Sammy calls it foul

It never ceases to amaze me the crap the sports press tries to pull. Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated -- quite possibly the worst offender -- decided last week that he would tell Sammy Sosa to go to a clinic and get tested for steroids. Sammy refused, but unfortunately didn't pound Reilly into paste.

Baseball Geek Diversion: Skip to the next item if you don't care.

Unlike some players, I've never thought that Sosa was on drugs. He was skinny when he came to this country, but (as he points out) that's pretty normal for Caribbean players, and most of them bulk up once they have access to American nutrition. His home run spike of recent years isn't that remarkable. What's remarkable about Sosa is that he became a much more disciplined and patient hitter late in his career... which doesn't sound like a steroid user to me. His late career success follows from that, not his physique.

(Via Romenesko.)