CNN/SI: Gibbons received shipments of steriods

[PoorMike]

I'd like to see the Orioles (or any other team w/a player in a similar situation) go after Gibbons even if they know they have no chance of winning. Expose the Players Association as the biggest roadblock to cleaning up the game and maybe shame them into making more concessions regarding drug testing.

There was considerable dissension among the MLBPA membership leading up to the CBA without which we wouldn't even have current system (weak as it is). Maybe if some teams were willing to air the dirty laundry they could do some good.

I would like to see them go after the players as well.

However, the player association is there to protect the players. They obviously want to make the testing as infrequent as possible with the penalties as small as possible. That's what they are there for. Players don't HAVE to submit to random testing unless they agree to it (a benefit of being a contract employee unlike those of us who work at-will) and many players live in countries where steroids are legal.

I wouldn't expect the MLBPA to proceed in any other way, honestly.

[PoorMike]

Well, two asnwers according to the examiner:

http://www.examiner.com/a-927926~O_s_could_void_Gibbons__contract.html

1) the O's are looking into it

2) there is no specific PED language in the contract (so I was wrong about that)

Makes it seem unlikely.

[geschinger]

I would like to see them go after the players as well.

However, the player association is there to protect the players. They obviously want to make the testing as infrequent as possible with the penalties as small as possible. That's what they are there for. Players don't HAVE to submit to random testing unless they agree to it (a benefit of being a contract employee unlike those of us who work at-will) and many players live in countries where steroids are legal.

I wouldn't expect the MLBPA to proceed in any other way, honestly.

You are correct about the MLBPA but I do think a lot of players would like to see a stronger testing regime. It was a divisive issue for 'em and anything that can be done to put more scrutiny or public pressure on players could possibly lead to positive changes. I'm sure there are a lot of clean players who resent the implication that they too must be cheaters since they play in the so-called steroids era. While I know its unlikely to ever happen maybe at some point we can reach a tipping point where the players and owners can get together and come up with a real solution.

[bernie132000]

This might demand a seperate thread, but there are several articles stating that hGH actually is not a PED. So why does MLB care about this then? These articles also state that hGH is not bad for your health. This was really surprising to me. I guess every week I learn that I can't trust the media to do my own research. What do you think?

http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2007/04/i-dont-worry-about-hgh-in-baseball-and-neither-should-you

http://www.slate.com/id/2162473/nav/tap1/

[Why Not?]

This might demand a seperate thread, but there are several articles stating that hGH actually is not a PED. So why does MLB care about this then? These articles also state that hGH is not bad for your health. This was really surprising to me. I guess every week I learn that I can't trust the media to do my own research. What do you think?

http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2007/04/i-dont-worry-about-hgh-in-baseball-and-neither-should-you

http://www.slate.com/id/2162473/nav/tap1/

The Sun had a pretty good look at this issue today. Essentially, the jury is still out on how HGH affects folks. Some experts think it might help, some think it doesn't. There is no definitive science on it.

[JTrea81]

The Sun had a pretty good look at this issue today. Essentially, the jury is still out on how HGH affects folks. Some experts think it might help, some think it doesn't. There is no definitive science on it.

HGH has been looked at as a fountain of youth, but there are no long term studies on its effects. If there is an excessive amount of HGH taken that's when problems such as the enlargement of organs and other parts of the body occur. The key seems to be the dosage as the pituitary gland does produce less and less HGH as you age, so boosting HGH levels to compensate for that can technically reverse the aging process.

[Flosman]

There is also an interesting study that found that HGH measureably improved eyesight. Which I would think would help baseball players.

[Gurgi]

I remember all the santamonious quotes from Bonds saying no matter what he didnt think anything he took could help him hit a baseball. If it could help him improve eyesite it could help him hit a baseball. Love to find out if this is true.

Maybe I'll just have to go to the park and watch little leaguers play. They get excited when the coach takes them to Denny's for dinner afterwards.

[Jenner8675309]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-steroidsalbany091207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

According to anonymous sources cited by SI.com and the New York Daily News, major leaguers Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus and Jay Gibbons procured performance-enhancing drugs several years ago. An MLB executive said the league wants to cooperate with Soares and "hopefully get ourselves into a position where we aren't learning this information from media reports."

