Show f. f t i L AnYbody f I Use Steroids a Tim Brown Los Angeles Times Were We're getting all the excuses es now the victims culprits of Major League Baseballs Baseball's new drug policy feigning asserting their inno inno- confusion cence and this is the be-all be program that was to be transparent Alex Sanchez tested positive positive I tive for pe performance ing drugs because of nutritional nutritional nutritional milkshakes Jorge Piedra tested positive for the same because of prescription prescription prescription pre pre- painkillers Remember the good old days when Jose Canseco admitted he took steroids j presumably because he J. J couldn't find anything J stronger Yet he too once hid behind some lame explanation tion a position struck when the alternative meant more j jail ail time See even a guy who would command a advance on a book about his own steroid use the whole point of the book if I recall was not beneath th the contaminated contaminated conta conta- contaminated urine test defense when what was at stake was afew a afew afew few months of freedom And they'll teen r r f fr from ballplayers ay r- r who o would risk a few weeks of baseball for a career of baseball The f. f 38 based Arizona-based minor leaguers leaguers leas lea- lea guers s are about to be joined in their steroid-soaked steroid suspensions suspensions suspensions sus sus- sus- sus pensions by untold numbers of Florida-based Florida minor leaguers leaguers leaguers lea lea- guers and pretty soon well we'll learn that the makers of resin bags have been so negligent as to allow their product to mix with the pile of on the same conveyor belt t ji C because I well the accused have t conic to td cone ome up with some m r f- f h thing The evidence arrives almost d daily th that that- baseball must reconsider its policy of marginally outing the violators violators violators viola viola- tors of its joint drug prevention prevention prevention tion program and provide details of the substances discovered discovered discovered dis dis- dis- dis covered and when they were discovered Its It's tough to i argue protein drinks when f i say the light i is s flashing over your urine sample sampie sample sam sam- pie twice in two weeks Sanchez went back to wor work k c Thursday night for Tampa Tamp a i f Bay and the withering assault t on his character that was t tobe to tobe o j be the very foundation fo for r Major League Baseballs Baseball's ne new w v policy was delivered deliver d by Devil Ray Manager Lou He paid for it and now lets let's leave the kid alone Who Wh could stand up to that kind of abuse Does the man have no compassion Had Sanchez taken job 25 years ago would leave the kid alone Baseballs Baseball's program is better better better bet bet- ter but still too foggy The NFL policy already was 1 1 a t 1 e L M Ja Ia wc IDe ILL league toughened it again When an Olympian is sent home the governing body practically publishes the athletes athlete's athletes athlete's athletes athlete's ath ath- letes lete's molecular analysis To that end player agent Scott Boras has an idea he believes would eliminate confusion for ballplayers seeking legal supplements lessen the number of false positives and perhaps end the embarrassingly bad excuses Boras who received a doctorate doctorate doctorate doc doc- in industrial pharmaceutics pharmaceutics pharmaceutics from Pacific suggested suggest suggest- ed a program by which Major League Baseball would hire an outside agency to test the over-the-counter supple supple- ments The companies that participated in and passed the evaluations would have a seal placed on their product and players would be advised to use only the products that carried that seal No more milkshake tives No more painkiller positives No more resin pos pos- So athletes and teams cant can't raise these issues Either its it's on the list or not Boras said All these pharmaceutical cal companies that are giving things to athletes are out of business It eliminates the gray area area The The athletes athletes' will start sa it h ha haVe V th the thc seal It would bring credibility ity ty and integrity to fo the game and the testing process No Noone Noone Noone one can come to an athlete and say This is OK This stops all that It takes away the market Barry Bonds in theory could have looked for the seal on his bottle of flaxseed oil Were talking about legitimacy legitimacy legitimacy macy Boras said Basically what we need i ian is isan s an FDA As of today the athletes are being forced force d to make decisions And well that just isn't isn t going so well |