I actually do believe him. Maybe part of me just wants to believe him, but it seems like once a person starts steroids, they lose their speed. After glancing at the names mentioned in Mitchell's report, it seemed like none of them were known as base stealing threats.

But believing him isn't what's important here. By taking steroids even once, he cheated. This is an issue of forgiveness. After reading through his statement and the fact that he only blamed himself, I've already forgiven him and am ready to turn the page.

Rock, Rick Mease sucks..he deserves to be thrown to the media wolves for his outlook...Dan Conolly is better at least and it does sound like you at least want to believe B Rob...and most likely do..good for you...steroids are bad..but you mark my words that HGH wil become an everyday med one day for the recovery of surgeries and injuries in theis world and then we will all look back and say all this was a bunch of crap about HGH...the medical world is still evolving and it will be truly pathetic when and if I am right as to what these atheletes have been put through over HGH but steroids are uncool.

Kudos to Preston for summing up the state of Charm City's sports franchises:

Embarrassing duo
A hot question this week: Which was more embarrassing: the Orioles losing to the Texas Rangers, 30-3, in August, or the Ravens losing to the winless Dolphins?

My vote goes to the Ravens because no one really cares about the Orioles anymore.

I think most people really want to believe him. The problem is that the "I only used it the one time" response sounds so similiar to what Raffy, Gibbons and Pettitte said after they were caught with their hand in the cookie jar. If only that cookie jar could talk. Now if they can only prove Cal used them, Major League Baseball could be offically disbanded and all records burned and forgotten.
This one really stings.

Man Roch, lets just trade Roberts to the Cubs for Felix Pie. I am sick of hearing about this and just want those past and present baseball players out of the game completely. It is 100% BS, take there records and stat's and trash them. And for all those current orioles and former orioles doping up in the early- middle 2000's seasons. MAN that crap didn't help anyways, because we STILL SUCK!

Call me crazy if you will, but I DO believe him! Am I disappointed that he stumbled and tried them (I don't care if it was one injection or one cycle at this point), yes. But from what I've seen and know of Brian I believe that he, of anyone that has ever played on this team, would be more likely to suffer a self-imposed guilt trip over cheating.

I like Brian, so of course I'll admit that he's easier to forgive, but I also respect the fact that he admitted to it. He could have continued to deny ever having anything to do with it. There was no proof from the Bigbie accusation and even Segui had come to Brian's rescue. He could have continued to lie right through his career and I'm guessing that there isn't any proof anywhere that he did anything or Mitchell would have dug it up. And his apology seemed genuine too.

And I am so sick of Rick Maese. Does he have naked pictures of the Sun's editor or something?

Roch, I believe him, but...
Why did he evade the truth when the Grimsly accusations came out? Technically he may not have lied then, but he didn't tell the whole truth. Is he forgiven? Yes, but the stain will be there.

Who cares? We are never going to know who did what and how much and how it altered the game. Who cares about phony apologies and while Nero continues to play and the Union makes no concessions. Roberts cheated. At most he will get my ambivalence until he is traded to the Cubs.

But at least my season ticket package went up 100 bucks! Thanks for the memories and rewarding the loyal, Os!

Unless there's something else going on that we don't know, this was an admission that he didn't have to make. The evidence was very slight. He was the poster boy for the anti-Mitchell crowd. He really could have skated through.

But he didn't.

I'm not turning him into a hero, and I still have my doubts. But of all the non-denials and pseudo-apologies and ridiculous explanations I have heard, this is the one that comes closest to passing the sniff test.

And I'm not a huge Roberts fan. I admire how he plays ball, but that's it. I wanted the O's to trade him before, strictly for baseball and business reasons, and I still do.

Brian Roberts' admission reminds me of a quote from the great Groucho Marx. "Who are you going to believe? Me or your own two eyes?"

He tried them only once and he didn't inhale! HA! Sorry Brian, you've broken my nephews' hearts (not to mention my wife's). We figured you were the one guy we could count on. If B-ROB is a user everyone in MLB is a user. Crap Selig is probably on HGH.

Impeach Selig

Roch,

For an interesting take on the Roberts situation, check out Mike Burke's piece from the Cumberland Times (Sammy P's hometown paper), especially the last three or four paragraphs:
http://www.times-news.com/columns/local_story_350120927.html

Sad, very sad. This one really is the worst, regardless of whether I believe him or not. I'm inclined to believe him, but I'm just smart enough to know that the collective evidence of major league baseball over the past fifteen years is against him.

I guess maybe the silver lining is that when somebody like Roberts admits to use, the whole Mitchell Report gains some more credibility. Clemens sinks a lot further, which is getting progressively harder for him to do since Pettitte's admission already had him looking like complete lying garbage. Let's hope the sport can turn a corner and get clean.

I mean, you have to at this point, right?

I never thought for a moment that the smoke around Roberts (grimsley affidavit, Mitchell Report) didn't mean there was absolutely no fire. But the evidence has been pretty sparse and once or twice seems to be about right from what we know now.

It's about forgiving and moving forward at this point. I'll still be rooting for him if he's an Oriole next season...

Steroids slow up baseball players? Roberts can't possibly have used it more than once because of his base-stealing ability???

Anybody out there heard of Jose Canseco? 40 homeruns with 40 steals in one year? Only player ever to do it?

