Bonds Failed Drug Test (merged)

[eagles_victory]

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds failed a test for amphetamines last season and originally blamed it on a teammate, the Daily News reported Thursday.



Bonds is still under investigation as to whether he perjured himself when he testified in 2003 that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
When first informed of the positive test, Bonds attributed it to a substance he had taken from teammate Mark Sweeney's locker, the New York City newspaper said, citing several unnamed sources.

"I have no comment on that," Bonds' agent Jeff Borris told the Daily News on Wednesday night.

"Mark was made aware of the fact that his name had been brought up," Sweeney's agent Barry Axelrod told the Daily News. "But he did not give Barry Bonds anything, and there was nothing he could have given Barry Bonds."

Bonds, who has always maintained he never has tested positive for illegal drug use, is already under investigation for lying about steroid use.

A federal grand jury is investigating whether the 42-year-old Bonds perjured himself when he testified in 2003 in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. The San Francisco Giants slugger told a 2003 federal grand jury that he believed his trainer Greg Anderson had provided him flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, not steroids.

Under baseball's amphetamines policy, which went into effect last season, players are not publicly identified for a first positive test. A second positive test for amphetamines results in a 25-game suspension. The first failed steroids test costs a player 50 games.

Bonds did not appeal the positive test, which made him subject to six drug tests by MLB over the next six months, according to the Daily News.

"We're not in a position to confirm or deny, obviously," MLB spokesman Rich Levin told the Daily News.

According to the newspaper, Sweeney learned of the Bonds' positive test from Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Orza told Sweeney, the paper said, that he should remove any troublesome substances from his locker and should not share said substances. Sweeney said there was nothing of concern in his locker, according to the Daily News' sources.

An AP message for Sweeney was not immediately returned late Wednesday.

The Giants are still working to finalize complicated language in the slugger's $16 million, one-year contract for next season -- a process that has lasted almost a month since he agreed to the deal Dec. 7 on the last day of baseball's winter meetings.

The language still being negotiated concerns the left fielder's compliance with team rules, as well as what would happen if he were to be indicted or have other legal troubles.

Borris has declined to comment on the negotiations. He didn't immediately return a message from the AP on Wednesday night.

The 42-year-old Bonds is set to begin his 15th season with the Giants only 22 home runs shy of surpassing Hank Aaron's career record of 755.

Bonds, considered healthy again following offseason surgery on his troublesome left elbow, has spent 14 of his 21 big-league seasons with San Francisco and helped the Giants draw 3 million fans in all seven seasons at their waterfront ballpark.

After missing all but 14 games in 2005 following three operations on his right knee, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 RBIs in 367 at-bats in 2006. He passed Babe Ruth to move into second place on the career home run list May 28.

[g$$]

I wish they would nail him to the wall & make him retire before he breaks the record this year (perjury). Can't stand that guy. HOF player before steroids & HGH, but definitely cheated to get bigger & hit more bombs. His head even grew!

When I worked for the Astros, I met Barry one day after BP. I would go on the field before games & hang out. I had 2 kids with me one day per Drayton McLane's request wanting autographs, so I asked him to sign for the kids (not me, never been an autograph guy anyway). I was on the floor of the Dome by the dugout, not hanging over the rail. He said & I quote: "Got work to do man." I said, "Barry, it is for the kids, friends of the Astros owner. Just a quick signature." He walked off smiling down into the clubhouse. The kids were devastated. It was 1 hour before game time, his pre-game work was done, & he was heading to sit on his butt for 45 minutes. His bad reputation is well-deserved.

On another note, visiting guys like Strawberry, Matt Williams, & all the Astros were easy to deal with & good guys. Darryl Kile was a heck of a good guy, as were Baggy, Biggio, Hudek, Drabek, Todd Jones, Gonzo, etc. But sure not Bonds!

[bobcat1]

Same thing Danny Darwin told me about the idiot slugger in San Fran. He got in a fight with him for his lazy fielding effort one night. Said he is the most arrogant person he has ever been around!

[g$$]

Originally posted by bobcat1
Same thing Danny Darwin told me about the idiot slugger in San Fran. He got in a fight with him for his lazy fielding effort one night. Said he is the most arrogant person he has ever been around!

Love Danny Darwin! Nickname was Dr. Death (& the Bonham Bullet). He did not take crap off anybody. He would buzz you up & in to get you off the plate or to protect a teammate. Great guy.

