Major League Baseball set to ban Alex Rodriguez through 2015

[Simon]

.... although I am still hoping he is banned for life.  He does not belong in any major league uniform.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/alex-rodriguez-to-fight-suspension-mlb-to-move-ahead-with-ban-080313

[David Phantomhive]

I agree.  These athletes like A-Rod and Lance Armstrong send the wrong message to those that look up to them.  I am a strong believer in personal responsibility and hard work, and with every action comes a consequence.  This is not A-Rods first time in this position, he knows the consequences of his actions, he did it again, and now he does not want take responsibility and suffer the consequences.   *yuck*

[paleoferroequine]

I agree.  These athletes like A-Rod and Lance Armstrong send the wrong message to those that look up to them.  I am a strong believer in personal responsibility and hard work, and with every action comes a consequence.  This is not A-Rods first time in this position, he knows the consequences of his actions, he did it again, and now he does not want take responsibility and suffer the consequences.   *yuck*

I also agree. The thing is that the pressure to succeed is so great that athletes succumb to the lure of "performance enhancing substances". Everybody does it is what they say. Armstrong asserts that in order to compete in events such as the Tour de France all the winners have used drugs for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me. If all the user perps in pro sports were to have their heads explode, the carnage would be astounding in the world. And there would be few pro athletes left. Just saying. Only my opinion, mind you.

[Simon]

That's why the consequences need to be lifetime bans and the voiding of guaranteed contracts for abusers.  That is the only thing that will remove the incentive to cheat for some people.

It is a good thing that all the players who have commented on the upcoming suspensions are very much in favor of cleaning up the game.

[David Phantomhive]

You guys are right on. 

[paleoferroequine]

That's why the consequences need to be lifetime bans and the voiding of guaranteed contracts for abusers.  That is the only thing that will remove the incentive to cheat for some people.

It is a good thing that all the players who have commented on the upcoming suspensions are very much in favor of cleaning up the game.

Of course they would say that. Talk is cheap. They know it will never happen. If it did there would be no one left except chirping crickets. I consider that a feature, not a bug. Start over from the ground up. We could appreciate the real, pure talent again. Until the cycle repeats. Next time around genetic mods or myostatin blockers. Or just give up and say anything goes, no restrictions and be done with it.  Hulk smash !

[tyrantqueen]

I don't know anything about baseball...or most sport for that matter. But, if I was an athlete and used drugs to enhance my performance, I'd probably feel disappointed in myself, because I can't win with athletic ability alone and have to cheat to get there.

[deanm]

I don't know anything about baseball...or most sport for that matter. But, if I was an athlete and used drugs to enhance my performance, I'd probably feel disappointed in myself, because I can't win with athletic ability alone and have to cheat to get there.

There-in lies the issue - athlete's who use the performance enhancing drugs can self-justify it to themselves to a level that they do not understand/know your point anymore.

I lost interest in professional sports a long time ago from all of the various scandals/strikes (millionaires and billionaires fighting over a few dollars while the fans and associated jobs (bars, servers, food, etc) suffer) /etc.

[Simon]

I don't know anything about baseball...or most sport for that matter. But, if I was an athlete and used drugs to enhance my performance, I'd probably feel disappointed in myself, because I can't win with athletic ability alone and have to cheat to get there.

The amount of money potentially involved with improved performance via pharmacology, and the low risk of being caught fueled an epidemic of steroid use in American baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s. 

Alex Rodriguez, who would have been a top tier player even without using drugs, has made 350 MILLION dollars in his career and stood to make 86 MILLION more over the next 5 years before the soon-to-announced suspension without pay is announced. 