Roberts is a cheater. Get used to it.

And if anybody out there REALLY believes that he ONLY did it once...I got some ocean-front property in Ohio I'm sure you'll be interested in.

Dennis

I believe Roberts. I agree that he made a mistake and it disappoints me but I'm glad he's owned up to it. I'm not agreeing with what he did but I'm glad he's taking it like a man

Come on Roch , how can you believe any of them anymore. It's a shame the actual use or the perceived usage has bastardized the game and it's once honest statistics that carried on from one generation to the next. The game has become meaningless.

The context of the usage is what might be most telling .... 2003 was when Roberts and Hairston were battling to be the starting 2nd baseman. They were each looking for an edge ..... they both trained at that AZ training facility off season and lived in the same house. While friends, they were professional athletes competing for the same position. Similar skill sets, they both looked for another edge. They both have been named, Roberts has now admitted. I like Brian Roberts as a player and a person, I will choose to think his use occurered in the context of a youngish (25-26 y.o.) person making a mistake. He wasnt thinking this is going to make me the greatest 2nd basemen of all time ..... he saw Hairston, Segui, Gibbons using and maybe outdoing him at that AZ training center. He succummed to peer pressure as many of us have in our lives. Our last two presidents have both admtted to transgressions likely worse than Roberts'. Put it in perspective ..... its friggin baseball!
PLAY ball!

Why would Grimsley have named him if it was "just once"? Sure, we all want to believe him, but he lied before about this. Why should we believe him now?

Yes. This sounds like a more sincere, complete explanation than any other player has made to date. You also have to look around at who was on his team and suspect that there was something systemic to the Orioles' organization going on. I can fully sympathize with the pressure he felt and don't find it at all implausible that he would have tried it in a moment of frustration and then had a change of heart. With so many in the national media and MLB defending him based on weak evidence, he could have kept quiet. He didn't. To me that took courage. I don't blame him a bit for not speaking to Mitchell either because he would have been pressured to name teammates and I'm sure he had no desire to do that. It's time to move past this and remember that his overall body of work as an Oriole is a good one.

Speaking of Cal, is it even plausible to think he may have done HGH during his career? I mean, someone may say wouldn't that in part explain his ability to stay healthy all those years? Is the real reason just that he had better genes than the thousands of other MLB players? Just throwing this out there for discussion is all, not an accusation.

Do I beleive him?

I'd like to, but I've questions. Who did he get the steroids from? Can we talk to that person?

I'll tell you who I now beleive? Larry Bigbie and Jason Grimsley. The two have been battered here for speaking the truth. I'm now glad they did.

If Roberts has used steroids, than I would guess 90% of the league has, too. Let's just call this an epidemic that has infected the very best men in the league, and move on. And all you in the press, please stop being so mean to these guys.

Take this into consideration, Roberts has been a staple in this city the past couple of years and he has had to endure playing some of his best years with a well below .500 ball club. He could have been a player like Miggy and demanded a trade when the O’s kept falling, but he didn’t. He shows class. He goes out there everyday giving it his all and wearing the orange and black proud. Roberts is the type of player that plays for the letters on the front of his jersey and not on the back of his jersey. Do I believe him? I want to; will I give him the benefit of the doubt? He deserves it.

I don't believe that he took steroids exactly one single time. I think he might have gone through the whole doping ritual for one short period. But I don't think one dosage leads to such radical changes in his physique.

There's only one ballplayer I would be shocked to hear was doping: Brandon Fahey. Or if he was doping, I'd strongly encourage him to find a dealer with far more potent stock.

Roch:
When are you going to come clean on your use of performance-enhancing drugs? I've seen the size of your neck. Most sportswriters merely have more girth in their midsections.
Maybe George Mitchell and crew should take on the media and their abuse of substances next.
Really, don't you have something you'd like to unburden yourself with? Oh, and by the way, can you rat out other sportswriters?
I don't really care that Roberts used the drug "once" or 100 times. Baseball has always been a game of cheaters and so has capitalism. We have these periodic false "cleansings"--see McCarthy, Sen. Joseph--pull at our hair, and then move on to the next way to beat the system.
Sorry to be so cynical. I guess I haven't been hitting the banned substance in my lower right-hand drawer enough.

Love,
Biff

I believe B Rob. Larry Bigbie was B Rob's only accuser, it would have been far easier to deny having said anything about it. B Rob is willing to take his licks for what he did. I admire the man for that. I'll admit I was disappointed when his name surfaced in all this. Now that he has come forward and admitted his involvement as well as expressed his remorse LET'S MOVE ON. Is this going to be the new Anna Nicole?

Just a few days ago, we were talking about how unfair it was for Brian Roberts to be in the report, that his inclusion was based on hearsay, the words of Larry Bigbie, and there was no proof. Now, Roberts admits to using them once—fulfilling the “once” part of Bigbie’s “once or twice” claim—and Bigbie turns out to have been right. So, now, another piece of our naiveté is gone, and maybe we should stop believing the best of athletes simply because we project them as the “face of the franchise.”

The sad reality that has always been out there is that we can’t believe players claiming innocence on this front. Do I believe that Brian Roberts took steroids just one time, as he claimed, and never again? I’d like to, but I can’t. Sorry, Brian, you’re probably generally a standup guy, you do great things for the community, and I think you’re an excellent player but, on this issue, it’s hard to believe players claiming any degree of innocence. I hope you’re telling the truth, but I don’t believe you are.