One day Nolan Ryan pitched a 3 or 4 hitter, like 12 Ks & got beat (great Astros offense, you know!). The press was interviewing Nolan & trying to get a quote, etc. Darwin walked by & said "You should have thrown a no-hitter, quit crying." Nolan just cracked up laughing as he & Danny were big friends & still are today. Danny knew when to lighten the moment.

[bobcat1]

Yep! I love his sarcasm. He is an all time favorite for me and my boys. He used to do business with me. I haven't seen him in about 10 years. I saw him at one of his daughter's basketball games when my son was playing. I hope Barry Bonds doesn't break the record and I hope he is denied the HOF also.

[g$$]

Originally posted by bobcat1
Yep! I love his sarcasm. He is an all time favorite for me and my boys. He used to do business with me. I haven't seen him in about 10 years. I saw him at one of his daughter's basketball games when my son was playing. I hope Barry Bonds doesn't break the record and I hope he is denied the HOF also.

Good stuff. His brother played baseball at Alvin JC & had a similar personality. Funny guys.

[bobcat1]

I met one brother at a golf the Danny Darwin golf tournament at Fossil Creek one year. Yea they are both registered nuts! Is that the one that coaches you are talking about?

[g$$]

Originally posted by bobcat1
I met one brother at a golf the Danny Darwin golf tournament at Fossil Creek one year. Yea they are both registered nuts! Is that the one that coaches you are talking about?

I don't know what he does now. Jeff was his name if I remember right. He was a pitcher too. My buddy knew him better than I did.

[CenTexSports]

It is nice to hear about guys like Danny Darwin. I was never a fan of his because as a fan, he never lived up to expectations. But it is good to hear that he is a good guy. My favorite Ranger of all time is Jim Sundberg. I wrote to him after he won a world series with KC and he wrote me back a neat note on the back of an oversized Jim Sundberg card. He is the only athlete I have ever written too. I was just happy to see a good guy and a journeyman catcher get a WS ring.

[g$$]

Originally posted by CenTexSports
It is nice to hear about guys like Danny Darwin. I was never a fan of his because as a fan, he never lived up to expectations. But it is good to hear that he is a good guy. My favorite Ranger of all time is Jim Sundberg. I wrote to him after he won a world series with KC and he wrote me back a neat note on the back of an oversized Jim Sundberg card. He is the only athlete I have ever written too. I was just happy to see a good guy and a journeyman catcher get a WS ring.

That's a neat story. Sundberg was a good player in his day, he was the Rangers' catcher when I was a kid. Darwin pitched pretty well in Houston, but he did struggle it seemed in Arlington. I think being around Ryan & others like that helped him. Good stuff.

Here's another funny story. I had to go pick-up Scott Elarton at the airport when Houston drafted him in the 1st round in 1994 (I was interning then). He turned down a double-scholarship (baseball & basketball) to Stanford & signed with Houston. They were going to introduce him at an Astros game, etc. Really nice guy, & 6'8" tall. I drove a single cab Mazda truck at that time with speakers behind the seat, so it was tight to say the least. I am 6'1" & it was fine for me, but not for Elarton. I felt so sorry for him squeezed into that truck for 30 minutes on the way back to the Dome, his luggage thrown in the bed! He never complained one bit. He is still around the league (KC last year), but arm troubles curtailed a once promising career. He lost his mid 90s fastball & now must move it around & change speeds to succeed. Really intelligent & articulate guy. And not made for a Mazda truck!

[kaorder1999]

I love the part about not appealing the test since it would subject him to 6 tests in the next six months administered by MLB

[g$$]

Originally posted by eagles_victory

Bonds did not appeal the positive test, which made him subject to six drug tests by MLB over the next six months, according to the Daily News.

"We're not in a position to confirm or deny, obviously," MLB spokesman Rich Levin told the Daily News.



I could be wrong, but I took that to mean he was subjected to 6 tests by not appealing the results. Maybe I am wrong.

Typical Bonds, always blaming others. Just like the cream & flaxseed oil he knew NOTHING about right? Like most elite athletes don't know exactly what they put on & in their bodies!

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by g$$
I could be wrong, but I took that to mean he was subjected to 6 tests by not appealing the results. Maybe I am wrong.

