Sun, Jul 05 2009
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Published March 26, 2008 12:56 am - Commentary: Steroids Era is over, but what’s next? By Michael Cummings michaelc@cullmantimes.com Tuesday’s 6-5 victory for the Boston Red Sox over the Oakland Athletics ushered in a new Major League Baseball season, and with it, the second year of baseball’s purported post-steroids era.
But don’t count on baseball’s purists to let sleeping dogs lie. And why is that? Well, since we’re using a Latin prefix to describe baseball’s brave new world, let’s throw out another bit of classical wisdom in an effort to explain: O tempora! O mores! That would be a direct quote from the incomparable Cicero, the rough translation being: “Oh, the times! Oh, people’s habits!” Modern versions vary from something about hell in a handbasket, to kids these days, to any other phrase starting with “these days.” These days, players only care about money. These days, the talent pool is watered down. These days, the ball is juiced. These days, there’s just no loyalty. Of course, for Cicero, “these days” were over 2,000 years ago and he was griping about the moral bankruptcy of Julius Caesar and his new imperial regime. And the golden days for which he pontificated were set back in the Rome’s republican days. Now, Bud Selig is no Julius Caesar and Major League Baseball is no Roman Empire, but the point is this: Even at the height of western culture, there was always someone around to complain. And though baseball is not the Roman Empire, it is the American pastime. Which means there will always be someone around to complain. Before steroid it was baseball’s labor issues. Before the labor issues it was player greed. And before player greed it was owner greed. 
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