Hate Mail: Mr. Conlin writes, and it ain't pretty

Updated Sept. 14

We have a special guest this week to Hate Mail: Bill Conlin, a longtime baseball writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. And he's pissed.

Mr. Conlin made many, many good points, and then he called me a name. Which hurts. Anyway, here's his letter, which was edited only for spelling and grammar:

From: Bill Conlin

First things first, Doyel. You haven't won more awards than me. And you haven't been around Ryan Howard at all. So where do you get the balls to write this reckless and irresponsible sentence: "So here comes Howard, mashing homers for the Phillies with a body that, it must be told, has changed radically since 2003." In 2003, he was in the minor leagues where random drug testing has been in place for years and has nailed a number of juicers. His older brother, who is 36, I believe, is an assistant AD at LSU and has the same enormous body Ryan is going to have in 10 years. Both have the same body their father gave them. I have followed Ryan's career from Day 1. When he was being shopped around and people from the Phillies organization questioned whether he was ever going to hit major league pitching, I was the one guy who saw a future slugging monster. You can't fake a beautiful swing and even when he was striking out at a high rate in short-season A ball, the ball just leaped off his bat. If you ever saw him in a clubhouse, he's not cut the way all the juicers are from all the extra lifting they are able to do. His speed has not increased a step -- always a telltale sign because juicers like Canseco and even Giambi gained a step to go with the manufactured power. He's got some love handles! And is built a lot more like Willie Stargell than Barry Bonds. The only thing that surprises me after reading your trashy "Hey, read me" speculation is that you lasted as many as six years at a paper as good as the Charlotte Observer used to be. I'd wish you luck with your dot.com career, but losers like you usually don't know what to do with it if they ever get any. Bill Conlin.

I looked for your scathing stories on steroids abusers from back in the day -- you know, about the "telltale sign" of "juicers like Canseco and even Giambi" -- but couldn't find any under your byline. Strange. I'll keep looking. Probably an oversight somewhere. You self-important blowhard.

From: Jason

This story on Ryan Howard is unbelievably irresponsible and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Oh, I am. Saddened and appalled, too. And you should see how this is going over at Bill Conlin's house.

From: Paul B

It now seems fashionable for sports writers to do a lot of angst-ridden hand-wringing about the state baseball has been left in by the so called "cheaters." To me this new-found cynicism is the journalistic equivalent of closing the barn door once the cows have gone. Where were all the cynics when the sport really needed them -- back when the juicers were racking up home run numbers that were never seen in a hundred years of baseball? They were waving pom-poms from the front row of the cheering section.

Are you talking specifically about Bill Conlin? Because I simply won't allow that.

From: Thomas Medrow

I am disappointed that you decided to accuse Ryan Howard of taking HGH. You defend yourself by saying that you have the right to be cynical, but I think you are libelous. You wrote, "Nobody has matched those numbers, much less beaten them, without the (alleged) benefit of steroids or Human Growth Hormone." And then you go on, "Could HGH explain Howard's gains in size and power since 2003? It could." And, "No sport, however, has a reliable test for HGH." Now that you have written your article, Ryan Howard is lumped in to the category with the others.

It was not libelous, or slanderous, or anything remotely close. It was exceedingly fair. I even noted that a guy his age could get bigger, and better, in the time frame in which he has done both. But I have the right to be skeptical, and the right to write about it, whether you and Bill Conlin like it or not.

From: Ray Flores, M.D.

Gregg, instead of the NFL retiring Pat Tillman's No. 40, how about if YOU retire instead? Your attempt to sound patriotic and profound fell flat. An angry, negative guy like you lecturing us on patriotism and profundity would be a lot like Eminem lecturing people on the virtues of classical music. If you're so opposed to the way that the NFL and other pro sports leagues go about making money, and "asking us to sacrifice with our wallets," maybe you should stop pushing them on us. You're like a dope dealer who turns around and says, "Yeah, drugs ain't all that good for you, anyhow." Why don't YOU put YOUR money where YOUR mouth is, Doyel?

Look everybody, Ray's a doctor! Is one of your patients by chance Bill Conlin? Give him my best.

From: Ryan

Last I checked, almost everyone in this country approves of the war that killed Pat Tillman.

When's the last time you checked? January 2002? I wonder what Bill Conlin thinks of the war ...

From: David Beltran

I was introduced to your columns via a Chicago radio station a couple of months ago. Engaging a column, via the Internet, as a result of the radio, is a keen example of ... I digress. Anyway. I enjoy reading your columns (whether I agree with them or not) and came across your Hate Mail and have come to the conclusion that we (the social "We") lack a greater sense of being. I could've used Raison D'être but I don't speak French and although Spanish is ... but I digress again. Anyway, your column reminded me of Ring Lardner. Actually, something he wrote: "Hero-worship is the national disease that does most to keep the grandstands full and the playgrounds empty." Not much has changed in 80-plus years. I can only pray to God or (insert athlete's name here) that there is still hope for my son. Thank you for your time.

Um ... are you being nice to me? I think you are, but I'm simply not smart enough to know for sure. It's hard to tell. Bill Conlin, he makes his affection clear.