PEDs, steroids, etc 2012

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