It’s hard to believe any of the players like Roberts, Pettitte, and others who are stepping forth saying they used steroids or hGH once or a small number of times, either experimenting or recovering from injury. I’m still waiting for a current player (someone with something to actually lose—like a career and millions of dollars) to step forth and say, yes, I cheated, I used them regularly for years, I did so to enhance my performance to a spectacular degree and I am willing to accept whatever retribution may come my way because of it. Players admitting large scale guilt and being willing to accept the consequences are what’s going to get baseball through this.

Like most players in baseball, Roberts used steroids. Atleast the guy admits it and moves on. His 18 home run season makes more sense now. However, since that season, he has still played at an all star level. The guy plays hard and stays in great shape. There's a difference between his use and someone like Len Dykstra who was pretty heavily 'roided in his Phillies days.

I can't say this doesn't disappoint me, because it does, but I do believe him. Like many people here have mentioned, there really wasn't a lot of evidence against him, so he didn't have to tell the truth, yet he did. Yes, he made a mistake several years ago, but he's owning up to it, and is willing to take whatever consequences may come his way. But like he said in the article, people are going to believe what they want to believe, and he can't really do anything about that.

For me, all I can do now is forgive and forget and move on. There's no sense in holding this against him the rest of his career (and/or life) - I just try to think if all of my past mistakes were held against me - yikes! I, for one, am glad we have forgiveness to give and get - life would be pretty awful otherwise, I think.

No I don't believe him and you know what else? I don't care anymore. I think it is pretty obvious now that this whole steroid era was even a more widespread problem than we first thought but what can we do about it? You can't put the genie back in the bottle. It's time to just move on and make darn sure that the game is as clean as we can possibly make it from this point forward.

Can we get back to real baseball news now? Like is Bedard coming or going, do we expect to keep all the players we got in the Tejada trade or are we going to flip one or more of them (and for who) and most importantly..., can we get someone to give us three bags of sunflower seeds and a cooler full of gatorade for Cabrera?

I'm glad that Roberts came out and admitted his faults. He could of easily stayed quiet with all of the media and fans defending him, but he didn't. It takes a real man to admit his mistakes, and he did. Roberts is a great guy on and off the field. He does alot of great things for the community. You can't say that about many professional athletes. While I am a bit disappointed, I can still forgive him. If anyone says that they have never done anything that they regret, than they are full of it. We are all human. We all make mistakes.

I'm not sure why some folks are saying this is the hardest of the admissions to swallow. For me Palmeiro was much tougher because I'd always been a staunch defender that he was a clear Hall-of-famer and we were just celebrating his 3000th hit. It just seemed to come out of nowhere. Two years later knowing what we know, nothing is surprising. There was and still is a climate drug abuse in baseball and only the players with the smarts to stay away from it because of health risks or the internal fortitude to resist because it's wrong are the ones who didn't cheat. The really sad part is that I can't begin to commend the ones that were in the right because there's no way to know who they were.

Why all these numerical qualifiers?

Just admit your crime...

No, I don't believe you.... "It seems like we never have met"

I believe Canseco, Grimsley and Bigbie

"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

These guys all have to look in the mirror every morning just like the rest of us and I don't think anyone feels good about seeing themselves as a liar or a cheater.

From what little I know, Brian Roberts seems like a good guy and although I haven't made a scorecard, I would imagine he has given much more than he has taken during his lifetime. Cut him some slack.

This is akin to telling the police officer
the age old ' TWO BEERS' when asked how much you've had to drink.
I believe very little especially from highly paid professional athletes.

Trust, but verify. Until there are weekly, fool-proof tests for steroids, greenies, and hGH, the game is likely to remain tainted.

The first thing I'd do if I were the Orioles is to bring in some new talent scouts. How can a team aquire players who are so awful, they lose every year even when the whole team is on performance-enhancing drugs? You'd think after three years they would have started luring talent scouts from the good teams.

Anybody who believes Roberts is unintelligent, gullible, or lives in a world of fantasy.

I have posted on this blog several times that Roberts was going to be listed in the Mitchell Report. Why? Lets just say that minor league baseball players, who have had a cup of coffee in the major leagues, gossip more than a 15 year old schoolgirl. Most of these guys love telling stories about their time and experiences in the bigs, and this normally encompasses talking about players who are known users. I heard from at least three current minor league players that Roberts use was well-known.

Second, anybody who didn't talk to Sen. Mitchell obviously had something to hide. It is far easier to release a statement after the report was issued, describing your own "one time use" (see Roberts, Pettite, etc) or flatly denying the claims (i.e. Clemens) on your own terms. If one were to sit down with Mitchell, he would be subject to numerous questions, shown voluminous documents, and that would make for an uncomfortable situation. If this was really a one time instance for Roberts, why didn't he simply tell this to Mitchell?

