Ortiz did whatever it took - MLB

I want to make one thing pretty clear. I’ve just about had it with this
whole steroid controversy, what with it’s secret lists and tainted
records and bloody syringes. I’m having a hard time even caring about
it, because as Craig pointed out below, absolutely nothing surprises us
anymore. We’ve become desensitized to it all.

As baseball fans, we’ve forced ourselves to look the other way just
to move on and enjoy the game we love. Take a look at Mannywood, for
example. Baseball in the late-90s and early 2000s are like a troubled
uncle. Yeah, the dude was pretty messed up for a while, but he keeps
saying he has cleaned himself up. Let’s just give him the benefit of
the doubt, okay? He’ll turn himself around. Really, he will.

That said, it’s quite different when news like this concerns the
team you root for. Even though I’m not a Red Sox fan, seeing David
Ortiz hit that home run against Paul Quantrill in Game Four of the 2004
ALCS was one of my favorite memories as a baseball fan. It was
positively thrilling. But I can’t help but look at Ortiz differently
now. I’ve grown quite tired of reconsidering all the moments I have
enjoyed.

I’m mad at these players, but cognizant that performance enhancing
drugs aren’t so cut and dry. Thus, it’s not so easy to just pass
judgement on them. Even Bob Gibson has said that he might have
considered using PEDs if they had been around during his time. We have
to accept that we are watching and rooting for some very competitive
individuals. Not just against the other team, but in even keeping a
roster spot. This do-whatever-it-takes attitude is what made David
Ortiz from a mere nice player in Minnesota to a prolific slugger in
Boston. As long as there are advantages to be had, players will seek
them out. Period.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”