A new book by Jeff Pearlman apparently identifies Mike Piazza as a steroid user. Tommy Lasorda is, not surprisingly, shocked and horrified by such a suggestion, and defends Piazza against such accusations.
All well and good, until we get to Lasorda's rationale as to why Piazza couldn't have used steroids:
"I just don't believe it. Mike Piazza? No way. He worked too hard. I saw him."
Arguing that someone couldn't have used steroids because he worked too hard is dumb.
It assumes that steroids are a short-cut, a way to get big and strong and muscular without doing any work.
That's crap. The people who use steroids are also the ones who are working hard.
Is Lasorda really suggesting that Roger Clemens didn't work hard? Barry Bonds? That all those roided up freaks in the NFL aren't lifting weights and busting their asses in the gym?
This is an inherently ridiculous defense, and I get tired of people like Tommy Lasorda using it.