The trade deadline was pushed to the backburner for a bit on Thursday afternoon when the news broke that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were two of the 104 players who tested positive for steroids back in 2003. Obviously, with everything that's come out about baseball players and steroids in the last few years, this story didn't really surprise anybody.What was somewhat surprising, though, was that Ortiz tested positive, when over the the last few years, he's been pretty outspoken against performance-enhancers and the players who use them. When Ortiz talked about his positive test after a Red Sox victory on Thursday, he said he had no idea how he tested positive, and he plans on finding out. Well, his old Red Sox teammate Bronson Arroyo has his theory on what might have happened.
Bronson Arroyo, a 2003 Red Sox teammate of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, said yesterday he would not be shocked to discover his name on the list of 104 major league ballplayers who tested positive in the spring of 2003 for using performance-enhancing drugs.How refreshing is that? A player actually admitting to taking stuff for once.
His reason may shed light on what may have happened to Ortiz in 2003, as well.
Back then, Arroyo said via phone from Cincinnati, he was using both androstenedione, which was not banned until the 2004 season, and amphetamines, which were not banned until 2006.
The only reason Arroyo stopped using andro was because he heard through the grapevine that, because of lax production standards, some andro was laced with known steroids, such as Winstrol.
"Before 2004, none of us paid any attention to anything we took," said the Reds starter. "Now they don't want us to take anything unless it's approved. But back then, who knows what was in stuff? The FDA wasn't regulating stuff, not unless it was killing people or people were dying from it."
Still, I'm not really sure I buy Arroyo's story. Could this have actually happened, and then caused Ortiz to test positive after taking some tainted andro? Yeah, it's possible, but I think this is just reaching for any possible reason to think that Ortiz may have been clean.
My theory on Ortiz now is that he took steroids. He took them just like most players were taking them over the last decade or so. It may be a hard pill to swallow for some Red Sox fans who have adored Ortiz since he came to Boston, but once they finally get it down they'll realize that it's harmless and go on about their lives.
I mean, that "tainted andro" did help bring two World Series championships to town, so maybe it's not that bad after all.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-31-2009 @ 4:03PM
reikilight said...
The funny thing is that it took all this time for Papi's using to come out. As bogus as the Mitchell Report was ... We had to know that it was a total sham ... and still the feds spend millions on slandering the name of Bonds as the sacraficial poster boy on the heresay of an ex-girlfriend and a business partner who tried to rip him off ... and that dishonest partners SISTER somehow seeing Barry get shot in the butt with something. It is amazing how much money this governement will spend on to try and make things seem like they care about important issues ... and MLB continues on it's clueless path of "money as usual" and how much have they invested in making Bonds the scapegoat for baseball? It's enough to make you sick! Isn't it funny how people stick up for Papi and Manny ... and condemn others as cheaters? Hypocrites!
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7-31-2009 @ 4:34PM
Dale said...
In the REAL WORLD drug screening is done all the time...you mess up and get caught by your employer..guess what your fired...these players think they are above every one and every law..The real hyocrites are those running MLB and the owners of the teams..they don't care what the players are doing as long as they are making money! If you test postive then your gone..simple as that!
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7-31-2009 @ 7:31PM
panmee said...
Ho Hum!!!!
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8-01-2009 @ 12:03PM
Butch said...
Gimme a break, Major league Baseball has had mandatory testing for minor leaguers going on since what the 2000 season ? Why because the Major League Players union fought them on testing. Still, You would think by 2003 these guys would checking everything they were taking. Guess they were trying to get around it,Arroyo knows it too.
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