OT: Whispers Of A Prominent West Coast Player To Be Suspended Next Week For PEDS

[Gunzaan]

It'd be an interesting wager considering you can't prove it one way or the other unless you test everyone every day from the lower minors all the way to the top, which would probably be cost prohibitive and annoying to the players themselves (even if it's for a good cause, as it were). Also, most of the busts don't seem to get as much fanfare, especially if they are of minor leaguers, and it's entirely possible that most minor leaguers who juice aren't the signing bonus baby set.

I know that would never happen.... but that would be VERY VERY interesting, indeed!

 

[Rice Cube]

I think the only way to get this to stop, or at least make it a lesser problem is to raise the severity of the repercussions of getting caught doing something illegal. While they seem pretty harsh as is, it's obviously not enough. I wonder if the threat of a lifetime ban is enough to make people not do it and or if the MLB would want to risk possibly losing the superstars (moneymakers) of the game to this penalty.

The league can push for it but it's in the CBA so they'd have to negotiate something. The fact that they've already established such a harsh (in my opinion at least) penalty means that the players take it seriously enough to forfeit a third of their income if they're caught. I don't care how much money you have, a third of your income being lost is a really big deal. Even if you're a billionaire and you lose $333MM or whatever, that's a fuckton of money that you just lost and you can't just shrug it off that easily even though you have like $750MM+ left.

 

[Gunzaan]

The league can push for it but it's in the CBA so they'd have to negotiate something. The fact that they've already established such a harsh (in my opinion at least) penalty means that the players take it seriously enough to forfeit a third of their income if they're caught. I don't care how much money you have, a third of your income being lost is a really big deal. Even if you're a billionaire and you lose $333MM or whatever, that's a fuckton of money that you just lost and you can't just shrug it off that easily even though you have like $750MM+ left.

A third of anyone's income being lost is a huge deal, no doubt about it.

Yet the "harsh" penalties they have in place right now aren't doing much to stop people from doing it...

 

[Rice Cube]

A third of anyone's income being lost is a huge deal, no doubt about it.

Yet the "harsh" penalties they have in place right now aren't doing much to stop people from doing it...

Sure, but if they make it harsher and people still do it, are you going to say the same thing?

 

[whitesoxman77]

Playing baseball for a living is a privilege, just saying.

 

[Mr. Cub]

The league can push for it but it's in the CBA so they'd have to negotiate something. The fact that they've already established such a harsh (in my opinion at least) penalty means that the players take it seriously enough to forfeit a third of their income if they're caught. I don't care how much money you have, a third of your income being lost is a really big deal. Even if you're a billionaire and you lose $333MM or whatever, that's a fuckton of money that you just lost and you can't just shrug it off that easily even though you have like $750MM+ left.

Yeah, but even with it the way it is dudes are still getting caught, which shows that many still do it. I wonder if a straight up life ban would make dudes realize that the MLB ain't fucking around with this shit anymore. Even if it would cost the game a few players like a Pujols (just using him as a superstar player, not saying he's using) or three. But could baseball last if they were to go that far and potentially have to kick some big names out of the sport? Becasue it still comes down to making money for the MLB. Maybe a Pujols caliber player has been dirty in the past and it maybe has just been kept hush, hush? Just a conspiracy theory. You never know what goes on behind closed doors.

 

[Rice Cube]

Playing baseball for a living is a privilege, just saying.

Sure it is, and it's a privilege reserved for the best of the best. So in order to earn that privilege, you HAVE TO be the best of the best. You can either do it through natural gifts, or hard work, or a combination of the two. What if you're on the fringe? What are you as a person willing to do to get over the threshold? Some people work that much harder. Others cheat.

/end today's life lesson

 

[Rice Cube]

Yeah, but even with it the way it is dudes are still getting caught, which shows that many still do it. I wonder if a straight up life ban would make dudes realize that the MLB ain't fucking around with this shit anymore. Even if it would cost the game a few players like a Pujols (just using him as a superstar player, not saying he's using) or three. But could baseball last if they were to go that far and potentially have to kick some big names out of the sport? Becasue it still comes down to making money for the MLB. Maybe a Pujols caliber player has been dirty in the past and it maybe has just been kept hush, hush? Just a conspiracy theory. You never know what goes on behind closed doors.

I don't know that the league has enough power over the players' union to just say "take this new drug policy and shut up" but if it happened I wouldn't complain because it doesn't affect me, just them. As for the trying to guess how many people are doping and who's really dirty and hiding under a cloud of conspiracy, that's like witch hunt and I don't think that's how things should be done. You implement a fair policy and if someone breaks the rules, you punish them. You don't say "oh wait, people are still breaking rules, let's death penalty them right away". You also have to take into account potential false positives and inadvertent usage (I'm sure it happens). For the latter, even if they didn't intend on using it, they were stupid and shouldn't have gotten themselves in that situation in the first place, but you shouldn't just axe an entire career because of an unintentional error in my opinion.