I agree with pretty much everyone on here. I think it’s time to just forget this whole Mitchell Report and look forward to spring training. I know it’ll be hard to look at these players the same way we did before but we have to move on. I woke up this morning and eagerly checked Roch’s blog looking for some fresh and exciting O’s news, but was slapped with the worst headline I could have ever imagined:

“Hard to Believe Roberts” by Rick Maese

I’m sorry but if I ever had an opportunity to meet Mr. Maese, I would smack him in the face. Sorry, but I would! To most of the true O’s fans on here, we realize that people make mistakes. Honestly, after watching Roberts these past couple seasons, and meeting him at the baseball bash with my niece, you can tell that he is the most down to earth player in the game of baseball. He is a goal oriented, family man who takes pride in what he does. I agree with Tracy when she mentioned that Roberts, unlike most athletes mentioned in the report, was “likely to suffer a self-imposed guilt trip over cheating” rather than lie for the rest of his career. He is an honest player who got caught up in this PED epidemic, and wants to clear his name. Like I said before, Roberts takes care of himself and has worked hard to get where he is. While most players on the Orioles are at the bars after each game, he’s in the weight room until 2 a.m. working out. Why? Because he knows he’s smaller, so he HAS to work harder. But he also knows he’s getting a big paycheck…. So he’s going to earn it. He’s a respectable players and I really think we should cut him some slack.

Let’s just move on with this stupid Mitchell Report and let the players PLAY! I want my baseball back (without the drama please)!

If a player is the right color (skin) and/or wearing the right colors (uniform), most fans will believe that player because most fans are hypocrites and amoral when judging athletes.

You know who I believe , Grimsley & Canseco.

All the others either lied or are in serious damage control mode. I think most fans owe an apology to both Grimsley & Canseco for trashing them & making them out to be villians.... I never liked Canseco the person or player , but I have to admit he was the one being honest. I know it was for $$ & a book to sell, but regardless, he has been proven right.

Roberts.... I doubt he was as heavily into it as many of the others, but still, guilty is guilty, used it once or for a year, does it really matter?

I say quit trashing Bigbie so much too, he is probably telling the truth , just like Grimsley & Canseco. Trash him for his use & cheating, but don't just dismiss what he is saying now.

Let's see, a couple of years of carefully worded non-denial denials, followed by a report that includes statements from others that he used steroids, followed by a few days of silence and weak mea cuplas from some big names, followed by a weak apology soundin like something out of Alice's Restaurant ("Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope under that garbage.") - remind me again why I should believe him?

do i believe him?

the question is... what does it matter anymore? roberts was being defended by everyone in the world, including espn analysts and david segui (who has emerged as mr. honesty on the whole subject), and he chose to come clean.

i like you roch, but you really get under my skin sometimes.

you ever smoke pot? or drink beer before you were 21? got any friends who did?

stop judging people.

the mitchell report was incredibly disappointing anyway.

give canseco a pen and a piece of paper. he's the most credible source there is in this mess. mitchell did nothing but summarize everything we ALREADY KNEW.

ridiculous.

If you believe Pettitte, how can you not believe Roberts?

Conversely, if you believe Roberts, how can you not believe Pettitte?

The question still remains:
Why didn't they talk to the investigators, prior to the release of the report?

This brings us to the age old question - whether it be BROB or the Nats outfield, should we hold our athletes to a higher moral standard than us regular folk? Because we all have cheated and lied and unfortunantly, because of that is "how business is done" or "everyone else is doing it" whatever "it" is has become an accepted norm in our society - until we get caught.

So, the question isn't whether we should castrate BROB for being honest, though it would have been nice if that honesty happened before the report came out. The real question is (for example) would you, the reader, be willing to go into your bosses office today and say - "you know that time a couple of years ago when I called in sick on a Friday? Well, I was really out of vacation days and lied to you so I could go to the beach for the weekend."

To all of you that believe he only used steriods once, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that I would like to sell you. And whoever believes that steroids makes you slower, have a talk with Ben Johnson or Marion Jones. Once or a thousand times, it doesn't matter. He is as guilty as any other performance enhancing substance user.

Would like to see all of the players take a firm, honest stand on use. Many players not listed have induldged, once to habitually. Some on the list, maybe not. But if they would all stand up, current and former, and admit their usage, maybe we could understand the full extent of this and get past it all. Then no one would have to worry about being a "rat" ot outting a "brother". Stand up and admit. Then football, which would seem to have an even greater problem.

all you can do is hear the man out. decide to believe him or not. forgive but don't forget. and then move on.

the whole thing stinks. let's all learn something here and move on.

What we know:

Roberts cheated and injected himself with illegal substances.

Roberts mislead (essentially, but not technically lied to) everyone when confronted.

Roberts (like every other player) did not step forward and try to clean up the steroid mess over the past several years.

Roberts did not cooperate with Mitchell when that opportunity was presented.

Mitchell's job was to report findings. He reported them accurately. The report did not conclude that Roberts used the drugs. The report just listed the findings of the investigation. Mitchell's report was fine given the purpose, restrictions and charter.

what I think:

Roberts has given us the first example of a real apology. The effect on him would have been the same if he had said "one course of injections" or "four times over 6 months". So I see no reason why he would lie about a detail in the middle of a confession when guilt and honor were the key drivers. It is not plausible that he would do that if he used a few times.

On the other hand, if he had used for an extended time, and he knew he really was an unrepentant, habitual user/cheater, he might put out this "so sorry" statement to try to end further questions and regain publc support. But he would have to be a really amoral person to do that. I don't find that plausible either.

