Thursday, July 30, 2009

Time to Release the List

Another two names from the infamous list of 103 players have been released, once again dredging up the past and leading everyone to wonder who else is on that list. It's time for MLBPA to get it's head out of its arse and let MLB release the list. That being said, it is not enough to release the names. What the players tested positive for must also be disclosed.

Here's why. There are many non-steroid substances that are banned by MLB's drug policy. When A-Rod admitted to his steroid use, he mentioned an over the counter energy drink that he used to take while in Seattle that was now banned. To my knowledge this drink does not contain steroids but some other banned substance. This is why the drug for which players tested positive must be released, since a positive test does not inherently mean a player took steroids, which is what everyone assumes. That is unfair to the players, minus those who took steroids and ruined the game by making it popular again.

Baseball and the MLBPA have to do the right thing here. Get the names and substances out there and let's move beyond this.

19 comments:

Fernando Alejandro said...

Agreed. If they don't, the names are just going to trickle out little by little over the years, and all that will do is assure that this story remains a headline well into the next decade. Release them now, you'll deal with it for like a month. And then by and large we'll all move past it. Release the names!

Ruthie J said...

you are absoloutely right. it's time for Mr.Siegel (however his name is spelled)to 'grow a pair' and do what needs to be done.It's his job, come up with a guideline to deal with the current cases and a clear set of rules for any new offenders.that list needs to come out, all at once, ASAP and provisons should be set in place so no one else makes a mockery of this sport in the future.

Jon Roberts said...

Holding back the rest of the names only benefits the hundred or so cheaters left unknown. It is unfair to the players already leaked as well as all the clean ones we suspect. I know the list isn't exhaustive but getting it out would put this to bed. The players union has an obligation to all it's players not just the dirty ones. They've already done a fantastic job protecting players' privacy.

Fred Trigger said...

not to get all patriotic on you guys--but I kinda am-- I hope someone spends a good amount of time in jail for violating a court order that was sealed. I'm actually kinda pissed off about this whole thing, and everyone else who values their rights should be.

Perhaps I will write a longer post on this, but for now, know this: Fred Trigger is not happy! (and I would be just as angry if it was yankees players.)

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

yeah, the fact that someone has violated this court order is problematic, but it is also a fact of life that hangs over the game. The list should never have had names by which to identify players who tested positive if it was to be truly anonymous, it should have been destroyed by the MLBPA, so on and so forth. Had baseball handled this responsibly this all would've been avoided, but info will leak and they made it easy. Now it's time to just bring it all out into the light.

cr1 said...

Since it's too late for baseball to have handled this responsibly, or the lawyers to act with integrity regarding confidentiality, I say wait until after the season is over and release all the rest of the names at once. Everybody has the off-season to get over it, and in future seasons we won't have to go through this slow leakage thing.

anonymous number two said...

I was initially against the other names being released, because the testing was done with the promise of confidentiality. But as the trickle continues perhaps there is a tipping point and it is time to put them all out there? You know what should be out there, too? The names of the leakers.

Anonymous said...

Fred, you are azbolutely right!
They need to publicly, and with much fanfare, destroy that list now, and hop into investigating and prosecuting the leakers.
I'd like to see what Madame Balco Judge has to say about the whole matter. She's handed out more time to lawyers who've leaked information than she has to any defendant. I imagine she's pretty upset about all this garbage.
Fehr was right. Leaking this stuff is a criminal act.
We gotta have some standards.
On the other hand, Ortiz was pretty obvious.
But I don't think he's a stupid as Manny, to keep juicing while he's being tested.

Joe

TribeGirl said...

Fred, I'm just curious...did you feel this way when ARod's name was the only one released, or do you now feel this way because names are slowly trickling and have now implicated the Red Sox? I swear I'm not being sarcastic or anything, but it seems now that it's stinging everyone equally, there are loud shouts from the media to release the names, whereas when it was just ARod, the feeling was it should be kept private since it was supposed to be anonymous and therefore, the other 103 names should be protected. I'm asking you since you are on the other side so to speak. I guess my point is the media was only too happy to have ARod be the whipping boy for the whole 104, but now that their beloved Red Sox are stained (we all know ESPN loves them some Sox), the rally cries are out to release all names. I agree at this point the names should be released so the story can die. This post is more about the hypocrisy of the media and their hatred of ARod than anything.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

There definitely seems to be more discussion about who is releasing these names in violation of a court order than there was when A-Rod's name came out. I agree TribeGirl, there is a different vibe in the coverage and I don't think it's an accident. Granted, the media is kind of asphyxiated on A-Rod and I do think that is part of it.

TribeGirl said...

I knew I wasn't crazy. That's why I wanted Fred's take on it as a Red Sox fan as well as an intelligent baseball fan. After watching some local coverage as well as non-ESPN coverage, I also think it's a bit of steroid fatigue too, like, geez...just release the dang list already so we don't have to hear about it anymore. Of course this is in Ohio where we have two small market non contending teams and this isn't even news - the Lee trade still is...

Fred Trigger said...

I assure you I would be just as angry if it were yankee players.

Fred Trigger said...

actually I was pretty upset about the arod leak, as well. Thats not cool that an officer of the court is leaking things. That upsets me more than the steroid use.

Things are different with Papi because he is looked at as happy and fun loving, whereas AROD is just generally not liked, no matter how hard he tries.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to take a nap because I had way more to drink yesterday than I should've.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

If you need a nap, it sounds like you had exactly as much as you should have.

Anonymous said...

I, for one, was just as outraged about the low lifes leaking sealed court documents when it happened to ARod as I am today.
Arod telling that a union rep came to him in the clubhouse to tell him that he was on the list makes Ortiz look pretty dumb.
Ya know, all alex had to do when Roberts came out with her "bombshell" was say "I'm on a list? Show me."
She wouldn't have been able to do it. Then, with all the weird ass stuff she put in her book, she would have had no credibility for that accusation, either. Insted, he came out front and said I did it. I did it a bunch.And I drank the bong water."
What these "soureces" are doing is comparable to publishing the adresses of people in the Witness Protection Program.

Joe

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Back off Joe, I've been trying to get those addresses for decades!

Anonymous said...

Make me an offer.
10% discount if you keep Selena out of it.

Joe

Fred Trigger said...

wow, that is a really really really good point, Joe. Only problem is: no matter what arod does he is going to get torn apart in the media. The poor guy just cant win.

Fred Trigger said...

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but I'm pretty sure there has to be another court order issued for the names to be realeased to the public. I mean, at least legally this would have to happen. Which it probably wont.