Brutal story recapping Tejada's alleged pitch-tipping to friends, Dominicans, countrymen:
Now I keep reading and hearing things about how Tejada is a great clubhouse guy, and how he's a great team leader. And I think this is something that ought to be thought about for a moment. The team leader of the Houston Astros is a convicted liar who purchased HGH and lied about his age. And one of his former teams thought he was tipping pitches to opposing batters. Is this really the type of guy who should be allowed to be a team leader?
As I write this, the Houston Chronicle has been silent on this story though, as always, Astros.com and MLB.com had a story on it. So I'm assuming the Chron, as usual when it comes to Tejada, thinks there's nothing to the story and that he's telling the truth with his denial. Which leads me to ask why it is that Tejada, a known liar, keeps getting a pass when allegations like this come his way? Barry Bonds wouldn't get a pass like this, and he's never been convicted of anything. Neither, for that matter, has Roger Clemens, and his denials are mocked just like Palmerio's denials are mocked.
So there you have it. Miguel Tejada, known and convicted liar. Purchaser of HGH. Probable user of HGH. And a guy whose teammates thought he was tipping pitches. All of that said, I think we owe Rafael Palmerio a big apology. Palmerio probably just thought that Tejada was injecting him with B-12. It's just that Palmerio hadn't learned of Tejada's tendency for lying.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
