Alex Rodriguez TESTS POSITIVE - 2003

[SMDrew]

Maybe it wasn't against the rules, but the players had to know what they were doing was wrong. Gaining an unfair competitive advantage in America's sport, knowing that they are role models for talented youths rising through the ranks.

It may not have been illegal, but it was definitely immoral.

As for the presence of the list (or lack-of, until now), the list was supposed to have been kept confidential amongst the prosecutor's office, MLB Player's Union, and the MLB Commissioner's office. Somebody leaked it (kudos to them!).

The game used to be so much better back when the worst thing to worry about was our heroes being drunks.

 

[skunk]

Why is Phelps being punished for taking performance-reducing drugs anyway?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Maybe it wasn't against the rules, but the players had to know what they were doing was wrong. Gaining an unfair competitive advantage in America's sport, knowing that they are role models for talented youths rising through the ranks.

It may not have been illegal, but it was definitely immoral.

It is against the MLB rules, and it was then. The problem was the testing was insufficient and the penalties, nonexistent. No doubt many players viewed not taking them as being at a competitive disadvantage, rather than the other way around.

Either way this has nothing to do with legal vs. illegal. MLB failed to address the problem at the time it became a problem, so now the stain on the game spreads as we find out more names of players who were on the juice and how little MLB did to stop it.

 

[Counterfit]

No. But you have to hit homeruns to make money. How many Luis Castillo's make more than 5 million a year?

How many home runs has C.C. Sabathia hit?

It is against the MLB rules, and it was then.

According to the article

There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003, with testing conducted to determine if MLB would impose random drug testing for 2004. But MLB's drug policy has expressly prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991.

So, even if he had a prescription for testosterone, he'd be up ****'s creek:

While testosterone can be taken legally with an appropriate medical prescription, Primobolan -- also known by the chemical name methenolone -- is not an approved prescription drug in the United States, nor was it in 2003.

Why is Phelps being punished for taking performance-reducing drugs anyway?

Because Leon Lott (police chief of the county in SC) apparently has nothing better to do with his time than try and charge someone with a misdemeanor based on a photo, completely ignoring that an officer has to witness a misdemeanor for it to be arrestable., maybe they ran out of gas and ammo for their APC.

 

[TSE]

How many home runs has C.C. Sabathia hit?

I thought of that when I typed it, but didn't think I needed to add it in because I would think people know what I'm talking about. But okay, if you wanna be picky, I will be too. This year, Luis Castillo hit 3 homeruns in 298 ABs. CC has hit 3 homeruns in 88 at bats throughout his whole career.

Let me rephrase that.

Most of the time, you have to hit homeruns, or be an ace quality pitcher, to make more money in the baseball business.

 

[IJ Reilly]

According to the article

Isn't that what I said?

 

[MacNut]

I am waiting for the list, I don't want to say that A-Rod should be off the hook but he can't be made the scapegoat for everyones blind eye to the problem. I would like to see ESPN push for all 104 names.

 

[DiamondMac]

If it wasn't against the rules, then I guess it was OK at the time.

Did ARod have a valid prescription for his steroids?

Steroids are still Schedule III drugs which mean it is illegal to use without a valid prescription or to distribute them

So, he was breaking the law at the time.

Even if it wasn't against MLB rules, the fact that it was illegal in the United States should tell people something.

 

[MacNut]

Nobody knows what Arod took or what anybody on that list did for that matter. The list isn't even supposed to exist.

 

[John Doe 57]

Nobody knows what Arod took or what anybody on that list did for that matter. The list isn't even supposed to exist.

They were anabolic steroids:
(from Wikipedia)
Anabolic steroids were first isolated, identified and synthesized in the 1930s, and are now used therapeutically in medicine to stimulate bone growth and appetite, induce male puberty, and treat chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS. The American College of Sports Medicine acknowledges that AAS, in the presence of adequate diet, can contribute to increases in body weight, often in the lean mass compartment and that the gains in muscular strength achieved through high-intensity exercise and proper diet can be additionally increased by the use of AAS in some individuals.

Serious health risks can be produced by long-term use or excessive doses of anabolic steroids. These effects include harmful changes in cholesterol levels (increased low-density lipoprotein and decreased high-density lipoprotein), acne, high blood pressure, liver damage, and dangerous changes in the structure of the left ventricle of the heart.

Ergogenic uses for anabolic steroids in sports and bodybuilding is controversial, because of their adverse effects and the potential to gain an advantage conventionally considered "unfair." Their use is considered doping and banned by all major sporting bodies. For many years the AAS have been by far the most detected doping substances in IOC-accredited laboratories. In countries where AAS are controlled substances, there is often a black market in which smuggled or even counterfeit drugs are sold to users. In those countries some have called for less regulation because of those health risk and corresponding civil rights issues.

 

[numbersyx]

He hasn't denied it either. Simply told journalists to go and ask his union. After all of the McGwire/Clemens/Bonds scandals now we have this....???

 

[Counterfit]

Isn't that what I said?

Yup, I was just backing you up.

Did ARod have a valid prescription for his steroids?

