PEDs, steroids, etc 2012

The new testing champion!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/sports/baseball/tests-on-dustin-richardson-found-5-banned-substances.html

can i use this thread to say FREE RYAN BRAUN

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/60/6067/88ID100Z/posters/robert-mankoff-i-m-probably-in-the-minority-but-i-would-ve-loved-to-see-mantle-on-stero--new-yorker-cartoon.jpg

Braun won his appeal.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/ryan-braun-wins-appeal-will-not-be-suspended.html

wonder what the "technicality" is

Wasn't expecting that.

awesome

“Major League Baseball considers the obligations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program essential to the integrity of our game, our Clubs and all of the players who take the field. It has always been Major League Baseball’s position that no matter who tests positive, we will exhaust all avenues in pursuit of the appropriate discipline. We have been true to that position in every instance, because baseball fans deserve nothing less.

“As a part of our drug testing program, the Commissioner’s Office and the Players Association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”

!

Interesting local article today about how random testing may not be so random:

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/22/testy-issue-for-jays

"Braun didn't argue evidence of tampering, didn't argue anything about science being wrong but argued protocol had not been followed. A second source confirmed to ESPN investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada that Braun did not dispute the science but rather questioned chain of custody/collection procedure.

According to one of the sources, the collector, after getting Braun's sample, was supposed to take the sample to FedEx/Kinkos for shipping but thought it was closed because it was late on a Saturday. As has occurred in some other instances, the collector took the sample home and kept it in a cool place and possibly refrigerated it. Policy states that the sample is supposed to get to FedEx as soon as possible."

@JordanSchafer
Wow it's time like this I wish I could speak my mind, but I've learned to just keep my mouth shut n stay on my straight path now.

I had to remind myself who he was. The system is slapdash at best.

this means MANNY IS INNOCENT

http://newspaper.li/static/8908c6b8f17988fc2b895915feaf3bf0.jpg

What was the shape of Schafer's prior path?

(Leafy -- right.)

wtf @ collector taking the sample home

dude's probably lonely.

clemenza - is that the first you'd heard about the epic Bautista testings?

Yes--have they been complaining about this for a while? Bypassed me.

no, not complaining. but i've been reading about it for here and there for maybe a year now.

Kurkjian was just talking about Braun's taint.

PEDs 2012: Juice Em Up and Let Em Rip

guess shasta really is gone

so if braun has a bad year the test was right. and if he has a good one he is still taking PEDs.

i haven't seen this before, found this as a comment on a Giants board so it could be common knowledge or.

The big rumor is that Braun was taking a medication to treat genital herpes, that in some form it interfered with the test. It was the cause of his treatment that caused the less than forthcoming responses about specific facts from Braun and others. Who knows the truth, but that’s the rumor.

wait, what happened to Shasta?

pujols had shasta killed when he got out to california. he is buried with the only real copy of albert's birth certificate. rip.

great, a herpes rumor just when I was going to poke my nose into Braun's taint

If a major company wants to throw their case, I'm sure any "independent arbiter" would let them.

That herpes rumor has been around for months over here in Brewerland, but there are now other rumors that the sample tested negative for STDs. Rumors are rumors, as transient as a summer breeze.

Also, tantalizingly, from player rep Chris Narveson: "Put it this way: This isn’t the first time we’ve had issues with the people [in charge of testing] in Milwaukee. There have been other issues with timing."

"but there are now other rumors that the sample tested negative for STDs"

I don't think most STD tests are urine-based.

I'm curious is there actually a public ruling that can be read? Or is this just leaks from MLB and Braun's side?

i would rather people think i was hitting questionable poon than a cheater.

but that's just me.

and possibly Braun i guess.

"There have been other issues with timing."

Word to Artie Fufkin.

"Kick my ass. As a man, I'm asking you to kick my ass." --Anonymous dude who collects MLB players pee in his Edgar Allan Poe-styled basement

yeah when i saw this the first thing i thought of was some random guy hanging out with ryan braun's pee sample for the day

Having fun with Braun's pee sample
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/HathBrad/INTERNET%20DOWNLOADS/ANIMATED%20GIFS/555587017.gif

does anyone else think maybe that switched up Nyjer Morgan's sample with BRAUNDOs?

dick pound thinks so

i did hear ny talk radio for .5 seconds today and heard "clean cut" ryan braun so

they were talking about his circumcision

lol otm

I think this covers the issue better than anything else I read.

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/page/munson-120224/ryan-braun-ruling-raises-embarrassing-questions-mlb-drug-testing

MLB really looks foolish at this point.

Apparently the full decision will be available to read in a month.

MLB really looks foolish at this point.

― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Saturday, February 25, 2012 8:45 AM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they really do! and instead of sucking it up and vowing to improve the testing process they're acting like a bunch of babies about it.

smh at Tim Brown:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AteiDO0Zi2jrpCeMpGSLFnU5nYcB?slug=ti-brown_ryan_braun_drug_suspension_innocent_022412

Yeah, there's definitely a pattern of people who know EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED on both sides...but mostly on the "he cheated" side. (NB: I'm obv a Brewers fan so yes I have a dog in this fight.)

Okay anyone read Will Carroll's piece about the science of this, apparently available on Amazon.com for 99 cents? Based on write-ups like this it kind of sounds important.

huh. that's some interesting stuff.

the sportswriters are treating the situation almost like they did Jeremy Mayfield, despite both situations being extremely different (ie, Mayfield was batshit crazy and reports of his drug use were rampant from many sources).

thanks for the article post....forwarding to a Brewers fan friend of mine who is livid about how the media is treating this.

The guy who put the sample in his fridge speaks:

http://www.jsonline.com/business/here-is-laurenzis-statement-c74c8qo-140750013.html

To be fair I can't really imagine what incentive this guy would have to tamper with the samples, but that's not really the point of Braun's appeal.

Braun should just move on now. The burden of proof isn't on him, he doesn't need to offer theories as to why the sample was a false positive as some sportswriters stupidly suggested.

Why would a sample just randomly develop more synthetic testosterone because it wasn't handled properly? Wasn't there a report that his test was among the highest in testosterone levels ever recorded? And that is something that can just happen if a urine sample sits in tupperware for awhile? That sounds pretty specious to me. Does the premium Amazon article explain the science behind this claim at all?

I mean, obviously chain of custody is important and this case will do a great job of making sure that MLB takes it more seriously in the future, but I think it's fair to wonder about Braun's culpability.

xp Since Will Carroll is not a scientist I doubt he would be able to explain it to even a layperson's satisfaction.

Braun's best scenario is just to be a wrestling heel, smile evilly and hit home runs and celebrate a lot and not give a fuck what anyone thinks. The overly 'umble Giambi approach (along with corresponding skill level falloff) doesn't work at all.

the pettitte approach worked fine, but braun may lack the appropriate religious credentials

Braun should just deliberately hit screaming foul balls at the fans during road games

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/25/pedro-gomez-embodies-the-intellectual-dishonesty-of-the-anti-peds-bloc-of-the-hall-of-fame-electorate/

Not exactly about steroids, but an interesting read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/sports/baseball/the-former-met-bob-ojeda-relives-both-glory-and-pain.html?pagewanted=all

That was mighty fascinating. Shows how little of what's going on with pain, injury and "maintenance" reaches us.

Ojeda says he pre-emptively doubled his drug dose at one point, right? I'd say it's relevant.

also: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/05/29/baseball.steroids/index.html

the new "Braun Rules":

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/6/7/3070914/mlb-mlbpa-drug-policy-changes

http://deadspin.com/5919350/roger-clemens-found-not-guilty

yall gots ta feel me

God bless our government and their efficient prosecutions of medicating athletes!

if the BBWAA ever has the wisdom to induct Bonds and Clemens in the same year, I'd like to go to Cooperstown and cheerlead in a FUCK THE FEDS jersey.

if the crease isn't in your favor folks will think it says "FUCK THE PEDS"

Jesus, thank God, I am so sick of this. Are some people just bitter and jealous. This steroids shit interferes with my enjoyment of the game. What a mean-spirited attitude on the part of the press. Hopefully this will deter some of that.

There's no hope of anyone confessing to anything unless they've already tested positive. The precedents couldn't be more obvious (e.g. cycling, Olympics). Instead of spending tens of millions on perjury trials that go nowhere, the feds should invest in developing better testing procedures.

or they can stop giving a shit

^^^^ x one billion

i guess i can see why you'd want to go after someone who lies to congress, i suppose, but then they shouldn't have been in front of congress anyway.

what is the government's interest in whether bonds was doping? that's bud selig's problem, or, as it turns out, not.

(btw has parliament expressed any interest in joey bats' remarkable transformation?)

What I meant is if they insist on giving a shit and spending tens millions of dollars, spend it on drug testing labs and not on lawyers.

Obviously multi billion dollar industries aren't going to police themselves, saying it's Bud Selig's problem and expecting him to get his house in order without being forced is as likely as banking CEO's or whatever doing the same. The govt has every reason to care, its only choices are to look the other way or to legislate them into changing their practices.

why? how does it change a citizen's life if athletes are doping or not? when wall street fucks up it involves a taxpayer bailout -- nothing of the sort (apart from local governments shelling out for stadiums -- maybe they should investigate) is the case with sports. should the government look into whether pro wrestling is fixed?

bud selig has every incentive to kick dopers' asses if their activities harm the baseball industry. it is far from clear that that is the case. if people had stopped attending baseball games out of their disgust for steroids, i'm sure bud would have been more proactive.

it's sad that hank aaron's record was broken by a dude with an enormous head, but it's hardly a crime.

nothing of the sort (apart from local governments shelling out for stadiums -- maybe they should investigate) is the case with sports.

Exactly, taxpayers are paying billions to subsidize sports.

Industries that pull in billions of dollars per year affect the lives of citizens basically by definition, on account of their size.

It's nothing to do with cheating. The government doesn't investigate sign stealing or the use of video replay or anything else related to the rules of baseball. Stealing signs are against the rules, but not against the law. If you rely on a trans-national network of drug dealers and potentially dangerous substances in order to run your $3B/y business (subsidized by taxpayers who don't receive any of that revenue), then the government has a reason to get involved.

