Article: Jorge Polanco Receives 80-Game Suspension For PED

[Blackjack]

How often do players get tested?? Are they tested multiple times per year?? Is every player on every team tested?? Are the tests scheduled or surprise tests??

[gunnarthor]

My main problem with the punishment is that it only punishes players and actually gives some benefits to the owners (not paying salary). The Mitchell Report (as crappy and owner-favored as it was) made note that PED use was a problem caused by both players and teams. Any punishment should affect both, not just the players. But baseball doesn't really want to get PEDs out of the game, it just wants to pretend it's doing something.

[Doomtints]

 

Polanco added 20 pounds over the off-season working with this trainer... If that doesn't scream 'test me now' I don't know what does. 

 

I added 20 pounds in the same period of time. Am I juicing?

[slash129]

 

I added 20 pounds in the same period of time. Am I juicing?

 

I was only able to add 12 pounds, but wine as an aperitif is sort of juice.

[USAFChief]

 

My main problem with the punishment is that it only punishes players and actually gives some benefits to the owners (not paying salary). The Mitchell Report (as crappy and owner-favored as it was) made note that PED use was a problem caused by both players and teams. Any punishment should affect both, not just the players. But baseball doesn't really want to get PEDs out of the game, it just wants to pretend it's doing something.

won't the owners have to pay a salary to someone else on the 25 man roster?

 

Baseball is "pretending" to test players, and issue 80 game suspensions?

 

Jim Pohlad shouldn't have to pay for Jorge Polanco's screw up, any more than he already is by the damage done to his product by Jorge Polanco. There is no conspiracy here, no racism, no back door deal, no cover up, no targeting.

 

 

 

Baseball came to it's senses, bargained with the union, and came up with a sensible, enforceable policy that has benefited everyone from owners, to players, to fans.  The game is better for it.

 

Jorge Polanco violated that policy, got caught, and now must pay the penalty.  It's as simple as that.  

 

sheesh.

 

 

[Vanimal46]

I added 20 pounds in the same period of time. Am I juicing?

I don't know. Are you a previously scrawny professional baseball player?

[USAFChief]

 

I added 20 pounds in the same period of time. Am I juicing?

did you add 20 pounds without affecting your waist size?

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

My main problem with the punishment is that it only punishes players and actually gives some benefits to the owners (not paying salary).

Not in this case -- Polanco's salary is negligible. Any replacement would make at least the same, and if Aybar makes the team in his place, it will actually cost the team an extra $700k plus any incentives that Aybar might meet. The team is definitely getting some punishment here, although perhaps it should take on a little more -- maybe losing the 40-man roster spot during the suspension would be appropriate. Maybe any forfeited salary above the minimum could go to a central fund rather than back to the team.

 

I agree that in theory, there are suspensions that would be more favorable to the team, although probably only a small subset of players who aren't worth their salaries and for whom the team can find viable replacements in the short term.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Do the Twins and MLB offer free supplements to their players, even in the offseason? Honest question, I don't know.

[gunnarthor]

won't the owners have to pay a salary to someone else on the 25 man roster?

 

Baseball is "pretending" to test players, and issue 80 game suspensions?

 

Jim Pohlad shouldn't have to pay for Jorge Polanco's screw up, any more than he already is by the damage done to his product by Jorge Polanco. There is no conspiracy here, no racism, no back door deal, no cover up, no targeting.

 

 

 

Baseball came to it's senses, bargained with the union, and came up with a sensible, enforceable policy that has benefited everyone from owners, to players, to fans.  The game is better for it.

 

Jorge Polanco violated that policy, got caught, and now must pay the penalty.  It's as simple as that.  

 

sheesh.

This take puts all the blame for PED-use on the players despite no one in baseball thinking that is true. We saw in the ARod fiasco that the Yankee owners were begging MLB to suspend him so they would get out of paying his salary while at the same time people in the FO were emailing ARod asking him to get Cano some PEDs. 

 

Drug testing in MLB is a joke which is why their catch rate is so low. MLB pretends that they are stopping PEDs and occasionally they'll catch someone. But their aim in PR, not actually stopping PED use. If they really wanted to stop this, they would put penalties down on teams for violations which would mean teams would stop letting players train with the Angel Presenal's of the world. 

 

You are right that the players bargained for this, which makes it fine. But it's still stupid and unfairly penalizes one side and ignores the bad faith work of owners and teams.

 

sheesh.

[nicksaviking]

 

Why have a sensible policy when you can just have one that screams 'see! We are punishing people!' without actually fixing the problem whatsoever.
A zero tolerance drug policy is so stupid, and punishes unfairly any player that comes from or plays in the D.R.

 

 

That seems incredibly offensive to all the DR players who don't test positive.

[nicksaviking]

 

I added 20 pounds in the same period of time. Am I juicing?

 

Were all of those hamburgers medium rare or well done?

 

I prefer them juicy myself. And lots of them.