I respect him. Love the repentant sinner, hate the sin. Roberts has made a sincere apology, blamed no one but himself and asked God, his family, and the fans (which includes me) to forgive him. So, of course, I will.

And I believe him, too. But I won't be shocked if additional evidence proves him untruthful. I just believe him for now.

They only confess after they get caught. They hide behind the union like scared sheep. They think they can live under a different set of rules than the rest of us.

Before all the holier than thou's keep blasting Brian Roberts, let's bring some common sense to the issue. It is a world of difference between "trying" something and "using" something. In Roberts case, he lived in a drug infested envirnoment when he lived with Segui and his drug using friends, Bigby, Hairston and Gibbons. He succumbed at one point and "tried" taking steriods once or twice (for those of you that believe him). He did not become a continuing "user" like Conseco, Giambi, Bonds, etc. If he was a regular user, he would have gotten caught in the web of the steroid testing program that the league administers, and we would have seen a dramatic change in his physical appearance. But, his size didn't changed dramatically like Popeye Gibbons, Conseco, Bonds (he of the huge head) & Sosa, etc. He did hit 18 home runs in 2005, but after being injured, he only hit 1 home run during the first half of 2006. Then he hit 9 the second half of the year, and followed that up by hitting 12 last year. That seems like a pretty normal performance for a guy his size who works out diligently with weights. He didn't hit 16, then jump in one year to 50 like
Brady Andrson did in 1996, before returing to hitting 18 a year in 1997 and 1998 which was more his norm. Let's face it, Anderson almost killed himself he was so jacked up on steriods in 1996. You will remember right before the end of the year, he was admitted to the hospital for a few days, supposedly because he had appendicitis. If anyone in the Orioles front office was up front with the fans at that time, they would have told us that Brady didn't have an appendicitis attack after all, it was a steriods issue. It apparently scared him so badly that he quit using them and his performance reflected that during the balance of his years in Baltimore. So I view Roberts as a "trier" not a "user," and give him credit for owning up to it. Brought to you by the letter "h" as in honorable.

Roch - when you see Cal Ripken or any of his family again, can you tell them that at least one blogger is asking you the following question:

"Where the hell is Cal?"

I know it is not fair to expect it of him, but I do. I expect him to come forward, speak in public, lead teams, make speeches, etc etc to get this mess cleaned up.

If his life is really about furthering the sport of baseball, for the youth and for all of us, then my question is: "where the hell is Cal?"

What could be more important? Perhaps he and Gwynn could work together on this. I know , I know. It is not his obligation, etc etc. But he was THERE. In the locker rooms. He has knowledge. And he is not truly blameless either since he didn't exactly make waves or insist that the union or the management get this poison out of the clubhouse.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing"

Where the hell is Cal?

Sitting on a sofa on a sunday afternoon.
Going to the candidates' debate.
Laugh about it shout about when you have to choose.
Any way you look at it you lose.
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson, The Iron man has left and gone away. Hey hey hey. Hey hey hey.

I Believe Roberts, I just got done reading the article and his explanations, and he is clearly a man of conscious. I'm young, but i dont know of any baltimore sports figure that has done more for our community then Roberts, and for all he's done for us as fans and as a citizen of Baltimore, the least we can do is forgive the man. I also can understand why he would take them in 2003, he was in a battle with Jerry Hairston for the 2B job, which is no excuse, but I believe there was reports of Hairston being on them also, perhaps Roberts was aware of this, and was a victim of trying to level the playing field. Either way Roberts didnt try to reason it, nor should we, lets forgive, forget and do unto others as we would have done to ourselves. Also, unless we can get Felix Pie and a very solid pitching prospect from the cubs for him, lets keep him. Good Leadership, Good Citizenship, Great Leadoff Hitter.

Roch -

Two questions/issues:

1. Did I miss something that truly implicated Raffy? The way I have read the report, it seems as if he was correct - that Miggy gave him steroids instead of B-12. Was there any other proof he knowingly took it? And if not, why hasn't there been more light shed on this, and more exoneration in the press?

2. Believe him or not, is not the question. The question is when will MLB have better leadership than Selig and Orza? The sport right now is in desperate need of a fresh look, and with all parties motivated to protect the integrity of the game, not their own personal interests. B-Rob was trying to protect his own interests. Like the others, that is why he did not talk to Mitchell. If we had leaders in charge who were not serving the players and owners, much of this would not have happened. As for B-Rob, keep him. The O's have shown they are not moving forward, with the press release, ticket price increase, and limited moves. They just aren't willing to change, so there's no real point by taking a stand with Roberts.

NO! I don't believe him. I think he didn't do it and just wants to be cool in front of his friends. PLEASE.

I believe Brian Roberts 100% and stand beside him as one of his biggest fans always and forever. If you really think about it, I'd think it's safe to say that 90% of baseball players have tried it at least once, they just haven't gotten caught yet. Brian is a wonderful human being and I trust him, if he says he only used them once, he only used them once. End of story.

Yes, one time is cheating, but I believe him, and I DON'T think that he needs to be persecuted for his mistake.

I am actually growing sick of the people calling for records to be thrown out and players kicked out of the game blah blah blah. NFL players did it, and are still doing it, and nobody seems to care. MLB players have done it, people are (rightfully) upset, and it is now a part of the game's history.

