Teams should just say no
posted: Friday, December 21, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: MLBBaseball has a drug-testing system in place, and a first-time penalty of 50 games. But if we learned anything
from the Mitchell report, it's that limited penalties don't seem to be much of a deterrent, and neither does the prospect
of being publicly outed as a drug user. In fact, as more names come out, the stigma seems diminished.
It is clear that some players are weighing the possible risks and rewards and making a calculated business decision
on whether to use performance-enhancing drugs. And you know what? All the evidence to date is that it pays.
Guillermo Mota
tested positive for steroids and earned a suspension last season, and the Mets gave him a $5 million deal.
Jose Guillen
was named in a report about HGH, and Major League Baseball generated enough compelling evidence against him to suspend him
-- yet Guillen just signed a three-year, $36 million deal with the Royals. The bottom line is that players know their bottom
line may well be rewarded for PED use.
But here's something that would change the equation: Individual organizations could simply make the decision to not
hire or retain players suspended for the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Such a stance would be problematic, complicated by contractual obligations and labor laws and competitive realities,
and a couple of executives who mused over the idea this week believe that it might be impractical. Others, however, think
that teams that adopted this stance would ultimately be viewed as visionary.
Here's how it would work: Say, for example, the Chicago White Sox announced that beginning on April 1, 2008, its organizational
policy would be to not employ players who had been found to use PEDs.
If you have tested positive for PEDs, the White Sox will not acquire you. If you are a minor leaguer in the White Sox
organization and you test positive, then the team will work to trade you ASAP. If you are a White Sox player on a one-year
contract and you are linked to PEDs, the team will look to trade you ASAP, and if that becomes impossible, then at year's
end, the White Sox will not tender that player a contract. If you are a White Sox player on a multiyear deal and get linked
to PEDs, the organization will attempt to deal you away ASAP, within the limits of the trade deadline.
The competitive realities: Such a policy may compel the White Sox to dump a player important to their championship
hopes, or to take less than fair value in a trade. There inevitably would be teams that would embrace the opportunity to take
good players no matter their drug history -- as we have already seen, time and again.
Major League Baseball couldn't adopt such a policy because of labor law, and it may be that the White Sox or any team
attempting to separate itself from players linked to PED use would be challenged by the union.
But if the White Sox made it clear they would work to not employ players linked to PEDs, they would be sports industry
leaders, setting a high-ground standard that other teams might inevitably follow -- whether because respective owners believed
this is the right thing to do, or because of mounting public pressure. In time, any team adopting that stance might conceivably
receive legislative backing from Congress, which is seeking to find ways to get a grip on this issue.
Either way, such a stance would alter the risk/reward considerations for players thinking about using PEDs. If 20 of
the 30 teams set policies against the hiring and employment of proven PED users, players would have a serious practical reason
to pause before making the decision to drug up.
•
Roger Clemens got
an assist as he defends himself against charges of PED use: A released affidavit shows that the was wrongly named in a newspaper report
last year. The L.A. Times acknowledges
it blew the affidavit story last year, within this piece.
•
Goose Gossage tells Bob Klapisch that if Clemens cheated, the Rocket's
numbers mean nothing.
• Clemens is in
the biggest jam of his life, writes Steve Campbell.
Joba Chamberlain is
standing by Roger Clemens, writes John Delcos.
Derek Jeter says fans should wait for more information before making
a judgment on Clemens, George King writes.
John McCain says
he's very disappointed in Roger Clemens.
• Nothing can change the fact that
baseball's history is stained, writes Harvey Araton.
• The
Hall of Fame debate on Clemens and
Barry Bonds is already in full swing, writes Jack Curry.
•
C.J. Nitkowski considered taking PEDs, but
decided against it, writes Michael Rosenberg.
• The Mitchell report may have
fallout in Australia, as James Christie reports.
• Some former Blue Jays were
named in the Grimsley affidavit.
• A
two-tiered Hall of Fame would solve the problems of how to handle suspected users, writes Richard Griffin.
• Bill Conlin wonders if
the juice or cocaine era was worse in baseball history.
• Dan Naulty tells Jack Etkin he would have spent
zero days in the major leagues if he hadn't used performance-enhancing drugs.
Says Naulty about his path to the big leagues: "I didn't do this right. I cheated. I screwed people. I lied. I did
everything you possibly could do all for the sake of money and potential fame. That's not a good thing."