Many previously sacred records that had stood for generations were broken as a result by players that have since been proven to have used steroids.  It really caused a crisis of confidence in the game.  The new policy of testing and suspensions has been slowly having a positive effect and the multiple suspensions of as many as 20 players that will be announced tomorrow (Monday) are a positive step in wiping this scourge from America's national pastime.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I guess  this is all why  I avoid professional sports. I keep asking myself though....isnt all this chest beating self righteouosness about doping somewhat misplaced?  This isnt anything that is new or just started last week....its gone on for years in professional sports as evidenced by many of the retired players and their own biographies. Each generation seems to perfect the process, but I suspect that many of those great records being broken were established by some players that were using drugs, drinking or artifically altering their own physiology  prior to games. Since we do not have the same tests and standards for them and they were never held to these standards who can state for sure. I think it is very naive to single out this current set of players and not question the broader picture.
  I think if there is a finger that attempts to place blame fairly it starts with holding the players accountable yes, but it also should go after the professionals that are prescribing and obtaining these things for the players. The blame also rests with the owners and the leagues for creating an environment where such things could flourish for generations and finally the blame falls on us, the fans who buy the tickets, tune into the games and purchase the endorsement merchandise for supporting, accepting and adulterating a set  of  people who have shown themselves time and again incapable of policing themselves.
  Suspensions accomplish nothing....except taking money out of  players pockets when they are so wealthy it does not harm them. There need to be more constructive answers and more effort spent here.

[Simon]

Just one observation:  alcohol, being a depressant, destroyed the careers of many old time ballplayers.  In the short terms it slows down reaction time - in the long term, well, you have all of the alcohol-related illnesses.  So alcohol degrades performance at all levels.  Which makes it all the more amazing how players like Babe Ruth, Jimmy Foxx and Hack Wilson were able to perform (for a time) at the level they played at while heavily imbibing....the first introduction of amphetamines in the game of baseball was probably in the 1960s, and its effects are negligible compared to the effects of steroids, which actually build up the human body to make it stronger, quicker, and help to lessen recovery time.

Therefore, what happened during the steroid era in baseball is unprecedented in the sport.  No 'gimmicks' that were supposed to help performance in past generations caused the kind of aberrant offensive statistics we saw over the past 20 years.

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I would think amphetamines would be the least of worries, if a serious study were made. What about uppers,downers, LSD, marijuana, speed, pCP, designer drugs of all kinds? I would love to see any serious scientific study that compares all of them with steroids. I am unsure why the statement would be made that amphetamines would be negligible.....would it not depend on doseage, body weight, and many other factors ? The depth of useage, the amount present in the body, there are many migitagating factors that cannot be assigned without a careful in depth study, which we just do not posess.
  Steroids are their own evil, but they are just this generation's method of doing something that has been done for years. I still find it odd anyone would find much surprise in it all, given the many bio written by players that clearly underline the substance abuses constant in basically all professional sports historically.
And yes, alcohol might well lower the performance of an athlete....but it also lowers inhibitions which might have given some of those athletes another unfair edge, almost without question. Either way such abuses are documented history from many of the players who did establish landmarks in sports.

[Simon]

Babe Ruth set his records, as a wag famously put it during the Barry bonds debate, "on hot dogs and beer".  Which expanded his gut instead of his head and arms as steroids did to Bonds. 

If Ruth had taken steroids he would have hit 100 homeruns in a season, not 60 .... none of the substances you mentioned do much to improve performance over the long haul, and many outright damage it (alcohol, marijuana)... comparing steroids to those other things is like comparing an A-Bomb to TNT;  apples and oranges...

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I have seen a drunken person do things in their stupor that they physically could not attempt sober, many times. Nevermind the PCP users that shake off direct gunfire and punch through car windows without feeling it. I have seen a person using speed accomplish things that in their normal state would be out of the question.
If you ever wish to question it ask an inner city police officer that deals with these things daily.
If this and if that, but where are the studies and data to support any of your suggestions? One evil is no worse than the next in some aspect. Condoning one players abuse while criticizing another ones is precisely the problem and how it came to be so widespread originally.
  You cannot single out steroids, drugs, alcohol.....as being the only problem. If you do, we are forever condemned to repeating the same mistakes, as we have done so far.