With the playoffs only three weeks away, the season is entering its most critical period. The next leak could involve a key player on a contending team or disrupt the postseason. The New York Times on Wednesday reported that "baseball expects" the names of perhaps 10 more players to emerge as the investigation unfolds. However, sources from the MLB office told Yahoo! Sports that they are unaware of any such estimate.

Soares said the leaks regarding Ankiel, Glaus and Gibbons did not come from his office. His spokeswoman, Heather Orth, said those names were not even on the list seized during the Albany office's raid of the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center, which allegedly sent steroid prescriptions to Signature Pharmacy. However, names Soares provided to the NFL that resulted in disciplinary action were on the list.

Interesting, well SI has another source somewhere. I assumed it was related to the case mentioned above.

[blueberryale77]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-steroidsalbany091207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Interesting, well SI has another source somewhere. I assumed it was related to the case mentioned above.

Wow, what a mess! So it sounds like it could still be some jackhole giving out fake names to the press after all. Do we have any idea if the source is the same one who provided Hairston and Matthews names earlier? This whole thing is so confusing and bogus. People are getting put through the wringer over nothing but a bunch of rumors and innuendo that they committed what amounts to a misdemeanor.

By the way, for those of you anti-steroid crusaders, I'm not saying Gibbons didn't do PEDs... just that this whole investigation farce is a complete joke and is never going to provide reliable information.

[Mackus]

People are getting put through the wringer over nothing but a bunch of rumors and innuendo that they committed what amounts to a misdemeanor.

Is it even a misdemeanor? Don't most of these guys have prescriptions for this stuff?

[Jenner8675309]

Wow, what a mess! So it sounds like it could still be some jackhole giving out fake names to the press after all. Do we have any idea if the source is the same one who provided Hairston and Matthews names earlier? This whole thing is so confusing and bogus. People are getting put through the wringer over nothing but a bunch of rumors and innuendo that they committed what amounts to a misdemeanor.

By the way, for those of you anti-steroid crusaders, I'm not saying Gibbons didn't do PEDs... just that this whole investigation farce is a complete joke and is never going to provide reliable information.

I agree, to say its been "mismanaged" is such an understatement. The association alone (let alone formal allegations, positive tests, etc.) stay with you for life. Its pathetic and the players deserve better. Sure, have a crackdown, but with a topic where everyone assumes guilt you better have the damn proof before you start throwing out names and soiling someone's name and career.

Recockulous.

[24fps]

From the Yahoo! Sports article by Josh Peter and Tim Brown:

"David Soares, the district attorney, praised the National Football League for its cooperation and questioned whether baseball is prepared to offer the same commitment while Albany County prosecutors move forward with their case against Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla."

The article goes on to illustrate how MLB is not quite prepared to be as forthcoming as the NFL, thank you very much.

IMO MLB is missing an opportunity here. The NFL understands that nobody is being fooled these days. If you ask me, at the very least MLB needs better PR advice.

[Jenner8675309]

From the Yahoo! Sports article by Josh Peter and Tim Brown:

"David Soares, the district attorney, praised the National Football League for its cooperation and questioned whether baseball is prepared to offer the same commitment while Albany County prosecutors move forward with their case against Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla."

The article goes on to illustrate how MLB is not quite prepared to be as forthcoming as the NFL, thank you very much.

IMO MLB is missing an opportunity here. The NFL understands that nobody is being fooled these days. If you ask me, at the very least MLB needs better PR advice.

I said that a few pages ago. If my old PR agency had had a fiasco like this handled like this, people would have been fired. AND the situation rectified, or at least the beginning stages.

[bgfield]

This might demand a seperate thread, but there are several articles stating that hGH actually is not a PED. So why does MLB care about this then? These articles also state that hGH is not bad for your health. This was really surprising to me. I guess every week I learn that I can't trust the media to do my own research. What do you think?

http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2007/04/i-dont-worry-about-hgh-in-baseball-and-neither-should-you

http://www.slate.com/id/2162473/nav/tap1/

Might want to re-read these articles, the first one you posted states pretty clearly that it DOES negatively affect your health