Deadspin
We know we make fun of ESPN a lot here, and much of it is justified, of course, but we are nothing if not fair. The big investigative steroid story gracing the cover of ESPN: The Magazine this week is, for lack of a better word, outstanding. Legitimately all-encompassing, it's sober, smart and full of all kinds of great info. It's the type of public service journalism that has been sorely lacking not just at the network, but in sportswriting all together. There. We said it. See? We're reasonable people.
Our personal favorite bit, however, involves everyone's favorite financial advisor Lenny Dykstra, whom the story implicates with considerable steroid abuse.
Scott "prescribed" a cocktail that blended several steroids, oral and injectable, and watched the little man explode. By season's end, he was the first player ever to lead the National League in at-bats, hits, walks and runs. The Phillies reached the World Series and Dykstra finished second to Barry Bonds in the MVP balloting. That winter, the team gave him a four-year, $24.9 million extension. The deal showed just how much money was available to players who could pump up their stats.
But it was the beginning of the end for Nails. Instead of pushing it in the gym during spring training of 1994, he lounged at a waterside spa and continued a long-running extramarital affair with the sister of his business partner's mistress.
A guy with this kind of judgment has to be anybody's first choice for investment advice. That last sentence is like an entire season of "Knots Landing."
Who Knew? [ESPN]
Lenny Dykstra, Your Financial Consultant [Deadspin]
(Big kudos, by the way, for Buster Olney, who, along with Tom Verducci, has been doing amazing stuff on the steroid beat. He's also all over the fake Steve Phillips story too; breaking real news there.)
Comments
I totally agree. That article was a great read.
Imagine if that was just part one of a five part cover story that will be printed once every six months. Gotta think those writers are taking their own meds to get steroids out of their heads right now.
Has this issue hit newsstands yet? I looked last night and couldn't find it. Anyone know?
Someone needs to track his financial advice to see how much money would be gained or lost.
You guys are right on. The story was terrific and well worth an hour of my time. What else are you gonna do at work, right? I used to have so much respect for Dykstra too. I always loved the way he always played the game hard. Now he's just another juicer. This entire era is tainted. The Bonds part of the article was my favorite.
But isn't this whole article/study about 7 years too late? I guess I am glad they did it, but we already know that a lot of players took steroids in MLB over the last decade, and perhaps beyond, and that little was done to discourage it. I mean, if Selig and the Union have already come around, then you know you are late to the party.
Billy Beane said the guy was perfectly designed, psychologically, to play the game. The physical stuff, apparently, Nails got right in the ass. Wonder how Billy feels about that? (Ahem.)
Kenny - I think you're confusing Billy Beane and Billy Bean.
Wow, that's humiliating. I'm now revoking my own commenting privileges. Hope they take that down 'fore someone gets sued . . .
I'm with Gamenotes - the whole thing is a few years late and a few dollars short. Given the dangers posed by steroids, it's absolutely offensive that all of the people involved in the complacent coverup weren't concerned with the health of the players, and the youth they influence. And maybe we, as fans, should concentrate less on the "cheating" aspect and more on the drug abuse problem as well. After all, users aren't just cheating - they are breaking the law through illicit use of a controlled substance.
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