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Green Ranger
04-05-2005, 10:24 AM
The following article is on the new policy for steroids. Is it me or is five chances too many. Its baseball, I think three strikes and you are out. What kind of role model and message is this giving high school kids. They can get caught five times so once wont hurt for me. Just my two cents.


SEATTLE -- Seattle's Damian Moss and Ryan Christianson were among 38 players suspended Monday for violating baseball's minor league steroids policy, a group that included eight players from the Mariners' organization.


"We're obviously very disappointed and not happy about it at all," Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi said after the Mariners beat Minnesota 5-1. "On the other side of the coin, we're like everybody else. We want this cleaned up."


Oakland's David Castillo was suspended for 60 games, the penalty for a third violation. All the others were suspended for 15 games, the ban given to first offenders. A fourth violation would yield a one-year suspension. There is a lifetime ban for players who test positive a fifth time.


"I think you'll see more announcements," Bavasi said. "That's a guess on my part. They tested, they got results. I think this is going to go on through the year and hopefully the numbers are going to drop."


Seven of the 38 positives came from the Chicago Cubs organization, five each from the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland and Texas, and four from San Diego. There were two from Colorado, and one each from St. Louis and the Chicago White Sox.


"The release speaks for itself," Oakland assistant general manager David Forst said. "The program is in place and it's working."


The commissioner's office said one suspension was the result of offseason testing and the rest stemmed from 925 tests conducted during spring training.


Last year, about 1.7 percent of the minor league tests for steroids were positive, baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said. Courtney did not know whether some teams had more players than others tested during spring training.

"We're all concerned about the same thing, and that is getting to the day where we test and have no positive tests," Bavasi said.


On Sunday, Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez was suspended for 10 days, becoming the first major league player penalized under the sport's toughened testing rules. Players with minor league contracts, who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, are tested for more banned substances. Amphetamines are on the minor league banned list but are not covered by the major league policy.


Ten of the players suspended have been released.


Also suspended for 15 games were Elvis Avendano (Oakland), Lizahio Baez (Texas), Oscar Bernard (Cubs), David Cash (Cubs), Troy Cate (Seattle), Robinson Chirinos (Cubs), Ryan Christianson (Seattle), William Collazo (Angels), Renee Cortez (Seattle), Matthew Craig (Cubs), Jason Diangelo (Colorado), Jose Espinal (Chicago White Sox), Omar Falcon (Seattle), Paul Frisella (St. Louis), Jesus Guzman (Seattle), Justin Hatcher (Texas), Javier Herrera (Oakland), William Hogan (Seattle), Kevin Jacobo (San Diego), Ryan Leahy (Angels), Baltazar Lopez (Angels), Luis Perez (Oakland), Nathan Sevier (San Diego), Carlos Vazquez (Cubs) and Neil Wilson (Colorado).


The released players who were suspended were Willy Espinal (Texas), Alexander Francisco (Angels), Clay Hensley (San Diego), Robert Machado (Texas), Jesus Medrano (Cubs), Jacobo Meque (San Diego), Kevin Reinking (Cubs), Christopher Russ (Texas), Mayobanex Santana (Oakland) and Darwin Soto (Seattle).

LH Panther Mom
04-05-2005, 10:35 AM
Originally posted by Green Ranger
The following article is on the new policy for steroids. Is it me or is five chances too many. Its baseball, I think three strikes and you are out. What kind of role model and message is this giving high school kids. They can get caught five times so once wont hurt for me. Just my two cents.

All the others were suspended for 15 games, the ban given to first offenders. A fourth violation would yield a one-year suspension. There is a lifetime ban for players who test positive a fifth time.

On Sunday, Tampa Bay outfielder Alex Sanchez was suspended for 10 days, becoming the first major league player penalized under the sport's toughened testing rules.

Five chances is entirely too many, IMO. It seems contradictory to me that 36 players were given 15 game suspensions for 1st time offense, but Sanchez was only suspended 10 days "under the sport's toughened testing rules". :confused:

AP Panther Fan
04-05-2005, 11:02 AM
Pediatrics group condemns steroid use
Urges fair competition
Monday, April 4, 2005 Posted: 2:54 PM EDT (1854 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Doctors, parents and coaches should take a stand against young athletes using steroids and other performance-enhancing substances, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.
But drug testing with stiff penalties isn't likely to work, the group says in a new policy statement. Instead, schools and coaches should promote fair competition.

"We're creating a society of kids who just take a pill to improve performance and to gain an unfair advantage," said Dr. Eric Small, chairman of the AAP committee that wrote the statement.

Little is known about the safety of the substances in adolescents, Small said, and their use diminishes the value of good nutrition, training and coaching.

Seven percent of ninth-graders say they've taken steroids without a doctor's prescription, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2003 survey. Use of creatine, a nutritional supplement, may be more widespread. A study of suburban New York students, co-authored by Small, found that 44 percent of 12th-grade athletes admitted using creatine.

The timing of the policy statement, issued in the midst of baseball's steroids scandal, is coincidental, Small said. The statement took five years to develop. When talking to kids, doctors shouldn't question the effectiveness of the products, the statement says. Saying the products don't work will damage a doctor's credibility. Small, who practices sports medicine in New York City and in Westchester County, New York, said he often talks to young athletes who feel pressured to beef up.

Recently, an eighth-grade boy told the doctor he wants to play basketball next year. "The coach told him he needs to put on 30 pounds this summer to make the team," Small said. Small helped the boy develop a weight-training program and start thinking about how to add more calories to his diet.