You may remember back in 2001 when Barry Bonds was in the midst of his chase of the single-season home run record, there was a lot of talk about his possible steroid use. (If you don't remember, then how was your trip to Antarctica, anyway?) There was also a quote from Bonds at the time in which he said that baseball could test him every day and he'd never test positive. Of course, considering that we sit here eight years later and there still isn't a reliable test for HGH, that doesn't exactly say much.
What does say something is a report that appeared in the New York Times early Thursday morning. In what could be an incredibly big blow to his defense in his upcoming perjury trial, the paper is saying that authorities have some urine samples from Bonds that tested positive for steroids.
Until they invent new drugs (and maybe this has already happened; how would we know?) MLB's last remaining performance-enhancing bugaboo is human growth hormone. People seem convinced not only that professional baseball players are seeking out HGH by the dozens, but that the drug itself actually has any marginal effect on performance. The first is probably wrong, the second most definitely so.
Anyway, pretty soon it won't even be an issue, thanks to the miracle of stem cell research. Just kidding! No stem cells were harmed in the making of this drug test:
The man described as the "guru of sports doping" and an East Coast cancer detection expert said they're on the way to establishing a urine test for human growth hormone that could close a drug-testing loophole experts described Monday as a "widespread" problem in sports. Baseball officials who weren't allowed to discuss the situation publicly told The Times the Catlin-Liotta partnership now is poised to be "at the front of the line" when the Partnership for Clean Competition -- consisting of MLB, NFL and the U.S. Olympic Committee -- begins to distribute funds from a pool of $10 million later this year.
In other words, Major League Baseball is shelling out its cash to finish a test for a drug that doesn't really work that players might not even want in the first place. Why? To save face. And it's not a lot of cash; even if they footed the whole bill, $10 million is still only two-thirds of Bud Selig's yearly salary. What does Bud Selig actually do to earn that money? He makes difficult decisions during rainstorms. Tough gig, that guy.
How exactly did Jordan Schafer get caught doing HGH? It certainly wasn't by a random drug test -- they can't test for HGH yet. He hasn't been linked with any government investigations, and I'm guessing if a trainer walked in on him with a needle hanging out of his pants we would have heard about it.
According to the New York Daily News, it seems he may have been ratted out by a teammate via an anonymous hotline, a new measure implemented by MLB's scary-sounding "Department of Investigations" upon recommendation of the Mitchell Report:
"This is not something that came from a government investigation," said an MLB source who requested anonymity, speaking about the Schafer case. "It came from a team of investigators following what Mitchell recommended."
The source would not confirm if the Schafer investigation was an offshoot of the hotline, but the source did say the line was available to anybody in baseball with access to its private code, including players, managers and front-office personnel. Tipsters can also report rules violations through a secure Web site.
The hotline goes directly to the Department of Investigation, said the source.
"You can leave a message or speak to someone live if that is your choice," the source added.
Seriously? You can talk to a live person? I take it they're not using the same call center as MLB.com's customer service. In any case, it'll be interesting to see how many ballplayers embrace the whistleblower attitude versus maintain the old school code of silence.
As spring training enters it's final days, teams are busy making the final decisions on which 25 players they plan on taking with them when the break camp, and who they're going to send to the minors. Who's the long man in the bullpen going to be? Who's the fifth outfielder and left-handed bat off the bench going to be? All very important decisions, to be sure.
Well new Royals manager Trey Hillman is going through the process for the very first time in the majors, and MLB is making it a little tough on him. You see, Hillman is trying to decide who is going to be in his outfield, and he wouldn't mind if MLB let him know whether he's going to have Jose Guillen or not.
"One thing I'd like to know is what the situation is with our right fielder," manager Trey Hillman admitted. "I'd like to know the definitive final-final on Jose (Guillen). I don't know anything. That affects things."
Guillen is currently awaiting the outcome of his appeal of a 15-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy. Jose received the suspension after being busted by the San Francisco Chronicle for spending $19,000 on steroids and HGH between 2002 and 2005. He was also one of 86 players mentioned in the Mitchell Report.
Unfortunately for Hillman and the Royals, they're going to have to keep waiting. Guillen's appeal isn't expected to be settled until this weekend at the earliest. If it's not settled by then, Guillen and his agent will seek to delay Jose's suspension until a final verdict is reached.
But seriously, I don't think Rick Ankiel is a bad guy. The argument of "HGH wasn't illegal when _____ was using it" is a flawed one, because "steroids" in so many words have been illegal for decades. If it looks like a steroid and walks like a steroid, you know? If somebody comes up to you and says "this pill/powder makes you bigger and better at sports" you should probably not take it unless you are okay with doing steroids.
That being said, that guy sure did mess up a great story, didn't he? TALES FROM THE INTERNET, after the jump.
Despite admitting to taking HGH from 2000 while with the Yankees through the end of his career in 2002 with the Royals, Chuck Knoblauch doesn't think he actually received any physical benefits. So why did he continue to take it? Because he was desperate, at first to correct his throwing problems and then to extend his career.
While talking to Congressional investigators in his deposition (PDF) earlier this month, Knoblauch was asked if he ever experienced any negative reactions to the substance. From page 40:
No. No. And hopefully, as I sit today, a father, hopefully I am not affected. I just don't think there is enough long-term information out about it. And then at the end of the day, it didn't do anything. You know. And that's the point that people need to know, this stuff is not doing anything for anybody. So that's why I appreciate what you guys are doing again.
