Michael Pineda Suspended 60 Games For Banned Substance

They have 2 players injured that can be used for the exception

Oh, ****. You'd think they could have gotten a win out of it last night. Thorpe, Smeltzer, Graterol...they need a minor miracle now to win the division.

The way the rules work, the 20 game reduction in the suspension actually does mean something. The arbitrator is only empowered to reduce the suspension if he specifically finds that the player was not guilty of negligence or try to hide his use of a banned substance. In other words, the arbitrator found that Pineda just did something really stupid; he ingested over-the-counter diet pills that contained a banned diuretic. Doing so is a no intent offense. If you adjust the diueretic, you get suspended.

What that really boils down to is that this is not a situation where you have a guy using a PED to try to improve performance. He took some over-the-counter diet pills to try to lose weight. We can call that stupid and the results for the team are significant, but we should not say this is a player trying to cheat.

If you are correct, then it seems that this was mere stupidity, not negligence, and that there was an express finding that he was not trying to hide his use of a banned substance. I would like to know what actually happened, and if I am understanding you analysis then my initial rage against Pineda will be greatly reduced.

Can you provide any additional support for this position?

He took a banned substance..... Does it matter why? He hurt the team. Does it matter why, other than to keep himself alive, is there a good reason?

I think that it matters in the context of the discussion of his character and the appropriate level of anger that fans should be feeling. For example, if he took an over the counter diet pill that he was told was OK, then my anger level would be less than if he was trying to conceal use of PEDs.

Some posters have been very derogatory as to Pineda's character and I think that LAVikesfan has cast some doubt on the theory that Pineda was trying to mask use of PEDSs.,

If he knew it was banned, does it matter why?

If he knew that he was taking a banned substance then I suspect that the reason would not matter to me. So I think that we are in agreement on that point.

If he thought that he was taking a perfectly OK diet pill, would that matter to you?

I think that his intent matters to the extent that people want to judge his character.

If he knew that he was taking a banned substance then I suspect that the reason would not matter to me. So I think that we are in agreement on that point.

 

If he thought that he was taking a perfectly OK diet pill, would that matter to you?

 

I think that his intent matters to the extent that people want to judge his character.

According to this website, it's only available by prescription, so "over the counter" appears questionable.

https://www.drugs.com/hydrochlorothiazide.html

Either way, taking something "from a friend" is at best, risky to the point of being stupid.

And I dont think he's stupid.

He took a banned substance..... Does it matter why? He hurt the team. Does it matter why, other than to keep himself alive, is there a good reason?

It would matter to me if I was considering re-signing him. I’d feel a lot better that his mid-season success wasn’t due to something unsustainable without cheating.

According to this website, it's only available by prescription, so "over the counter" appears questionable.

https://www.drugs.com/hydrochlorothiazide.html

Either way, taking something "from a friend" is at best, risky to the point of being stupid.

And I dont think he's stupid.

I think that sometimes people who are not stupid do a stupid thing.

This is from ESPN's website:

"Pineda originally was suspended for 80 games, but the ban was reduced to 60 on appeal, as a compelling case was made that the banned diuretic he used was not a masking agent for performance-enhancing drugs, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27560862/twins-rhp-pineda-given-60-game-suspension

It seems to me that if he was not taking the diuretic to mask PEDs, then it was, at worst, stupid to take the diuretic. Unless ESPN's source is lying, Pineda made a "compelling case" that he was not masking PED use.

It also appears that some over the counter supplements illegally include prescription drugs.  https://www.goodrx.com/blog/common-prescription-medications-found-in-dietary-supplements/

I would also invite you to discuss the post from LAVikesfan -- post #65 in this thread. I am having trouble poking holes in his analysis.

Until yesterday, most of us were Pineda fans. He pitched well for our favorite team and we would have loved to meet him. Now he is being labeled a cheater and worse. It seems to me that there is significant reason to believe that maybe he made a stupid decision, but is not a cheater.

I am not saying that Pineda did not cheat. Maybe he did. But it sounds like on appeal he was able to persuade the authorities that he was not masking PEDs. 

Stewart, Thorpe, Smeltzer, and don't forget Dobnak.  I have always been in full support of giving any of these guys a shot. 

 

 

However... It's September 7th. It's probably too late. 

 

So, who do you choose?

 

Do they have a sufficient sample of MLB performance data to aid the front office in the selection? 

Are you going to get enough data before the month is up to hand one of them a playoff roster spot?

How many starts does Smeltzer get to prove he is the one?

How many starts does Dobnak or Thorpe get... if Smeltzer uses some starts up and fails to prove he is the one? 

 

I can certainly understand the anger and disappointment directed toward Pineda. I have that same disappointment but Pineda isn't where my eyeballs are focused. 

Probably Thorpe.. more upside than Smeltzer, but Smeltzer has shown enough too. With Gibson's injury, you could potentially see both. That's scary.