Sports fraud is a federal crime in some countries (not to say that I agree with that, but it exists).

Food for thought:

http://www.wnd.com/2012/06/roger-clemens-and-the-big-government-circus/

A-Rod isn't going to be HOF-eligible for ~12 years, and you know what? A lot more of the sanctimonious voters will be dead or retired by then than ppl are assuming.
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, August 7, 2012 10:45 AM (4 hours ago)

From the Yankee HOF-poll thread.

Are you just assuming it's older voters keeping the PED issue front and centre, or is this based on something more concrete? Tom Verducci, stridently anti-induction (at least in Bonds' case), is 45; Rob Neyer, pro-induction, is 46. I picked those two only because I knew where they stood on the issue, and figured their ages would be obtainable online. So if you're assuming, it would seem like a reasonable assumption, but who knows?

There's just going to be considerable turnover in the electorate in 10-12 years, and we may find out about some already enshrined "users" that will make the whole certainty of good-and-evil shoutfest element look silly.

And if the BBWAA really refuses to elect any slugger (or Clemens) from 1990-2008 by 2020 or so, I can see the HOF (which is independent of MLB) starting to float the idea of getting some other individuals to cast ballots. Which will break the "boycott."

The good-and-evil shoutfest--I find that tiresome in all kinds of contexts.

I agree that if someone who's already in is proven (or willingly admits) to having used PEDs, that would go a long way towards bringing this to a close.

Melky Cabrera +
Out for season

wow, something finally went right for the Royals (in the shittiest possible way)

starting to float the idea of getting some other individuals to cast ballots

something classy.. like the All-Star game vote!

also dammit Melky

Hate hearing about this stuff. Is it too obvious to wonder about the cause-and-effect of a player who establishes a pretty ordinary level of performance for his first five seasons, shows significant improvement in season six, even more significant improvement in season seven, then gets suspended for PEDs?

I hate that this happened because I really dislike this type of cynicism in baseball...I love when players randomly have a great year, hate all the speculation that comes with it (see: Raul Ibanez's 2009, A.K.A. "of course he's on roids"). And now this kind of speculation feels well-deserved.

Just to clarify, my speculation is 100% after the fact--it had never occurred to me beforehand that this was the reason for Cabrera's great season. Especially these days, I just assume no one would be silly enough to risk PEDs. It's not even the suspension, but the public-relations disaster that will be with you for the rest of your career.

it sucks that he basically called Andy Baggerly a liar for reporting what turned out to be true.

I've been cynical of every MLB player since Nook Logan homered in consecutive seasons.

@Buster_ESPN
Melky was like a bank robber who did everything right in his plan to steal millions – right up until moment his getaway car ran out of gas.

Just read something that pointed out a really awkward possibility: depending upon McCutchen, Cabrera has a reasonable shot at the batting title. He has 501 plate appearances, technically one short of the qualifying 502. But if you were to add one extra out, which is permissible if it comes to that, he'd only drop to .3457. I won't bore you with the math, but McCutchen would have to hit .317 the rest of the way (pro-rating his current stats) to win the title. Sounds easy enough for a guy hitting .360, but before this year he'd never hit higher than .286. Not sure when Votto returns, but he'd factor in too.

skrit, there are people who are neither in the BBRAA nor Eddie Slobbo.

Seems the Giants knew about the failed test for awhile (hence, Pence):

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/8/15/3245189/melky-cabrera-suspension-sf-giants-testosterone-peds

Cabrera winning the batting title would be hilarious and bizarre.

we may find out about some already enshrined "users" that will make the whole certainty of good-and-evil shoutfest element look silly.

I have my doubts, since there was a stigma even around weight training until the late 80's. Maybe it'll be something like "I was prescribed steroids to help recover from leg/arm surgery, and kept taking them during the season because they made me feel healthier". It's more likely that some influential HOFers will step forward and say "you have to let these 90's and 00's guys in".

they'll find a way to strip him of the BA title if he wins

I'd almost like to see that put to the test (really, I want McCutchen to win). I don't think they'd ever do that. I wouldn't either--numbers are numbers, and you live with the results.

im now hoping sf makes the playoffs & stays alive long enough (5 games i think) where hes eligible 2 come back & have ppl up in arms abt it

im now hoping sf makes the playoffs & stays alive long enough (5 games i think) where hes eligible 2 come back & have ppl up in arms abt it

― johnny crunch

We'll take new fans any way we can.

In a bizarre attempt to avoid a 50-game drug suspension, San Francisco Giants star Melky Cabrera created a fictitious website and a nonexistent product designed to prove he inadvertently took the banned substance that caused a positive test under Major League Baseball’s drug program.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/exclusive-daily-news-uncovers-bizarre-plot-melky-cabrera-fake-website-duck-drug-suspension-article-1.1139623

Ha ha wow

credit for attempt a creative solutioning.

He's the Stephen Glass of baseball.

BP reposted a Nate Silver article on steroids from 2005 that I missed the first time around:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18053

Famed steroid cop Jeff Novitzky

^^^^
fuck this guy

rip bartolo colon, 50 game ban

Melky Cabrera's website creating associate banned from all mlb stadiums!

xp Perfect time for the A's to get Brett Anderson back whew.

Melky Cabrera's website creating associate

Bummed that I don't get to imagine him hunched over a computer wearing his uniform muttering "what is a Dreamweaver" to himself over & over now

rip bartolo colon

Tested + for formaldehyde

zuh?!

McCutchen's down to .349 all of a sudden. Assuming they don't deny Cabrera the extra plate appearance he needs, I'd say there's an excellent chance he wins the batting title. That'll be fun.

I might want to backtrack on some of those posts from a few years ago about how pro cycling accepts that people might have doped and moves on (assuming no confessions or positive tests) without trying to retro-actively re-assign winners, losers, and record holders like some people want to do with baseball.

Maybe the Armstrong case will give Bud some ammunition for taking away 200 of Bonds' home runs or whatever.

man that would turn me off of mlb pretty hard, hope it doesn't come to that

as stupidly as Bud runs things, others are stupiderer

they'll find a way to strip him of the BA title if he wins

― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Thursday, August 16, 2012 11:30 AM (1 month ago)

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/9/21/3369564/melky-cabrera-batting-title-mlb-rule-change

FANK YEW!

i think that adding on of hitless ABs thing is kind of dumb anyway tbh.

i recognize the logic but it feels wrong

I'd love to hear how Melky's "offer" to disqualify himself went down.

they'll

At Melky Cabrera's request

RONG

AND IF YOU BELIEVE THAT....

holy crap, they strongarmed him into voluntarily surrending 3 WAR. but he's keeping the crystal All-Star bat.

giants are going to need to hustle to make up those wins.

From earlier this week:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mlb-commissioner-bud-selig-league-interfere-suspended-melky-cabrera-wins-national-league-batting-title-article-1.1163397

“We’ll see how it plays out,” the MLB commissioner said after taping an interview with the YES Network’s “CenterStage” in Manhattan on Wednesday. “We generally don’t interfere with that process.”

bartolo colons 38 consecutive strikes championship continues to stand

for purposes of determining the individual batting, slugging or on-base percentage champions,

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/09/21/melky-cabrera-batting-title.ap/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a2&eref=sihp

Not sure if this is genuine contrition, PR, or if there's an invisible hand at work.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/baseball-san-francisco-giants/giants-talk/Melky-plays-his-bad-hand-?blockID=777069&feedID=2796

i get what Ray Ratto is saying and felt it should be posted. i think this agreement works because he is one bat short. baseball is numbers, probably more than any other and he doesn't have enough at bats. that rule should not be enforced and Melky is one bat short, end of story.

didn't somebody come close to winning a title recently under this rule?

Tony Gwynn won a batting title with at bats counted as outs.

The rule was put in place because of Gwynn that year. I thought it happened once in the '40s, too, and the player wasn't credited with the title, but I can't find anything.

Another weird one: Eddie Murray had a higher BA for the season than either league winner (McGee, Brett) because of McGee getting traded to the AL after he'd qualified for the NL title.

Didn't mention the season: 1990.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/8426140/eric-gagne-biography-says-80-percent-los-angeles-dodgers-teammates-were-hgh

The Dodgers were always one of the most suspected teams, not sure why there's so much backlash:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Epeefleche/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_named_in_the_Mitchell_Report_by_team

Choooch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdszenQXkZs

C Ruiz w/out ADHD exemption, 25 games.

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/11/27/3699036/carlos-ruiz-suspended-25-games-for-adderall

(for those of us who didnt know who Chooch is)

saw a blurb on espn or some other show about a shitload of dudes in the nfl taking adderal

then again peds in the nfl - who gives a shit amirite?

never knew chooch was on 4chan

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-01-31/news/a-rod-and-doping-a-miami-clinic-supplies-drugs-to-sports-biggest-names

Open the neat spreadsheet and scroll past the listing of local developers, prominent attorneys, and personal trainers. You'll find a lengthy list of nicknames: Mostro, Al Capone, El Cacique, Samurai, Yukon, Mohamad, Felix Cat, and D.R.

Then check out the main column, where their real names flash like an all-star roster of professional athletes with Miami ties: San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, Oakland A's hurler Bartolo Colón, pro tennis player Wayne Odesnik, budding Cuban superstar boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz. There's even the New York Yankees' $275 million man himself, Alex Rodriguez, who has sworn he stopped juicing a decade ago.

Read further and you'll find more than a dozen other baseball pros, from former University of Miami ace Cesar Carrillo to Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal to Washington Nationals star Gio Gonzalez. Notable coaches are there too, including UM baseball conditioning guru Jimmy Goins.

The names are all included in an extraordinary batch of records from Biogenesis, an anti-aging clinic tucked into a two-story office building just a hard line drive's distance from the UM campus. They were given to New Times by an employee who worked at Biogenesis before it closed last month and its owner abruptly disappeared. The records are clear in describing the firm's real business: selling performance-enhancing drugs, from human growth hormone (HGH) to testosterone to anabolic steroids.

