Jun 16, 2009

It does sound sketchy

I believe Ryan Madson, if for no other reason than "spaghetti arms" is the best defense I've ever heard for someone even remotely accused of taking steroids.

But when a pitcher whose fastball suddenly gained a few miles per hour attributes the increased velocity to a clandestine meeting arranged by the title character of a horror novel who was driving a rented getaway car, it seems awfully suspicious.

"Flash [Gordon] took care of me," Madson said. "He really did. [The program] we were doing was good, but it wasn't the only thing that could help. I give him a lot of credit. He rented a car and said, 'We're going, 9 o'clock in the morning, get up. You're coming with me.' I got the chills right now just talking about it."

I don't know why this story broke today in both the News Journal and Daily News, but Madson says the success he has had dating back to the end of 2008 traces to Tom Gordon introducing him to his Arizona-based trainer.

Like I said, I'm not being a blogger accusing a player of something improper, but if we ever read about Mad Dog getting a 50-game suspension, I'm blaming Gordon.

Speaking of steroids: If you are under suspicion of drug use and know you had tested positive, don't talk about your Hall of Fame induction like it's a slam dunk. That's how Sammy Sosa spoke recently, and today he was revealed as the next player after Alex Rodriguez on the list of players who tested positive in 2003. That was a category in SoxandPhils' predictions this spring, but no one picked Slamming Sammy.

Games back on: After battling the Mets and Yankees, and then each other, the Red Sox and Phillies are facing less-riveting competition in interleague play: the Marlins and Blue Jays. The Phillies, behind Cole Hamels, lead the Jays 3-2 in the 7th. My jaw dropped when the announcers said of Rod Barajas: "Everything he wasn't in Philadelphia, the Blue Jays say he is north of the border."

The Red Sox, behind All-Star hopeful Tim Wakefield, lead the Fish 8-2 in the 7th. Big game for David Ortiz so far: 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.

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