Griffin: The Spin reminds us we need to ask questions

Damien Cox: When it comes to Jose Bautista, how is it exactly that at the age of 29 he's suddenly become the most dangerous power hitter in baseball?

Today's The Spin entry by Damien Cox on this Star website regarding Jose Bautista got me thinking. Why is it just baseball, a sport that has mandatory PED testing at least twice a year, that falls under suspicion?

For the following unpopular question blame Don Cherry and all the nonsense he has been spewing over the last decade about no, absolutely zero, problem in the NHL with performance-enhancing drugs.

Don't blame me.

When it comes to hockey hall-of-famer, forward Dave Andreychuk how is it exactly that at the age of 30, back in 1993-94, he suddenly joined the illustrious ranks of 50-goal scorers? 

Chance? Healthy living? Diet? New contact lenses? Composite stick? 

Hey, prior to 1993-94, Andreychuk, one of the nicest guys in the game, had never potted more than 41 goals in a season, then BAM. What's up with that? The Hamilton, Ontario native (hmm!) had 25 goals the year before, then out of the blue, Bobby Hull and Boom-Boom Geoffrion-esque numbers. 

Things happen in hockey, I guess.

The next year, Andreychuk scored 22 goals, then eight the year after that. But was he done? No sirree. All of a sudden, Andreychuk seemed to find a mysterious Fountain of Youth that carried him for another 10 productive seasons until retiring at age 43. How so? Are these questions that should have been asked at the time by Hockey Hall-of-Fame voters or are they just too trusting and star-struck?

And by the way, when Andreychuk was drafted, he was listed at 6-4, 200 lbs., yet when he retired he was listed at a strapping 225, gaining 25 pounds of mysterious muscle. Hmm, again.  

Now, granted, I have never spoken to Andreychuk and may have met him only once while covering a Tampa Bay game late in his career. But that shouldn't matter. 

Hockey fans won't like it, but you've got to at least ask the question when it comes to Dave Andreychuk. As to what the question is, I'm not sure, but you can only guess.

For the fact that we do wonder, blame hockey....and Damien.

    

Comments

[Scott]

Touche Griff. Well said. Toronto's favourite cynic, Damien Cox, needs to take a more holistic view of the steroid situation.

[Navin Vaswani]

I blame Damien, too, Mr. Griffin.

Thank you for this.

[matt]

beautiful

[JS14]

Really? That's your example of potential steroid abuse? A 6'4" professional athlete going from 200 lbs at the age of 18 to 225 at the age of 43? I realize this is a thinly-veiled shot at Cox for what was a pretty irresponsible article, but man, you could have come up with something a lot better than that.

[nick w]

Quite the hack job on Dave Andreychuk there, all but accusing him of using PEDs. However, your numbers are wrong. The year before his 53 goals in 93-94, he had a total of 54: 29 with the Sabres, and 22 in 31 games with Doug Gilmour as his centre in Toronto.

The year later, he had 22, yes, but it was A LOCKOUT SHORTENED SEASON. Projected over 82 games, it would have been a 38 goal season. A drop for sure, but all Leafs that year underperformed, with their leading scorer - Mats Sundin - under a point a game and Doug Gilmour dropping to 33 points in 44 games.

He started hitting the 40+ goal number in 89-90, his first full season with a legitimate, top-flight centre. Pierre Turgeon and Dale Hawerchuk in Buffalo, Doug Gilmour in Toronto. He then was traded to New Jersey in 95-96 where Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston were the team's top centres for his first couple years -- a huge step back in playmaking ability.

For this research, this simple site told me everything in just a few minutes: http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/a/andreda01.html

Please, next time examine things a bit closer before eviscerating someone.

[mark]

Yes, I can see asking 'the question' in hockey circles has been lacking. However, what irks me about Damien's blog is that if he truly did try to answer 'the question' with respect to Jose Bautista there are a host of rational answers to explain this year's power surge, excluding PED. New approach at the plate, modified swing plane, full time playing, confidence from last Septembers hot streak. To me Damien's column is a cliche that cheapens Bautista's achievements without any (and I mean absolutely zero) evidence. It's irresponsible journalism at best, slander at worst, posed as a very leading 'question.'

[Sebastian]

This entry sounds a lot less like a steroids column than it does a piece about how inter-office politics dictate that the hockey columnist shouldn't opine about baseball on his blog.

[RD]

I'd say for one, when he was drafted he still had a kid frame, then he manned himself up with some weight training. I don't buy the zero PED in hockey either. But to be perfectly honest, you should be trying to point a finger at someone who more than likely has done it. Not someone who was coincidentally teamed up with Doug Gilmour for that illustrious 50 goal season.

[John B]

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm and bitterness in this article?

[Ostrich Lover]

YOull have to let me know if Coxy will even speak to you after this hilarious article. Absolute tears!!! Now please do me a favor and ask Beeston why he is so silent on the ridiculous Sportsnet/'Jays fiasco. And no, I dont care if they add the chanel to other cable providers, I -a rogers man- dont want to pay extra for blue jays games. Lets keep this in the public eye until all Jays games are on free tv. Kudos to Macowen (?) for at least having the balls to crush his employers.

