Jason Grimsley News Impact On Yankees
Have you heard the latest news on Jason Grimsley? If not, where have you been lately?
I was just reading the search warrant on this case – and it said that he started “using” in 2000. He was with the Yankees at that time. I also found this section of the document interesting:
Hmmm. Everyone knows that one of Jason Grimsley’s closest friends in baseball is Chuck Knoblauch.
I wonder what other Yankees-names will fall out of this situation? Glenallen Hill? Jose Canseco? They were with the 2000 Yankees and largely muscled. Shane Spencer? It would not shock me.
Just imagine the news if Grimsley fingered someone like Roger Clemens – also on the 2000 Yankees. As much as that would be big news – it would not shock me either.
The documents also said that he mentioned a player who had a doctor in Colorado who would supply greenies. Could that have been Joe Girardi? Now, that would shock me.
I have a feeling that we’re going to be hearing more on all this very soon.
I’ve heard Knoblauch’s name thrown around in regard to this but…he wasn’t recovering from an injury and he certainly didn’t start hitting any tape measure shots. Can HGH or steroids help the yips he had? Greenies, on the other hand, might be useful to players who, ahem, routinely burned the candle at both ends. And Chucko was certainly one of those.
I’m thinking there are more pitchers under those little black boxes than hitters.
I may have looked in the wrong places (it’s still early, IMO), but I didn’t see (m)any blog articles on Grimsley. Can’t say that I’m suprised… It’ll be a nonstory, I suppose until a big name gets fingered. Had it been Bonds, it would’ve been front page news.
Anyway, maybe it was Knobby, maybe it wasn’t. If he was using in 2000-02, I suggest he politely ask for a refund.
And why would the involvement of Girardi (hypothetically) shock you?.
The big question is is Giambi involved. I hope not, but won’t be surprised.
I would try to identify the font of that little document and try to see if various names fit in between the blacked out areas.
Just by eye, it doesn’t seem as if Chuck fits in there. Too many letters.
I don’t know what’s worse — that Grimsley used ‘roids and put up such pitiful numbers, or that he dragged down other players, including his “best friend.” What a loser. What is wrong with this guy? If you get busted and decide to out yourself, fine, but keep your assumptions to yourself. If this info gets out, his “opinion” could ruin careers.
I don’t want to see Grimsley go to jail, but I hope he crawls into a hole and never comes back out.
I’m with Jen…probably most of the named players will turn out to be other pitchers. So, who was Grimsley’s “best friend” on the staff in 2000? Probably another relief pitcher?
Oh Randy Choate and Ed Yarnall, why did you do what you did? Damn you. Man, I hate to see a championship Yankees team get lumped in with this at all, than again, Canseco was on the roster so that was long ago taken care of.
And I’m sorry but this is a freaking witch hunt. Do you think some jerk (like myself) gets investigated for some HGH that was used back in 2000? Baseball has testing now (no, not for HGH true, so they did leave this door open), let’s move on. Then again, don’t get me started on the “war on drugs” as this is neither the time or place:)
And I agree, it’s a shame Grimsley turned into a Big Pussy or Sammy the Bull-type. These are alleged friends of his that he’s throwing under the bus.
A couple of the comments here really bother me. Sure Grimsley named names, but, as fans, we should consider that to be a good thing. The simple fact of the matter is that true baseball fans care about the history of the game and, in order to understand the history of the game, we have to understand what has been going on the last few years. The difference between Grimsley and Sammy-the-Bull is that none of us care about the history of the Gambino family or what made certain figures, “effective” mobsters.
Also, there is no “oath” in major league baseball.
jonm, no offense, but are you out of your frickin’ mind? Sammy the Bull MURDERED people. He ended nine people’s lives. That’s a lot more important than who’s taking ‘roids in baseball.
When a crime is victimless — and I think an individual person taking ‘roids is — then I think it’s cowardly to give up cohorts. There’s nothing worse than someone getting busted and dragging people down with him. Especially if they’re “friends.”