[USAFChief]

 

This take is asinine. It puts all the blame for PED-use on the players despite no one in baseball thinking that is true. We saw in the ARod fiasco that the Yankee owners were begging MLB to suspend him so they would get out of paying his salary while at the same time people in the FO were emailing ARod asking him to get Cano some PEDs. 

 

Drug testing in MLB is a joke which is why their catch rate is so low. MLB pretends that they are stopping PEDs and occasionally they'll catch someone. But their aim in PR, not actually stopping PED use. If they really wanted to stop this, they would put penalties down on teams for violations which would mean teams would stop letting players train with the Angel Presenal's of the world. 

 

You are right that the players bargained for this, which makes it fine. But it's still stupid and unfairly penalizes one side and ignores the bad faith work of owners and teams.

 

sheesh.

No one in baseball thinks that's true?  

 

Source please.

 

BTW, if not Jorge Polanco, who do we blame for Jorge Polanco?

 

I'd also like to know how you propose the Twins "stop letting players train with the Angel Presenals of the world."

 

 

 

 

[ScottyB]

Does anyone know how this affects Polancos pay this year or his service time?

Don’t know about service time, but it’s 80 games WITHOUT pay.

[kab21]

Even if Sano isn't suspended I still expect Escobar to play about 1/2 of the games at 3B so I would go with Adrianza as a nominal starter. With Sano I would probably add Aybar and not play him. If Sano is suspended then I bring up Gordon and get him 2-3 starts/wk before sending him down when one of the suspensions end. He could of course make a case for taking the job permanently or for getting sent down early due to struggling.

[adorduan]

 

This take is asinine. It puts all the blame for PED-use on the players despite no one in baseball thinking that is true. We saw in the ARod fiasco that the Yankee owners were begging MLB to suspend him so they would get out of paying his salary while at the same time people in the FO were emailing ARod asking him to get Cano some PEDs. 

 

Drug testing in MLB is a joke which is why their catch rate is so low. MLB pretends that they are stopping PEDs and occasionally they'll catch someone. But their aim in PR, not actually stopping PED use. If they really wanted to stop this, they would put penalties down on teams for violations which would mean teams would stop letting players train with the Angel Presenal's of the world. 

 

You are right that the players bargained for this, which makes it fine. But it's still stupid and unfairly penalizes one side and ignores the bad faith work of owners and teams.

 

sheesh.

If the catch rate is so low, how many players are still using PED's?  You seem to know.....

[howieramone2]

 

The mlb “performance enhancing drug” rules are stupid and unfair.

Between this nonsense and collusion this off season the players definitely need to strike.

Yeah, let them get real jobs.

[Doomtints]

 

I don't know. Are you a previously scrawny professional baseball player?

 

I would say he still looks scrawny.

[Doomtints]

 

Were all of those hamburgers medium rare or well done?

 

I prefer them juicy myself. And lots of them.

 

Food in Chicago is just too good.

And yes.

[Doomtints]

 

did you add 20 pounds without affecting your waist size?

 

My waist size before was near the minimum for a 6'2" adult -- around 33". So no.

[gunnarthor]

 

No one in baseball thinks that's true?  

 

Source please.

 

BTW, if not Jorge Polanco, who do we blame for Jorge Polanco?

 

I'd also like to know how you propose the Twins "stop letting players train with the Angel Presenals of the world."

I hope that the players will insist that PED penalties affect both the player and the team in the next round of the CBA - even if it's just making the lost salary get donated to charity instead of staying in the owners pockets. 

 

And no one is saying Polanco shouldn't be blamed. But he's not the only one who should get blamed. MLB has created a system that pushes PED use. The Mitchell Report even said that. I don't think it's unreasonable to say that both sides - not just one - should be penalized. The Twins knew (or should have known) who their players are training with in the off season. And they also knew (or should have known) where these guys are training and the risks that might create.  

[USAFChief]

 

I hope that the players will insist that PED penalties affect both the player and the team in the next round of the CBA - even if it's just making the lost salary get donated to charity instead of staying in the owners pockets. 

 

And no one is saying Polanco shouldn't be blamed. But he's not the only one who should get blamed. MLB has created a system that pushes PED use. The Mitchell Report even said that. I don't think it's unreasonable to say that both sides - not just one - should be penalized. The Twins knew (or should have known) who their players are training with in the off season. And they also knew (or should have known) where these guys are training and the risks that might create.  

The Mitchell report came out over 10 years ago, and the changes to MLB's drug policy came about at least partly because of the Mitchell report.

 

How would the Twins know who Jorge Polanco is training with in the offseason?  How would they prevent him from training with anyone he choses?

 

The Twins are the biggest victim here, not the perpetrator.

[Jerr]

Players should not take supplements, unless from their teams and have MLB approval.

The teams, can in no way monitor, all what their players do on their own.

Hence, it is on the player, to make sure what they ingest, is approved by MLB.

Seems pretty simple here....

