Paul Lo Duca: Suddenly It All Makes Sense
And to think Paul Lo Duca is not back because of his defense.
The second I heard Jeremy Schaap say Lo Duca was implicated in the Mitchell Report, I finally understood why he will not be behind the plate for the New York Mets in 2008. It hit me like a ton of Winstrol (just kidding kids I don’t do steroids, my stomach will prove it).
Lo Duca will not be our catcher in 2008 because his name is on page 256 of the Mitchell Report - one that will go down in history. To paraphrase, Lo Duca is accused of buying steroids, as recently as 2004, from Mets former clubhouse attendant Kurt Radomski. Notes made by the Dodgers personnel themselves also talk of how steroids impacted his performance before trading him off.
I know, I know, Omar Minaya signed Guillermo Mota after finding out he did steroids. And how die he wind up? He stunk. And now Mota is no longer on the team. How many questions were Lo Duca and his teammates going to have to answer about this topic? Apparently more than retaining him and ultimately trading one of the top prospects for his replacement was worth.
Lo Duca reportedly rubbed most of ‘the suits’ the wrong way and his name showing up on this list was the last straw. Minaya has said before, when Mota was brought back, that he believes in giving people a second chance when they make a mistake. I am not buying it. He wanted to distance himself as much as possible from Lo Duca and the circus that could potentially follow him. He also saw in Mota’s case what can happen when players stop taking ‘roids and who knows when Lo Duca stopped. He didn’t want another PRP (Post Roid Performance).
Now Paul was not a superstar. He was on the decline but could still contribute and brought a lot of fire to this team (lets just hope that fire wasn’t’ any form of ‘rage’). I firmly believe that the Mets would have been a better team in 2008 with Lo Duca, not Brian Schneider calling pitches. Was Minaya in the wrong, knowing what we know now, to not bring Lo Duca back? I don’t know. The risks may have outweighed the reward. Distractions are not good for a clubhouse. Time will certainly tell.
But I am glad to now know why he is not back. I didn’t buy any of Omar’s rhetoric when addressing Lo Duca and his poor defense. Paul has been quoted as saying no one from the Mets even addressed him about a contract at all, not even a word, and he is a guy who deserved more than that.
Lo Duca made headlines off the field for his behavior, he wasn’t everyone’s best friend and he was bringing more baggage with him this season. And that is why he will be playing this year in D.C. and not in NY.
Comments
It's a shame LoDuca was named in the report. But did Omar know his name would come out in the report? Maybe, but I'm not so sure. Who would've thought that LoDuca was a user? Couldn't tell it by his power numbers.
I know the report said something about 2004 but when did he stop using? If his numbers with the Mets were enhanced
artificially who knows what his stats will look like now. So maybe Omar had an idea and felt LoDuca's numbers would be no better than Schneider's in '08. So you go with better defense and the team is better off.
But it is a shame that PLD was implicated in this mess.
Posted by: 86mets | December 14, 2007 11:45 PM
My first reaction was also that Minaya must have known about his steroid use.
But if you think it through it doesn't add up. You mean he was tipped-off about PLD but not Castro (who was re-signed)? Or he didn't care that Castro was juicing?
Also, it would have to mean Minaya was tipped-off and very few other GMs were. Brian Cashman wasn't afforded the same consideration (e.g., before signing Andy Petit)? Washington's GM looks pretty foolish signing PLD right before the Mitchell report.
All of these things seem to point to the fact that no one was tipped off. But, of course, you never know.
Posted by: Barry | December 15, 2007 12:00 AM
i bet they knew... I bet a lot of the GMs knew; except maybe Milwaukee and Houston
BrewCrew, have fun with Roid guys Mota and gagne
Posted by: aidan g | December 15, 2007 6:59 AM
Castro? I guess the list that Barry got is different from the one that the rest of the country got.
I agree that Minaya probably had an inkling of what was going on, remember the star witness was a former employee of the Mets. All it takes is for him to call a friend and relay that to Omar.
Personally I am glad he's gone. Let's face it, he was in the decline, he was injured three times last year, his teammates didn't like him and HE'S A CHEATER!!! I can't wait for him to come back to Shea, I can hear the Paul's a Juica chants now.
Posted by: nate | December 15, 2007 10:49 AM
The Mets are better with out LoDuca this year. Defence and calling the game should be the main concern of a catcher.
Posted by: Vegas Chris | December 15, 2007 11:40 AM
I was going off what I had heard on TV, which as I now see was wrong. Castro was not in the Mitchell Report.
Searching the internet, I see his name (Ramon Castro) was on a list of suspects, so I'm guessing that's where the media got it from.
http://deadspin.com/sports/is-this-t...ned-333479.php
It shows once again never to trust the media--they're lazy and incompetent. But, in this case, I could certainly be accused of the same thing.
Posted by: Barry | December 15, 2007 12:08 PM