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Friday 03, Feb 2012

  Jose Bautista tested 16 times in 2 years

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Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is being talked these days as a possible candidate to have used a little extra pick-me-up.

Bautista recently said the tests under the name of random drug testing policy conducted by the Major League Baseball are not so random.

From Sportsgrid.com:

Speaking at a recent banquet event in the Dominican Republic, however, Bautista told the attendees that there’s no reason for anyone to be suspicious of his Hulk-like outbreak over the past two seasons. Since, after all, he has been “randomly” tested 16 times for performance enhancing drugs. Yes, that’s 16 times in the course of two years.

Considering that over the previous two seasons he had only been tested three total times, to go along with his 28 home runs in 700-plus at-bats, it certainly seems like said tests may not be so “random.” But then again, that’s the current nature of the game. Everyone is guilty until proven innocent… 20-some-odd times over, and over again. It probably would take another 50 or so negative tests in order for the critics to be quieted down.

The 2-time MLB Home Run Champion and newest member of the 50 HR Club has been tested sixteen times in two years.

Friday 20, Jan 2012

  HGH testing by MLB not effective

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The latest feat of Major League Baseball of extended “labor peace” with the Major League Players Association was reached on November 22, 2011.

MLB has apparently won out in its attempt to curb illicit use of human growth hormone (HGH) by its players, as per terms of the latest basic agreement between the parties.

From Sports-central.org:

The lockouts by both the NFL and NBA this year perhaps did not go by unnoticed by MLB brass in its seemingly under-the-radar collective bargaining talks with the MLBPA this past fall. MLB attempted to show up the other leagues’ rather unkempt labor relations.

And MLB Commissioner Bud Selig made it quite clear by way of his public display of self-aggrandizement during the week following a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached, that his is the first North American professional sports league to agree to such a test for HGH. And perhaps it was indeed Selig’s latest and greatest coup yet, in such a pronouncement, however yet to be realized.

The agreement will run five years in duration and expire on December 1, 2016. Article 39, Sec. 7 (b) of the NFL’s CBA states: “The parties confirm that the Program on Anabolic Steroids and related Substances will include both annual blood testing and random blood testing for human growth hormone, with discipline for positive tests at the same level as for steroids.”

Thursday 19, Jan 2012

  Charges against Bonds dropped

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Days after a judge upheld conviction of the slugger on an obstruction of justice count, federal prosecutors have dropped all the remaining charges against Barry Bonds.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston was informed by via filed papers from the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco that it was dismissing the three charges of making false statements still pending against Major League Baseball‘s all-time home runs leader.

From Espn.go.com:

The deadline for prosecutors to start the process for a retrial on those charges was about 30 days away. Now, Bonds won’t face a new trial on accusations that he lied to a grand jury back in 2003 when he testified that he never knowingly received steroids or human growth hormone from trainer Greg Anderson, and that no one other than his doctors ever injected him with anything.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella declined comment.

Allen Ruby, the lawyer of Bonds, refused to discuss whether Bonds intended to appeal the obstruction conviction.

Tuesday 10, Jan 2012

  HGH testing in new collective bargaining agreement

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The new collective bargaining agreement of the Major League Baseball will include blood testing for human growth hormone.

A report in the New York Times said testing would begin in February during spring training.

The penalty for a positive HGH test will be the same as a positive steroid test — a 50-game suspension, according to the sources.

From Espn.go.com:

Baseball’s new labor contract also will include a rise in the minimum salary to $480,000 and luxury taxes on both amateur draft signings and international free agents coming to the major leagues.

There also will be a slight increase in the total of players eligible for salary arbitration after the 2012 season, when there also will be a new method to determine compensation for clubs losing top major league free agents. There also will be modifications to the luxury tax on high-payroll teams, but the threshold will remain at $178 million next year.

Sources told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that labor negotiators of the MLB have reached a “handshake agreement” on all major issues.

Friday 06, Jan 2012

  Drug tests by MLB rose 3 percent last year

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In the past year, the number of drug tests conducted by Major League Baseball rose 3 percent when Colorado Rockies catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was the only big leaguer suspended for use of a performance enhancing substance.

According to the annual report issued Thursday by Dr. Bryan Smith, the independent administrator for baseball‘s drug program, Alfonzo was banned for 100 games and there was just one positive for PEDs among 3,868 tests that resulted in discipline.

From Espn.go.com:

Under its new labor deal reached last week, baseball players will undergo blood testing for human growth hormone during spring training, starting in February. There is no agreement yet for regular-season blood testing.

Alfonzo’s was a second offense because he also tested positive in 2008 and served a 50-game suspension. The previous year, there were two positives for PEDs among 3,747 tests: Cincinnati pitcher Edinson Volquez and Florida catcher Ronny Paulino.

While Manny Ramirez tested positive this year, he retired rather than serve a 100-game suspension. Smith’s report lists only the substances for positive tests that result in discipline.

Roughly 20 to 25 percent of the approximately 4,000 tests in 2010 in the NFL were during the off-season.

Monday 02, Jan 2012

  Conte says MLB still failing test

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The Major League Baseball may have come to an agreement with its players to test their blood for human growth hormone but the game will be expected to come to grips with its present testing before it touts itself as the leader in new drug testing, said BALCO founder Victor Conte.

Conte further remarked that MLB should be using a more sophisticated form of detecting testosterone or its HGH testing would not really make a difference as players often make use of small amounts of testosterone in conjunction with HGH.