 

[Mr. Cub]

I don't know that the league has enough power over the players' union to just say "take this new drug policy and shut up" but if it happened I wouldn't complain because it doesn't affect me, just them. As for the trying to guess how many people are doping and who's really dirty and hiding under a cloud of conspiracy, that's like witch hunt and I don't think that's how things should be done. You implement a fair policy and if someone breaks the rules, you punish them. You don't say "oh wait, people are still breaking rules, let's death penalty them right away". You also have to take into account potential false positives and inadvertent usage (I'm sure it happens). For the latter, even if they didn't intend on using it, they were stupid and shouldn't have gotten themselves in that situation in the first place, but you shouldn't just axe an entire career because of an unintentional error in my opinion.

You have a point there. It would be hard to find out what's intentional and what isn't. But I don't get how these guys like Palmeiro say they never "knowingly" took steroids or any banned substances. That is just stupidity there if you're doing shit if you yourself doesn't even know what it is. But really I think they still have a ways to go to clean up the game even though they will never get it 100%.

 

[Gunzaan]

Sure, but if they make it harsher and people still do it, are you going to say the same thing?

People are still definitly going to do it... they ALWAYS will. Always. There are people that will do anything to get ahead and that will never change.

But it MIGHT lesson the number of players that cheat and isn't that a good thing?

 

[Rice Cube]

People are still definitly going to do it... they ALWAYS will. Always. There are people that will do anything to get ahead and that will never change.

But it MIGHT lesson the number of players that cheat and isn't that a good thing?

I agree with you that a harsher deterrent is a good thing. I think lost in all the back-and-forth was the implication that MLB and the players' union aren't going to budge much further :lol:

 

[Gunzaan]

I agree with you that a harsher deterrent is a good thing. I think lost in all the back-and-forth was the implication that MLB and the players' union aren't going to budge much further :lol:

I gotcha... and completely agree. It is an interesting topic, though!

 

[whitesoxman77]

Sure it is, and it's a privilege reserved for the best of the best. So in order to earn that privilege, you HAVE TO be the best of the best. You can either do it through natural gifts, or hard work, or a combination of the two. What if you're on the fringe? What are you as a person willing to do to get over the threshold? Some people work that much harder. Others cheat.

/end today's life lesson

And those people who cheat get off easier than the ones who worked hard? I dont think so. Rules apply the same way in every workplace. 1st Offense-Whole Season and a ceiling pay of half of what they made the year before. 2nd Offense- Lifetime ban. IMO

 

[Mr. Cub]

And maybe MLB is scared to get a too harsh penalty in case a big name guy comes up dirty. Then they lose some of the moneymaking, seat filling All-Stars that the game needs to succeed.

 

[Huffalicious]

And maybe MLB is scared to get a too harsh penalty in case a big name guy comes up dirty. Then they lose some of the moneymaking, seat filling All-Stars that the game needs to succeed.

That's exactly what it is. Albert Pujols comes up positive and the whole baseball world would shit bricks if he was banned for life / a season.

 

[Rice Cube]

And those people who cheat get off easier than the ones who worked hard? I dont think so. Rules apply the same way in every workplace. 1st Offense-Whole Season and a ceiling pay of half of what they made the year before. 2nd Offense- Lifetime ban. IMO

When you get really good at baseball and get into MLB and become a player rep you are more than welcome to bring this to the table :lol:

 

[whitesoxman77]

When you get really good at baseball and get into MLB and become a player rep you are more than welcome to bring this to the table :lol:

Well since we were all throwing around ideas I thought I had a right to as well, but I guess not. Don't worry though man, I'll get there, remember the name.

 

[Rice Cube]

Well since we were all throwing around ideas I thought I had a right to as well, but I guess not. Don't worry though man, I'll get there, remember the name.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fine idea. Drugs are bad and users should be punished. I'm just saying that you can't just change the culture right away especially when the procedures are collectively bargained.

 

[Huffalicious]

Well since we were all throwing around ideas I thought I had a right to as well, but I guess not. Don't worry though man, I'll get there, remember the name.

Fast forward to the year 2031. Flip on the news, and Whitesoxman77 is named the GM of the White Sox. The only thing you could say in that situation is, "well I'll be damned!".

 

[Mr. Cub]

So was this just a dumb rumor? Or is something still going to come from it?