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It’s not always possible to say exactly how the bear market will catch on, but as it starts to bend cultural events the direction of its will, you can sometimes recognize its influence immediately. The increase in nap time among pro ballplayers strikes us a very appropriate early effect of baseball’s next leg of down. It foreshadows the fan disinterest that will undoubtedly reign by the end of the bear market. It also strikes a stark contrast with the speed and bone jarring excitement of roller derby, a bear market sport if ever there was one. For the scoop on the “rowdy, raucous” spectacle that is now awakening from obscurity see the entry from earlier today.

One of revealing aspect of the story at left is how common the use of “greenies” was and how freely sources seemed to offer insights into the level of amphetamine use over the course of the just completed bull market.  One long-time player/coach said it goes back to the 1950s, which was the middle of Cycle III. “I don't know what a steroid is ... (but) I've seen greenies,’ Devil Rays Special Assistant Don Zimmer says. ‘I've seen what they called 'red juice.' I thought it was cough syrup. I swear I did. That was 50 years ago.”

As we’ve said before with respect to various different bear market revelations, the story can now be told because it’s bear market. The article reveals that baseball insiders even had their own language for dealing with amphetamine consumption. Coffee pots were labeled “leaded” for amphetamine filled and “unleaded” for regular coffee. Using greenies is called going "in the jar." Using a high quantity of them is going "deep in the jar." And playing without the use of amphetamines is "playing naked." If a player really overdid it and suffered negative consequences, it’s  called "overlaunching." The reason we finding out so much about this secret subculture is that baseball itself is overlaunching --  into a bear market, which means it’s time to take the “speed” out of the game.