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July 29, 2010

Our Opinion: Steroids to take center stage

—  Perhaps it was fitting that dark clouds hung menacingly over most of Induction Weekend.

While baseball fans celebrated the 2010 Induction class of Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey on Sunday, there is a sense of foreboding for future elections, when Steroid Era players such as Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens will be become eligible for election to the Hall.

The theme of Andre Dawson’s speech on Sunday was ``Love the game, and it will love you back.’’ Conversely, his speech implied, disrespect the game and it will disrespect you back.

Dawson made clear his feelings on players who have cheated the game. ``Individuals have chosen the wrong road and they’re choosing that as their legacy,’’ Dawson said. ``It’s a stain on the game.’’

And it threatens to be a stain on future Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies.

Next year, Rafael Palmeiro, a member of the 3,000-hit club who also smashed 569 home runs, becomes eligible. Palmeiro is also famous for wagging his finger at Congress in 2005 and adamantly denying steroid use. Later that year, he was the first of the big name players to test positive. Slugger Mark McGwire has already felt the writers’ wrath, failing to gain 25 percent of the vote in any of the three years he has been on the ballot, despite close to 600 career home runs and a then-record 70 in 1998.

Clemens, a 350-game winner, and home run king and 7-time MVP Barry Bonds will be next, will both becoming eligible for election in 2013.

Will the writers vote for any of the players suspected of using steroids, and if they do elect Bonds or Clemens, will anyone care?

The stain of steroids can still be seen in today’s game, as Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, an admitted steroid user,  chases his 600th home run. Instead of the focus being on themilestone, much of the media is talking about how much steroids may have helped A-Rod join the exclusive club. An air of suspicion is bound to follow Rodriguez as he chases the all-time record of 762 home runs set by Bonds. In the meantime, dark clouds will continue to hover over the induction ceremony for years to come.

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Our Opinion
  • Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival

    It does not look like there will be much snow, if any at all for this year’s Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Although many events are weather-dependent, that will not spoil all the festivities. As far as getting out your hats and mittens, you might want to dig them out. At least it does not look like the weather will be as abnormally warm as it has been so far this winter.

    Continued ...
  • Our Opinion: Roses

    Roses to Cooperstown sixth-grader Tom Knight, who once again might have the chance to compete in the state level geography bee. He won his school district’s competition for the second year in a row this year and will be taking a written test to see if he qualifies. One could wish him luck, but Tom said he feels more confident taking the test this time around the now knows what to expect. He also said he feels more comfortable answering questions on paper that out loud in front of an audience.

    Continued ...
  • Our Opinion: Buying locally is right

    We are happy to report this week that buying locally made products appears to be on the upswing in the Cooperstown area. We have long been a proponent of shopping locally. It stimulates the local economy, returns more sales tax to the county and is more environmentally sound. Buying locally made or grown products takes it one step further.

    Continued ...
  • Our Opinion: Confused much?

    As if figuring out one’s tax bill isn’t mind boggling enough. Now, with a two percent limit on property tax increases, there will be more brains flustered. It is not a simple calculation at all. In fact, the tax cap will affect each school district’s levy in various ways. So don’t think you will be able to take your bill from last year and just increase it by two percent. The process uses a much more complex formula eight steps, as a matter of fact.

    Continued ...
  • Our Opinion: We’ll miss Nicols

    Cooperstown Police Chief Diana Nicols will be leaving her job shortly and will be missed by the community. She is being retired by the New York State and Local Retirement System that notified her last week that she is “permanently incapacitated for the performance of duties.” The incapacitation is the result of a knee injury she received in 2008 during a training class.

    Continued ...
  • Thursday, January 5, 2012
  • Our Opinion: Roses and Raspberries

    Roses to Cooperstown Central School graduate Molly Pearlman for putting off her college plans for a year to serve a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program. She said her inspiration to participate in the program came from her father and brother.

    Continued ...
  • Thursday, December 29, 2011
  • Our Opinion: Looking forward

    While many will spend the next few days reminiscing about 2011, we at the Crier are looking forward to next year.  We are ready to ring in a new year and look forward to the events to come. Of course there are those events that  happen annually such as the Cooperstown Winter Carnival,The Goodyear Polar Bear Jump, the Farmers’ Museum’s Junior Livestock Show, The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Father’s Day Classic and Induction weekend, the Pumpkin Festival and Regatta and many more.

    Continued ...
  • Thursday, December 22, 2011
  • Our Opinion: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

    At this holiday season, we take great pleasure in reprinting one of the classic newspaper editorials of all time − perhaps the best Christmas editorial ever written. It has survived the test of time and seems particularly fitting and poignant this year.

    Continued ...
  • Monday, December 19, 2011
  • DEC should not dismiss findings

    Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the findings in a draft of a new federal report that links hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Wyoming with groundwater pollution. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that pumps millions of gallons of chemically treated water into gas wells to fracture the rock and release the gas.

    Continued ...
  • Thursday, December 8, 2011
  • Our Opinion: Who would have guessed?

    Much has been revealed during the baseball winter meeting in Dallas this past week. The Miami Marlins seem to be in hot pursuit of all the big name players to fill their new stadium, Manny Ramirez announced he would like to return to Major League Basbeall, Pedro Martínez announced he plans to officially retire, elections have been held and it appears former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is swapping places with the franchise’s new manager Bobby Valentine.

    Continued ...

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