Wow, I didn't read the whole article, but this could blow up big time.

Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler
Remember, MLB suspended Jordan Schafer 50 games in 2008 for HGH. He never failed a test.

yeah, there was a piece in the NYT on A-Rod on Sunday too; more about that shady Toronto doc he'd been treated by.

Gio Gonzalez ‏@GioGonzalez47
I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will ,I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance

Reserving judgment for Kevin Millar's reaction on today's episode of Intentional Talk.

this is dumb

lol gio

if gio gets suspended i am cancelling my mlb.tv

this is my ultimatum to you bud selig

Reserving judgment for Kevin Millar's reaction on today's episode of Intentional Talk.

― Andy K, Tuesday, January 29, 2013 11:53 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

GOT HEEEEEEEEEM

Reports: A-Rod could have been worse

apparently the ingredients in Gio's vitamins aren't on the banned list (see addendum to Neyer's column)

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2013/1/29/3928394/mlb-drugs-scandal-alex-rodriguez-gio-gonzalez-nelson-cruz

too bad a-rod's contracts doesn't have a "if you are suspended for using PEDs we reserve the right to cancel the rest of your contract" clause

do a lot of contracts have that clause these days?

ha, i don't think any of them do - i've never heard of one, in any case. but man, it would definitely save the yankees a lot of trouble right now.

was gonna say, it makes a lot of sense to put something like that in

players union would never agree

from espn chat:

Are the Yankees likely to try to void A-Rod's contract?

David Schoenfield (1:05 PM)
Most likely. They tried to do that with Giambi. But like with Giambi, don't believe they'll win the argument.

i still lol @ a-rod claiming he only used PEDs in texas

didnt Giambi's contract have a PED clause in it which he asked and was granted removal of before signing?

I don't remember that, I agree that the union hasn't permitted it. Apparently Gammons said on MLBN yesterday that they might now, tho.

67% likely I think:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/32414/prediction-a-rods-career-is-over

I mean, no team signed Bonds after his last season, and he could still perform...

remember when everyone wanted A-Rod to get the HR record so we could have it "cleaned"

no

i remember the reluctant opinion that well hey, at least bonds' record will probably fall to a-rod and i guess he's clean, but i don't think anyone "wanted" him to get it. figure the most hardcore oldschoolers are hoping for a minoso-like comeback from hank, tbqh.

Mike Trout is now Bud Selig's Hope

there is no fucking way the yankees are getting out of that contract

i remember the reluctant opinion that well hey, at least bonds' record will probably fall to a-rod and i guess he's clean, but i don't think anyone "wanted" him to get it.

ok. fair point. but there are a lot of people out there who were just shitting themselves with rage because Barry holds that record.

anyway - tis a shame this didn't happen last year, when they could have at least suckered the Marlins into taking it

no, tis not a shame

apparently anthony bosch was in nola taking questions from sb media & said his drugs cure alzheimers

a-rod is fucked

http://tracking.si.com/2013/02/01/alex-rogiguez-performance-enhancing-drugs-anthony-bosch/

Didn't his first PED's admission happen when he was recovering from surgery and wasn't coming back until mid-season? It probably helped him that he didn't have to be out on the field listening to boos and answering reporters' questions right away, and when he did come back, he raked and the talk basically went away (or at least got put on hold). He's not going to come back and "save" the Yankees and be a big hero or anything, but there's no freaking way the Yankees are going to eat that contract so when he's ready, he'll be playing.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ryan-braun-s-name-listed-in-biogenesis-clinic-records-235650670.html

lol

francisco cervelli doesn't seem to have gotten his money's worth

d'ohhh

lol cervelli

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/brauns-explanation-on-biogenesis-is-entirely-plausible/

After Yahoo!’s report was published, Braun issued the following statement:

During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples.

There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list.

I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch.

I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter.

so turns out Bosch is a Cubs fan...

This is good, if not completely baseball-centric:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8904906/daring-ask-ped-question

yeah - I posted that in the Simmons thread - probably his best column in a good while, though like a lot of PED journalism it raised more questions than it answers.

when he talked about the "unnamed athlete" leaving the patch on his balls my first thought was "oh shit, that's Ryan Braun", though I guess it could have been Floyd Landis too.

that said, the one thing you can say in favor of Braun is that he gave a specific explanation to why his name was on that list right away rather than wait a week and make a vague prepared statement the way most athletes do. i don't think we'll ever know what went on with him.

Braun was obv doing shit.

SBN Toronto dude on the history of baseball cheaters. Concise yet exhaustive!

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2013/2/7/3966396/if-youre-not-cheating-youre-not-trying

Simmons' column was weird -- in certain sports people talk about PED's all the time, and in others hardly at all. I couldn't really figure out if he was calling people out on that or not. I also have zero interest in seeing sports commentators fill up hours of talk show time on speculating who might be using drugs.

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/41470620/

have not read this yet but smart ppl on twitter linked to it

roth is great but his metaphors may have gotten a little carried away there

Observations on the PED Culture in Minor League Baseball, 1997-2003

http://daps.tv/source-robinson-cano-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-and-curtis-granderson-to-be-suspended/

ZOINKS

if that's true, daaaaaaang

holy shit.

wow

This should count as Braun's 2nd positive haha

super bummer on granderson, he's a great guy. and I spent like an hour defending him against some asshole who thought he was using. his power surge makes total sense if you look at the numbers! :(

actual rip for the yanks if true

i have my doubts about this but god damnit if true

no one's really running w/ this elsewhere

yeah I can think of a lot of sites that are very trigger happy with this kind of information and nothing

Here's the writer's follow-up:
http://daps.tv/more-info-about-the-rumored-suspensions-of-mlb-stars-cano-rodriguez-granderson-and-braun/?source=front_page_block

Worth repeating that this same guy broke the Melky suspension a full-month before any MSM outlets.

i know baseball players are idiots and whatever but i have a hard time believing that if Braun was using, got caught, and got off on a technicality, that he'd continue. this is 100% homerism by the way.

im assuming he never revealed how he knew abt melky a month early? idk, im sure some mainstream reporters are on this now but yea arent gonna print it unsubstantiated

i have no problem believing that a player would continue to use even after getting caught. after all, after getting caught, he would think "i am an expert in NOT getting caught now, because i know exactly what actions led to me to being caught. man i am so rich"

You cant imagine Braun feels that way though? I mean he won his appeal, but not because he "wasn't caught", given the HOF track he's been on, a PED suspension feels like the worst thing that can happen to him at this point.

then again, if he's using, how much were they helping, and so on

i think the key part is that baseball players are idiots

he would think "i am an expert in NOT getting caught now, because i know exactly what actions led to me to being caught. man i am so rich"

hahahaha

im assuming he never revealed how he knew abt melky a month early? idk, im sure some mainstream reporters are on this now but yea arent gonna print it unsubstantiated

― johnny crunch, Tuesday, March 5, 2013 6:56 AM (2 hours ago)

he has a source that will remain anonymous.

send em to toronto they'll figure out a workaround

Is it hypocrisy to be on the fence about steroids, and at the same time think this is terrible idea?

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/346791/eject-gaylord-perry

no. that is stupid. Could that have headed off the Steroid Era? We will never know.

also lol Harold Hutchison is a long-suffering Brewers fan. His novel, Strike Group Reagan, is forthcoming.

When I first saw the title of the article, I actually thought it was going to be someone making a reductio ad absurdum argument in favor of inducting PED users.

that would make more sense tbh

@Buccigross

Outside the Lines has learned that MLB is preparing to suspend Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun and others connected to Biogenesis clinic in Miam

http://twitter.com/Buccigross/status/342062494002577408

O_O

@daleysports
Sources tell @OTLonESPN that Biogenesis clinic founder Tony Bosch will testify against players; MLB preparing to suspend A-Rod, Braun, etc.

‏@jonahkeri
TWENTY players?! MT @TJQuinnESPN BREAKING: MLB will seek to suspend A-Rod, Ryan Braun and about 20 players connected to Miami clinic.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9301536/major-league-baseball-suspend-20-players-including-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-part-miami-investigation

http://daps.tv/source-robinson-cano-alex-rodriguez-ryan-braun-and-curtis-granderson-to-be-suspended/

ZOINKS

― This is called money bags. (zachlyon), Monday, March 4, 2013 6:28 PM (3 months ago)

that guy is 2 for 2 with the 90 day scoops fwiw.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2013/0429/otl_e_bosch_gb1_600.jpg

welp, the link is gone, but that guy with an inside source called it.

god, could bosch look ANY MORE like a steroids hook up guy?

Of all those players, I'd be most disappointed about Cano.

The players who might ultimately face discipline from MLB include: Rodriguez, Braun, Cabrera, Colon, Grandal, Nelson Cruz, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero, Jhonny Peralta, Cesar Puello, Fernando Martinez, Everth Cabrera, Fautini de los Santos, Jordan Norberto

lol cervelli/montero/f-mart

the great fautini de los santos

has cano been mentioned?

oh, sorry - i clicked on the dead link before but didn't realize cano was in the URL

cano was one of the players mentioned a few months ago yeah

no granderson either...

Dumb question, but does MLB really have grounds for suspending players based on outside testimony? Bosch saying that a player bought drugs from him isn't the same as taking the drugs and failing a drug test (a technicality, but still).

i think there have to be positive tests also

Seriously? Testimony from a noted PED-peddler (as well as documents documenting the sale, I suppose?) won't be enough to give 50 game suspension (a third of a season)? That's ridiculous.

I mean Selig is talking upwards of 2000 games worth of suspensions, I would think the player's union is going to fight this real hard without some more solid evidence - see last year's botched Braun suspension. Kinda feeling like Selig is trying to make up for past negligence here.

they're supposedly going to try to go for 100 game suspensions, equal to two offenses for each player - one offense for turning into the incredible hulk with drugz, and the second offense for lying about it to the MLB.

