The East coast media BIAS (bias does not mean the story broke on the east coast. It means the American media, as a whole, tends to favor east coast teams and news stories. Sorry for the aside but it seems like Red Sox fans who have commented here do not comprehend this. Either that or they completely omitted from their heads that I said BIAS. Look it up if you don’t know what it means.) does not know when to stop. Today, there was a news story that broke which said between 2002-2005 Byrd used HGH. The East coast press continues to try to take the momentum away from the Tribe by trying to present as many distractions as possible. I think first, above all, the press was unethical at releasing this before the Mitchell report was due to go out. The Mitchell report was not due until after the season, and they also came out recently saying they’d go over the charges with the players before the report was released. This report on Byrd violated that promise, but that isn’t even the point.

Byrd used HGH between 2002-2005. That was before HGH was banned from baseball. The media has a way of just ignoring that fact and trying to come out with the big headline. Secondly, and more importantly, Byrd was using HGH for a medical reason, prescribed by a doctor. Byrd, as stated here  by Yahoo Sports, used HGH to treat an issue with his pituitary gland. Byrd said, “I have not taken any hormone apart from a legitimate doctor’s care and supervision. My team, my coaches and MLB have known that I have had a pituitary gland issue for some time and have assisted me in getting blood tests in different states. I recently found out from an MRI that I have a tumor on my pituitary gland. I am currently working with an endocrinologist and will have another MRI on my head after the season to make sure that the tumor hasn’t grown."

Byrd took HGH for legal reasons. He did it when it wasn’t banned by MLB. Most importantly, though, he hasn’t taken it this year, and should not be relevant to the Tribe’s playoff run right now. It’s unfortunate Sox Nation and the East Coast media BIAS had to stoop as low as to break the story right now, before the Mitchell Report. It’s stories like this which continue to make me lose faith in America’s media. The media today, not only in sports, is looking for a cheap thrill. They are looking for the story which can draw up the most attention, while they disregard integrity and respect. Paul Byrd is a good man. He is respected throughout baseball. Out of all the people on the Tribe team, I’d have to say he’s the one who continues to draw respect in the clubhouse for the person he is. Byrd has been nothing but honest with the media today when this story broke, answering every question, and even holding a press conference at 6:15pm, 45 minutes from now, before the game.  Paul continues to be open with the press and an example of the kind of ballplayer which is a dying breed in MLB today. He’s a player who’s not going to hide from his mistakes and answer every question. He’s a respected veteran all over the league, a religious man, and a good father. I for one, as well as Cleveland fans, will never question the integrity of Paul Byrd. It’s just too bad a story like this breaks right before game 7 of the ALCS. Hopefully, the Tribe can use this as a rallying point tonight. Byrd is standing up to all the questions, and all I can say is, shame on you, members of the media. You continue to amaze me at how you have no class.