Are Baseball Players Back On The Juice?

[rocket surgeon]

I've got more friends and in higher places than anyone here could ever dream of.   

My CEO buddy at an underground laboratory that I can't mention, has informed me that the Cubs, Cardinals, and Angels are some of his biggest clients.   

I've already said too much.

i can respect thi$.  anyone that thinks ped's just go away because a few get their pee's slapped is very naive.  their are more biochemists, physiologists, pharmacologists, M.D.'s etc. working on chit way ahead of the curve.  there is just way too much money involved on both sides of the process. 

   it's not all about strength either.  a lot of emphasis on recovery.  think about it-especially as one gets older-what is one of the biggest obstacles to performance?  stiffness, achiness, range of motion.  steroids are some of the best anti-inflammatories out there, but there are too many side effects.  not just their effects on some of our major organs-liver, kidney, acne, bloatedness, increase in muscle mass(yes, that is a side effect) dependency,  and of course rage issues

[Tugg Speedman]

i can respect thi$.  anyone that thinks ped's just go away because a few get their pee's slapped is very naive.  their are more biochemists, physiologists, pharmacologists, M.D.'s etc. working on chit way ahead of the curve.  there is just way too much money involved on both sides of the process. 

   it's not all about strength either.  a lot of emphasis on recovery.  think about it-especially as one gets older-what is one of the biggest obstacles to performance?  stiffness, achiness, range of motion.  steroids are some of the best anti-inflammatories out there, but there are too many side effects.  not just their effects on some of our major organs-liver, kidney, acne, bloatedness, increase in muscle mass(yes, that is a side effect) dependency,  and of course rag issues

This

It's all about recovery.   The ability to have a hard workout, really hard workout, and then comeback and do it tomorrow, and the next day and so on.  That is how the Ryan Brauns and Barry Bonds get ahead. 

And it also explains the indignance when busted.  Recovery drugs allow them to workout and train like no one else.  They are like energizer bunnies going and going.  Then when they are busted and call cheaters, they get mad because, in their mind, no one tries as hard as them.  They are correct as the non PED user needs rest and days off, they do not.  So they twist it into their mind that they are being punished for trying too hard.

And recovery is a huge business, for old people.  Professional athletes using it to enhance performance is a side effect.

[ChicosBailBonds]

He is using reverse psychology because he must be in them...


Smart guy, throws them off the scent


Mike Trout: Ban PED users for life http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9560421/mike-trout-los-angeles-angels-says-mlb-ban-ped-users-life

[tower912]

After the Dee Gordon suspension, Verlander tweeted that it there should be zero tolerance for PED's.    Of course, he has Kate Upton to help him recover......

[rocket surgeon]

After the Dee Gordon suspension, Verlander tweeted that it there should be zero tolerance for PED's.    Of course, he has Kate Upton to help him recover......

nothing like a little "deep tissue" massage after going 9 huh yeah huh yeah huh yeah!!  the more i think about it though, that does seem like an unfair advantage

[MU82]

There is little incentive to avoid juicing.

In the unlikely event you will be caught, you will be suspended only 50 games. In the meantime, if you do it right and avoid being caught long enough, you can help yourself reap millions. Does anybody really think Gordon or Braun or McGwire or Sosa or most of the others regret their choices?

Plus, we've gotten to the point where the ticket-buying and TV-watching public really don't care. They might pretend to be a little outraged at first, but it passes quickly and they are more than willing to cheer a sullied star, buy gear with his number on it, etc.

Bonds was worshipped in SF even though fans there knew he was the PED poster child.

In NY, fans could give a shyte if A-Rod juices. If the juicing helps him hit HRs ... yay! If he sucks with or without juicing ... boo!

I will say right now that if I were a young player on the cusp and I was convinced that juicing would put me over the top, I would at least seriously consider doing it. Maybe my conscience would prevent me from doing it, but humans are pretty good at justifying all kinds of means toward ends.