[dave]

I am not sure what this has to do with Damien's article but...I don't think Andreychuk is a good example. When he scored the 50 goals who was his centre? He also played a ton of minutes doing penalty kill and power play.

[Dan]

wow, are you and Damien going to throw down...i'm taking Griffin on this one!

[nick w]

And, I just realised you said he had 8 goals in 95-96. He had 28! And 27 the year after that before settling into the position of role player, as many former scoring players do. Poor, poor research.

[D Boughner]

I agree. Baseball and cycling seem to have this constant cloud, while other sports are beyond suspicion. As if steriods did not impact a game like hockey, which is only based on speed and strength. (?)
Incidentally, I would love to see Tiger Woods subjected to the analysis of a Lance Armstrong. Why a free ride for Woods who had shown sudden improvement in strength and driving distance. The arms alone had that suspicious "Ben Johnson like " appearance.

[Shawn F]

Could use some more examples of "one off" years from other players in other sports. Maybe a bit of investigating?

[D]

Gaining 25 pounds between the age of 19 and 43 isn't exactly out of the ordinary. His body would still be filling out when he was 19, and ya, a good portion of that would be fat, not muscle(everyone gets a bit less lean as they age).

[chris]

I'm sure, if someone looked hard enough, they might be able to find evidence of PED usage throughout the NHL. And I would assume Damien Cox would also be critical of such a culture, were it to exist. But the problem here is that baseball has set itself up for suspicion thanks to the way it delt with PEDs in the past. They knew the longball was the key to bring the fans back to the game after the 1994 strike wiped out the World Series. So they looked the other way as players bulked up to hit them out of the park. Jose Bautista may not be on the juice, but the climate that the game was under makes him guilty until proven innocent, fair or not.

[nick w]

53 goals was hardly a one-off. He scored 54 the year before, and 40+ in two of the previous three years. When you score 640 total NHL goals, you're not a one-off if you hit 50 in a season.

Gary Leeman, on the other hand...

[Steve Hyland]

If you are actually trying to rebut Mr. Griffins article.. I think you missed the point..

This isn`t about Dave Anderchuk using P.E.D.`s..

Its about Damien being a T.O.O.L...

[Dela Expo]

No matter what you write, Toronto Puckheads will dispute it - especially if the player wore Blue and White. PED's were everywhere in the 90's - Baseball, Basketball, Football and yes even Hockey. When I read Damien's blog, it seemed to come out of left field, doesn't he cover hockey and tennis?!?!? I may not always agree with you, but great come back Griffin!

[Roy]

It's unbelievable the amount of people who actually think this is about Dave Andreychuk's possible PED use.

[Ian]

Odd story by Damian, I will admit, but anyway you slice it, baseball is known for steroid use. Dozens of players have been caught, including their biggest superstars. Baseball has done this to itself, so now when a star player all of a sudden gets really good, you have to question it. It's like a kid who's been caught stealing money from his mother's purse a few times. The next time money goes missing, the first assumption is the kid stole it.

And regarding Andreychuk, as someone already stated, you have left out some glaring details, such as Andreychuk playing only 48 games when he scored 22 goals, and he only played 15 games with NJ when he scored 8 goals.

[Mike T]

better example wouldve been jonathan cheechoo. now THAT is a crazy drop.

Andreychuk isnt a good example for reasons proivided by others

[Shinigami]

This man speaks the truth. Finally, someone talking some sense. I'm on Team Griffin!!

[bill]

Why the Bautista suspicion? Because Damien's role at The Star is to stir the pot and it's been a verrrrry slow August for hockey news, so he needed to find something else to dramatize....cue Jose Bautista!

Now, Richard, I understand the desire to 'fight back' a bit and point out that other sports have cheats as well, but frankly you put forth a very weak argument for Dave Andreychuk. A player, at 6'4", gaining 25 lbs between 18 & 43 is not odd at all. His increase in goals when he came to Toronto was due to his new linemate, Doug Gilmour, not PED's....or Dougie gave him the bigger boost at least. Andreychuk plopped his arse in front of the net and got a lot of goals that way...not from skating faster than other guys or having a harder shot, etc.

While there are no doubt NHL players who use or have used PED's, I truly believe that it is a small minority that do. They may use other drugs more than other professional athletes, but not steroids, etc. like in baseball.

PS: I don't think it is so unfathomable for Bautista to be having the season he's having at the age of 30., He is finally getting a proper chance - that one year he had 500+ AB's he was on a bad team and was looking over his shoulder the whole season. This year he has confidence. This is due to regular playing time + confidence in him from his manager (and general manager who has resisted trading for a positional replacement) + playing in a lineup that loves to hit homers....and also that seems to have a great chemistry that has all the players playing loose. Buck is having a career year too. Wells has bounced back finally. Overbay has turned it on the last 2 months. Lewis has been great. Are all these guys on PED's Mr. Cox? Go stir the pot elsewhere! (cue another piece debating the merits of fighting in hockey :D)