We need to live with it, be angry with those who did use steroids over a long period of time to gain a competitive edge, but then move on. We can't be stuck in the past. It can't be changed. But we can do things about the future, and with testing I believe that most of the game's cheaters will be caught or deterred from using PEDs in the future.

Lose your speed? Like Ben Johnson, Marion Jones and all the Olympic runners that lost their speed right to the medal stand?

I stuck up for Roberts his whole career and I am going to continue to do so. He comes from a baseball-centric family and he worked hard his whole life to make up for his small demeanour, somthing alot of people can relate to in one way or another. We've also made mistakes, and have regrets. However, one thing the man has over us is his incredibly high standards for generosity. You can take steroids to be a better baseball player, but you cant take steroids to be a better person.

Do I believe him? I don't know if I care anymore. Maybe steroid use really was as rampant as the pessimists think.

What I want now is to be able to be sure that Opening Day 2008 on forward, the game is sure to be 99% clean instead of potentially 99% dirty like it seems to have been in the late 90s and early portions of this decade.

Failing that, as long as I don't have to watch Jay Payton tank another fly ball to left, I'll be happy enough.

Dylan, I like Brandon Fahey and he may be the only Oriole not to have tried something he shouldn't. Wouldn't that be something. He's a good guy.

Gee what a suprise!

Another stand up guy with his hand in the cookie jar.

sigh.........

Roch,

When are they breaking ground on that new wing for the HOF , they can call it the Hall of Shame & put a large

*

above the entrance. Maybe this could appease the masses?

Got to give Roberts & Pettitte a bit more credit than Clemens too. He was more widely involved & is still ... deny deny deny ......

I really cannot believe those of you saying a one timer is the same as a habitual user. This isn't even in regards to whether I believe BRob or not. There is so much wrong with comparing the two I don't even know where to begin.

We all make mistakes and learn from them. The criminals are those who don't care and continue the wrong doing. It's not like he murdered someone once and then stopped. He tried something, didn't feel right about it, and stopped. That's a whole different ballgame than those who use it for years as a way to gain an edge.

Comparing the two is incredibly idiotic. Like an above poster said, there's a difference between "trying" and "using." In this era of baseball, I would bet 99% of the players "tried" PED's.

Everyone on this board who is throwing Roberts under the bus must be pretty secure in their own past actions. I'm sure no one here ever sneaked a peak at someone else's test when they were in high school, or "embellished" the truth on a resume, or told their wife or girlfriend that lipstick on your collar was from your great-aunt Sally. Believe it or not, baseball players are human. They lie. They are fallible. I'm sure if we looked through the annals of history, we would find that lying in baseball didn't begin in 1998.

I believe Roberts, because I have no reason not to. He admitted his mistake, said he was sorry, and vowed never to do it again. What more do you want from him? He was in a battle for playing time, the other guy was allegedly using steroids, and he slipped up. How many of us can honestly say what they would do in that situation? It's nice to believe that you would play by the rules even when no one else is, but it's quite another thing to actually be put in that situation. I say congratulations to Roberts for being a man and standing up.

Mark me down as the guy who is screaming that the emperor has no cloths; however, I believe that rebuilding this team is more important than whether or not some of our current of former players used PEDs.

It wasn’t until this year’s meltdown that I was finally willing to admit to myself that this group of players are not, and never will be, winners. There is just too much “I” in that clubhouse. We need players that understand the word team.

I said months ago that we needed to shuffle the deck and, apparently, MacPhail thinks so too. There were many posts claiming that anyone with the same opinion was wrong and we needed to keep our stars. While I respect their concern that is was distasteful to start over, you can’t build a solid structure on a faulty foundation.

The Tejada trade was beneficial if for no other reason than Miguel is gone. Now we need to move Bedard, Roberts, Mora, and any other “me first” player. I want to thank Bobby Ballgame for the link to the story about Roberts. It validated a concern I have had for a while.

I am confident that MacPhail will get us the best value for our players and we can start over with a group that cares about playing the game properly and being a team. THAT was the “Oriole Way”, and that is what we should demand from our owner.

No I don't belive him and no I am not impressed by his candor. Now, if someone who ISN"T in the Mitchell report stands up and admits to using, then I might be impressed.

Personally I am hoping someone sues Mitchell for slander and they work a way to open up the first year of testing results, afterall the Mitchell report is less then 1%, the first years testing numbers were over 7%.

Btw can we now call David Segui the worst free agent signing in O's history?

Roch
Who cares? Don't we enjoy seeing him play? Is the Mitchell report
accurate? Hard to believe that there are no Red Sox in this report.
To me the whole thing is a media circus keeps you guys busy during the winter. The average fan doesn't care.

Who cares the entire game was tainted, get over it, would the whole world stop acting like steroids are such a big deal, god if football players do them they serve a suspension and it's never talked about again, but if baseball players do them it makes them enemy number one and the public sentences them to death. Get some perspective people.

