McGwire

Mark McGwire admitted to Bob Costas on Monday that he used performance enhancing drugs back in 1998, the year he hit 70 home runs. Most in the media have commended the way that he has finally come out to admit this given the years of speculation, especially after his "let's not talk about the past" testimony in Congress.

While it's nice to hear him come clean about this, the frustrating part about his admission is how many qualifiers he used. Here are a few that I noticed:

-McGwire said he could have still broken the HR record without steroids

In general, I agree, there's no proof per se that steroids make someone a better home run hitter, but it sure seems to be true from anecdotal evidence. Baseball players also wouldn't be using steroids or HGH if they didn't think there would be a benefit. In some ways, the cheating isn't just the act, it's the intent, too.

-He denied that he injected steroids routinely

I'm surprised he went out of his way to say he didn't inject steroids, and just took them orally. By the way, as far as I know, most testosterone analogs and HGH are taken through the skin or by injection. Also is there really added stigma attached to injection vs oral steroids? It seems to me the main argument is use or not, and not the means of use.

-He could not remember the names of the drugs

I don't believe this. Especially with all the controversy he faced with the androstenedione. Also, the name "human growth hormone" wouldn't be hard to remember.

-He only used low doses

Again, this almost sounds more like he's trying to justify it to himself. Nobody cares how much or little, do they?

-He injected himself for a medical condition

He wouldn't be alone in trying to inject steroids for a supposed medical condition however as I'm sure everybody is now well aware, there aren't any medical conditions that testosterone is indicated for.

So in summary, nice to see him finally admit stuff, but maybe we can get an admission of guilt from a player not named Canseco that is less filled with excuses and justifications.