Mitchell report could wreak havoc on season

[whitesoxfan101]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

 

Mitchell report could wreak havoc on season

Teams could face mass suspensions of players, writes Phil Rogers

 

ORLANDO -- George Mitchell and his team of highly paid lawyers continue to work on Major League Baseball's unprecedented internal investigation into the sport's steroid use. The report is expected to be released at some point before spring training, and its release almost certainly will be followed by a flurry of 50-game, first-time offense suspensions from Commissioner Bud Selig.

 

Imagine how crazy the baseball landscape could look next April if the players union is not successful in getting the suspensions thrown out.

 

 

The first third of the schedule could be played with some teams missing two or three key players, not to mention those who suffer the usual injuries. The teams that somehow skate the suspensions would be at a tremendous advantage.

 

Some general managers who invest this winter in players found to be users could have egg on the face before the newcomers even get on the field. It's the ultimate case of caveat emptor in sports, although in this case it is impossible for the decision-makers to know with any degree of surety who they should beware and who they should welcome with open arms.

 

"There is no scenario at this point that is farfetched," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "None of us know how this is going to turn out, where it is going. But given the facts that continue to come out, the stories you see all the time, nothing is farfetched. I continue to be surprised by the level of some of the reports that keep coming out. Maybe I'm just naïve, but I was a player. I was in the clubhouse not so long ago and I had no idea that it was happening when it was happening."

 

Williams says he had at least one former teammate tell him he had been using steroids when they were playing together.

 

"I was shocked," he said. "But maybe to another degree, I shouldn't have been shocked. Maybe it explained a lot of things."

 

While Sammy Sosa is widely believed to have turned himself into a record-setting power hitter through some unnatural means, neither the White Sox nor the Cubs have had significant players linked to the use of steroids or human growth hormones through the growing paper trail springing from investigations of pharmacies and other suppliers.

 

Left-hander Scott Schoeneweis, who pitched for the White Sox in 2003-04, is reported to have received six shipments of steroids during those seasons. But otherwise the Chicago teams mostly have just observed the awkwardness elsewhere after reports linking more than 50 players to the illegal use of steroids and other banned performance-enhancing substances.

 

Among active players, that list includes Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Gary Matthews Jr., Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Brian Roberts, Guillermo Mota, Juan Rincon, Jose Guillen, Rafael Betancourt, Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus, Paul Byrd, Ryan Franklin, Jay Gibbons and Jerry Hairston Jr.

 

Williams says it is "extremely concerning" the Mitchell report could identify users who previously have not be identified. But his counterpart with the Cubs, Jim Hendry, does not seem to be sweating about the possibility he could unknowingly sign or trade for a player who is later named in an investigation.

 

"That's not one of the things I think about a lot," Hendry said. "I have a lot of faith in our scouts. They've given me a lot of information about players we went after in free agency and trades last year, and they've hit a lot of bull's-eyes with that information. They don't just watch players. They gather information and then we make our decisions. You get the best information you can, and that's all you're ever going to be able to do."

 

New York Mets GM Omar Minaya a year ago re-signed Mota, a powerful reliever, knowing that he faced a 50-game suspension.

 

"I knew at the time he was a user, and we signed him," Minaya said. "He was candid when I talked to him. He admitted to his faults. In general, I'm one of those people who understands that people make mistakes. I believe in giving people second chances."

 

Williams has taken his share of chances with players who have had trouble on and off the field. He doesn't rule out pursuing a player because of his involvement in the steroid scandal.

 

"Who among us hasn't made a mistake in life and had to learn from it?" Williams asked. "I've given a number of guys a second chance because of one thing or another. That's just life. The unsettling thing here is what might not be known."

 

Selig has said he is keeping open a full range of options in dealing with Bonds and any other player named in the Mitchell Report. Many legal experts believe that MLB could have a difficult time defending the issuing of sanctions for circumstantial violations, many of which pre-date baseball's comprehensive program of testing and system for discipline.

 

But those close to the commissioner have said he feels he needs to make a strong statement, and it will be hard to do that without suspensions.

 

The chaos gets closer with every page that Mitchell's staff types.

 

If this article is even close to accurate in it's portrayal of the consequences that will befall baseball when the Mitchell report comes out, then this will be a fascinating spring training and early season in 2008. Good read.

[witesoxfan]

See my sig?

 

DO NOT WANT

[NorthSideSox72]

Good.

 

[Harry Chappas]

He mentions Shoenweis but fails to mention that Jerry Hariston Jr and Gary Matthews Jr both played for the cubs. I find it funny that the poster boy for steroids is part of cublore.

 

Sorry for bringing in my anti-cub hatred.

[Steve9347]

See my sig?

 

DO NOT WANT

Ha, yeah, that's a damn good point there.

[southsider2k5]

Will they be able to suspend players for 50 games who committed offenses from before that was the drug suspension policy? I don't think so. The union would have one hell of a case on their hands.

[Gregory Pratt]

I'm still not convinced that Selig is truly opposed to steroids, or that the Union is, or that the players are. Fact is it's more money, a better (individual) game, more fans/attendance. And until I'm convinced that Selig and the Union and the players truly care -- let alone the fans -- I don't hold high hopes that the Mitchell Report will be anything serious. We'll see.

 

Hell, I've even got a problem with the Director of the Red Sox.

[witesoxfan]

I'll throw the question out to anyone; do you believe baseball is corrupt enough to cover up a positive steroid test of one of the best players (read:money makers, which tends to exclude Palmeiro) in the league?

[Gregory Pratt]

I'll throw the question out to anyone; do you believe baseball is corrupt enough to cover up a positive steroid test of one of the best players (read:money makers, which tends to exclude Palmeiro) in the league?

