That’s my favourite part of the article. As if the Jays would hire people to steal signs in order for them to get better stats/higher salaries. That makes perfect sense, of course the Jays want to make players look better then they are in order for them to pay them way more then they are worth. Brilliant move by the Blue Jays management. Wells must have stolen the first sign he saw when he came back to Toronto the first time this year too, the man in white forgot which side he was on..

I never said that Sosa, McGwire, A-Rod or Bonds were my “favorite players.” Saying that I enjoyed watching home runs fly out of ballparks, before steroid suspicion and PED testing, is honest. You wouldn’t fault someone for saying Pete Rose was fun to watch even though his reputation has been forever altered by his betting habits.

Baseball is baseball, whether people are cheating or not. Whether Cal Ripken Jr. or Barry Bonds hit a home run, it was beautiful, because it was a home run. Strikeouts are the same way. Whether Troy Percival fanned a hitter with a 98 MPH fastball or Tim Wakefield danced a knuckleball through the strike zone at 63 MPH, it’s still a strikeout.

The steroid era brought suspicion to the record books. It has now become the norm for us to question players who find their swings, because that’s now a duty of the media and the fans. Are any of the players today cheating? Who knows? But we all have our opinions and it’s fun to dissect the numbers and be skeptical.

By contrasting the legacy of Trevor Hoffman with Barry Bonds and/or Roger Clemens, I attempted to show that a man who is a God in San Diego is seen in that light because of his character. It’s great to see players leave the game on a high note, with a number retired, rather than the way Manny Ramirez left baseball.

It may be a mistake to take Toronto’s surge as suspicious, because it could just be a team that caught fire in a hitter’s ballpark. But after seeing Wells tank on the road while in Toronto and struggle in most ballparks in 2011 with the Angels, there might be something to it. Maybe it can be attributed to a new hitting approach for the Jays, but in an age where the average fan now seems suspicious when a player has a miraculous turnaround, it’s worth commenting on.

Like always, columns are meant to be opinionated. They’re meant to be disagreed with. Thanks again for reading and the feedback.

“When evaluating the MLB schedule, I used to look for games that guaranteed a few big flies. The Giants are coming to San Diego, who wants to see Bonds go yard? A-Rod and the Rangers are in town, who’s up for an Angels game? Sosa’s going to be in right field at Chavez Ravine, think he can clear the palm trees and reach the parking lot?”

Strange that someone whose favorite players were all cheaters, has a mild beef with a true talent who is finally finding his stride.
Ridiculous article.

Does every drastic jump in production have to be explained by some kind of cheating? Then how is Curtis Granderson cheating this year?

Oh- and Vernon Wells has sucked for a long time. Man in white, notwithstanding. Try doing some research next time before accusing players of cheating.