• The Mitchell report has
an upside, writes Tracy Ringolsby.
• The Cubs' proposed deal for
Brian Roberts is
still alive, in spite of what we learned in the past week, Gordon Wittenmyer writes.
• Officials are skeptical they will be able to deter
the use of HGH at the 2008 Olympics, writes Amy Shipley.
PED FREE ZONEHeard this: If all goes well in spring training for the Yankees, Joba Chamberlain
is likely to start next season in the Yankees' bullpen, as part of the team's effort to limit his innings. Chamberlain will
go to spring training and, at the outset, prepare to pitch out of the rotation, along with five other rotation candidates:
Chien-Ming Wang,
Andy Pettitte,
Phil Hughes,
Mike Mussina and
Ian Kennedy. Assuming that
none of the other five has a physical or performance breakdown, Chamberlain would then open 2008 in the bullpen, as a set-up
man, for at least the start of the season -- under the Joba Rules.
The Yankees want to restrict the number of innings Chamberlain throws, and working him out of the bullpen for at least
a couple of months will allow them to do that. Chamberlain may return to the rotation sometime in the middle of the season,
depending on the Yankees' needs.
• Santa Claus, apparently a Mets fan, asked
Omar Minaya if the GM plans to add
a starting pitcher, writes Steve Popper.
• Tom Haudricourt writes that Milwaukee is signing
Gabe Kapler --
a tremendous fit for the Brewers, who could use a veteran who has been through the late-season and postseason wars.
The departed
Geoff Jenkins had a special place in Milwaukee history:
|
MOST 20-PLUS HR SEASONS WITH BREWERS |
| Geoff Jenkins |
7* |
| Jeromy Burnitz |
5 |
| Rob Deer |
5 |
| Gorman Thomas |
5 |
| Cecil Cooper |
5 |
| *Signed with Phillies |
• The Mariners completed
their signing of
Carlos Silva, for $48 million. Seattle is
still pursuing Erik Bedard, writes Darin Beene. And while the Orioles haven't yet decided whether to trade Bedard now or down the
road, sources say the Mariners currently have the best offer on the table. The Mariners are unlikely to trade
Brandon Morrow
in
a deal, says
Bill Bavasi.
•
Ron Mahay will get to have spring training
very close to his Arizona home, writes Sam Mellinger. The Mahay signing is interesting for Kansas City because left-handed relievers like Mahay are a luxury
item, in a way -- it makes no sense to sign someone like Mahay for top dollar unless you believe you can contend near the
upper echelon of your division, and you are gauging specific matchups, against left-handed hitters like
Travis Hafner,
Grady Sizemore,
Joe Mauer and
Justin Morneau. And apparently, the Royals are feeling very good about
themselves in investing in Mahay. We will see if that's justified.
• The
Twins will plow ahead without Carlos Silva, writes Phil Miller.
•
Dontrelle Willis landed
a $29 million extension, and apologized to his mom about his wardrobe, writes Jon Paul Morosi. The following numbers, from Mark Simon, illuminate
the educated guess that the Tigers are taking on Willis: Eighty pitchers threw at least 162 innings last season. Willis ranked
74th among them with a 5.17 ERA, and his .294 opponents batting average ranked 71st. And Willis was 3-9 with a 5.70 ERA in
his last 20 starts.
• A
couple of new Phillies were introduced, writes Todd Zolecki. The Phillies still have
a need, writes Bob Ford.
•
Sam Zell wants to
sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field, and Jay Mariotti is up in arms about it.
• Landing
a quality starter is next on the Cubs' list, writes Barry Rozner.
• A former Dodgers scout is
being honored.
• County commissioners deferred a vote on
the Marlins' stadium issue, Charles Rabin writes.
• The Rays are not addressing the issue of how their proposed ballpark will affect
the downtown economics of St. Petersburg, writes Jerome Stockfisch, because of a change in ballpark reality.
• The Rangers may have
a problem hitting for power, writes Anthony Andro. You wonder if
Tony Clark would be a good fit for Texas -- he could be a DH/first baseman, he
hits for a ton of power, and he's going to be cheap.
•
Jonathan Papelbon says
his dog ate the World Series ball.
• If you're sick of the PED issue and you long for the days when we talked about RBI and not HGH,
read this piece by Jim Salisbury.
AND OTHER STUFF• Our fantasy league Super Bowl began, and my quarterback gave
a very solid opening performance, throwing three touchdown passes. Nice.