[rocket surgeon]

There is little incentive to avoid juicing.

In the unlikely event you will be caught, you will be suspended only 50 games. In the meantime, if you do it right and avoid being caught long enough, you can help yourself reap millions. Does anybody really think Gordon or Braun or McGwire or Sosa or most of the others regret their choices?

Plus, we've gotten to the point where the ticket-buying and TV-watching public really don't care. They might pretend to be a little outraged at first, but it passes quickly and they are more than willing to cheer a sullied star, buy gear with his number on it, etc.

Bonds was worshipped in SF even though fans there knew he was the PED poster child.

In NY, fans could give a shyte if A-Rod juices. If the juicing helps him hit HRs ... yay! If he sucks with or without juicing ... boo!

I will say right now that if I were a young player on the cusp and I was convinced that juicing would put me over the top, I would at least seriously consider doing it. Maybe my conscience would prevent me from doing it, but humans are pretty good at justifying all kinds of means toward ends.

not a bad analysis for an atheist

    fans are fickle and the haters will hate especially more if they find out they were juicing.  as you said, fans love the action, homers, etc.  then the faux outrage if they are CAUGHT.  it's kinda like the ncaa catching rules violations note, the "no-name" schools paying a kids bus fare home to his mom's funereal -death penalty, north carolina classes...huh?

[ChicosBailBonds]

MU82

I disagree and I'm going to name drop here for a reason.  When I ran the out of market sports businesses for Directv a number of years ago, McGwire and Sosa were both are spokesmen.  This was during the craziness of the chase.  Years later we had the chance to talk to Mark and he absolutely regrets it. 

I can't speak for Sammy or the other guys, but Mark knows it will keep him out of the HOF and hurt his chances to get back in the game as a coach at the MLB level....which he is back now.

The penalties are pretty severe.  If you are someone that is on the fringe, the risk may be worth it. If you are a stud, the risk is beyond silly because you are going to get paid a ton no matter what.  You have it made.   The upside at that point isn't worth it.

[MU82]

MU82

I disagree and I'm going to name drop here for a reason.  When I ran the out of market sports businesses for Directv a number of years ago, McGwire and Sosa were both are spokesmen.  This was during the craziness of the chase.  Years later we had the chance to talk to Mark and he absolutely regrets it. 

I can't speak for Sammy or the other guys, but Mark knows it will keep him out of the HOF and hurt his chances to get back in the game as a coach at the MLB level....which he is back now.

The penalties are pretty severe.  If you are someone that is on the fringe, the risk may be worth it. If you are a stud, the risk is beyond silly because you are going to get paid a ton no matter what.  You have it made.   The upside at that point isn't worth it.

If McGwire doesn't juice, he is a billion miles from the Hall of Fame. He hit 245 of his HRs in a 4-year span when he was using his arse like a pin cushion. Plus, as he told Costas in the big interview with the crocodile tears, the stuff kept him healthy. He couldn't have performed without it, at least that's what he contended. And that doesn't even count all the years he was juicing with Canseco. No juice, does he even hit 350 HRs?

So I hope that's not the reason he regrets it. The thing he should regret is lying for 5, 6, 7 years to La Russa, who repeatedly stuck his neck out for him, as well as lying to others who vouched for him. I was good friends with the AP reporter who wrote about the andro, and McGwire's whole "How dare you even suggest I take steroids" reaction was, in retrospect, comical. In many ways, his whole career was a sham, built on a series of lies.

I guess you or I can't speak toward who regrets it or not or who thinks it's worth the risk or not.

But if I'm a mediocre ballplayer hoping to stick, or a good ballplayer hoping to be regarded as great, maybe I don't think so much about the risk or about future regrets. Athletes, as a rule, are me-centric. They think about now, not the consequences. And the fans they lie to don't give a rip if they produce.

Just my educated opinion from having been pretty up close and personal with many athletes for decades. Ugh ... now I'm job-dropping!