ESPN: Roberts Will Be in Report

[tywright]

So you have to wonder when BRob took HGH or whatever. I imagine he probably did so prior to his HR outburst and also when he was rehabbing from his arm injury. Suffice it to say, his HR rate didn't go down as much from 2005 even with the arm strength zapped from the injury and he still continued to have 40+ doubles a year.

[Bono Is U2]

<img src="http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2005/fantasy/08/11/fantasy.mailbag/t1_roberts2_si.jpg" alt=""/>

Should be an * next to his head.

[O's Young Guns]

The things people do to get ahead. I'd start a new thread on it, but there's a disappointing amount of apathy toward this "tired" subject.

The fact is, though, a disproportionate share of MLB players fingered here are affiliated with the Os and it's embarrassing, IMO. I'm not going to get on a soapbox - I'll just stop here. IMO, these players have embarrassed themselves and the Baltimore Orioles.

sad, but true...

-Grant

[wickedwitch]

I'm a little disappointed, but I'm really not surprised.

And as he's still a valuable player, I don't see it affecting his trade status. If needs be, we can keep him and trade him at midseason after he puts up good numbers in the spring. Hopefully.

[blueberryale77]

Well I won't say I'm shocked, but I have lost a little respect for Roberts. How does he explain this to all those kids he goes and visits that look up to him? "I" am not saying that athletes should be role models, but I think Roberts considers himself to be one, so what does he now say to the kids?

More importantly, does this change the way Cindy and Blueberry feel about him?

First of all, as I'm sure you all have noticed, Cindy and I are very different people so I won't speak for her or any other fan of the female persuasion who happens to appreciate Brian for more than just his baseball skills.

For myself, I'm not at all surprised to hear that his name is mentioned. We'll have to wait and see what exactly he is accused of and how strong the evidence is. If it's one or two orders of HGH, I don't care in the least. If it was HGH and steroids over a long period, I'll be a little sad but not shocked since I think the majority of players at least tried something similar and the entire atmosphere around them told them it was desirable. If anything, I'll just be mad that my favorite player, who I do think is basically a very good guy compared to the average professional athlete, is getting called out for something a whole, whole lot of people did.

Frankly, as I've stated before, I'm not going to condemn anybody for having used PEDs of any kind. I can sympathize that players were under a lot of pressure. In Brian's case, he was locked in a battle with Jerry Hairston for a job, Hairston may have been using, and his boss at the time (Mike Hargrove) kept saying publicly that he questioned whether Brian had the stamina or was big enough to be a major league regular. I don't think it's this simple thing about money that a lot of fans make it out to be. I think it's about being faced with having to give up a dream that in many cases a player has had since he was a tiny child and defined himself by for years.

So in conclusion, I'm sad that MLB had this problem and Brian was apparently associated with it, I'm angry that he's getting screwed more than many others who undoubtedly did as much or more, and I feel kind of bad for everybody involved because I think the public humiliation here is way disproportionate to the crime.

[TinCup]

Let's come to terms with the state of baseball.

Its a business these days, I dare say more so than a game.

Its not the same game that I grew up watching in t e 70's.

Free agency, insane salaries, the impact of the internet and media (e.g., cable TV), silly interleague play, questionable leadership in the commish's office, and now steroids.

Hard sometimes to tell yourself it remains a "kid's game" (speaking of the MLB).

[OsandBohs11]

now we have to call him "B-Roid"

[MKDavis]

I just hope this allows Angleos to let go of him easier.

If we can get that 4-1 deal for Brob that was rumored - run, do not walk and grab it.

Ideally, if we could get Gallagher, Cedeno, Patterson, and Guzman - I'd be very happy.

I guess we don't need Cedeno, and the Cubs are looking to move Murton who is solid.

But - we need to make the moves while we can. Brob gets hurt and we're screwed.

[blueberryale77]

Larry Bigbie, Jack Cust, and B-Rob linked through the Radomski portion of the report per WFAN.

Tejada and Jerry Hairston also in the Radomski list.

[Captain E.]

Showtime guys, check out CNN.com or mlb.com for streaming coverage of the press conference.

[HeatherC12]

I'm not going to lie; it is disappointing for me. But at the same time, I want to know more about what's in the report before I really decide how I feel about this. If it's something valid and they can prove he bought them from somewhere or something, that's one thing. If it's Joe Schmoe from some random team who bought them for some other player and somehow his name came up that way, well that's a whole other story. I think blueberry summed up my feelings about the situation very well. She said it all much better than I ever could, LOL

[Knife_Dixon]

He hasn't failed a test, so no one will care. If I had to guess, I'd say that whatever he took helped a lot of his gap hits become HRs. And, that's probably why his power has dropped off. But, even without HR power, he has a ton of value.

I'll say it again, the guy hit 9 homeruns by the first week in May. A fluke power surge for a month does not by any means indicate he took steroids. Furthermore, I highly doubt that he began taking steroids in 2005 then magically decided to stop in May. Plus, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. If he did take them which I think he probably did, I surely do not think you can attribute 2005 going forward as results of steroid use. Hopefully people in baseball have more sense than that.

[brvn52]

I hope Schilling is on it!

I hope no one is on it.

Obviously there are players on it, but my point is that it's an embarrassment to the game of baseball for this to be happening. It looks bad. You can say what you want, but any name that is in the report hurts the game of baseball. As a fan of baseball it is a shame that all these players couldn't trust their natural abilities and play baseball naturally.

[ChaosLex]

"Help me 21! You're my only hope!"

His bat of justice will clear the taint off Eutaw Street.

Hail Scott!

[Captain E.]

For those interested, the section on Brian Roberts is on page 158 of the report. The only evidence listed is Bigbie's testimony that Roberts admitted "injecting himself once or twice in 2003."

The Report