Whether or not we believe Roberts is much akin to whether or not we believe in God, honest politicians, the US Dollar, or the afterlife: it's a matter of faith. We either choose to believe that he is telling the truth or choose not to. We can only use what we know about Roberts through his words and actions(with an added sprinkling of cynicism brought to you courtesy of MLB) to decide for ourselves. Throughout his Orioles career, Roberts has been nothing but friendly to the media and fans and eager to spend time with charities and other programs: all in all, he has represented what is good about the Orioles for the last 4-5 years. Based on our collective experience with Brian (with perhaps a helping of cynicism), it is reasonable to assume that Roberts is telling the truth, but, again, it's a matter of faith.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I really can't condemn Roberts, Pettitte, Bonds, Clemens, Cust, Bigbie, etc. for using steroids, HGH, amphetamines. They were taking advantage of a situation tacitly approved by MLB to try to increase their salary through inflated numbers. By turning a blind eye to McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Canseco, and their followers, MLB has seen attendance, ratings (World Series notwithstanding), and merchandise sales soar, while total MLB revenue is soaring. They made their deal with the devil and got what they wanted. Even now, the Mitchell Report is keeping baseball in the news during the peak of football season. As they say, no press is bad press.

In conclusion, bickering about Roberts' (or any other steroid user's) credibility fails to account the trees for the forest. The owners, Commissioner Selig, and Union President Fehr need to be held accountable for what has happened. The system is in place for the players to be punished for their offenses, and the punishments are fair (whether the testing is effective is another matter). Most people hold President Bush accountable for the war in Iraq (not starting a political debate). Why are we not clamoring for Selig to step down? Why are the players not seeking Fehr's ouster? Or are we as fans so disillusioned that we just don't care anymore? That could be the greatest sadness to come out of this report...

PS-I'm not absolving the players of responsibility, I'm just trying to see the bigger picture. I apologize for the long post, I don't post often and when I get rolling, it's hard for me to stop.

Why not talk to Mitchell? Because essentially no MLB players would, collectively as a union decision. And even if Roberts had, he's smart enough to know his interview would have been a witch hunt - and naming names of your teammates is probably viewed as a bigger sin than cheating by taking steroids. He knew he was in a bad position, because he certainly had associated with "the wrong crowd" whether he was innocent or not. "I really appreciate David Segui being so nice to me when I was a rookie; he shot up all the time, too." While lots of us are crushed by this, you can probably bet his peers respect him even more now. Especially since it looks more and more like many of them are dirty.

Judging from the above comments, the sentiment is to give Roberts a pass because he's a 'nice guy', good in the community, only did it once etc..
Pretty hard to take off the rose-coloured glasses once they are on I suppose. Double standard is still alive and kicking.
Personally, I think the infamous Mitchell report shows that all types of ballplayers took steriods and it's not a stretch that some of the so-called heroes/fan favourites were in the mix. What is interesting is how people's opinions vary, depending on who was implicated. Jose Canseco, McGwire,Palmeiro-hang 'em high, Clemens, Petitte-they're Yanks and cheaters-no wonder, Gibbons, Tejada-bums, get them outta here...Roberts-give him a break, the sportwriter Maese is a loser for even reporting it..
In my opinion, move on-there was no policy covering most of the situations-you can't fine or suspend players under the circumstances. Fans can chose to quit following the game for 'integrity' reasons but I suspect that it will be business as usual come spring for most fans. The fall out will be minimal overall, especially for certain types of players who are fortunate enough to be annointed fan/team favourite status.
This doesn't just happen in MLB. Look at NHL goon Chris Simon-numerous suspensions for dirty play, just kicked a player with his skate, yet team gives him time off-WITH PAY-'to sort things out'.

People who live in glass house shouldn't throw stones. Many people have skeletons in their closets, though some have Ravens and Hawks flying around. Its important to note -Brian Roberts is a human who took a substance that was being advertised in the media and was not on the government list of illegal drugs. I am not suppporting illegal drugs. I see enought drugs users and sellers in my hood everyday and many of these people need help. Well, anyway drugs or no drugs, I would still trade Roberts, Bedard, Payton, Mora, Huff, Gibbons, Tito Landrum, and Floyd Rayford,

If he was going to take it only once, why would he take it at all. Thanks to steroids he and many baseball people made a fortune. They should be grateful. Steroids saved baseball. That and the fans that enjoyed it more than the baseball players.

I'm shocked that 100% of female posters are willing to give Brian a free pass. Poor guy--he's been through so much. Take it easy on him. The rest of you are being holier than thou for judging his criminal activity. Please.

Are you seriously saying that sports writers should not have an opinion on this? Forgive and forget? We've all made mistakes. A long weekend or paper clips are the same as an athlete injecting with steroids?!?

Absolutely not. PEDs are a fundamental violation of the integrity of sports and should be treated as such. Let me give you a GOOD analogy. If a researcher were publishing in an academic journal and was found to fabricate just a tiny portion of his or her data, he or she would face public condemnation, stiff penalties and should have the full weight of the profession levied against him or her. Why? Because that error in judgment fundamentally undermines the profession. How innocent would it be if someone working on HIV medication slipped in a few extra numbers that made their product look like the a long-term solution? That is a major example in potentially hundreds of less severe examples. I know we live in a totally morally relativist world, but some actions require a line.