From Articles.nydailynews.com:

HGH is not effective unless it is used in conjunction with testosterone or other anabolic steroids,” Conte says. “It’s important to understand that HGH is not an anabolic agent. It is an anti-catabolic agent. It basically helps to reduce muscle degradation and enables a player to maintain the gains they’ve made using steroids for a longer period of time. By itself, HGH has been shown to have no significant performance-enhancing effects.”

Conte, who is now an advocate for stronger testing, has been saying for years that the 4-to-1 testosterone to epitestosterone ratio used by baseball and other leagues to detect testosterone use is ineffective.

Testosterone gels, creams and patches will clear an MLB player’s system within a matter of hours and be below the 4 to 1 T/E ratio allowable in urine,” he says. “A player could possibly use a fast-acting form of testosterone at night after a game to help with recovery and their T/E ratio would be within the normal range by the time they would get to the ballpark the next evening.

“If MLB were to implement CIR testing, I believe they would possibly catch a significant number of players using testosterone,” Conte says.

Sunday 18, Dec 2011

  Alvaro Aristy faked age for bonus

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Alvaro Aristy (Jorge Leandro Guzman) signed with the Padres three years ago for a sum of $1 million but neither age, talent, or name have proven to be legitimate.

Dan Mullin, the vice president of Major League Baseball‘s department of investigations, remarked the MLB got a tip about Aristy’s identity in January 2010.

From Baseballamerica.com:

Randy Smith, Padres vice president of player development and international scouting, said the team was surprised to learn of Guzman’s fraud before spring training in 2010. “We had no reason to be suspicious,” Smith said. “From our information and him being cleared the first time, we were comfortable with MLB‘s investigation.”

MLB launched its department of investigations in 2008 in response to recommendations from the Mitchell Report, but Mullin’s team didn’t take over age and identity investigations of Latin American players until July 2009. Prior to that, teams contracted out background checks of Latin American players—including Guzman’s—to independent investigators, a system that team officials often complained was ineffective and at times outright corrupt.

This is the second time that player has been in the news for the wrong seasons. In July 2009, he was suspended for 50 games after he tested positive for a metabolite of Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid commonly sold as Deca Durabolin.

Thursday 15, Dec 2011

  HGH testing in MLB urged by lawmakers

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Two House Democrats are urging Major League Baseball and the players union for implementing testing for human growth hormone and ban chewing tobacco by players in uniform and in public view.

Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Frank Pallone of New Jersey made those requests in a letter to Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the players union.

From Espn.go.com:

“These issues affect the integrity of the game, the health of your players, and most important, the health of teenagers who aspire to be like pro players,” the congressmen wrote.

The players union declined to comment on the letter. MLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Waxman and Pallone noted that Selig testified in 2008 that he would support an HGH test “when a valid, commercially available and practical test for HGH becomes reality,” and that Weiner’s predecessor, Donald Fehr, said at that hearing the union would “consider in good faith any valid and effective test which is developed.” Waxman chaired that hearing, held to discuss the Mitchell Report, which identified major league players it said had used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

“The time to begin testing for HGH in baseball has arrived,” Waxman wrote, citing the use of blood testing for HGH in the Olympics.

Tuesday 04, Oct 2011

  Deer antler spray added to MLB banned substance list

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A warning has been sent to MLB players from Major League Baseball for them to avoid the use of Deer Antler spray or face suspension for using a league banned substance.

The spray, which is an alternative to steroids, has been added to the MLB list of”potentially contaminated nutritional supplements.”

From Inquisitr.com:

At the center of the controversy is IGF-1 (an insulin-like growth factor) which is found on the velvet from antlers in immature deers. IGF-1 specifically affects a person’s level of human growth hormone.

The makers of the spray say it enhances performance and can’t be detected through urine samples. While blood tests can show the drug the MLB only relies on urine tests at this time. MLB officials however believe that the spray can cause players to test positive for methyltestosterone, a banned steroid.

The MLB can petition for the right to draw blood samples in players, however at this point the players association has refused to grant blood tests for all players despite understanding that certain drugs can not be tested using basic urine tests.

MLB players are currently being educated about the drug since long-term effects from the drug have not been explored at this time.

Thursday 29, Sep 2011

  Former MVP admits regret

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Jose Canseco, the former baseball slugger, has expressed regret over his involvement in the sport’s ongoing steroids controversy in a one-hour documentary titled, “Jose Canseco: The Last Shot.”

Canseco regretted “mentioning players (as steroids users)” in his book “Juiced” that was published in 2005 and ultimately led to a congressional hearing on doping in the sport.

From Espnstar.com:

Canseco, 44, revealed that he wrote the book because he wanted to get even with Major League Baseball, which he believed had him “forced out of the game.”

In his book, Canseco named Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro as steroids users. Those three players, along with Canseco, were present at a March 2005 congressional hearing in which Sosa and McGwire provided questionable testimony while Palmeiro defiantly denied using steroids.

Less than four years later, Sosa and McGwire are widely considered longshots to reach the Hall of Fame despite ranking sixth and eighth, respectively, on baseball’s all-time list for career home runs. Palmeiro tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2005 season and was suspended.

“If I could meet with Mark McGwire and these players, I definitely would apologize to them,” said Canseco, who developed a friendship with McGwire during their seven-year stint together with the Oakland Athletics. “They were my friends. I admired them, I respected them.”

“I never realized this was going to blow up and hurt so many people,” Canseco said in the interview.

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