First Positive Steriod Test
 

ESPN is reporting that the first player has tested positive for steriods. I real power hitter... Alex Sanchez of the Devil Rays and former Tiger.

He does know you still have to work out, right?

4 Career Home Runs in 1,351 ABs. Maybe he wasn't using them right.

He would have been better off getting glasses so he could see the strike zone.

He's listed at 5-10, 159 pounds. Good to know the new testing roots out those serious abusers.

Maybe, rather than this just being a punchline, this might be an eye-opener.

The conception that steriod use inevitably results in huge, overgrown musculature isn't fully founded -- there are plenty of people who can use them to gain in other ways. You use your body's muscles to run quickly, too. Your reaction time can be improved by use of anabolic adjusters.

If you are under the impression that the only 'roid users in baseball are guys who have embarassingly large heads and overgrown physiques... you may be missing the bigger picture. Sluggers... pitchers... speedsters... maybe everyone has been using?

Exactly my thought. If this guy's using, the problem may be more widespread than most of us have thought.

I agree with what QuikSand is saying. This should be a huge eye-opener. Is this the first player ever tested this year, and he was positive? Or is this the first positive test out of a number of people that have been tested?

Well, the smaller the guy is, the more the slap on the hand will hurt.

I always thought more marginal guys used roids than top players. These guys have more reasons to use them becuase they are so easily replaceable.

Wonder how many closers juice?

Yeah, Ok. Some nobody on the frickin' Devil Rays got suspended.

Nice to see that baseball is taking the steroid problem seriously.

When some multi-million dollar golden boy on the Yankees or Red Sox gets suspended, let me know.

Well, I guess this means no title at Tropicana this year. I feel bad for both of their fans.

I think it was a Peter Gammons article that quoted an anonymous player who said this type of scenario was going to happen. Screwing the unknown player so they can hold up the program as a success, while no stars have their careers harmed. Time will tell, but it's an interesting start.

Good stuff.

I still believe (and it's been hinted at several times) that there are far more pitchers using steroids than any of us would expect.

While Sanchez is certainly a surprise, let's not forget that only 12 players tested positive last year.

Actually they said this multiple times during the baseball game, that it is a postive test for a banned substance and no where in the official new release does it mention steroids. Of course ESPN and the news jump all over this without getting all the facts yet. It is not official that he tested positive for steroids, for all we know it could cocaine or an over the counter supplement that is banned in MLB but otherwise legal. This could also be a false positive where whatever this player used, go contaminated with another product.

Someone should tell him you're supposed to inject it, not drink it.

SI

Hey, dudes chill out. Alex Sanchez didnt test positive for steroids, he tested positive for an HGH he bought over the counter, this was before they put it on the banned list, he probably used it then and the traces are still in his system.

I can go into GNC tommorow and there 15 different kinds of legal kinds of HGH in there.

I do think (it being an HGH withstanding) that steroids and HGH isn't just used to hit the ball a ton. Sanchez's test shows that those who want to be faster also can benefit. I'm sure pitchers find it to be great help in driving the ball to the plate.

How can you use that example of (withstanding) when it is known that Sanchez took an HGH?
I'm not making excuses for the guy, but thats what happened.

That's an awful lot of definitive insight. How fortunate we are to have someone handy who knows exactly what happened.

I've been under the misguided impression that HGH was undetectable in testing (but I make no claims to being particularly well-informed). Thanks for setting me/us straight.

I had the same understanding with HgH as well.. in fact, I think that is the big elephant in the room of the NFL right now since it cannot be detected..

but maybe i'm wrong...

I don't think there's any room for doubt about that, see above.

I too was under the impression that HGH was only detectable through a blood test (which of course MLB does not do).

I'm glad there's an expert on the board to set us straight.

Cause it really doesn't matter what he took for my point. Whether he took steroids, creative, andro (which I guess is a steroid, right?), HGH, whatever... it isn't just the big HR hitters taking this stuff.

I tend to agree with Franklin, you just knew it wouldn't be anyone important..

However whats the chances of this guy just using a supplement that was just recently banned and not knowing about it..

Since Sanchez was one of the first tested on March 7th, I expect some more violations of the policy over the next couple of weeks as they process all of the Spring Training Tests.

That's the big takeaway from this. I heard the Sporting News senior baseball writer for baseball on Cold Pizza today saying that the average MLB fastball in recent years has been in the 92-94 range, but this year pitchers are around 88-90 (just like in the 1980s).

As many have said on this board, the steroid contribution to the increased HR rate is vastly over-rated, and is more due to park factors, Colorado, the strike-zone, rules on pitching inside, etc. I would expect the HR rate to more or less stay the same. If the rate does go down, I think it would be more because pitchers have stopped juicing (a physics argument relating to lower pitching velocities = lower velocities of batted balls).

Actually, it was pointed out yesterday on the radio that this type of suspension is NOT for illegal drugs (cocaine, pot, etc) but only for performance-enhancing drugs.

Are you guys suggesting that if a big name was stupid enough to keep juicing and tested positive, that MLB and the PA would conspire to keep that a secret, while outing fringe players? That's totally unrealistic, IMO. The rank-and-file would go berserk if that happened.

I'll be surprised if any big names get caught. They've got too much to lose in terms of their reputations, and now that they've made their millions, they can let their withering production occur and ride off into the sunset. Sure, people can and probably will make accusations, but (a) baseball is a complex game, and there are a number of reasons why guys suddenly become good or bad; and (b) they'll never have definitive proof, and I'm sure those guys can live with the speculation in exchange for $50 million.

OTOH, guys like Sanchez who are struggling to stay in the game will have reason to risk it. Thea guy got cut by Detroit and only made TB because Danny Bautista retired. He had to do something. Maybe this was a recent thing and he was trying to become a 15-20 HR guy, useful to someone.

I was listening to Mike & Mike this morning and the policy covers drugs other performance enhanching drugs like steriods, but could be things related to steriods. You are right that cocaine or pot aren't covered, but things like masking agents that hide people take to hide the precence of steriods.

So is this guy literally a Dirty Sanchez?

see now thats not right...

That's the best.

Awesome.

We need a photoshop job, stat...

No we don't.

lol, that is just wrong. :)

Looks like we're about to have #2:


Jorge Piedra expects to be suspended when MLB announces the next set of players who have violated baseball's drug policy today.

Piedra was recently sent down to Triple-A, but because he remains on Colorado's 40-man roster he would receive a 10-game suspension without pay. Apr. 11 - 8:20 am et

Since the tests were spread out over the month of March, I expect annoucements almost every week for the 1st month of the season.

Todd

Alex Sanchez:

Career - 1350 ABs, 4 HRs

2005 - 50 ABs, 2 HRs

Hmmmmmm... :D