Which is still like, half a season. Even in cycling you get a two year quarantine.

Based on the NYT story, don't expect such suspensions to happen anytime soon. Also:

I am a committed Yankees hater and appreciate Alex Rodriguez primarily as a figure of amusement, but a 100-game suspension based not on failing a test but on the testimony of a sketchy Miami fake doctor seems more like a “tough on crime” PR ploy than a serious attempt at eradicating performance-enhancing drugs from America’s pastime.

Specifically this seems directed at two players: The aforementioned Rodriguez of the New York Yankees and Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. Both players were very specifically highlighted in the ESPN story. MLB will reportedly seek 100 game suspensions against both of them. The league’s drug agreement reserves 100 game suspensions for second violations. The league’s argument is that lying about associating with Bosch constitutes the second offense. It reads like the actual first “offense” for these two was escaping punishment for prior misdeeds. A-Rod was forced to admit to steroid use in 2009, but he was not suspended and he insisted that he’d stopped using years ago. Braun failed a test, but the MLBPA appealed his suspension and won because his urine sample had been badly mishandled. Both incidents embarrassed baseball, and now baseball is getting them back. (Meanwhile Jeffrey Loria is a free man, but that’s baseball/America.)

Because ESPN had the story first, and because ESPN is (it has been credibly argued) more interested in maintaining its lucrative partnerships with leagues and advertisers than it is concerned with traditional standards of journalism, their report is largely free of any critical take on the implications of MLB’s decision or the many questions it raises. Notably, no one representing the Major League Baseball’s Players Association is even quoted. (In another characteristically ESPN move, the fact that the story of Biogenesis and Tony Bosch was first reported in the Miami New Times isn’t mentioned at all.)

http://www.salon.com/2013/06/05/baseballs_war_on_drugs_going_about_as_well_as_governments/

supposedly after the braun stuff they amended the drug policy thusly -

•Clarifying the rules for violations for use or possession of prohibited substances based on evidence other than positive test results (“non-analytical positives.”)

but maybe this is still the old version of the policy? - http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/pdf/jda.pdf

i control-f'd "non-anlytical" & also skimmed & see nothing unless a player is convicted of drug possession or w/e

ok i even spelled "non-analytical" correctly and nothing

I know I should be punishing myself for listening to cowherd and patrick in the morning but I cant fucking stand them excoriating baseball for PEDs when their cash cow the nfl is built entirely on PEDs and brain damage..

MLB might be going a little OTT but like rob neyer i have trouble feeling much if any sympathy for any of these dudes.

I know I should be punishing myself for listening to cowherd and patrick in the morning but I cant fucking stand them excoriating baseball for PEDs when their cash cow the nfl is built entirely on PEDs and brain damage..

― panettone for the painfully alone (mayor jingleberries), Wednesday, June 5, 2013 10:54 AM

otfm

They also make quite a bit of money on their MLB contract, and have capitalized on PED scandals for ratings many many times.

Not asking for sympathy for alleged/likely "users" -- of substances whose ability to make you a better baseball player are btwn amorphous and utterly unproven -- but I'm sick of hearing Keith Hernandez and analysts who are even dumber talk about the "post-steroid era" leading to increased strikeouts, etc.

Seriously? Testimony from a noted PED-peddler (as well as documents documenting the sale, I suppose?) won't be enough to give 50 game suspension (a third of a season)? That's ridiculous.

Conversely, guys who sell illegal drugs and then turn rat aren't exactly the most reliable sources of good info, are they?

this is good on the actual mechanics -- only way you get "lying" as an offense is under a p broad reading of the CBA, not the drug policy

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=20897

Okay, I don't get american sports. From the article just posted: The lack of precedent will make it difficult for the arbitrator to demand any particular length, but making a player give up nearly a third of his salary, the equivalent of a four-month suspension for any of us shlubs in the real world, may be viewed as rather harsh. How on earth can a four-month suspension for PED's be considered harsh? You should lose your job, as you're unqualified to do it. What is it about the details, that make doing PED's in baseball less of a thing than doing PED's in other sports like cycling or athletics? Is it because it's a team-sport in some way?

50 games is fine for those proven guilty but I feel like assigning it for a dubious offense like "lying" (it's especially stupid because, what player in their right mind is going to just admit to it without a failed test?) is pretty damn harsh. and yeah I think a part of that is that it's a team sport - if a guy like Braun were to be suspended, it's punishing the fans and his teammates as well, and is almost certainly going to be bad for attendance.

But also the answer is that the player's union has a lot of power, and steroid testing was just one of many issues that the players and owners were using as negotiation tactics during collective bargaining.

Also MLB steroid testing is much stronger than it is for other american sports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/report-rodriguez-braun-suspensions-coming-222022284--mlb.html

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and as many as 20 others players at the center of Major League Baseball's investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs are expected to be suspended next week, according to ESPN's Outside the Lines.

The length of the suspensions is not yet known, but ESPN reported in June that MLB was considering 100-game bans for the players connected to the south Florida anti-aging clinic and Anthony Bosch, who alllegedly supplied the PEDs.

i keep reading that like anthony bosch is going to be suspended for 100 games

it's kindof bizarre to me how little-to-zero & vague info is all that exists on this so far and for so long

I had forgotten that Everth Cabrera was on the Biogenesis "list," which is why I suspect he won't be on the All-Star roster no matter how many injuries/back-outs there are.

well nellie cruz

Unusual way of looking at it, I'll give him that:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130710/john-rocker-peds-mlb.ap/?sct=uk_t2_a8

Not sure how the game managed to survive all those years without them.

Did it? When did amphetemine use become widespread, the 50s?

I don't know--'60s for sure. But Rocker's talking about the other kind, which I realize is a whole other argument.

Not to mention stuff like Babe Ruth's sheep testicle injection, Pud Galvin's "monkey testosterone elixir", etc etc

I knew Ruth often had hot dogs directly injected, but I didn't know about the sheep testicles.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/is-selig-preparing-to-use-the-nuclear-option/

@DannyKnoblerCBS
Weiner says players in Biogenesis not bound by penalties in basic agreement. "In theory, they could be suspended for 5 games or 500."

500!

Eleventyquintupledyquadrillion

Twoseventyquadrupledytrillion for pitchers

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/fxA5uNkv5wI_Wmjvg5w0xg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MTI7cT04NTt3PTQyNQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201307111033379902347 MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner speaks during a news conference Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The baseball players' association says any suspensions resulting from the sport's latest drug investigation likely won't be served until next year if the discipline is challenged before an arbitrator.

Union head Michael Weiner says he expects Major League Baseball will notify the union of its plans for penalties in the next month, and the union will maintain that any discipline should not be announced until after arbitrator Fredric Horowitz upholds a ban.

Weiner says that because of the time needed to prepare and hold hearings, the case of any player challenging a penalty won't be decided during this season.

i'm not one to poke fun at balding people, but holy shit, the arrangement of the surviving hair on Weiner's head is fascinating

this shit is ridiculous

did you really think mega-suspensions would be served this year? if they are going beyond precedent?

i thought they would be!

bad news for the Brewers - if Braun is gonna bite the bullet now is the time

no braun will play every game after the break, hit for .400 with 25 HR and 20 stolen bags

this is what the little ryan braun hallucination tells me when I stare at his name in my fantasy roster

Weiner has brain cancer. (Not that I remember his name an hour after I read any union story.)

yikes, I'm a big jerk. :-/

naw, you didn't know. I didn't til I read a NYT story today

i'm sure everyone saw this by now, but:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ryan-braun-suspended-for-rest-of-season/

Well, the first shoe in the BioGenesis case has fallen. Faced with the possibility of having the issue continue to linger into 2014, Ryan Braun has agreed to a deal with MLB, and will be suspended for the rest of the 2013 season, which in the Brewers case, amounts to 65 games.

better link, sorry: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/216496651.html

Braun's statement:

“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization. I am very grateful for the support I have received from players, ownership and the fans in Milwaukee and around the country. Finally, I wish to apologize to anyone I may have disappointed – all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates. I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game I love.”

I hate to admit it but I believed him all along. I dunno, most people who are caught or accused make vague statements but Braun seemed pissed off and denied everything from day one, even had a believable story as to why his name showed up on Bosch's list. Obviously I'm a little biased, the Brewers hadn't made the playoffs for my entire life until 2008 for Christ's sake. Feel a bit manipulated and stupid right now.

on the other hand, lol @ this

Logan Morrison: "You know we're clean. We haven't scored a run in 37 innings." #marlins #braun
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) July 22, 2013

dunno why, but i believed Braun too. :`(

Athlete's dilemma
Sportsmen who take drugs may be prisoners of a different game
Jul 20th 2013

TWO sprinters may have got caught doing it this week. And a cyclist didn't do it, but it is so common in his sport that what he did do without doing it is even more astonishing. "It" is taking performance-enhancing drugs. The sprinters were Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, who both failed drug tests (though both deny wrongdoing). The cyclist was Chris Froome, who without pharmaceutical assistance managed a stunning ascent of Mont Ventoux during the Tour de France.

Professional sport is rife with drug-taking. Getting caught will get you banned, frequently for life. Yet people carry on doing it regardless. Why?

Appropriately, the answer may lie in a branch of mathematics called game theory. This deals with conflicts of interest between parties who know each other's preferences but not their actual intentions or decisions. It then deduces the best course of action for any rational player.

Existing game-theory analyses of doping look at things either from just the competitors' points of view, or from the points of view of both competitors and organisers. Neither of these, though, produces a perfect analysis of what is going on. Berno Buechel of the University of Hamburg and his colleagues have therefore introduced a third factor -- the one that allows sports to be professional in the first place. This factor is the customer.

The simplest game in game theory is "prisoner's dilemma". In the athletes' version, both players will be better off if neither takes drugs, but because neither can trust the other, both have to take them to make sure they have a chance of winning.

