Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games

[TooLiveBrew]

Well they do kind of help in the healing process so I guess I can get on board with this explanation on why a player would take PEDs.

I realize that's the case, but the impression I took from his apology was that he was passive-aggressively defending his actions. That was the distinction I was trying to draw btw. Pettitte's and Melky's statements.

[slappzilla]

I don't believe Bautista is taking PEDs.

why?

 

There isn't a player in baseball who could get busted for taking PED's and surprise me. If Jonathon LucrOy got busted today it would not surprise me at all.

 

I think anyone who finds anyone go got caught taking PED's naive, seriously.

 

I'm not saying that to be a troll or a knob, I'm just saying, let's be real. Look how many guys took PED's, jacked up their numbers, and got nice paychecks/recognition because of it. Can all of you honestly say that if you were in the minors, on the verge of making the majors but just needed to do a bit more, you wouldn't dabble if you thought you could get away with it? I would. That's why so many minor league guys get busted. They're the ones really looking for the money (not that guys in the pros aren't).

[Invader3K]

What I don't get is why the media makes such a big deal when an MLB player gets busted, but NBA and NFL guys are basically an afterthought as far as news stories.

[slappzilla]

Because of how MLB used to have such a bad reputation as far as roiderz go. McGwire and Sosa put MLB back on the map after the lockout, but they did it via juicing.

 

Not saying there aren't rampant PED's in the NFL or other sports, but MLB will always get recognized as the sport that was full of roiderz at one time.

[LouisEly]

but i was sort of hoping no one would say his name to just get a response from that poster

 

My response would have been:

 

1) Are these representative of his ages 21-27 seasons?

 

B) Are these representative of full seasons (>450 PA)?

 

The answer to your question is "yes" (just as it would be for Brady Anderson). I believe your response to my questions is "no".

[dlk9s]

In the "you've got to be kidding me" category, Melky apparently had a fake website setup that was selling a fake supplement to make it look like he bought the PEDs without realizing he was taking a banned substance. Holy crap.

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/exclusive-daily-news-uncovers-bizarre-plot-melky-cabrera-fake-website-duck-drug-suspension-article-1.1139623

[brettac1]

Such an awesome story. Lots of guys are using steroids and few get caught, but at least when they do, there are usually entertaining stories.

[bullox]

And now the cries of "At least he admitted it!" from Giants fans hold a lot less water. Of course he admitted it, after he got caught in a horrible lie.

[jerichoholicninja]

Did he actually test positive for steroids though? I thought he had elevated levels of testosterone, the same thing Braun had. And our 1,000 page long thread about Braun proves high testosterone doesn't necessarily mean steroids.

[brettac1]

He was using synthetic testosterone.

[brains and braun]

Yeah, this is right up there with the Whizzinator...

[slappzilla]

Same stuff Braun (didn't) use.

[Funketown]

Is there any chance he could receive further punishments for this, or be in any sort of legal trouble? I'm not quite sure whether to laugh or shake my head. I'll do both.

[TooLiveBrew]

Same stuff Braun (didn't) use.

Wait, are you being oh so clever in posting that! OMG I get it! Twice in the same thread...

[Baldkin]

Is there any chance he could receive further punishments for this, or be in any sort of legal trouble? I'm not quite sure whether to laugh or shake my head. I'll do both.

 

I don't think he ever testified (or lied to the police) that he didn't take anything, so I doubt he'd be in line for any legal trouble. I am unsure if any further suspension could be levied by MLB itself, however.

[bullox]

I'm not a lawyer, but isn't this fraud? Intentional deception for personal gain?

[pebadger]

At worst it's attempted stupidity.

 

To get legalistic, nobody relied on his false statements and nobody was damaged by them. Therefore, no civil or criminal liability for fraud. As noted above, that's not to say that MLB might no have something to say about it, to the extent that they have any power to act in this regard under the CBA.

[torts]

but i was sort of hoping no one would say his name to just get a response from that poster

 

My response would have been:

 

1) Are these representative of his ages 21-27 seasons?

 

B) Are these representative of full seasons (>450 PA)?

 

The answer to your question is "yes" (just as it would be for Brady Anderson). I believe your response to my questions is "no".

 

guess what, his age 27, 28 season SLG% would be no different had he gotten 40 more at bats. he still played in 70% of games from age 25 on regardless of how many "plate appearances" he had.

