Damnit, Doc

[Guest GYC]

http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?floc=ns-tos-feat-h-02&floc=FF-APO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20060314/1814782070.htm

]Former Baseball Star Gooden Arrested TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Former baseball star Dwight Gooden was arrested Tuesday on charges of violating the terms of his probation. The 41-year-old pleaded guilty in November to speeding away from police after a DUI traffic stop in August 2004 and was sentenced to three years probation. On Tuesday he went to a regular meeting with a probation officer, where he admitted to using cocaine, according to Jo Ellyn Rackleff, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. ``He went to his regular meeting with his probation officer, admitted to the officer that he had used cocaine. She did a drug screen, and he tested positive for cocaine,'' Rackleff said. Gooden was then arrested and taken to the Hillsborough County Jail, Rackleff said. He is being held without bond, according to Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi. ``We will be requesting that he remain in jail on no bond because he violated probation,'' Bondi said. Gooden was voted the 1984 NL Rookie of the Year and 1985 NL Cy Young Award while pitching for the New York Mets. He went 194-112 with a 3.51 ERA before retiring in 2001. He also pitched for the Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Gooden will make his first appearance in court Wednesday, Bondi said. An after-hours call to Peter Hobson, who has represented Gooden in the past, was not immediately returned. 03/14/06 18:14 � Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

What an effing idiot.

[metirish]

I thought this was about Bret/Sal/Doc.....anyway it's sad about Gooden, tough addiction to beat.

[Elster88]

Yes, a man stuggling with an addiction is an 'effing idiot'.

Have some compassion already. His drug problem has nothing to do with you. Get over it.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Doc's having a huge surge on the UMDB. As with Jeff Reardon, notoriety = clicks.

He's passed Mike Piazza on the all-time hitcount list, moving into second place and knocking Piazza into third. Piazza had held first place for years until he was bumped by Keith Hernandez a year or two ago. If Doc maintains this surge, he may topple Keith within a couple of days.

[Elster88]

You could probably write a paper on the effect of notoriety, etc. on a celebrity's hit count. You definitely have the raw data.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

So far I've learned that notoriety is a better hit-inducer than death. I just haven't seen much evidence of what a positive achievement would do. Lee Mazzilli got a bit of a surge when he became the Baltimore manager, but that's about it.

Maybe Elliott Maddox will find a cure for bird flu, or Rico Brogna will develop an AIDS vaccine, or, in a feat of strength and daring, Joe McEwing will save a busload of school children from plummeting over a cliff. Hopefully, if something like that happened, they'd top Jeff Reardon's biggest day.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think Ron Taylor is a better bet to cure a disease. Maybe Elliot Maddox can win a high-profile case.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

He'd better put that bird flu thing on the back burner, then.

It's a shame; he had been making real progress.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Gooden now has the fourth biggest hitcount day ever in UMDB history, and there are still many hours to go.

Actual hit counts will remain secret, so I'll display the standings as ratios. Jeff Reardon's record setting day has been prorated down to 100 hits, and everyone else's has been prorated by the same factor.

Jeff Reardon	12/27/2005	100.00
Kevin Mitchell	7/30/2004	50.51
Tug McGraw	1/6/2004	39.31
Dwight Gooden	3/16/2006	21.82
John Olerud	12/7/2005	19.74
Wally Backman	11/5/2004	15.91
Jeff Reardon	12/28/2005	14.42
Tug McGraw	1/5/2004	14.36
Dwight Gooden	3/15/2006	14.33
Lee Mazzilli	11/7/2003	14.07

[Guest Edgy DC]

A recent UMDB post:

KMT

March 5, 2006

I once read where John and "Hawk " Taylor of all people got over $100 Grand to sign with the Milwaukee Braves as Bonus Babies! I guess they realized neither of them was going to work out in the long run. Funny, how right from the start the Mets organization couldn't judge talent. Seems like nothing changes! Ever!

Hey, KMT, relax. Tthe Mets weren't the ones who spent 100 Gs on those guys.

Hawk did get a lot of PT that in retrospect might have been better spent on a Larry Elliot or two.

[Guest abogdan]

What did Kevin Mitchell do in July 2004?

[Guest Edgy DC]

The cat-killer story broke for like the third time.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

It was mentioned in the Page 2 column on ESPN.com.