Introducing an authority figure, in what is known as an inspection game, should deal with this. If the inspector tests the athletes, and the athletes trust the inspection process to catch cheats, fear of getting caught should keep them on the straight and narrow. Except that is not what seems to happen in the real world. Clearly, athletes do not think they will get caught. And Dr Buechel and his colleagues think they know why.

In a working paper they started circulating among their peers earlier this year, they suggest that the real game being played here has yet another party in it -- the fans and sponsors who pay for everything. In their view, the inspector has several reasons to skimp on testing. One is the cost. Another is the disruption it causes to the already complicated lives of the athletes. A third, though, is fear of how customers would react if more thorough testing did reveal near-universal cheating, which anecdotal evidence suggests that in some sports it might. Better to test sparingly, and expose from time to time what is apparently the odd bad apple, rather than do the job thoroughly and find the whole barrel is spoiled and your sport has suddenly vanished in a hailstorm of disqualifications.

This attitude, however, would result in precisely the outcome testing is supposed to obviate. It would be back to the prisoner's dilemma. Anyone who seriously wanted to win would have to cheat, even if his inclination was not to. In these circumstances it would take a saint to stay pure.

When the researchers turned their hypothesis into maths, it seemed to stand up. The only way out, the maths suggested, was for all tests, and their results, to be reported -- whether negative or not. That would give customers a real sense of how thorough the search for doping was, and thus how widespread the practice. It would also help break the prisoner's dilemma for the athletes.

The authorities in any given sport would no doubt deny that Dr Buechel's analysis applied to them. They would claim their testing regimes were adequate -- and would probably truly believe it themselves. But human capacity for self-deception is infinite. It may thus be that the real guilty parties in sports doping are not those who actually take the drugs, but those who create a situation where only a fool would not.

‏@dylanohernandez 4m
Skip Schumaker: "I have an autographed Braun jersey in my baseball room that I’ll be taking down." Doesn't want son to link him to Braun.

@dylanohernandez 3m
Schumaker said Braun should be banned for life.

‏@dylanohernandez 1m
More from Skip Schumaker on Ryan Braun: "I think he should hand over that MVP to Matt Kemp."

NO PIE EVER AGAIN

"Fuck this guy. I am trading him off of my team in MLB 13: The Show as soon as I get home."

I am so mad that I know who Skip Schumaker is

Name that journalist:

"He is a cockroach. And on Monday, he went splat."

Look at our Ryan Braun meme gallery.

Buster Olney? (he did say that Braun needs to personally apologize to all the players on the 2011 Arizona team)

(christ, fuck Buster Olney. the entire 04 and 07 Red Sox teams shot steroids up to their eyeballs. meanwhile we win one fuckin' playoff series in 30 years.)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RgPg8ESBgAU/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAEHI/V6Jpc7ZLMI8/photo.jpg?sz=80

Hilarious levels of self-righteousness from both of them, really.

ryan braun owns

free ryan braun

Not only does Braun offer an apology so crappy it is still emitting steam, he also sets himself up as a victim in the Big Lie?

Can we talk about carrying his suspension over through all of 2014, too?

Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology?

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/scott-miller/22851223/ryan-brauns-apology-as-hollow-as-his-character

In a wishy-washy confession/apology/bowl of microwave oatmeal released by Major League Baseball early Monday evening, Braun—the 2011 National League MVP who had successfully appealed a positive test for testosterone, only to get sucked into the recent Biogenesis mess—admitted he was "not perfect," a revelation that will surely stagger all perfect humans.

Braun said he "realize[d] now" (that now hangs there like a fat curveball) he had "made some mistakes." He apologized to anyone he "may have disappointed"—as in, it's his fault, but it's also your fault for being such a disappointed naif—and expressed relief about having "this matter behind me once and for all," which is a closing line that should come with a laugh track and a line of elephants playing trombones.

In payment for his "mistakes," baseball will punish Braun by booting him from the remainder of its 2013 campaign. Braun plays for the Milwaukee Brewers, who are currently in last place in their division, with one of the worst records in baseball. This is like being told you no longer have to clean the garage; instead, you can go to Hawaii.

Jason Gay, WSJ
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324783204578622433527292230.html

I'm sure Jason Gay would prefer garage cleaning to playing professional baseball.

Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology? Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology? Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology? Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology? Or, at least, until this PED-laced donkey at least produces a proper apology?

Another Miller quote:

A decade ago, the players sat silent as Don Fehr refused to even think about consenting to testing and dinosaurs like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire terrorized the earth.

sports columnists are just the fucking worst, but we knew that.

zero pity for braun but morbs otm

I'm still confused on what exactly Braun did. are they going to announce something with the other suspensions, or does MLB think it's in their best interests to keep the other players in the dark?

I'm guessing it has something to do with his failed test - if he continued to use after that, I'd be pretty shocked. I'm actually quite surprised by the whole thing, I did not think any of this would make it past the appeals process. If Braun's willing to take a suspension they must have some pretty damning evidence somewhere.

the 50 games are from his failed test, and the other 15 are for his "conduct" last year following the suspension-not-suspension

Ryan Braun, zero de conduite

I'm still curious as to what exactly he took.

Lindbergh:

In light of this uncontested suspension, complaints about an MLB “witch hunt” with respect to Braun sound a little silly. The problem with witch hunts is that if your search is successful, it means that you’ve found a false positive. That’s not the case here. MLB may have gone to great—and perhaps unseemly—lengths to bring Braun to justice (so to speak), but they got their man, and Braun’s capitulation seems to suggest that Anthony Bosch was a more credible source than many reports suggested. It would be nice if MLB could simply trust the process in place and not work outside the system, now that players are routinely tested. But since players have found ways to skirt the system, the league has to do the same if it wants to discourage other stars from paying for banned substances from future shady anti-aging clinics....

If you’re sick of Biogenesis, brace yourself for even messier stories on the horizon. It’s already difficult to draw a philosophical line between banned PEDs and now-routine procedures like PRP or LASIK, to say nothing of non-prescription painkillers or surgeries that work better than ever before. Wait until the real science fiction stuff—genetically modified athletes and Base Wars-style cyborgs—works its way into baseball. Making distinctions between banned and permitted procedures isn’t going to get any easier.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21293

PRP? Is that like TJ surgery?

you know, the magic blood recycling thing (platelet rich plasma)

it's definitely a little surprising that whatever Kobe did in Germany was actually within the rules

Nation Demands Hot Ryan Braun Takes; Sports Pundits Provide Them

I just want to take this time to say how thankful I am that the Cardinals beat the Brewers in the 2011 NLCS because Cardinals fans are unbearable and if they had lost they would never shut the fuck up about this. 7 minutes ago

I'm still bummed about that series but fucking amen

didn't Bill Simmons write that he had confirmation that one very high-profile player fell asleep with a T patch on his balls and subsequently failed a test? right away I thought "uh oh that could be Braun" but really lol if that's true

@JoseCanseco
Your turn bitch tit @AROD

http://twitter.com/JoseCanseco/status/359739643329130497

I just spit out water laughing

I don't think you have to apply testosterone to the balls.

but i can choose to right

Report: Alex Rodriguez Is Looking To Make Deal; Could Face Lifetime Ban

How could he get a lifetime ban? Are they going to nail him for three offenses all at once?

http://squatchmakesthree.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/homer.gif

the Yankees front office has got to be crossing their fingers right now

wait so you can fail a test if someone teabags you am i reading this right

whatever the biogenesis evidence is, it technically does not feature failed drug test(s), which iirc are how players get 50/100/lifetime suspensions. bud is just making shit up as he goes along, and braun was given enough incentive, somehow, to cut a deal and not appeal an arbitrary suspension.

a-rod's incentives are very different and i would expect him and the union to do everything possible to make the yankees pay him what they owe him.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/mlb_bans_in_ped_case_likely_to_drop_9vrYirxam2vt7mihs3UiKI

The strong indications are Major League Baseball will announce all the suspensions in the Biogenesis case this week, including one that could cover the rest of this year and all of next season for Alex Rodriguez, The Post has learned.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1412328.1375157087!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/arod-back-page.jpg

Bud always looks like his car was just towed

passan reporting that everyone linked to biogenesis will accept 50 game suspensions

except a-rod (and i guess gio is off the hook already)

suspensions on Monday

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/8/2/4583842/alex-rodriguez-suspension-biogenesis-ped-deadline

Naive question: is Rodriguez fighting this for any reason beyond collecting salary? He can't possibly be concerned about his "legacy" at this point, can he? Is it that he feels he's being personally targeted? Is there anything driving this besides salary?

98% salary/2% narcissism+perceived injustice, imo

That sounds about right--throw in some outright contempt for Selig and just about everybody/everything right now, too (justified or not).

first time i've rooted for a-rod since '95

I think A-Rod just genuinely wants to play baseball. Everything I read about the guy sounds like he really really loves baseball.

ditoo w/ mook

"I think we all agree that we want to get rid of PEDs," Rodriguez said after playing a rehab game for Double-A Trenton on Friday night. "That's a must. I think all the players feel that way. But when all the stuff is going on in the background, and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, that's concerning for me, that's concerning for present, and that's concerning for future players as well."

Rodriguez told reporters, "there's more than one party that benefits from me not stepping back on the field -- That's not my teammates and that's not the Yankee fans."

When asked to clarify who benefits, Rodriguez responded by saying, "I can't tell you that right now, and I hope I never have to."

Seems to be in possession of secret knowledge about the real killers.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130801&content_id=55508662

With suspensions for players involved in Major League Baseball's Biogenesis investigation expected to come no later than Monday, Alex Rodriguez has reportedly lost any negotiating power he held prior to Friday night, when the Yankees' third baseman made provocative comments after homering in a rehab game with Double-A Trenton.

http://bussorah.x90x.net/bussorah/bussfull/busmar10_files/091910-homer-simpson-d-amp-039-oh.jpg

I was reading an A-Rod article, and I can't believe I never knew that Paul Giamatti is Bart's son.