So before those of you who are judging people who judge others--take a look at why they may be judging. In this particular case, the only real penalty is the public's outrage. Brian made a choice. As I said before, I will forgive him. But don't give me the "it's no big deal" line. His transgression is fundamental to the integrity of sports. A free pass is just too easy and like I said before, isn't it funny how his interpersonal qualities shape how people respond to him (as opposed to other cheaters).

do i believe him? frankly, who cares? i don't know one person who does any longer. this is just something to take up media time/space these days. baseball has gone through the steroid era and we know that hundreds of players likely used, but only a few have been named. it's in the past. i also don't know one person who doesn't think that rose shouldn't be in the hall.

You HOMERS are incredibly naïve. He previously lied when he told us that he didn’t take steroids, now he’s claiming he only did once. He sounds like a child. Good ol’ B-Rob, he can do no wrong right? Stop fooling yourself Baltimore, this is ridiculous.

Mike W - Taking hGH would not have had a positive affect on Cal's streak. It does not make a person healthier if that person is already healthy.

Many athletes believe that hGH will accelerate the healing process if they have an injury. The scientific evidence seems to argue against that. The scientific evidence seems to suggest that the net benefit of a "healthy" person taking hGH is that you may look better with your shirt off and little more.

On the other hand, the "healthy" person taking hGH could very well get to experience all of the negative affects - liver ailments, kidney ailments, cancer, heart ailments - you know, they real fun stuff. This is why it is a controlled substance.

But don’t just take my word for it::

http://books.google.com/books?id=ML2PtT6w1egC&pg=PT57&lpg=PT57&dq=hgh+athletes&source=web&ots=DlypdUaoeN&sig=EoYnf82Sr03uYhqFacd67p-yq20

http://www.newstarget.com/006682.html

http://www.slate.com/id/2162473/

http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2007/04/i-dont-worry-about-hgh-in-baseball-and-neither-should-you

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hormone_treatment

Do I believe him? No.

Do I believe him? Maybe...if for no other reason than he does not have a rash of odd injuries that seem to follow most players who are taking steroids.

Please don't insult my intelligence, Brian, by giving me that one-and-done crap. I'd rather you said nothing at all.

Jesus. Is there nobody in the game this didn't touch?

Oh, sorry. According to his lawyer, shown below in a pre-recorded statement, Roger Clemens remains falsely accused.

John E, the part about losing speed after steroids is ridiculous. This is a favorite drug for sprinters. I doubt if there has been a clean 100M dash record set in the last 20 years.

Roch, do you know what would be really nice? If some of the posters around here could cool it with the name calling when commenting.

Regardless of what any of us choose to believe, resorting to taking digs at others' intelligence because they choose to believe something on faith or calling them hypocrits because they perhaps are judging more harshly than you think is appropriate is completely uncalled for. There's no reason why we can't all disagree and still be civil about it.

I believe the whole Orioles Team was juicing in some form or fashion this is ridiculous.

Most who are referred for alcohol treatment claim to have tried alcohol only once. Enough said.

I blame Jay Gibbons for this. Just kidding...the sooner we get over this, the better. I am still a member of the brob fan club.

It's pretty obvious that performance enhancing drugs were a part of baseball culture. Most of the players did it; some get caught others didn't.

Brian Roberts and Pettite have earned my respect by acknowledging their drug usage. Time to close this ugly chapter. It's so much more fun to talk about trades.

Who cares? The point is he admitted to using roids. Lets see if he can actually hit without them.

I don't really have anything new to add, I just want to lend my voice to those who believe/forgive Roberts, and to reiterate a few good points that others have made:

1. There was very little evidence against Roberts, and many among the public and the media were defending him. He did not have to confess, but he did anyway. He gets points for that, in my book.

2. No one ever suggested that he had done steroids more than once or twice, so why shouldn't we believe him? Ok, maybe he lied and he really did it twice instead of once. If that's his big lie, I think I can forgive him.

3. For those who say that he should have just talked to Mitchell, it seems pretty clear that he had a lot of friends who were users. He probably just didn't want to be put in the position of having to either lie or rat them out.

Oh, and Deke, it seems a bit of a stretch to me to say that Brady Anderson was really in the hospital for some sort of steroid-related health problems, and not an appendectomy, as was reported. Do you have any reason to think that, other than speculation? I'm not saying that Brady never did steroids, I just think that's quite a leap. I plead ignorance on this, but I've never heard of any short-term side effects of steroids that could put you in the hospital. I know there are minor short-term effects, like acne, and major long-term effects, like heart problems, but I don't think you can OD on steroids or something and end up in the hospital. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I guess it's safe to conclude that Larry Bigbie won't be getting any Christmas card this year from the Roberts' household.

Brian--Are you positive it was steroids you injected and not one of Miggy's B-12 shots? : )

Who cares if he's still lying? He's got value, so he needs to go with the house-cleaning. Trade him and Bedard, let go Gibbons, Huff, Millar and Hernandez (and any other slow DH types I have forgotten--we have so many) and let's move on with a clean slate. It can't be worse than it has been. Adam Jones (centerpiece in a Mariners' package for Bedard) in left, Felix Pie (whom you have to pry away in a Roberts deal with the Cubs) in center and Markakis in right would be one of the most dynamic young outfields in baseball and part of something finally worth rooting for again.

I don't believe for a second that Roberts took steroids only "once or twice," just like I don't believe for a second that Brady Anderson's offensive output in 1996 was merely a result of excellent conditioning and working hard on his swing. At this point in time, with s