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Jerr

[SF Twins Fan]

 

So, it makes sense now why the Twins signed Aybar.  With Polanco and Sano potentially being suspended for the beginning of the season they needed someone as a backup plan.

[gunnarthor]

 

The Mitchell report came out over 10 years ago, and the changes to MLB's drug policy came about at least partly because of the Mitchell report.

 

How would the Twins know who Jorge Polanco is training with in the offseason?  How would they prevent him from training with anyone he choses?

 

The Twins are the biggest victim here, not the perpetrator.

Poor multi-billion dollar owners. If only they could have done something about the PED problem in the sport. Oh, wait. They created a system that completely blames the players and gets fans to side with them. Great job, victims!

 

If you think baseball teams are ignorant of the PED use, fine. There isn't a lot of concrete data out there but we have several examples of the Yankee and Red Sox front offices knowing of PED use among players on their team and on other teams. I'm sure as front offices have gotten smarter, they've decided not to keep tabs on those sorts of things.

 

The Twins could easily set up their own training compound in the DR and fill it with their own trainers/medical people/dietitians if they wanted. Teams didn't do this at the height of the PED era for a reason. They wanted plausible deniability. They aren't doing this now for the same reason. They want the benefits that the drugs can give their players to help the team.

[nicksaviking]

This take is asinine. It puts all the blame for PED-use on the players despite no one in baseball thinking that is true. We saw in the ARod fiasco that the Yankee owners were begging MLB to suspend him so they would get out of paying his salary while at the same time people in the FO were emailing ARod asking him to get Cano some PEDs. 

 

Drug testing in MLB is a joke which is why their catch rate is so low. MLB pretends that they are stopping PEDs and occasionally they'll catch someone. But their aim in PR, not actually stopping PED use. If they really wanted to stop this, they would put penalties down on teams for violations which would mean teams would stop letting players train with the Angel Presenal's of the world. 

 

You are right that the players bargained for this, which makes it fine. But it's still stupid and unfairly penalizes one side and ignores the bad faith work of owners and teams.

 

sheesh.

How is the system for cheating players in baseball any diffrrent than the reward process for just about every other industry that incentivizes the best work? Should no company be allowed to award bonuses or commission because it might encourage the more unethical employees to break the rules and/or the law?

[Jerr]

 

Poor multi-billion dollar owners. If only they could have done something about the PED problem in the sport. Oh, wait. They created a system that completely blames the players and gets fans to side with them. Great job, victims!

 

If you think baseball teams are ignorant of the PED use, fine. There isn't a lot of concrete data out there but we have several examples of the Yankee and Red Sox front offices knowing of PED use among players on their team and on other teams. I'm sure as front offices have gotten smarter, they've decided not to keep tabs on those sorts of things.

 

The Twins could easily set up their own training compound in the DR and fill it with their own trainers/medical people/dietitians if they wanted. Teams didn't do this at the height of the PED era for a reason. They wanted plausible deniability. They aren't doing this now for the same reason. They want the benefits that the drugs can give their players to help the team.

The owners do not need to set up some kind of "babysitting camp" to shield the players. Players are adults and bring this on their selves. They can easily avoid the use of banned drugs.

 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Jerr

[Mike Sixel]

It's pretty easy to sit back at your computer and say that people trying to preserve their (and their family's....many from poor countries, oddly coincidentally) future should just not do everything in their power to do so....you aren't at jeopardy of losing millions of dollars. 

 

As if Tom Kelly didn't throw away syringes back in the day.....teams know. They only care when players get caught. Thinking otherwise seems naive to me. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Players should not take supplements, unless from their teams and have MLB approval.

The teams, can in no way monitor, all what their players do on their own.

Hence, it is on the player, to make sure what they ingest, is approved by MLB.

Seems pretty simple here....

Depends on what the teams offer, in that regard. Honestly, it's such a minimal expense, they should be provided during the season, and the players should be given/shipped an offseason supply at the end of the season.

 

If teams aren't doing that for million-dollar investments, they do bear some of the blame here. (Even with just a 1-2 WAR projection, the Twins are missing out on millions worth of production from Polanco's suspension.)

[adorduan]

 

Poor multi-billion dollar owners. If only they could have done something about the PED problem in the sport. Oh, wait. They created a system that completely blames the players and gets fans to side with them. Great job, victims!

 

If you think baseball teams are ignorant of the PED use, fine. There isn't a lot of concrete data out there but we have several examples of the Yankee and Red Sox front offices knowing of PED use among players on their team and on other teams. I'm sure as front offices have gotten smarter, they've decided not to keep tabs on those sorts of things.

 

The Twins could easily set up their own training compound in the DR and fill it with their own trainers/medical people/dietitians if they wanted. Teams didn't do this at the height of the PED era for a reason. They wanted plausible deniability. They aren't doing this now for the same reason. They want the benefits that the drugs can give their players to help the team.

Poor multi-million dollar players, if only they could stop poking themselves in the butt with steriods.. Oh wait....  You need  a new calendar, it's not 2007 anymore.