ARod comes off like an aloof weirdo in most of his interviews. The guy was chatting on Friday like nothing was going on and it was his 'injury' keeping him off the field.

this is so absurd. a-rod's statements were not 'provocative' and tbh it *does* look a little weird having the commissioner's office break all precedent to save the league's flagship team $35m (without a positive drug test).

but the league is so shocked (shocked!) at such insinuations that simply cannot continue negotiations with a-rod lest it break into tears.

too bad a-rod didn't set up a fake website trying to explain ped discrepancies -- he'd have merely gotten 50 games and a league batting title.

washington probably isn't making the playoffs either, maybe mlb should suspend gio the rest of the way and save the nats a little cash. only $2m, tho -- probably not worth the bother

@Dmy53
Hey Antonio Bastardo, remember when we competed for a job in 2011. Thx alot. #ahole

@jonbernhardt 35m
It's hard not to feel for Dan Meyer, but it's hardly Antonio Bastardo's fault he was a reliever with a career 5.46 ERA and 4.5 BB/9.

quite a few unaccomplished performers among the Unholy Twelve

three Mets prospects if you count F-Mart

But one of the places where PEDS are making the the biggest difference is when they help a player beat out another for a roster spot.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/former-phillies-pitcher-dan-meyer-calls-antonio-bastardo-183445198.html

Because we know exactly when each player took them and precisely how much they enhance performance.

I'm curious how much payroll is going to be saved on these 13 suspensions (today's non-Rodriguez 12 plus Braun). I'd go to Cot's Contracts and do the math, but some smart blogger will do it for me within the next hour or two, I'm sure.

peralta was making $6m this year
nelson cruz $10.5
braun $8.5m
a-rod $28m this year, $25m next

the rest are peanuts, i think. the first two will be free agents after the season.

a-rod just got the 211 game banhammer

has his appeal been dooley announced?

good deal for the Yanks, eh?

@Chris_Iott
Press conference with Jim Leyland ended in about 90 seconds. He put an end to it the first time Peralta's name came up.

Ha!

Jhonny-on-the-spot

Mike Puma @NYPost_Mets
Person in Mets organization who spoke to Valdespin: "I'm not sure he realizes he won't be getting paid."

lolololol

howd valdespins bff cano escape all this

Colin Wyers at BP:

What everyone (except for Rodriguez) seems to want is to put this situation behind them. To have it be over. But this isn’t over, and it will not be over, and it will never be over. Welcome to baseball’s post-human future. Athletes in pursuit of the greatest advantage will always find pressure to seek help from any and all corners.... Some of them were punished today, but the reasonable assumption is that at least as many if not more were not, and unless something changes, they will likely get away with it.

This isn’t to say that policing baseball is hopeless or pointless. But when the police arrest a drug dealer, nobody hopes that drug dealing is behind us forever. We understand that rules and laws will be broken, and that some will be caught and punished. MLB and its fans need to accept that there is no “steroid era,” that there are simply just steroids. They need to plan for a future where ballplayers will cheat and get caught and get punished, and stop waiting for baseball to find a cleanliness that it will never have again. Different people can have differing opinions over how we deal with that new reality, and we should be frank and open about those differences and try to find some common ground. But the conversation needs to start happening in the context of reality, not a fantasy that we can put this behind us once and for all.

I wonder if ACES was actually suggesting to their clients that they use Biogenesis products? I doubt a bunch of their clients all coincidentally decided to cheat.

so weird to me that the players union has nothing to say about all this. i know this suggests that there is really firm evidence against these individuals but even then it seems weird.

My takeaway from all of this is that MLB is punishing bigger stars harsher than lesser known players for essentially the same infractions

Very possibly, but we don't know what all the evidence is on individuals.

Asked Monday whether he had used performance-enhancing drugs, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez declined to comment. "I think we'll have a forum to discuss all of that, and we'll talk about it then," he told reporters.

The last seven months have been a "nightmare," New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez told reporters Monday. It "has been probably the worst time of my life for sure," he said, "obviously for the circumstances that are at hand and also dealing with a very tough surgery and a rehab program, and being 38."

From the journalist who brought you "PED-laced donkey."

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/scott-miller/23027018/at-this-point-you-wonder-whether-arod-is-even-the-phonys-real-name

man, the Cardinal TV guys are awful on this. "Will A-Rod get one in the ribs tonight?"

will be interesting how bud & his lawyers justify this penalty w/o use of the 'best interests of baseball' clause

My takeaway from all of this is that MLB is punishing bigger stars harsher than lesser known players for essentially the same infractions

sort of? i mean, no one cares if francisco cervelli/etc. took steroids other than to joke about how they didn't help.

a) the bigger the star, the more embarrassed MLB feels
b) MLB feels like it can do whatever the fuck it wants

if braun had taken his 50 games last year, he'd be fine, just like bartolo : et al. maybe if he'd given the 'i just wanted to help the team win games' line that worked so well for pettitte. but by denying it and challenging the half-assed nature of MLB's program he embarrassed them and got on bud's double secret shit list.

and basically no one in baseball *likes* rodriguez, so he's an easy target. the league would never have hounded david wright or joe mauer like this. and if it just so happens that a suspension can save a certain team from paying $35m to a washed up player, that's gravy amirite

the union should have fought for the others, but they waived their rights for various reasons in an attempt to get it over with. rodriguez has no such incentives -- unlike braun his pay is decreasing, so putting off a suspension saves him money. peralta and cruz will be much more attractive as free agents with their suspensions behind them.

a-rod is a complete prick, but he's getting screwed by bigger, wealthier pricks who are willing to leak all kinds of confidential info to the press if it makes them look better/saves them money. and he still hasn't failed a test! the union is going to have to sac up.

this a-rod stuff is unfortunately overshadowing how capn fist turned into mr glass all of a sudden.

so the appeal will take 3-4 months, he plays the rest of the year -- is that what everybody's writing?

kinda lol that a-rod's roster spot was freed up by capn fist going on the dl again

he plays so hard and human flesh can only withstand so much, just ask andy pettitte

the wendy thurm take

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/mlb-suspends-alex-rodriguez-through-2014-season-12-others-suspended-for-50-games/

In the end, it appears that Selig decided to suspend Rodriguez for the remainder of this season and all of next season because he liked the optics and with the hope that the arbitrator will uphold the punishment in full, or trim it down only slightly, on Rodriguez’s appeal. But unlike league officials, arbitrators must confine their decisions to the language of the agreements. If the language is ambiguous, the arbitrator can hear testimony on the negotiations leading to the agreements to try to flesh out the parties’ intent.

I don't think the answer's clear-cut: will Rodriguez (647) catch Mays (660) for fourth-place on the HR list? Not that it matters. But if I had to bet, I'm not sure which I'd take.

What's that red juice in your locker, Willie?

i'll bet you wanted david brroks' take on the matter:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/opinion/brooks-the-a-rod-problem.html?smid=tw-nytsports&seid=auto&_r=1&

After another satisfying read-through of his own column on PEDs, Mitch Albom clicks Brooks' piece, reaches phrase "partaking in soft core kabbalah," screams in jealous rage, attempts to heave piano through glass window, collapses in puddle of tears.

if only alex had avoided the clutches of scott boras and rejected the dirty money offered by the rangers and yankees

if only he had valued the collective team as much as his own aggrandizement

sigh

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/960/img/photos/2013/08/05/6a/a9/64053b7b62ff4b03b8ae4b66d49b3271-d596e941041b47d78cde14322d174309-2.jpg

so he plays until Thursday?

My understanding is no one knows how long the arbitrator will take. (This is not an appeal to Beelzebud.)

Michael Weiner of the MLBPA sez to expect a November or December verdict.

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/8/6/4592338/alex-rodriguez-appeal-process-biogenesis

#HotSportsTakes

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/70598/hotsportstakes-for-alex-rodriguez-and-johnny-manziel-its-the-same-old-song

I did laugh out loud at "Johnny Clownshoes"

I understand Madden of the NYDN compared A-Rod to Whitey Bulger

(If only he had landed in Boston after the opt-out)

so weird to me that the players union has nothing to say about all this.

oh really?

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/8/6/4594334/mlb-michael-weiner-alex-rodriguez-suspension-drug-program

forget who i saw talking yesterday but they were talking about how theres a smartphone app the union gives(?) to all players that has a bar code scanner & info abt everything on the banned list. i thought that was cool. needs a retina scanner so players dont associate w/ the likes of tony bosch amirite

I love the fact that when this went down and A-rod went back on the field it was against the Chicago White Sox. You have to know there were father and sons just wanting to run on the field together and clobber him.

If Soriano had gotten on, A-Rod would have been up with two out in the bottom of the ninth, man on second, down a run. But he struck out.

The Yankees are pressing--they all love A-Rod, and they're trying too hard to play well for him.

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2013/0807/trout_mike_g_mp_640.jpg&w=640&h=360

all this ped talk has given me second thoughts about photos like this. his neck is so fucking huge,.

That's just a standard Millville, NJ neck, you McCarthyite.

I'm curious how much payroll is going to be saved on these 13 suspensions (today's non-Rodriguez 12 plus Braun). I'd go to Cot's Contracts and do the math, but some smart blogger will do it for me within the next hour or two, I'm sure.

All told, the following from The Associated Press shows what players will lose in salary (and clubs retain) as part of the suspensions. None of the money that is held by the clubs in salary count against the Luxury Tax.
MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS (MINUS ALEX RODRIGUEZ)

Player Team Salary Games Lost Pay

Nelson Cruz Tex $10,000,000 50 $2,732,240
Ryan Braun Mil $8,500,000 65 $3,091,126
Jhonny Peralta Det $6,000,000 50 $1,639,344
Antonio Bastardo Phi $1,400,000 50 $382,514
Everth Cabrera SD $1,275,000 50 $348,361
DL-Francisco Cervelli NYY $515,350 50 $140,806
x-Jesus Montero Sea $292,140 50 $79,820
x-Jordany Valdespin NYM $226,091 50 $61,773
x-Cesar Puello NYM $79,900 50 $21,831

TOTAL 465 $8,497,815
X-on option
DL - Disabled List
NOTE 1: Cruz also loses opportunity to earn $500,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.

