An argument against vest jerseys

I've always hated vest jerseys, but then again baseball fashion is, well, not exactly fashionable. And it's not like the guys aren't wearing t-shirts under the vests. I'd really be worked up if the boys were bearing armpits. I just pretend that they are wearing different colored sleeves. But last night, poor Tommy Hunter proved that vests are not okay.

Oh the screen cap barely does it justice.... Hunter had a tight tee on under his vest. I think the tight sleeves are probably far more functional than the lose sleeves, especially for a pitcher. You don't want all sorts of extra fabric bunching up around your shoulder and tighter is definitely warmer. However tight shirt + vest = fashion disaster. It's worse than high socks. It's worse than stirrups! I think that Jason Bay is happy to be a Red Sox not because of the chance to be on winning team, but he's happy to escape the god-awful VEST!

Nearing the end?

I've been worrying that Jason Varitek's recent batting slump is a sign that his career is nearing the end. However, boston.com reports that it's not his career, but his marriage that is ending. Apparently Tek filed for divorce at the end of July. Tek was married for 11 years with 3 kids, so I am sure it's a sad and stressful time for the captain. Undoubtedly, it's had an effect at the plate as well. I'm sure that once the dust settles, Tek's swing will be back in fine form.

Forgive and forget?

Alright, the boys did a good job of trying to distract me last night -- the baby-faced knuckler and the nearly 40 runs. What a wild ride it was. But it's morning and I'm still mad. Surely Sox fans remember the ALCS last year against the Cleveland Indians and we remember that Paul Byrd was busted for HGH use during that series, missing his start. Are we supposed to have forgiven and forgotten?? Come on -- we're Red Sox fans. Red Sox fans never forget...

I know the Sox need a starter as they make a playoff bid, I really do get it. I want the Red Sox to win. But I'm not convinced I want an admitted HGH user in the clubhouse. But I didn't want to be quick to judge, so I looked around. Byrd claims to have a tumor on his pituitary gland which causes him to be deficient in HGH, so his doctor prescribed it for him. . Ah that sounds convincing enough. But just to be sure, I looked him up in the Mitchell Report. Here's what George had to say:

On October 21, 2007, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd had bought nearly $25,000 worth of human growth hormone and syringes from the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, one of the anti-aging clinics implicated in the Signature Pharmacy investigation, in thirteen transactions between August 2002 and January 2005. According to the story, Byrd used his credit card to purchase the substance and received more than 1,000 vials of human growth hormone in the transactions, which were sent to his home in Georgia, to the spring training facility of the Atlanta Braves, where he was playing at the time, and in one instance to a New York hotel.

In public comments in response to the article, Byrd admitted that he had been taking human growth hormone but said that he had been using it to treat a tumor on his pituitary gland. Byrd reportedly said that he had never taken “any hormone or drug that was not prescribed” to him by a doctor. The Chronicle reported that two of Byrd’s prescriptions had been written by a Florida dentist whose license was suspended in 2003. Byrd also reportedly said that “[t]he Indians, my coaches and MLB have known that I have had a pituitary gland issue for some time,” but Rob Manfred in the Commissioner’s Office denied that Major League Baseball had given Byrd or any other player a therapeutic use exemption for human growth hormone.

A dentist? The same dentist that prescribed HGH to other ballplayers, like Jose Guillen. Oh brother. If you want to really clear your name, you clear it. You show the MRIs of your tumor. He show your medical charts. You show your prescriptions. Your doctor speaks on your behalf.... Byrd knew that HGH was a banned substance in baseball, but has yet to present documentation that he was indeed a medical exception to the rule. If you know you are breaking the rules, you'd better document your excuses. I don't know if Byrd is telling the truth or not, but I can't find anything to convince me he's not guilty, that he didn't cheat. Yet, I'm supposed to cheer him on and hope he helps the Red Sox on the way to a championship. Maybe after his first win, I'll be able to put the past in the past. I'll forgive and forget. Who am I kidding? I'm a Red Sox fan...