There Might Be More to This Jordan Schafer - HGH Story

The news of Jordan Schafer being suspended 50 games this season for violation of baseball's PED policy was shocking to say the least. Although maybe it shouldn't have been, since there has apparently been a Mitchell Report aftershock investigation surrounding the prospect since spring training, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. This, of course, resulted from his meteoric rise through the minors.

Even more spicily, there's a lot of chatter coming out of Schafer's "camp" (read: his dad) about a slew of extenuating circumstances that surround the suspension, none of which Jordan or his family are available to talk about, at the advice of their attorney.

'I want so bad to clear things up, and I want so bad for Jordan to clear things up,' said David Schafer, a Florida businessman. 'But unfortunately the powers that be say not to say anything. I want so bad to straighten this thing out, I just can't say. ... I don't know what to do. He's in a bad spot. It's not the way it seems.

'I never thought it would come to this.'

The article in the AJC also confirmed not only the investigation this spring but also that there was no positive drug test for Schafer, which makes this suspension ridiculously speculative. In fact, the only possible manner of him being busted that would make me not remotely start firing up the conspiracy machine would be possession, but we can't guarantee that either.

The official would say only that there are other 'non-analytical' means of establishing guilt, including possession of a drug.

'He was willing to take a blood test, give them hair samples, willing to do anything he could,' David Schafer said.

Just briefly -- isn't it just freaking fabulous that from now on, anytime someone plays well or improves rapidly, they're going to be privy to a Senate-style investigation from baseball? Anyway, that hair sample/blood test bluff isn't something I would offer up if I was guilty of having done HGH, and I would certainly think Schafer would have the same attitude.

Really, it's kind of embarrassing that baseball, and I'm making an assumption here, wasn't willing to take him up on the testing offer. Worst case is you just tell him the tests aren't reliable when he passes, right? Hopefully, for his sake, the Braves' sake and baseball's sake, Schafer can clear his name -- and hopefully he and his family don't bring some sort of "I was holding it for a friend" excuse, because no one buys those.

But if he is indeed innocent, as he and his father's extremely vague statements seem to indicate, and baseball decided to stomp all over the jump to conclusions mat by investigating him just because of a good year and then follow that investigation up with a 50 game suspension despite no real evidence, well, we are in for a flurry of media speculation. That and a slew of ugly witch hunts. Should be fun though. Seriously, I'm beyond intrigued to find out what the Schafer family is going to say when they go public.