Again, according to the article, the steroid he tested positive for has never been approved for prescription use in the US.

 

[IJ Reilly]

He hasn't denied it either. Simply told journalists to go and ask his union. After all of the McGwire/Clemens/Bonds scandals now we have this....???

And the union can't say anything about it, so that's just another way of saying "talk to the hand."

This is all water under the bridge now, there's nothing we can do about what has already happened. Undoubtably more names will come out and we'll continue to be disappointed, but for my part, more in the game's official inaction during those years, than with who was on the juice.

 

[Unspeaked]

I'll be thoroughly amused when these folks eventually start getting elected to the Hall.

Or wait - will MLB keep the all-time leaders in nearly all the single season and lifetime batting categories from being in their Hall of Fame?

What a quandary...

 

[IJ Reilly]

Insuring that the controversy will go on forever. Pete Rose is still kept out, for reasons that have nothing to do with his performance on the field. If Rose can be locked out of the HOF, then surely the likes of Rodriquez, Bonds, and McGuire can be too for chemically enhancing their game. The unfair part will be the number of players who juiced but who didn't get caught in the act, and will be candidates for induction.

 

[Unspeaked]

Insuring that the controversy will go on forever. Pete Rose is still kept out, for reasons that have nothing to do with his performance on the field. If Rose can be locked out of the HOF, then surely the likes of Rodriquez, Bonds, and McGuire can be too for chemically enhancing their game. The unfair part will be the number of players who juiced but who didn't get caught in the act, and will be candidates for induction.

I agree with you to an extent, but I'm still convinced the Pete Rose issue has more to do with the death of Bart Giamatti than the gambling.

Had the former commissioner not gone to the grave within days of banning Rose, I have to think he'd either have overturned the lifetime ban himself or one of his replacements would have done so (without feeling that they were disrespecting a dead man's wishes).

So I think the Rose issue is a little more complicated than this.

But yes, it's equally ridiculous that the game's all-time hits leader and one of the hardest working, most beloved ball players ever is not in the HOF.

Update: Mr. Rodriguez himself admitted to using steroids this afternoon on ESPN.

 

[Sun Baked]

I agree with you to an extent, but I'm still convinced the Pete Rose issue has more to do with the death of Bart Giamatti than the gambling.

Had the former commissioner not gone to the grave within days of banning Rose, I have to think he'd either have overturned the lifetime ban himself or one of his replacements would have done so (without feeling that they were disrespecting a dead man's wishes).

So I think the Rose issue is a little more complicated than this.

But yes, it's equally ridiculous that the game's all-time hits leader and one of the hardest working, most beloved ball players ever is not in the HOF.

Update: Mr. Rodriguez himself admitted to using steroids this afternoon on ESPN.

Rose and Bonds are a bit more complicated and in denial during the period it counted.

Should be interesting to see how Rodriguez and Petite shake out for their admissions.

Still a 100 left on the list.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Rose and Bonds are a bit more complicated and in denial during the period it counted.

I don't know that this should matter more or even as much as using banned substances to improve performance. The fact is the process of HOF induction is subjective, if not arbitrary. Face it, we baseball fans essentially averted our eyes to the likes of Sosa, McGuire and the others we had to know weren't clean because it was fun to watch them play long ball, especially during the terrible seasons after the strike. MLB, the fans and the union traded off the integrity of the game for some cheap thrills.

 

[rhett7660]

I just can't get over that fact that all the sports news stations are flipping out about this!

- It was 6 years ago
- He was not the only one doing it
- MLB knew it was happening, but said nothing because income was getting better.

Its like their saying," Oh boy, A-Rod used steroids. Its all over! He's been cheating all this time!." I hate all the sports stations for doing this.

And where has this "list" been for the past 6 years? 104 players were listed on it, and now is a good time to tell us?

Well the same can be said about many of todays players. Bonds, Clemens, McGuire etc.....

 

[John Doe 57]

Well the same can be said about many of todays players. Bonds, Clemens, McGuire etc.....

True.

And the "list" has been under government control because it has been being used in the BALCO case. I learned this last night on ESPN.

 

[Unspeaked]

True.

And the "list" has been under government control because it has been being used in the BALCO case. I learned this last night on ESPN.

The fact of the matter is this "list" was never "supposed" to leak.

I think the most fascinating thing about this story isn't that A-Rod was on the list, or even who the other 100+ players are, but rather who leaked his name and why only his.

 

[MacNut]

If you think it ends with 104 names you are naive. There are many more players that will never get caught.

 

[IJ Reilly]

The conspiracy theories start... here.

 

[QuantumLo0p]

Ya think? No surprises 'bout that. Adults know there is a lot of deceit in pro sports but I feel bad for Rod's younger fans.

There is probably more juice in MLB and the NFL than the rest of all sports on the entire planet.

 

[Unspeaked]

There is probably more juice in MLB and the NFL than the rest of all sports on the entire planet.

You're trying to tell me that those skinny little golfers hit that tiny little ball soooo far all by themselves? I think not.

And don't even get me started on NASCAR. No way they grip that steering wheel with such force unaided by HGH.