries from the media with the exception of two stadium related questions.

Piazza’s reluctance to engage with the media could be explained by the allegations of steroid use in Jeff Pearlman's Roger Clemens book, “The Rocket That Fell to Earth.” Pearlman writes that Piazza confided to unidentified reporters during his career that he had used PED's. Piazza has declined several requests for comment since the book's publication.

According to the the Mets’ vice president for media relations, Jay Horwitz, there is a simple explanation. “He wasn’t looking for any attention. He said, ‘I’m a private person now, I have a family, I’m raising my kids, my wife’s having a baby and I want to stay in the background.’ ”

If Piazza wasn't looking for any attention, he shouldn't have been a part of the opening of a new ballpark. The incredible thing with Piazza is no one seems to care (except for the media and a small minority of people) whether he cheated. Being a "private person now" and "wanting to stay in the background" sounds very similar to someone who "wasn't here to talk about the past." What do we think about that guy these days...

MLB Opening Day Analysis: 2009 vs. 2002

Many of the old school baseball honks, still in denial of the widespread use of PED’s earlier this decade, would like to see some of this analysis.

Opening day home runs were up 18% in 2009 compared to 2002 while the number of strikeouts decreased 4%. The baseball establishment would likely point to this HR data as evidence that the players were not roiding out of their minds back in ’02. I beg to differ. The 15 games that made up opening day 2009 consisted of 40 home runs compared to 34 in 2002. The game with the most HR’s in ’09 was the Colorado v. Arizona game with 8 while in ‘02, the game with the most home runs was Minnesota and Kansas City with 5. Interesting to note that 47% of all opening games played in ’02 had at least three home runs hit compared with 40% in ’09. A contributing factor to increased home runs is the 7 new ballparks since 2002. The trend in new ballparks has been smaller, hitter-friendly parks where fans can see more home runs.

The baseball establishment would not like to see the decline in strikeouts. In 2002, there were 202 strikeouts in the 15 opening day games. In 2009, that total decreased to 193. In ’02, there were two games that had 20 strikeouts; in ’09, the highest strikeout total was 17. The lowest K total in ’09 was 6 compared to 9 in ’02. This data would lead one to conclude that PED’s benefited pitchers more than hitters.

While analyzing home run data is difficult because of the changes to stadiums, analyzing opening day strikeout totals can shed some light on what was going on back in the day. Opening day pits each team’s ace against each other and its power vs. power. From the pitcher’s perspective, they lost some power from ’02 to ’09.

Armstrong’s Vanishing Act Might Force Him to Vanish from the Tour de France

After Lance Armstrong vanished to take a 20 minute shower before providing doping samples when French doping authorities showed up last month, Armstrong now feels that there is a “very high likelihood” he will not be allowed to race in this year’s Tour de France.


Looks like the comeback couldn’t go any worse for Armstrong. He announces the most comprehensive and transparent testing program in conjunction with his comeback to cycling only to abandon the testing without a single test, breaks his collarbone and disappeared for 20 minutes when doping authorities requested hair, urine and blood samples. Now, he appears to be using the only argument left: it’s the French. They are out to get me, always have and always will.

If you know you are a perceived target, don’t disappear for 20 minutes during an unannounced drug test. Do not violate the rules of the sport and expect not to be punished. Public outcry can only help so much, but at the end of the day, rules are rules and violators usually get punished.

Will Piazza Address Allegations at Citi Field?

With the New York Mets opening Citi Field tomorrow, Mike Piazza is scheduled to be part of the opening celebration in a first pitch ceremony with Tom Seaver. This will be a nice complement to how Shea Stadium closed its doors last fall with Piazza and Seaver walking out of the stadium arms around each other. However, tomorrow should add a little more drama to the festivities with the latest controversy surrounding Piazza and PED’s.

Per The New York Times, Piazza has not commented on the allegations nor held a press conference discussing tomorrow’s activities like Seaver. Besides the normal fanfare and hoopla surrounding a home opener in a new stadium, this one could have additional fireworks.

But I wouldn’t expect any earth shattering details. If history is any indication for how these types of stories play out, it will be par the course: deny, deny, deny. It’s only until there is a smoking gun or documented evidence that someone eventually needs to come clean…belatedly. 

Armstrong Evasive During Test

When a French tester requested a sample from Lance Armstrong March 17th, Armstrong hit the showers…literally before providing blood, urine and hair samples.

Armstrong’s assistants reviewed the tester’s credentials while Armstrong took a 20 minute shower. The samples that were eventually provided were found to be drug free. This behavior is in stark contrast from when Armstrong announced his return to competitive cycling when he stated that he would embark on “the most advanced anti doping program in the world.” As we all came to learn, that ambitious testing program he announced in conjunction with his comeback resulted in zero tests.

Armstrong said, "I had no idea who this guy was or whether he was telling the truth. We asked the tester for evidence of his authority. We looked at his papers but they were far from clear or impressive and we still had significant questions about who he was or for whom he worked."

Once the identity was confirmed, the samples were provided. France’s anti-doping authority was not pleased with Armstrong’s act. They sent a report outlining Armstrong's behavior during the test to cycling's governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Armstrong has said he has been tested 24 times without incident prior to this episode.

Everyone wants to believe Lance Armstrong. The man has raised awareness and countless funds for cancer research like no one before him. Being discovered as a cheat would cripple his image and those efforts; no one wants to see that. At the same time, people want to know the truth. For someone who makes a big splashy announcement coming back to racing and appears to do the right thing by embarking on an aggressive testing program only to never be tested once, raises flags. The zero tests under his new plan combined with suspicious behavior, leaving a tester for twenty minutes, and then providing samples is odd. I understand the need to validate the testers, but when will this end?

If you want to be on the forefront of transparency in testing, you don’t go off for 20 minutes and then provide samples. Lance Armstrong knows that; if he didn't, he does now.