Jeffress at it again, suspended 100 games; Latest -- Agent Audio Link

[AJhawk50]

Right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, rated by many as the top pitching prospect in the Brewers' farm system, has drawn a 100-game suspension for testing positive for a second time for a "substance of abuse."

The penalty leaves Jeffress, 21, one positive test away from a lifetime ban under the Minor League Drug Treatment and Prevention program.

rest of article @

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/49267777.html

[LouisEly]

Glad. We. Drafted. Pitching.

 

Anyone else regret not trading him while his stock was high? Kid has no value now.

[RyDogg66]

I guess his career has gone up in smoke.

[battlekow]

Wow.

[logan82]

Better get him to the majors before he gets a lifetime ban.

[wibadgers23]

Unbelievable. I don't even know what to say.

[logan82]

Have to imagine this completely ruins his trade value. At this point all you can do is hope the kid gets his habit under control and doesn't riun his whole life.

[trwi7]

What's that phrase? Million dollar arm, ten cent head? Yeah, I think ten cents may be too generous.

[Godspeed]

Man, he must have taken his lack of success at AA pretty hard. The Brewers can't really trade him for fair value now, they'll just have to nurture him back to success (and I use the term "nurture" in its loosest sense seeing that it's all on him, really) and hope that he gets it both off and on the field. Flat out getting rid of him at this point (as suggested in the drivel at the J-S blog) wouldn't make any sense. There's just too much talent and too much invested in him.

 

Best of luck to Jeremy in his ongoing recovery.

[Invader3K]

Anyone else regret not trading him while his stock was high? Kid has no value now.

 

Yeah. You can't even trade a suspended player, can you?

[TooLiveBrew]

What's that phrase? Million dollar arm, ten cent head? Yeah, I think ten cents may be too generous.

 

Dime sack head?

 

 

Unbelievable. I don't even know what to say

 

Dear Jeremy Jeffress:

You are a bleeping idiot.

Love,

Brewers fans

[KCBrewerfan34]

Look up the word idiot in the dictionary and you'll see this guy. WOW!!!

[TheCrew07]

Wow. I'm not even sure what to say, he's gone from hero to zero in a day.

[tyguy20204]

I would refrain from calling him an idiot. He's not stupid, he knows how much he's destroying his career/future income, but obviously he's not in the state of mind where he can correct his behavior. Addiction is a disease, and like his agent said in that article, this goes beyond baseball at this point. I hope he's able to make some positive changes.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm not sold on the addiction angle, personally. Call me a cynic, but the easiest thing to do in these situations is to claim addiction. I understand that real addiction is a tough beast to conquer, but I'm sorry... if this is weed, "addiction" is way more likely a smoke-screen than legit.

[crossface21]

I agree. I don't buy the whole addiction thing. He's been in rehab. He knew exactly what he had to gain and had to lose. The Brewers paid him a lot of money and it will likely be money thrown out the window. Is he subject to testing while he's suspended? If so, I'm willing to bet he'll never pitch again in the minors.

[pogokat]

well, at least he wasn't pitching well---this would be a lot harder to toke if he hadn't been sucky this year...

[battlekow]

this would be a lot harder to toke

I see what you did there.

[And That]

this would be a lot harder to toke if he hadn't been sucky this year...

Indeed, sir. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

If he tested positive again, could the Brewers loan him out to an independent league team and keep him as their property?

 

This is just a mind-blowing face palm.

[TheCrew]

I agree. I don't buy the whole addiction thing. He's been in rehab. He knew exactly what he had to gain and had to lose. The Brewers paid him a lot of money and it will likely be money thrown out the window. Is he subject to testing while he's suspended? If so, I'm willing to bet he'll never pitch again in the minors.

A person knowing what they have to gain and what they have to lose really doesn't have anything to do with addiction. When someone is addicted, they really don't care about any of that - they might give you a nice speech and tell you they do, but all they really care about is the next high and yes, for some people weed is the drug of choice - it's not a hard drug, but people still become addicted.

 

Also, just because someone goes to rehab one time - doesn't mean they are cured for the remainder of their lives..... People don't get better until they REALLY want to get better and deal with the issues that pushed them down the wrong path.

 

One of two things is going on with him:

- He has an addiction and hasn't dealt with whatever it is that turned him onto substance abuse in the first place

- He just doesn't care and just wants to party

[battlekow]

If he tested positive again, could the Brewers loan him out to an independent league team and keep him as their property?

It wouldn't matter. He'd be perma-banned.

[Diskono]

Maybe this is why he's pitched poorly. If you smoke weed everyday, forget about throwing strikes.

 

Should we start calling him "Birdman" now?

[trwi7]

It wouldn't matter. He'd be perma-banned.

I would assume this is an extension to MLB and he would be banned from MLB as well, right?

[battlekow]

I would assume this is an extension to MLB and he would be banned from MLB as well, right?

Yeah, that's what I meant. He'd be banned for life from MLB and the affiliated minors. He could play in the independent leagues, but it be moot whether we held his rights or not.

 

EDIT: I'm not sure I'm right. MLB doesn't test for drugs of abuse, but I don't know if a lifetime suspension procured in the minors would extend to MLB or not. Reading up on it.

[battlekow]

Fun fact: I just learned that the (MLB) All-Star Game counts as a game in a player's suspension if he was selected to it.