Steroid (witch?)hunt in baseball

***Edit: Since writing this article in the afternoon, Byrd has admitted to using HGH for a medical condition. His explanation does NOT change my views of the subject.***

Sometimes I wonder how legit steroid allegations are.

In game four of this year’s ALCS, Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd went 5 innings, giving up only 2 runs. His strong performance was key in securing the Cleveland victory.

Less than a week later, Byrd has been accused of buying human growth hormone (HGH).

I do not condone steroid use, period. However, I find all these accusations a little fishy.

Sure, it’s pretty hard to deny that Barry Bonds took steroids. I mean, he even says he never knowingly took steroids, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take them unknowingly. But what really gets me about the Byrd accusations is that they come only after he has been placed into the spotlight.

Why release such information only now? It’s obvious whoever released it wanted a story. And, of course, all this information comes from an unidentified source. Hmm, even things that have supposed good sources can turn out to be false. Why should we believe this one?

And this isn’t the first time this has happened either. Just over a month ago, Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel was accused of purchasing HGH as well. It just so happens that this occurred less than a week after he homered twice in a game. Why is that a big achievement you ask? Because Ankiel was a pitcher, and this season was his first since coming back up from the minor leagues.

I just think it’s rather ironic that all these steroid allegations come out following the success of a player. It seems like it would be very easy to fake these accusations just for the sake of news. Hopefully, the results of the Mitchell Investigation will sort all of this nonsense out. Until then, I will be taking everything with a grain of salt.