 

Yes.

 

Didn't they promise them the first time around that they wouldn't reveal positive tests?

 

But yes, I definitely believe that the game of baseball would go and has gone to steps to ensure that people either don't test positive or it doesn't come out.

[Steff]

I'll throw the question out to anyone; do you believe baseball is corrupt enough to cover up a positive steroid test of one of the best players (read:money makers, which tends to exclude Palmeiro) in the league?

 

Absolutely, and I believe it's currently being done.

[Gregory Pratt]

Absolutely, and I believe it's currently being done.

 

 

Sucks, don't it?

[Balta1701]

Yes.

 

Didn't they promise them the first time around that they wouldn't reveal positive tests?

 

But yes, I definitely believe that the game of baseball would go and has gone to steps to ensure that people either don't test positive or it doesn't come out.

Yes. The first round of tests in 2003 was done with several months warning and a complete promise of anonymity. I believe Mitchell tried to get his hands on those results and I don't know if he ever did. We do know that somewhere between 5-10% of MLB wound up testing positive in those tests, even with several months of warning.

[YASNY]

Absolutely, and I believe it's currently being done.

 

Money talks.

[witesoxfan]

Money talks.

 

Yes sir

[SoxFan562004]

I'll throw the question out to anyone; do you believe baseball is corrupt enough to cover up a positive steroid test of one of the best players (read:money makers, which tends to exclude Palmeiro) in the league?

I could see it happening. I will be interested to see this report and who is named. I wouldn't be shocked if it is a bunch of average to slightly above average players without naming huge names, therefore they will celbrate the quantity of names and hope it takes some heat away.

 

 

[CWSGuy406]

But yeah, wouldn't it be a great idea for baseball to blacklist any and every player that is named on this report?

 

 

 

 

(complete and utter sarcasm)

[Rowand44]

I'll throw the question out to anyone; do you believe baseball is corrupt enough to cover up a positive steroid test of one of the best players (read:money makers, which tends to exclude Palmeiro) in the league?

No question.

[Balta1701]

I could see it happening. I will be interested to see this report and who is named. I wouldn't be shocked if it is a bunch of average to slightly above average players without naming huge names, therefore they will celbrate the quantity of names and hope it takes some heat away.

I really don't believe it could happen honestly. There'd be way too much of a chance of it leaking out, given as many people as have been involved in this investigation. You don't think that some of the people who talked to Mitchell's investigation might leak at some point? Or some of the people at MLB? Or that Congress couldn't step in at some point and get its hands on a key document.

 

Just running through my head, in terms of what's going to form the basis of the Mitchell report, you have involved:

 

The federal government guys who broke up the ring involving the guy working for the Mets

The other guys involved in breaking up all of the other rings (Grimlsey's, etc.) we've uncovered the past year or two

Mitchell's large team of lawyers, press people, research people, etc.

Everyone in MLB's front office, which isn't exactly known for keeping secrets

Mitchell himself (who has an awful lot of friends on Capitol Hill)

 

There are a ton of people who have already gotten their hands on this information. Which is why we're already seeing leaks of names even though the report isn't even ready yet; there are enough people out there who have seen bits and pieces of the information that if MLB decides to go all Da Vinci code on protecting, oh, let's say Jeter or someone like that (btw, I'm not accusing Capn Jetes, just giving the level of name where MLB would have reason to do so), then eventually, someone is going to realize that there's a monstrous, sell-a-ble story out there for being the person who leaked not only that Jeter had done so but that MLB had covered it up, and it wouldn't take long for the subpoenas to start falling.

[Soxbadger]

You have to remember that some of the owners during the time period in question are very very powerful, and implications such as the owners had knowledge or were even promoting steroid use would not look very good.

 

Think about the Texas Rangers owner during the 1990's, and the players who were on the team, and all of the steroid allegations.

 

Baseball wont sink its own ship, so I expect that at the end the players will be brought into secret meetings ala Belichick, they will be put on some sort of probation where if they are caught again they will be exposed and face a harsh consequence, and if they are not caught again all documents/information will be destroyed.

 

Any time you start getting into retroactive penalties you are just starting a huge mess.

 

This is just my theory/opinion, and is based on no actual facts.

[Vance Law]

He mentions Shoenweis but fails to mention that Jerry Hariston Jr and Gary Matthews Jr both played for the cubs.

 

What info on Hairston came out? Went to high school with him.

 

[Kalapse]

From Rotoworld via the Boston Globe:

 

11 free agents are named in the forthcoming George Mitchell report and have been notified by the commissioner's office, the Boston Globe reports.

It's still unknown when the Mitchell report will be made public, but there's been nothing recently to suggest it will happen by the winter meetings. Jose Guillen is one of the 11 players fingered, and we assume Barry Bonds is in there somehow as well. Several others will remain mysteries for a while longer.

[witesoxfan]

Seeing as how it's been unanimous input, I feel better about that thought.

[NorthSideSox72]

From Rotoworld via the Boston Globe:

So this does something interesting. If a team negotiates with a free agent, and asks in negotiations, are you one of the 11... and they say no, but they actually are... their contract could probably be voided. You cannot enter into a contract on false pretenses and expect it to stand up legally. So that free agent could be suspended, and, without a paycheck.

 

ETA: Of course, if they say yes, they aren't gonna get much.

 

So really, for those 11... they are screwed.

 

[Reddy]

Bonds should just retire now. lol.

 

 

[Gregory Pratt]

But yeah, wouldn't it be a great idea for baseball to blacklist any and every player that is named on this report?

(complete and utter sarcasm)

 

I'm with you on that. "Blacklisting" steroid users is no good. And I am not being sarcastic.