Nice trash piece…......

Seriously people, the “attack journalism” is tired….let it die! Write about interesting, entertaining, informative material that make people want to read your work in the future.

The blogosphere has turned into nothing more than high school cliques, with the kids who think they are cool picking on everyone else…....Its simple, don’t point out people you have issues with, or feel superior to…...why draw more attention to them….if they are wrong, or just idiots, people will figure that out on their own and stop reading their work.

This type of article has really turned me and several others off to what isd otherwise a nice blog (USS Mariner), while always a “snooty”, know it all blog, its recently more often than not turned into attacks on Baker sprinkled with good stuff…....but its the attack pieces and constant “We are awesome” type posts that turn a lot of us off.

Craig:

You write:“the Jerod Morris/Raul Ibanez incident has made me realize that yes, taking writers to task for making irresponsible, evidence-free steroid allegations is a worthy endeavor.”

Yet just yesterday you bring attention to a blog that does just that - “Tennis has a Steroid Problem”.

Should you not have taken him to task? His “evidence” are photos of muscles. Pathetic. How about a little consistency?

Zen—fair enough, though to be clear, I wasn’t endorsing the tennis guy’s allegations. Some things, even if we disapprove, are worth linking on a “hey, look at that” basis.

Good points Devil Fingers, and props to CC for shining a light on MSM’s “baseless accusations”.  As a somewhat frequent listener of sports radio and podcasts, it seems as though print journalists have a strong preference for slander over libel. It’s one thing to suggest something on the air, it’s another thing to put it in writing.  Call my crazy, but I don’t see the distinction in world where everything is available in a digital format.
At this point, it’s hard to see rants like Rosenthal’s as anything more than self preservation, and it’s hard to blame him.  Discredit the new guy and keep him down, isn’t that the American way?
Rosenthal has access that the rest of us dream about.  I wish he would spend more energy using that access to provide thoughtful analysis, and less time grinding the journalistic integrity axe.
I respect the standards of integrity and solid reporting, but they are no excuse for a decade of playing ostrich when it comes to PEDs.  The signs were slapping reporters (and fans) in the face in the 90s.  Every baseball writer heard about the andro in McGwire’s locker.  I remember being at a game at Fenway in 1999 hearing the fans chant “steroids” at Jose Canseco.
Recognizing that a reporter needs more for a story than a fan needs for a taunt, why did it take so long for the MSM to use their access to find enough evidence of steroid use to write thoughtfully about it?
Forgive us Ken Rosenthal and Geoff Baker, if we, the consumers of media, flock to those who are willing to speculate. . . without access, that’s all we can do.

In a completely different vein from the PED allegations, Jim Souhan, of the Minneapolis Star Tribune once suggested that Joe Mauer completely invented an injury:

“In spring training [Mauer] caused a scare with what was termed a ‘stress reaction.’ I’ve spoken with trainers in other sports who have told me there is no such thing.”

Column here: http://www.startribune.com/sports/11700641.html