Typical Bonds, always blaming others. Just like the cream & flaxseed oil he knew NOTHING about right? Like most elite athletes don't know exactly what they put on & in their bodies!

oh...you might be right....i read it wrong

[themsu97]

another great guy from Texas... Dennis Cook... quite possibly the best of them... lives in the Austin area now but that guy was crazy as well

[g$$]

Originally posted by themsu97
another great guy from Texas... Dennis Cook... quite possibly the best of them... lives in the Austin area now but that guy was crazy as well

Dickinson boy! "Cookie" was & is nuts. He had a good MLB career no doubt, but not the best they have turned out by far. Guy named Clemens might have a say. Or Hooton, etc.

[JasperDog94]

....for amphetamines.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2727325

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds failed a test for amphetamines last season and originally blamed it on a teammate, the Daily News reported Thursday.

Barry Bonds
Bonds is still under investigation as to whether he perjured himself when he testified in 2003 that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

When first informed of the positive test, Bonds attributed it to a substance he had taken from teammate Mark Sweeney's locker, the New York City newspaper said, citing several unnamed sources.

"I have no comment on that," Bonds' agent Jeff Borris told the Daily News on Wednesday night.

"Mark was made aware of the fact that his name had been brought up," Sweeney's agent Barry Axelrod told the Daily News. "But he did not give Barry Bonds anything, and there was nothing he could have given Barry Bonds."

Bonds, who has always maintained he never has tested positive for illegal drug use, is already under investigation for lying about steroid use.

A federal grand jury is investigating whether the 42-year-old Bonds perjured himself when he testified in 2003 in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. The San Francisco Giants slugger told a 2003 federal grand jury that he believed his trainer Greg Anderson had provided him flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, not steroids.

Under baseball's amphetamines policy, which went into effect last season, players are not publicly identified for a first positive test. A second positive test for amphetamines results in a 25-game suspension. The first failed steroids test costs a player 50 games.

Bonds did not appeal the positive test, which made him subject to six drug tests by MLB over the next six months, according to the Daily News.

"We're not in a position to confirm or deny, obviously," MLB spokesman Rich Levin told the Daily News.

According to the newspaper, Sweeney learned of the Bonds' positive test from Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Orza told Sweeney, the paper said, that he should remove any troublesome substances from his locker and should not share said substances. Sweeney said there was nothing of concern in his locker, according to the Daily News' sources.

An AP message for Sweeney was not immediately returned late Wednesday.

The Giants are still working to finalize complicated language in the slugger's $16 million, one-year contract for next season -- a process that has lasted almost a month since he agreed to the deal Dec. 7 on the last day of baseball's winter meetings.

The language still being negotiated concerns the left fielder's compliance with team rules, as well as what would happen if he were to be indicted or have other legal troubles.

Borris has declined to comment on the negotiations. He didn't immediately return a message from the AP on Wednesday night.

The 42-year-old Bonds is set to begin his 15th season with the Giants only 22 home runs shy of surpassing Hank Aaron's career record of 755.

Bonds, considered healthy again following offseason surgery on his troublesome left elbow, has spent 14 of his 21 big-league seasons with San Francisco and helped the Giants draw 3 million fans in all seven seasons at their waterfront ballpark.

After missing all but 14 games in 2005 following three operations on his right knee, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 RBIs in 367 at-bats in 2006. He passed Babe Ruth to move into second place on the career home run list May 28.

[themsu97]

oh yeah, not debating that... heck even Shiraldi was on that team...
Cook is a nut... once charged the pitcher in a slow pitch game... who knows where he was coming from...

[stxfootballfan]

Bonds seems to be more of a distraction and worse teammate than T.O.!

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by stxfootballfan
Bonds seems to be more of a distraction and worse teammate than T.O.! Now that's saying something.

[Emerson1]

They need to let Bonds get 1 homer away from tieing the record, then ban him from the game.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by Emerson1
They need to let Bonds get 1 homer away from tieing the record, then ban him from the game. I like the way you think.:clap:

[g$$]

Originally posted by themsu97
oh yeah, not debating that... heck even Shiraldi was on that team...
Cook is a nut... once charged the pitcher in a slow pitch game... who knows where he was coming from...

That's funny stuff. Calvin Schiraldi was the ace on that Texas team, you are right ('83). He did ok in the pros with Boston, Mets, etc. Texas has produced a bunch of good ones.

Roger Clemens was the #3 on his hs team at Spring Woods, topped out at 84 mph. Late bloomer whom Wayne Graham developed at San Jac. On his hs team, Raynor Noble (now UH coach, played pro ball too) & Mike Capel were better (he played at Texas & in pros too). Roger has the last laugh though!

[stxfootballfan]

Now Bonds says Mark Sweeney had nothing to do with his positive testing after he already threw him under the bus:rolleyes: