Who’s Next for DL, Albert Pujols and PEDs
MetsmerizedOnline hears from scouts around the league that Francisco Rodriguez could be the latest Met hiding an injury. The same article also displays some frighteningly awful numbers from K-Rod since the All-Star break.
Also on MMO, Joe D wonders if the Mets were duped in the Billy Wagner deal — and predicts dark days ahead.
Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer says we still don’t know if MLB players are clean — and invokes the name of Albert Pujols.
In somewhat related news, the courts have decided that federal agents were wrong to seize the infamous drug list and samples of 104 Major League Baseball players who allegedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. Hard to take a stance on this one. On the one hand, the players’ rights of privacy were infringed upon. On the other hand, the wrongly-obtained evidence did show that many broke the law by taking illegal drugs and drugs without a prescription. As a result of this decision, Barry Bonds remains “innocent” and Victor Conte looks like a whistleblowing civil rights activist, rather than the fly-by-night drug-peddling shyster depicted by Game of Shadows. It’s up to you to decide who’s right and who’s wrong.
Back to the Mets, Metsgrrrl Caryn Rose has a primer for the team on how to be more fan-friendly.
Raul Ibanez Can’t Read !
But he sure can hit.
A big hullabaloo focused on Raul Ibanez’ caustic response to the suggestion that he’s on PEDs has permeated all sports media today. I resisted for hours, then finally chose to investigate the whole story. In the end, I believe Raul Ibanez when he says he did not ever take steroids. However, he needs to convince me that he knows how to read.
For the record, it’s not entirely Raul’s fault for all the excitement. Rather, it should be pinned on John Gonzalez, who obviously knows how to read — he’s a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer — but apparently does too much “skimming” and not enough “perusing”.
Because if you “peruse” the blog post in question, it turns out that the 42-year-old typing in his mother’s basement (actually, I don’t think he’s that old, but that’s how the classy Ibanez refers to bloggers) actually wrote a several-pointed defense AGAINST the possibility that Raul Ibanez is on PEDs. Read it yourself, and you will agree that Jerod Morris’ article does much more defending than accusing.
Other responses to this ridiculous situation:
RaysIndex calls out Jon Heyman as a hypocrite when it comes to PEDs speculation.
Joe Posnanski, a friend of Ibanez, writes a balanced piece on the debacle. As always, Posnanski “gets it”, and in this post, offers the most plausible reason for Raul’s hot start.
Geoff Baker writes a soapbox-style article about journalism vs. blogging that is so long-winded it wouldn’t fit on Faith on Fear. Ironically, this “journalist” did not do that “journalisy” thing called fact-checking — from his article, it’s clear he did not read Morris’ post. (And for the record, Geoff, the REAL difference between journalists and basement bloggers is that we “BBs” interact with our readership, while you sit perched on a pedestal in your soundproof booth and spout out one-way conversations … you know, like a fascist dictator.)
Big League Stew on Yahoo Canada gives a blow-by-blow account of the controversy.
Manny’s Performance Enhancement for the Bedroom
As it turns out, the drug that Manny Ramirez tested positive for was a SEXUAL enhancer, not unlike Viagra.
According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown and Steve Henson:
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the substance is supposed to boost sex drive. It is not Viagra, but a substance that treats the cause rather providing a temporary boost in sexual performance, the source said.
According to Manny’s official statement:
“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”
So there you have it — Manny was indeed trying to hit more homeruns, but in the bedroom rather than the ballfield.
A-Rod Tested Positive for PEDs
According to four independent sources, SI is reporting that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.
The results of that year’s survey testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner’s office and the players association. Rodriguez’s testing information was found, however, after federal agents, armed with search warrants, seized the ‘03 test results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., of Long Beach, Calif., one of two labs used by MLB in connection with that year’s survey testing.
A-Rod was approached by reporters at a Miami gym, and he did not deny the accusations:
“You’ll have to talk to the union,” said Rodriguez, the Yankees’ third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, “I’m not saying anything.”
Reportedly, Rodriguez tested positive for both testosterone and a steroid known as Primobolan.
Another Met Suspended for PEDs
Mets minor leaguer Kyle Suire has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Suire was found to have metabolites of Stanozolol in his system. Stanozolol is the same steroid that Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson had in his system in 1988, when he won a Gold Medal which was later rescinded.
Suire, an infielder for the Kingsport Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones last season, hit .297 with 9 HRs in 182 ABs, posting a .918 OPS for Kingsport. The 5′11″ second baseman is the second Mets minor leaguer to be suspended for PEDs this month. AAA pitcher Junior Guerra was disciplined two weeks ago for using Nandrolone.
Is this a concern? Of course, though the incidents are clearly independent of each other; Guerra — a converted catcher — was not in the Mets’ system last year, and in fact has not played in organized ball since 2006 when he was in the Braves’ system. Still, it’s disconcerting that PEDs have infiltrated the Mets’ low-A ball team. We can hope that Suire was indulging on his own … but no one can know for sure.
J.C. Romero Busted for PEDs
MLB has suspended Philadelphia Phillies reliever J.C. Romero for 50 games for violating the league’s drug policy.
Reportedly, MLB offered to cut the suspension in half — to 25 games — if Romero agreed to sit out the postseason. Romero declined the offer and filed an appeal instead.
Romero won Games 3 and 5 of the World Series, and had a perfect 0.00 ERA through 7 1/3 IP in the postseason.
Interestingly, the substance that Romero claims he took — something called “6-OXO Extreme” — is a legal supplement that can be readily found in nutritional chain stores such as GNC.
There is a long sob story about how Romero didn’t know that the product he was supposedly taking would produce androstenedione.
“Basically, I am being punished for not having a chemistry lab in my house to test everything I put in my body, because reading the ingredients on a label is no longer good enough,” Romero said in a statement. “I am all for catching the guys that cheat and punishing them. But I feel like I’m the victim of a system where a player like me is punished because other players before me have blatantly broken the rules.”
Wah wah. Excuse me if I don’t empathize. Perhaps it’s because if someone handed me $4M per year to appear for 5 minutes in 75-80 baseball games, with the caveat that I cannot have a specified list of chemicals in my body while doing so, guess what? I’m going to make damn sure that those chemicals are not in my body.
And how can we be certain that Romero wasn’t knowingly taking andro, and blaming the positive test on 6-OXO Extreme? According to reports, the supplement has been known to possibly contain traces of andro, despite not listing it on the label. Players know this, and several had called the MLB hotline to find out its status (apparently, Romero was not one of those players). Sounds to me like the supplement was a nice scapegoat.
Which leads me to another point. It’s not as though players are clueless and have no recourse when it comes to questionable supplements. In addition to being given an exact list of substances one cannot have in their urine test, players are also educated on the dangers of OTC supplements every spring, are provided the hotline and a website, and are given a list of 12 manufacturers that produce supplements that are safe. You want to go outside that safe dozen? Make a phone call. Check the website. Make certain what you’re taking is in compliance.
Regardless of whether Romero is guilty of taking a banned substance or of sheer stupidity, he’ll be out of action for the first 50 games of 2009 — until about June. In case you’re wondering, the Mets play the Phillies five times before June, then have a three-game series with them beginning June 9.
In addition to the suspension of Romero, MLB also suspended former Marlins pitcher Sergio Mitre for 50 games — also for taking a banned substance that supposedly was in an OTC supplement. Mitre recently signed with the New York Yankees after an injury-riddled career in Florida.
The substance Halodrol was found in Mitre’s system. Unlike Romero, Mitre owned up to his mistake — only the second player in MLB history to take responsibility (Guillermo Mota was the first):
“I did take the supplement in question, and accept full responsibility for taking it,” Mitre said. “It contained a `contaminant’ amount of an illegal, performance-enhancing drug. This was not listed as an ingredient on the packaging, should not have been in the supplement and certainly should not have been available for legal purchase at a store. Despite this, I do accept my punishment because, as a professional, I have a responsibility for what I put into my body.”
Henry Owens Suspended for PEDs
Former Mets farmhand and current Florida Marlin reliever Henry Owens has been suspended by MLB for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Hat tip to MetsToday reader Schmidtxtc for alerting us.
After emerging as a potential setup man in early 2007 (posting a 1.96 ERA in 22 games), Owens suffered shoulder injuries that eventually led to rotator cuff surgery that August. He spent most of 2008 rehabbing, and it can be surmised that the undisclosed PED may have been used to accelerate the recovery.
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