Since my blog has been largely inactive, I was surprised to see how much of a response I've received to my article about meeting Doc Gooden.

I've had a couple people respond saying that they didn't think he was dodging my question, that he either wasn't clear what I was asking, or that he was refuting what I was saying.

What I left out of my recap was that Doc had dodged nearly every question having to do with his drug abuse or anything dealing specifically with his relationship to Darryl Strawberry. One anonymous poster had this to say:

I don't think he dodged your question. Seems to me that by saying they were both bad influences on each other he is refuting the notion that he was an innocent and Straw was the corrupter.

While this is actually a really good point, it flies in the face of what Doc wrote in his own autobiography. After the interview was over, the moderator approached me and commended me on my question, and told me that despite what Doc had just said, he actually wrote in his own autobiography that he felt Darryl was a bad influence.

I don't blame him for dodging questions. This was an open conversation about some of the most uncomfortable moments of his life. I can't even imagine having strangers ask me questions about such uncomfortable moments. I just called it as I saw it. I stand by my characterization that he was less-than forthcoming when it came to his drug abuse and relationship with Darryl Strawberry.

Last night, I was lucky enough to be invited to a small gathering to hear Doc Gooden speak about his career. The event was sponsored by Nike, and was held in the Nike store in SoHo.

Doc was looking good, though many in the room became worried when we saw sweat pouring down his face at the beginning of the interview. I turned to my roommate and said "oh no, he's back on the drugs", but the sweat went away after the first ten minutes. He may have just been nervous.

Doc spoke briefly about his personal struggles with addiction, but did not go into detail. The most interesting moment of the interview was when the moderator asked "if you could whisper one thing into the ear of the 1985 Doc Gooden, what would it be?" Doc thought about it and said "to reach out. To get help."

The funniest moment of the night came when an audience member asked of the three distinct hair styles Doc sported during his career (close cut, flat top and jheri curl), which did he prefer. Doc thought about it and then said "definitely the flat top".

I managed to get a question in during the Q&A session. I prefaced my question by saying that I wasn't even two yet when the Mets won in 1986, but that I read the book "The Bad Guys Won", which paints Doc as innocent and naive, and Strawberry as a bad influence. I asked him "what do you think about that characterization?"

He responded by saying that they were both bad influences on each other, totally dodging my question. I was honored, however, to have the opportunity to ask it.

Dear all,

I really regret have I haven't kept the site up... I hope to bring it back for next season. I really enjoy writing it, and I love getting feedback, but sometimes life is just too hectic. To try to make up for my lack of updates, I present to you my latest juggling video, filmed mostly at KeySpan park.