[David Phantomhive]

All I am saying is that every action has a consequence, and everyone should know, whether it is taking steroids, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, etc., what those consequences could be.  If one decides to take a particular action, they should be responsible for that action and accept the consequence.  The lack of personal responsibility is the problem.     

[postsaurischian]

  That Alex Rodriguez must be pretty stupid. Using steroids for playing 'Baseball'? Ha, ha .
The fitness you need for that kind of sport could be easily obtained. A bit of daily workout should be enough to be able to hit a ball and run around the corners from time to time.
If he's too lazy to at least do the daily training an average mid-class society housewife does (which I think would be enough to play 'Baseball') he really should be banned for the rest of his life and he should be forced to pay back all the money he earned with this sport.

[Simon]

postsaurichian -

Thank you for that, umm, astute analysis of the game of baseball.   

BTW, my son is a high school baseball pitcher and I can assure you he is working out every single say cross training, doing weights, etc.  And then there are the baseball drills, and pitching sessions.

Playing baseball requires more skill and hand-to-eye coordination than any other sport - and its not even a close case.

BTW, how hard is it to play soccer?  All you need to do is some running practice and you are ready?  Right?

[postsaurischian]

  He, he ... misunderstanding.
I'm sure playing Baseball requires a lot of skill and hand-to-eye coordination, but (and that's my point) you won't get any better at this using steroids (which only increases your body power and stamina) .

[Simon]

I wish you were right about that, but the simple fact is that steroids drastically improved the performance of many, many players - as can easily be seen by comparing their batting statistics in the years before, and the years after, they used the drugs.  I could go on, but I think I would lose you if I got into an in-depth discussion of the subject.  Baseball is a bit of a mystery to Europeans, I know, since it is not played over there....

[paleoferroequine]

I wish you were right about that, but the simple fact is that steroids drastically improved the performance of many, many players - as can easily be seen by comparing their batting statistics in the years before, and the years after, they used the drugs.  I could go on, but I think I would lose you if I got into an in-depth discussion of the subject.  Baseball is a bit of a mystery to Europeans, I know, since it is not played over there....

   Even though this is about A-Rod and baseball, the problem is widespread in sports not just in the U.S. Substitute [your favorite sports here].The risk for pro athletes is not great, they balance the gains(equating to high salaries) versus getting caught. If you do get caught your rep is "tarnished". But you have garnered maybe hundreds of $thousands to tens of $millions or much more so it's worth the risk.

   "Our athletes should have the same conditions and services as the Eastern bloc athletes," says an unidentified West German interior minister, according to the report - which allegedly meant officially promoting the use of anabolic steroids, hormones, banned stimulants such as ephedrine and a methamphetamine, commonly known as speed.

   The study claims that the drugs were used for decades and financed from state funds.

This was back in the Cold War.

   Now for today:
   DRUG testing in sport is flawed and scores of doping athletes are escaping detection because of poor check systems, an Adelaide University study has suggested.

Researchers found cheating competitors were potentially avoiding detection in up to two in three tests, as authorities struggle with "unreliable" methods.

The study, based on official anti-doping data across almost 100 sports, suggested that drug-taking appeared to be "more widespread" than previously thought.

In their unpublished study, submitted for publication in the International Journal of Drug Policy, researchers analysed World Anti-Doping Agency data including drug test results, reliability and frequency.

Among the 93 world sports they reviewed were cycling, archery, boxing, European football, netball, rowing, weightlifting and bodybuilding.  (archery? Robin Hood would be mortified!  )

The researchers based their results on drugs staying in an athlete's system for 48 hours and found there was a three per cent chance of detection if they were randomly tested once-a-week.

The research, titled Anti-doping systems in sports are doomed to fail: a probability and cost analysis, found success rates could only be boosted if athletes were subjected to scores more tests a year, potentially costing millions more dollars to sporting watchdogs.

cut and paste from from-news.com.au July 26th 2013

It's a huge problem all over. It requires a enormous amount of hubris. Much in common with politics and politicians worldwide.

  "Ah, arrogance and stupidity all in the same package, how efficient of you!"

-Londo Mollari