ON ALEX RODRIGUEZ:
Lost pay covering 211 games cannot be calculated until appeal is decided or withdrawn, and the length of the suspension and the time covering 2013, 2014 and 2015 can be calculated. If 49 games are served at 2013 rate, total lost pay would be $32,749,268. If 49 games are served at 2015 rate, total lost pay would be $30,562,951.

2013 - $28 million
2014 - $25 million
2015 - $21 million
2016 - $20 million
2017 - $20 million

Assigned to minor league rosters
Player Team Salary Games Lost Pay

Fernando Martinez NYY (AAA) $155,501 29 $24,642
DL - Sergio Escalona HOU (AA) $13,500/month 26 $11,700
Fautino De Los Santos SD (AA) $1,700/month 26 $1,473

TOTAL 81 $37,815
DL - Disabled List
NOTE 2: Players on minor league rosters are to serve completion of 50-game suspensions in the next season they have signed with a major league organization.
NOTE 3: Jordan Norberto is a free agent.

it is definitely not good for the state of MLB drug testing that none of these guys (save Braun) ever failed a test

i think a lot of casual fans prob don't even know that

Pretty interesting piece by Bruce Eder in the NYT yesterday about this Dominican "valet," Juan Carlos Nunez, who worked for these Levinson brothers who have been the agents of ALL the 12 suspended players, and apparently was a middleman for Biogenesis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/sports/baseball/between-players-and-doping-a-valet-seen-as-a-middleman.html

Also this one by Tyler Kepner, with some interesting quotes from dormer Chisox player rep Kelly Wunsch about the "anonymous survey testing" in 2003 and the differing attitudes of players by age.

“For some of the older players, the meat of their careers had been in that sort of Wild West,” Wunsch said.

“They probably didn’t want to see it end; it was fine for them. Like any kind of social change, it’s the younger generation that pushes things, and that was very much in line with what we encountered 10 years ago. It was older players saying, ‘Hey, what the hell do y’all think you’re doing?’ It was a don’t-rock-the-boat mentality.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/sports/baseball/some-players-wind-up-on-right-side-of-scandal.html

Nook!

“In those two weeks, it was just something that kept me fresh,” Logan said. “None of that stuff improves your ability as a ballplayer.”

http://theshadowleague.com/articles/mitchell-reporter-nook-logan-says-he-never-thought-he-was-cheating

‏@BNightengale
Albert Pujols preparing lawsuit against former #StLCards slugger Jack Clark for accusing him of steroids use #Angels

Joke's on Pujols, Jack Clark already went bankrupt back in the 90s...

Surprise, surprise: it is indeed about money.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/397923-a-rod-prepared-to-retire-until?eref=fromSI

arods lawyer denies they ever offered that

The column's called "Truth and Rumors," so I guess you have to decide who to believe. Not sure how much faith I have in A-Rod's lawyer.

heavens to Betsy, something in a $7 billion a year industry (or is it 8?) is "about money"

Oh, I know that, but A-Rod's motivations were a big topic of discussion last week. If that offer was indeed made--and again, truth and rumors--then I think you could discount taking-a-stand/targeted-martyr. (At least the martyr part--he is being targeted.)

"60 Minutes" has learned that members of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's inner circle in February obtained and leaked documents that implicated Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun as well as his own Yankees teammate, catcher Francisco Cervelli, in the doping scandal that has enveloped Major League Baseball.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57598805/a-rod-fingered-fellow-players-in-doping-investigation/

a-rod-fingered-fellow-players

winged heel, fingering

Suspended Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun told stars around baseball before spring training 2012 that the man who collected his urine that tested positive for synthetic testosterone was anti-Semitic and a Chicago Cubs fan in an effort to gather support throughout the game, three sources familiar with the conversations told Yahoo! Sports.

Ryan Braun received a 65-game suspension from MLB for his ties to the Biogenesis clinic. (AP)Braun sought backing from Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, whom he had beaten out for the National League MVP months earlier, along with Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, among others, sources said. He reached out to peers in hopes they would publicly stick up for him following an expected suspension.

he's not even a full-on Jew! c'mon, Braunie :(

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/exclusive-alex-rodriguez-new-lawyer-conflict-interest-brian-cashman-mistress-court-papers-article-1.1431084

This story gets better and better.

Cashman also allegedly shared he “was ambivalent to the use of performance enhancement drugs so long as nothing came back to the Yankee organization.”

I bleeve Gal Pal.

i believe the sentiment, but i seriously doubt that brian cashman is stupid enough to furnish his stalker mistress with any evidence of it

not just anti-semitic, but a cubs fan?

ahaha it's like the ultimate "uh i can't come in to work today... i have diarrhea... and cholera... and my dog died... and my house is on fire..."

gabe kapler: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=21574

he's right that Pujols is fucked no matter what

Wow, never thought an ex-MLBer could write that coherently and resonably, much less someone who looks like Kapler.

He's a smart guy... Also I feel better about my accelerating infirmity if he was shrinking at 26.

yeah I had forgotten how stupidly jacked he was in his mid-20's. that was an awesome read though and like many other well-written pieces it does shed a lot of light on why so many players choose to turn to PEDs

On the very same day that "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" did so well on the Elton poll.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20130822/ryan-braun-admits-ped-2011.ap/?sct=hp_t2_a1&eref=sihp

That Kapler post is great.

i take it no one's buying a word of what Braun's saying

pretty much

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/hayhurst-braun-harder-to-respect-after-apology

@si_vault
Ted Williams would have turned 95 today. pic.twitter.com/FyN7Iy7gzn

@RaymondPettibon
@si_vault @justsext With steroids he'd be hitting .300 at 100. Bad move, that cryogenics.

@PeteAbe
According to the NYC papers, A-Rod (or one of his stooges) is paying people to protest on his behalf at MLB HQ. Can't make this stuff up

Miami Herald tears cover off Beelzebud's goon squad of ex-NYC cops!

They banged on doors, slipped through guard gates and flashed envelopes stuffed with cash. They hired a peddler of performance enhancing substances, paid for stolen documents and canoodled with a potential witness.

Major League Baseball's sleuths, most of them former New York City cops, were described by one witness as "goons" with "big muscles" who bullied their way across South Florida in a quest to nail players involved in baseball's biggest doping scandal....

MLB investigators showed up at Porter Fischer’s doorstep, beginning in February. Fischer, a Biogenesis investor who had taken the clinic records and leaked them to New Times amid a financial dispute with Bosch, told the Herald: “I didn’t want to discuss anything with them, but they kept hounding me almost every day, telling me I was in danger and offering me money.”

His sister, Suzanne, concurred, telling ESPN that several “goons” with “big muscles” pounded on the door to the home they shared with their mother, shouting “We’ll give you money!”

http://www.baseballnation.com/hot-corner/2013/10/7/4811308/the-commissioners-goon-squad

~ legacy ~

http://www.drudgesiren.com/siren.gif A-ROD LIVE IN STUDIO WITH MIKE FRANCESA http://www.drudgesiren.com/siren.gif

if Selig gets cut off at the knees w/r/t public opinion AND
A-Rod gets a lifetime ban

then

EARLY CHRISTMAS

francesa is p unprepared for this interview

a-rod belongs on sports radio when he retires

1st clip on sportscenter was this interview, mike is gonna gloat abt this exclusive interview 4evr

Hot Stove, Cool Opinions

http://extramustard.si.com/2013/11/21/peter-gammons-alex-rodriguez-is-like-the-boston-marathon-bombers/

so, aging faster than Scully

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/26/murray-chass-thinks-craig-biggio-did-steroids/

i miss FJM. it's always weird to read about murray chass being a shithead without their covering it.

This is pretty great, esp in the era of "NFL player test positive for exogenous EPO in 2014, receives 4 game suspension":

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/10261642/mlb-hall-fame-voting-steroid-era

http://deadspin.com/bobby-valentine-suspected-ruben-sierra-of-roiding-was-1498067141

Valentine alleged that he suspected Ruben Sierra of being on steroids in the late 80's when the Rangers star showed up at spring training noticeably larger while knowing the outfielder wasn't much for lifting weights. Valentine stated to WFAN that he attempted to investigate what Sierra was up to, but was told to stop. When pressed for names, the then-Rangers manager declined to answer—stating that "it was a long time ago."

He opened by dismissing claims Mike Piazza used performance-enhancing drugs as reason for the slugger's exclusion, stating that "for most of the time, nobody even cared; why would anyone take notice?"

The WFAN interview took a few odd turns; Valentine alleged all three of this year's HOF inductees "manipulated the system," claiming Frank Thomas drew walks by "jumping out of the way from inside pitches" while Maddux found success by "using pitches that moved."

"using pitches that moved"

GASP

haha he is so terrible, why does anyone pay attention to anything he says

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10270220/alex-rodriguez-discussed-accepting-lesser-suspension-source-says

As the day for arbitrator Fredric Horowitz to rule on Rodriguez's appeal of his 211-game ban draws near -- some think it could come as soon as Friday -- the beleaguered slugger has discussed the possibility of accepting a reduced ban without attempting to get an injunction delaying his punishment, according to a source in A-Rod's camp.

According to the source, a suspension longer than 100 games will likely lead Rodriguez and his attorneys to pursue a temporary restraining order against Horowitz's ruling in federal court.

If he is given a shorter suspension, however, "then Alex will have some things to think about," the source told ESPNNewYork.com.

well maddux and glavine did benefit from strike zones no mere mortal could coax from an umpire later in their careers but thats mostly a function of them being really fucking good

Just caught the last few minutes of 60 Minutes--what a laugh at the end. "Part of (Selig's) legacy will be the establishment of the toughest anti-drug policies in all of professional sports." (Low whisper: "We should also mention he spent a decade looking the other way.")

