Major Bans Imminent from Major League Baseball
By now you may have caught wind of the news that MLB officials have come to an agreement with Tony Bosch, founder of Biogenesis of America, to provide information that could result in 50- and 100-game suspensions for dozens of professional ballplayers.
You can find the details at ESPN’s Outside the Lines.
As you know, this isn’t really a “news” site, but this news is too big to ignore, and I’d like to hear your opinion of the latest development in this story. Personally, I’m skeptical that MLB will get away with suspending people like Ryan Braun for 100 games; somehow, some way, MLBPA will find a way to convince a judge that such a suspension is illegal. At the same time, I wonder if this debacle — and how it is handled — will adversely affect the current lovefest between the owners and the player’s union.
Sound off …
Not knowing the wording of the negotiated agreement it is impossible to know if MLB has a chance big or small to invoke what appears on the surface to be double penalties. Or is it merely leaks to make MLB look tough knowing full well the best they can get is the standard 50 days first time suspensions. Or is it just some small potato guy feeding info knowing the sports press is hungry for crap to write about. In theory if there were no leaks, we wouldn’t have heard a word until official suspensions were announced, and if a player were cleared we wouldn’t hear anything ever. But that is not the real word. This will linger and damage the game for quite a long time.
So, if the owners and players aren’t currently in a lovefest, then, how would you describe their relationship?
Lovefest defined by Merriam-Webster: “an expression or exchange of goodwill, praise, or affection”
Have the players and owners not been exchanging goodwill, praise, and affection since the last CBA?
Gonna be hard to prove anything, considering guys like Clemens were staring down actual syringes they were allegedly injected with…..and saw nothing in terms of consequence, other than a tarnished legacy – and less HOF votes.
Overall, there’s gotta be more evidence than testimony from the BIOGENESIS clinic dude. You have nothing in the way of failed tests, and that’s what the suspensions are based off of, no?
Unless the guy’s got videos stashed away, of guys outright administering the substances…..
Just stop with all this crap, already. Abuse happens at every level of sport, whether it be High School, College, Minor League, or Major……guys are going to be looking to mask it any way they can.
And that’s that.
No one’s going to eliminate it from the game unless you ban athletes the very first time they get caught — and even then, I think you’ll still have plenty of guys run that risk, just to get there.
We’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again. *Rinse and repeat*
I feel bad for anyone who ever thought what they were watching during those HR Chases back in the day was white-bread “clean” —- it happened prior to that, and will happen again.
Meh……
“2. PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES
Players shall be prohibited from using, possessing, selling, facilitating the sale of, Distributing, or facilitating the distribution of any Drug of Abuse, Performance Enhancing
Substance and/or Stimulant (collectively referred to as “Prohibited Substances”).
7 DISCIPLINE
A Player who tests positive for a Performance Enhancing Substance, or otherwise violates the Program through the use or possession of a Performance Enhancing Substance, will be subject to the discipline set forth below.
1. First violation: 50-game suspension;
2. Second violation: 100-game suspension; and
3. Third violation: Permanent suspension from Major League and Minor League
Baseball; provided, however, that a Player so suspended may apply, no earlier than one
year following the imposition of the suspension, to the Commissioner for discretionary
reinstatement after a minimum period of two (2) years.”
So, if it can be proven that a player possessed a banned substance, that’s enough for MLB to punish him. I imagine this part of the agreement could have been inspired by Jason Grimsley.
Now, how you define and prove “possession” is another argument. For example, PEDs were delivered to two homes where Jerry Hairston, Jr. resided, but he claims he never took them. If a package full of steroids is in a player’s home, is that possession?
This is going to get ugly.
Will it be much ado about nothing, or will they actually issue suspensions to major players…..and how much will Uncle Bud be able to work behind the scenes for his boy Braun?
On another topic……. I detest the inter-league play almost on a daily basis. I am wondering if Selig and cronies are trying to blurr the lines between the two leagues to make significant changes in the future, i.e., one league with many divisions; teams changing/rotating divisions; other scenarios may come to mind. I like my traditional baseball, its been modified enough overr the years. Just wondering if anyone else has considered the inter-league issue. Thanks