Knoblauch isn't alone is saying that HGH doesn't really do anything to help ballplayers -- four doctors testified as much in front of Congress earlier this week. Perhaps there was a placebo effect, or perhaps it only worked in conjunction with steroids, but more and more people are confirming that HGH alone is relatively useless -- which makes it all the more ironic should anyone end up actually doing jail time for perjuring themselves by denying ever touching the stuff.
On page 20 of the Pettitte deposition, he discusses the conversation where he says that Clemens told him that he was using HGH. He says he remembers few details about the conversation.
Then on page 28 of his deposition Pettitte says:
"I'm saying that I was under the impression that he told me he had taken it [HGH]. And then when Roger told me that he didn't take it, and I misunderstood him, I took it for that, that I misunderstood him."
On page 91 of his deposition, Pettitte states:
"I don't think I misunderstood him....But then, 6 years later when he told me that I did misunderstand him, you know, since '05 to this day, you know, I kind of felt that I might have misunderstood him."
Adversarial proceedings, even when everyone claims that is not what they are supposed to be, are terrible ways to try to find "the truth." Nobody at that hearing was really interested in "the truth."
Oh, hey there "Roger Clemens in the Mitchell Report" graphic! Long time, no see! Still coming up with asinine horse crap on a daily basis, I see!
Today's accusation: Brian McNamee has come back from an apocalyptic future to keep Roger Clemens out of the Hall of Fame, because if he gets in then SkyNet is going to make robot hands that turn into robot men that shoot us all to death. The only way to keep him out: PROVE THAT ROGER CLEMENS DID STEROIDS. If they made a gun that could shoot steroid allegations, Brian McNamee would be Cable from the freaking X-Force.
After the jump: McNamee's END GAME. No, not really. Tomorrow he's going to accuse Clemens of snorting dirt or something.
The news broke yesterday that Brian McNamee (pictured) had given federal prosecutors a smoking gun in the case against Roger Clemens: syringes, vials and gauze pads McNamee claims to have used while injecting Clemens with HGH in 2000 and 2001. Since all of those items are said to contain traces of Clemens' blood and HGH, the evidence should be indisputable, right?
"You can test to figure out what the substance is, but you cannot figure out how old it is," Dr. Don Catlin, the former director of the Olympic testing lab at U.C.L.A., said in a telephone interview.
There is no way to date blood either, Catlin said, which means there may not be a conclusive way to establish that the syringes, vials and pads were from 2000 and 2001.
In other words, the blood could be from the injections of Lidocaine and B-12 that Clemens has admitted to and traces of HGH could have been added later. In addition, Clemens' lawyers would have a field day grilling McNamee about where these items were stored the last seven years. The average fan may have a hard time conjuring up reasons why McNamee would go such lengths to tarnish Clemens, but as Times points out, tracking the chain of custody of evidence is extremely vital in doping cases.
In today's press conference, Roger Clemens was asked by a reporter whether or not he considered steroids and HGH users to be cheaters. Clemens would not directly answer the question with a yes or no. Instead, it was as if he went through his file-of-facts on rehearsed responses on how he would answer the question. He gave his thoughts on steroids and HGH users by saying people only take them to look good in a three-piece suit in the lobby. When further pressed by the reporter to actually answer the question, Roger insisted that steroids and HGH don't help players perform better, hit the ball better, etc. He also said that he would not pass judgment on other players.
The way Clemens answered, rather, responded to that question, was quite telling to me. If Clemens never used steroids or HGH, wouldn't he consider those who did use performance-enhancers to be cheaters? After all, isn't that what they are? I take Clemens' response as a defense of PEDs. Seems to me that's what someone says if they're trying to defend their accomplishments on the field. I would find Clemens' defense a lot more meaningful if he answered with a "Yes," and followed up by saying he's hurt everyone thinks that he's cheated his way to where he is and that he's never used those performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, it only appeared to me as if Clemens were defending such usage.
You may remember back in 2001 when Barry Bonds was in the midst of his chase of the single-season home run record, there was a lot of talk about his possible steroid use. (If you don't remember, then how was your trip to Antarctica, anyway?) There was also a quote from Bonds at the time in which he said that baseball could test him every day and he'd never test positive. Of course, considering that we sit here eight years later and there still isn't a reliable test for HGH, that doesn't exactly say much.
Until they invent new drugs (and maybe this has already happened; how would we know?) MLB's last remaining performance-enhancing bugaboo is human growth hormone. People seem convinced not only that professional baseball players are seeking out HGH by the dozens, but that the drug itself actually has any marginal effect on performance. The first is probably wrong, the 
How exactly did 
As spring training enters it's final days, teams are busy making the final decisions on which 25 players they plan on taking with them when the break camp, and who they're going to send to the minors. Who's the long man in the bullpen going to be? Who's the fifth outfielder and left-handed bat off the bench going to be? All very important decisions, to be sure.
Despite admitting to taking HGH from 2000 while with the Yankees through the end of his career in 2002 with the Royals, 
After the steroid hearing, Roger Clemens received a lot of 
Oh, hey there "Roger Clemens in the Mitchell Report" graphic! Long time, no see! Still coming up with asinine horse crap on a daily basis, I see!
The 
In today's press conference, 