 

player A

Age, Plate Apperances, SLG%

 

23yrs, 93 PA .239,

24 yrs, 53 PA .179,

25 yrs, 469 PA .420,

26 yrs, 614 PA .414,

27 yrs, 424 PA .405,

28 yrs, 404 PA .408,

29 yrs, 683 PA .617,

30 yrs, 655 PA .608,

31 yrs, 394 PA .534

[Invader3K]

SlapzilIa, is your goal to try and annoy as many people as possible on this forum? I know this was supposed to be humorous (I think) but you come off as really antagonistic in a lot of your posts.

[xisxisxis]

Now Colon is suspended for 50 games. What I find ridiculous is that both players could still play in the playoffs if there teams qualify and go deep enough. I think that doesn't make sense. I believe postseason rosters are fixed based on your 25 man on August 31st (barring injury replacement) and that should apply to this situation. Since both players won't be on the active 25 man roster on August 31st then they shouldn't qualify for the playoffs.

[Baldkin]

Now Colon is suspended for 50 games. What I find ridiculous is that both players could still play in the playoffs if there teams qualify and go deep enough. I think that doesn't make sense. I believe postseason rosters are fixed based on your 25 man on August 31st (barring injury replacement) and that should apply to this situation. Since both players won't be on the active 25 man roster on August 31st then they shouldn't qualify for the playoffs.

 

So if a guy gets suspended for beaning someone for 5 games on August 30th they shouldn't be eligible for the post season?

 

Or if he gets caught in April, he should be eligible?

[TheCrew07]

I'm not sure how beaning a player and "cheating" are equal situations. Since when are all infractions equally egregious?

 

In my opinion if the suspension will overlap 2 seasons, then the player shouldn't be eligible for the post season. If his suspension is up before the playoffs then he's done his time, if not, too bad... see you next season.

[xisxisxis]

So if a guy gets suspended for beaning someone for 5 games on August 30th they shouldn't be eligible for the post season?

 

Where did I say that? Stop making [expletive deleted] up and attributing it to other people or is your reading comprehension so crappy? Reading brewerfan lately has become more of a pain than a pleasure because the level of discourse has gotten appreciably worse and this crap - where posters take comments completely out of context simply to be argumentative.

 

 

In my opinion if the suspension will overlap 2 seasons, then the player shouldn't be eligible for the post season. If his suspension is up before the playoffs then he's done his time, if not, too bad... see you next season.

 

Exactly.

[Baldkin]

Since both players won't be on the active 25 man roster on August 31st then they shouldn't qualify for the playoffs.

 

A guy suspended is a guy suspended. That was my point. No need to fly off the handle over an innocuous comment.

 

Where do you draw the line? Is it only arbitrarily for steroid guys? Amphetamine guys? What about spitting on an umpire? What about tossing a ball at a lady in the stands?

 

Maybe they aren't all treated equally, but I don't see how when the guy's 50 games are up, his suspension is up is any different if he's suspended in April or in the 2-week window where his team getting to the playoffs makes the 50 games run out during that timespan.

 

What if Cabrera gets caught two weeks earlier, and his suspension is over the last week of Sept, instead of the first week of the playoffs?

 

It seems to me you're wanting to punish guys more based on when they are arbitrarily randomly drug tested (and caught) in August instead of May.

[TheCrew07]

Simply put there is a difference between stuff that happens between the lines and cheating that happens outside of the lines.

 

Why should a cheater be rewarded by having playoff games count against his suspension and still have the possibility of coming back to bolster his team's chances? What if Pujols had been suspended for PEDs but his suspension just happened to be up for the NLCS last season, how would you have a felt then?

 

If you're going to cheat and you get caught at the end of the year then whatever you have left at the end of the season should carry over to the next season, just like any other player's suspension, and you should forfeit any playoff bonuses and the experience. The penalty should be the maximum, not the minimum, for this sort of thing. A player suspended for a non playoff team will start the following year with a suspension, so should a player who's team goes to the post season.

 

If you don't want to hurt your team in the post season, then don't cheat. Who's to say their teams perform as well as they have without the player cheating in the first place? I have no sympathy for people who knowingly cheat, and if MLB is serious about cleaning up baseball then a harder stance needs to be taken. It's pretty clear that the cheaters have been ahead of the testing in all sports for quite a long time and I'm not sure the gap can realistically be closed, but post season games should not count towards a regular season suspension when not every player is going have the possibility to participate. Certainly the penalty is tougher on the player who's team is in the post season, and rightfully so.