Sanchez first suspended under steroid policy
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2029037

I don't think anyone would have guessed this; it's interesting that the first player suspended under the new policy is someone with no power who's primarily a base-stealer and fringe player.

Re: Sanchez first suspended under steroid policy
 

I believe that Sanchez was the worst player in baseball last year, according to both VORP and WARP3 - it's stunning he got the # of ABs he did. Then again, two words: Detroit Tigers.

This is such a token gesture, 'coincidently' landing on opening day. The guy wasn't going to have a job anyway, but hopefully it has the expected "head on a pike" effect.

mlb needed to throw out a body...fast.

This is complete simple-a** BS put out by MLB. Now if they'd suspended someone like Scammin' Sam Sosa, I'd be impressed. :rolleyes:

I agree, the timing and the player involved makes the whole thing sketchy. It gives some credence to the policy, but it's someone so insignificant that it doesn't make the league look bad.

At least now some people may end up remembering Sanchez...before this he was destined to go down with the Paul Zuvella's and Greg Blosser's of the world: completely forgotten after his career ends.

All of the second guessing about this makes MLB look bad. What a joke.

Can you say scapegoat?

No, but I believe it's spelled S-A-N-C-H-E-Z.

(He claims all he takes is over-the-counter vitimans, etc. Won't if be funny if it turns out this stuff can give a false positive?)

Once again, MLB looks like the Idiot Child of Major Sports!

I have never seen a Major Sports Venue step all over themselves Like These Clowns Have!:o

Would rather watch Minor Leauge BB than the cry babies of MIB! That is sport, not over priced whiners!

That would be brilliant.

That would be funny - this just keeps getting worse and worse for the MLB. One of the fears of the union going into the situation was that the lesser players would be the ones busted, while the stars would somehow get away without punishment. All this incident does is further that thought.

Results of tests from spring training were released, and a number of minor leaguers were snagged yesterday as well.

Here's a link from the LA Times website:

Minor leaguers violate steroid policy

Actually steroids aren't use to help you hit homeruns

They're use to recover from injuries as well by BASE STEALERS to give them more power in the leg area. That is why steroids is still a hot topic in the track and field area (where the stories first started jumping out).

Anybody can hit a homerun, the trick is to get the bat on the ball. Steroids don't help you do that.


Now with that being said, I think busting Sanchez is like busting the kid down the street for having a nickel bag of weed and telling people you're doing great in the war on drugs.:rolleyes:

True, a big part of it is hand-eye coordination. I played baseball for a number of years (and very nearly in college), so I know what you're talking about. If you can't "see-the ball, hit-the-ball," you're not going to be able to hit a grounder, let alone a long line drive.

Also, upper body strength can only get you so far; if you don't have the proper torque with your hips, you're not going to hit the ball very far at all. The lower body has a whole lot to do with a good swing.

I was only saying that no one would have guessed Sanchez would have been snagged, let alone the first player publicly snagged.

However, the added strength you get from increased workout regimes (benefitted by steroids) can help you hit the ball farther...a few feet can make the difference between knocking one off the wall and getting it out of the park.

This is still a matter of contention; however, there are a few things you're not considering when implying that steroids don't help power hitters:

-Steroids grant a major advantage in the muscles' recovery time - this allows weight lifting to not only be more efficient, but also allows one to get back into the weight room even after extreme sessions - certainly an advantage to burly sluggers

-Steroids allow for far lessened recovery time for injury, again an advantage to those whose swings are violent, as well as those with positional disadvantages to being huge (think... Sheffield/Bonds/Giambi) - sluggers tend to get injured more

That aside, I agree that there's not a single ballplayer 'type' that couldn't benefit from steroids - and while the hand/eye coordination is not improved, the ability to actually be on the field to utilize that coordination most certainly is. It's not just base stealers.

One major overlooked category? Pitchers! Obviously, pitchers were using as well, a massive disadvantage to hitters . . . especially closers, who could then do amazing things like throw 95 for 5 nights in a row.

Totally agree with this, man - it just seems . . . weak. Alex Sanchez might seriously have been the worst player in baseball, and now he's the answer to a trivia question? Something's not right.

As far as 'false positives' - the system is much different than the NFL policy, and no over-the-counter items are on the list (unlike the NFL, which bans high levels of MANY legal supplements for being performance-enhancing).

You pretty much said what I said. I'm just not buying the argument that it only "helped" the big burly guys. Heck Darryl Strawberry was launching them and he never took steroids. Now he was riding that white horse but, not steroids.

PITCHERS! You were right on the money on that one.