Plus, Grimsely apparently just floated names of guys he “thought” were on ‘roids. Do you think that’s fair to them?
Grimsley, like Canseco, is a rat. Both of them outed other users because it benefited them. The only guy who stepped out with nothing to gain was Ken Caminiti.
Hey Raf,
There aren’t too many posts around yet about Grimsley but the news just broke. I wrote about it last night, and Will over at Deadspin linked to my column. It’s here:
http://www.all-baseball.com/double/archives/023141.html
Hey Raf,
There aren’t too many posts around yet about Grimsley but the news just broke. I wrote about it last night, and Will over at Deadspin linked to my column.
==================
That may be the case, but the news broke last night. I would’ve expected more than I found…
And thank you for the link… Almost forgot that
Bailey: Actually, Grimsley hasn’t done that bad since 2000. But we don’t know if it’s because of HGH or not. I do agree with your rat assessment.
JeremyM: This has always been a witchhunt
Well, reading the article, the investigation seems to focus solely on usage in 2006 and not 2000. That makes more sense-for some reason I got the feeling from other articles that they were trying to go back and get guys from 6 years back. Fact is, baseball really should’ve nipped this in the bud and tested for HGH, although my understanding is HGH isn’t nearly as effective at muscle building without stacking it with another steroid. But I know very little on this topic so I could be wrong.
I really hope Giambi wasn’t dumb enough to start using this crap. If he did, he really deserves a lifetime ban. But I’m going to assume he’s clean and couldn’t possibly be that stupid.
The greenies thing has been going around since Ball Four. Big deal. I don’t agree with it I guess, but baseball players seem to have normal lifespans unlike say football players, so it can’t be that bad.
I still say the guy is a rat. I’m trying to put myself in his shoes, and I can’t see where I would rat out everybody under the sun–the guy didn’t even get any immunity from it. It’s one thing if the ballplayers had hurt someone or killed someone, but to rat them out for this is pretty low. Well, I assume the terrorism problem is all solved since the feds are focusing on this–I’ll sleep better tonight!
Baileywalk,
I wasn’t the one who made the comparison between Sammy the Bull and Grimsley. Let’s just say that I’m glad that both of them talked. The latter because it sent Gotti and others to prison and the former because it’s a step toward helping fans figure out what has been going on the last few years. I don’t see the steroids scandal as victimless at all. The victims are people like me — fans who care about the numbers and the history of the game. Without knowing who used and who didn’t, we would never know which performances of the last few years were legitimate and which were not.
I wouldn’t be surprised with any of the names that might be under the black magic marker. At this point it is clear that MLB, owners, union officials and even writers knew of and implicitly condoned the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Since there was a climate of permissiveness around the game in this regard, the users shouldn’t feel ashamed at all. I find it very hard to believe that players, especially ones of marginal talent like Grimsley, would be able to resist the urge to use products that might lengthen their careers or improve their abilities in order to better provide for their families. I’m not saying I necessarily agree with their choices but I certainly understand where those guys were/are coming from. Thus, if the names under the black ink are “great guys” or “character guys” or fan favorites like Girardi, Clemens or whoever else, none of us should be surprised by it.
As for the previous comment about Giambi, don’t for a second think that he might not be a part of this. Barry Bonds used HGH and we already know that Giambi and Bonds had very similar training regimens since they were put together by the same personal trainer (Greg Anderson). As for him “not possibly being that stupid” – you’re not stupid if you do something that you can’t get caught doing. As long as there isn’t a test for HGH then they can’t catch him in the act. That’s why HGH is still used in the game.
Please keep in mind that I’m not accusing anyone of doing anything since I have no idea for certain what people are doing behind closed doors. But lets not kid ourselves here…as long as the MLB doesn’t have a policy in place that covers all the bases, people will do what they have to do.
PS – Grimsley’s most certainly a rat and it’s unfortunate for everyone who he might bring down with him. But, again, stepping into his shoes for a moment, if the IRS has the goods on you and you’re faced with going to jail for a long time and being separated from your wife and daughters…well, most people would sing too.