“I apologize to my family, all of my fans and to the entire baseball community for mistakes in judgment I made in the past and for the distraction that has resulted,” said newly acquired Washington C Paul Lo Duca on Saturday. While Newsday’s Ken Davidoff considers said apology a page out of the “Giambi playbook” (“decline to identify your reason for apologizing”), the columnist oughta remember that Boogie Shoes might need the forgiveness of all sorts of people. Certainly the talent pool for Long Island’s Junior Proms was adversely affected by Lo Duca’s social life.
To Lo Duca’s credit, he took questions in what the Nationals billed as a “first and only” opportunity to ask him anything concerning the Mitchell Report. At Space Coast Stadium, with Nationals manager Manny Acta and general manager Jim Bowden in the room, he even offered some words that read sincere on paper.
“You do something wrong in your life, and you get away with it, you still have something inside you that burns,” Lo Duca said. “It’s been a big relief for me to know that I’ve come to grips with it. That I’ve made a mistake.”
Perhaps he was nervous, but Lo Duca didn’t speak this soliloquy with the same sort of passion that he addressed numerous Mets matters in 2006 and 2007. He had more of a “my agent told me I should say this” vibe going.
Remember, Lo Duca came off as one of Kirk Radomski’s star pupils, not only purchasing human growth hormone but also extending Radomski’s business to Dodgers teammates such as Kevin Brown and Eric Gagne. Mitchell further embarrassed Lo Duca by including two notes to Radom.ski, one featuring the memorable “my phone is toast!” refrain.
So it would’ve been nice for a more specific apology, and for the personable Lo Duca to hit the public-service announcement trail and explain the evils of illegal PED usage.
He didn’t seem to agree, saying, “We’ll see where we go from there. Wherever we go from there, we go from there.”
Asked for what he was apologizing, Lo Duca said, “Come on, bro. Next question.”