@BNightengale
Will Smith of the #Brewers organization becomes 1st player suspended since Arod receiving 100 games for amphetamines and recreational drug

@BNightengale
Will West of #Brewers gets suspended, not Smith

the will will west

lol I was gonna say we just traded Nori for that guy, he better don't

Love that Selig's Brewers and Yankees are basically keeping the PED testing afloat. No commissioner has been harder on PED abuse!

well maddux and glavine did benefit from strike zones no mere mortal could coax from an umpire later in their careers but thats mostly a function of them being really fucking good

― panettone for the painfully alone (mayor jingleberries), Friday, January 10, 2014 9:32 AM (4 days ago)

I don't know, I watched the '98 playoff game with Glavine against the Padres that mlb classic has on Youtube recently and it was weird seeing those outside strikes again.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/44350/jack-mcdowell-says-ped-users-in-hall

No surprise here (and I'm assuming he's not just referring to amphetamines), but I think there will need to be names attached for this to actually change anything. If that happened, who knows.

Small study suggests actual performance enhancement: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/02/18/athletes-improve-eyesight-virtual-training/

"moralizing baseball writers remain willfully oblivious to the fact that PED users are in the HOF" is the new "moralizing baseball writers remained willfully oblivious to the use of PED's in the 90's"

We've had this discussion before, maybe even on this thread, but because it's my own position, it's something I always want to clarify. I don't think moralizing describes all writers who don't cast HOF votes for PED users. If so, I think it would follow that the same writers would want Ty Cobb removed from the HOF, and there's no evidence of that; probably some would be fine with Rose in there too. My own ongoing uncertainty about PEDs, rightly or wrongly, is wholly based on the idea of an uneven playing field, and I think that's also true of some of the writers.

You don't specifiy all writers, though, so maybe you'd agree with that.

That's exactly what bothers me about this issue -- those same writers *never* moralize about anything except for the supposed advantages gained by taking PEDs, or more specifically, PEDs tajeb after 1994 (widespread use of PEDs (amphetamines) in the 60's and 70's aren't a problem). If they would apply the "morality clause" less selectively and also argue against keeping the Ty Cobbs and Pete Roses out of the HOF then I could respect their opinion just a little bit.

When all sorts of bad stuff came to light about Mantle and Puckett (to name two), people were shocked and disappointed, but I don't remember anyone saying they didn't deserve to be HOF's.

And the definition of "uneven playing field" can be stretched a bit too, e.g. Babe Ruth had an "unfair advantage" because he only played against white players.

tajeb after 1994

taken after 1994

What I want to see, in short, is more consistency in their positions. You can't arbitrarily apply a "morality clause" against the people you don't like. If it's about keeping a level playing field, then you have to rethink all cheaters and drug users who played, not just the ones who were stars in the 90's. If it's about keeping "bad guys" out of the HOF, then that's something else entirely. But what we're seeing is writers staking positions on players they don't like and giving totally arbitrary reasons to "support" their stances.

My own ongoing uncertainty about PEDs, rightly or wrongly, is wholly based on the idea of an uneven playing field

This is where I cite Bill James' comparison of letting guys play with no effective drug penalty to never calling traveling in the NBA, then trying to vilify such players 20 years later.

I know, but you're still starting with the assumption that they're moralizing about PED players. Some writers may be perfectly consistent: PED out, because I think they had an on-field advantage, Cobb in, because his racism created no on-field advantage. Not all, but some.

Ruth (and Cobb) definitely had an unfair advantage when judged against anyone who played post-Robinson. They didn't have an unfair advantage against their contemporaries: everyone played in a segrated league.

But even with traveling, it's not that some players are allowed to travel and some aren't--when I watch basketball, it looks like everyone travels. If you believe that everyone was taking PEDs, okay. I don't.

ban morbs for mentioning another sport

Exasperated media published on March 4:

http://www.freep.com/article/20140304/SPORTS02/303040023/detroit-tigers-st-louis-cardinals-jhonny-peralta

Jhonny Peralta isn’t a St. Louis Cardinal because he violated baseball’s drug policy. He’s a Cardinal because he got caught violating that policy.

This put the Tigers in a squeeze last season when Peralta was about to be suspended, forcing the team to trade for another shortstop, giving up a valuable prospect — Avisail Garcia — in return.

That shortstop, Jose Iglesias, didn’t play Monday when the Cardinals took on the Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium.

But Peralta did, reminding Tigers fans what baseball justice looks like.

Cheat. Serve time. Move on. Come back. Blast two homers against the team you hurt. This end result isn’t Peralta’s fault, per se; he’s just navigating the system that employs him.

BRING THE PAIN!

Bosox' butthurtedness on Peralta led to stiffer penalties

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/after-facing-jhonny-peralta-in-alcs-boston-red-sox-fought-to-change-ped-penalties-041014

Poor World Champions

Two leaders of Major League Baseball's investigations unit are among five employees to leave following last year's drug inquiry that led to suspensions of 14 players....

MLB said Thursday the department is now handling "wide-ranging areas" and "felt compelled to restructure in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its investigative capabilities."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10869005/top-mlb-officials-leaving-invstigations-unit-restructuring

29yo orioles minor leaguer eddie gamboa was suspended 50 games today for 'exogenous testosterone'

which is kind of interesting because he is a knuckleballer

Exogenous means it's applied on the outside, ie the surface of the baseball

what will they think of next

A knuckleballer who didn't want to have kids, perhaps.

xp

(They've probably thought of knuckleballers who don't want to have kids.)

the ol' ADD exemption

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/7/23/5930893/cameron-maybin-suspended-padres-amphetamine-add

remember when he was a five-tool prospect?

http://www.makeandtakes.com/wp-content/uploads/kidscookingtools3.png

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/tony-la-russa-put-steroid-cheats-baseball-hall-fame-asterisks-article-1.1880787

“I knew our programs in Oakland were 100% clean,” said La Russa, who managed the A’s from 1986-1995. “But we had our suspicions — guys hitting stronger but not working out. I went to Sandy and ownership about this. And they told me flat off, ‘Right of privacy. It’s a collective bargaining issue.’ ”

This guy's supposed to be a genius or something? Sounds more like he got his JD from a Florida school.

@JoeGiglioSports
In order to take down A-Rod, MLB worked with a drug dealer that distributed PEDs to 12-17 yr olds in the Dominican.

@jay_jaffe
MOAR BIOGENESIS RT @TJQuinnESPN: Two law enf. sources tell me investigation revealed previously unnamed MLB players. Expect more suspension

Two most common responses I've gotten on unnamed players are "please be Ortiz" and "please be Jeter."

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) August 5, 2014

Ortiz?!

people've wanted that for years now

had no idea... i guess mainly because he's "well liked"?

did you not follow the price/ortiz stuff at all

hits a lot of homers for an old guy, is a boston red sock, has been a boston red sock through all of their annoying incarnations, will probably end up in the hall of fame without really deserving it, is kind of a dick now, never gotten the impression that he's well-liked outside of boston maybe except for ~2004

>price/ortiz stuff at all

no idea. i really don't read much baseball outside of scores/stats!

It's better that way

i think it mostly just comes down to people suspecting he's on roids

Ortiz was supposedly one of the hundred or so players who tested positive in '03, before there were any penalties for taking PED's. So it wouldn't be Ortiz's first time getting caught (allegedly).

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/08/05/biogenesis-tony-bosch-more-mlb-names-could-be-leaked/13641293/

"Are drugs ever going to be out of the game? No," Kirk Radomski, the former New York Mets clubhouse attendant who was convicted for distributing steroids in 2007 to baseball players, told USA TODAY Sports.

"I still get guys calling me, asking me how to get to that next level. There are a lot of guys out there beating the system.

"There probably are going to be a bunch of guys who are worried now that the feds are involved."

Dan Connolly ‏@danconnollysun 4m
Waiting on official word but hearing Chris Davis has tested pos for amphetamines. 25 game suspension

now official

The 25 games shall include all regular season games and Postseason games in which the player would have been eligible to play.

and so close to the mendoza line too

wonder when the failed test was, like if it was announced a week ago he'd be back by postseason

Assuming he's telling the truth, why wouldn't Davis request an exemption for using Adderall, especially if he's had exemptions in the past? Or maybe that's the whole point (nobody could possibly be so stupid, that is) and he's lying?

yeah, kind of weird. anyway, whatever -- everyone pop some greenies

@DBWilson2
Buck on whether it's fair to judge Davis' 2013, and really just on life. "What is fair?"

buck makes u think

Rodriguez also described how Bosch gave the ballplayer “tips on how to beat MLB’s drug testing,” according to the DEA report.

The secret? According to Rodriguez, “Bosch advised him to only use mid-stream urine for MLB drug testing. Bosch told Rodriguez not to use the beginning or the end urine stream.”

It worked. A test he took while using the drugs came up negative.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/article3578762.html

This may have some effect:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12289319/commissioner-rob-manfred-says-hall-fame-voters-surmise-ped-use

potentially fit for this thread or is it teh crack again?
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-josh-hamilton-20150224-story.html

Id be happy if it was PEDs and not crack

yeah same

@Ken_Rosenthal 43s43 seconds ago
Asked a baseball executive if Hamilton’s discipline was for PEDs. His response: “Worse.” The executive declined to elaborate.

was about to post that. hamilton did 9/11. see u in guantanamo josh

PEDs are worse than cocaine

wait what no what am I sayin I'm drunk

More:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25081902/angels-josh-hamilton-admits-to-relapse-involving-cocaine

Damn. How did MLB find out about it if he didn't fail a drug test?

Apparently he told them...

the drug of abuse suspension policy of mlb sort of rubs me the wrong way.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/marijuana-and-the-joint-drug-agreement/

this is some Kenny powers shit

As others have noted, the stark differences between the MLB and minor league rules for marijuana use raise the possibility that some minor leaguers could try to openly use marijuana in order to force their teams to promote them to the 40-man roster. While this strategy may not work for ordinary minor leaguers, for top prospects it is not inconceivable that a team would choose to promote a player to the 40-man roster to ensure that the player would only be fined, not suspended, for his marijuana use. Otherwise, the team could see any marijuana-using top prospect sidelined for 50 or more games for a violation of the minor league drug rules.

ervin santana, 80-game suspension