Saturday, May 11, 2013

Day 41: Dan Shaughnessy Broke David Ortiz

Boston Globe reporter, Dan Shaughnessy, accused Red Sox DH, David Ortiz of cheating earlier this week. He accused him of taking performance enhancing drugs—because how else would he be having such a great season after spending much of last year, the off season and the start of this season recovering from an achilles injury? And now David Ortiz is broken.

When the story was published last Wednesday, Big Papi was on a tear. He was in the midst of a 27-game hitting streak dating back to last season and he his batting average was an impressive .426. Since the story, Ortiz has gone 0-for-13 including the first back-to-back 0-for-5 performances since the 2004 season. See? Broken.

According to an ESPN Boston article, Shaughnessy flat out accused the 37-year-old Ortiz of taking PEDs right to his face:
"You fit all the models," Shaughnessy said he told Ortiz in the column. "You are from the Dominican Republic. You are an older player. Older players don't get better. You've had injuries consistent with steroid use. You showed up on the list from 2003. You fit all the formulas."
I can totally understand why Red Sox chairman Tom Werner decided to speak out. He's completely right—this reporter crossed the line. Sure, Ortiz was peppered with tough questions, all of which he answered without blinking an eye, but Werner makes a good point where the age of players is concerned.
"If that is defined as [Dan] Shaughnessy asking the tough questions, did he ask Tom Brady, who had two of his best years at age 34 and 35? Did he question the Celtics when they won an NBA title with a core of players that were in their 30s? Did he question Tim Thomas when he won a Stanley Cup for the Bruins at age 37? And how come he hasn't questioned Mariano Rivera, who is 43 and 11 for 11 in saves and has returned from ACL surgery without missing a beat?"
The media has this really annoying habit of accusing players, who are doing really well, of cheating. Sometimes it's warranted and other times, I don't know, maybe it's a slow news day in the world of sports and they feel the need to draw attention to something that shouldn't really attract any scrutiny. And then it almost seems like those players are afraid to do well for fear of keeping the rumor mill churning. Both Ortiz and Clay Buchholz are suffering from this syndrome—Ortiz with his recent 3-game hitless skid, and Buchholz is winless in his last two starts.

Stupid Shaughnessy. I'd like to throat punch that trouble-maker. Well, Dan, Jon Lester pitched a gem of a one-hitter last night...you better accuse him of cheating too. Maybe he's been eating Popeye's spinach before his starts. Is that against the rules?

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