New MLB Drug Policy

[Amazing Larry]

Players caught using PED's can't play in the postseason.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/no-playoffs-for-ped-users-in-revised-mlb-drug-policy-193153495.html

 

[Amazing Larry]

Wow. This looks like quite a substantial upgrade to the punishments.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140328&content_id=70316502&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

[Eric]

And yet teams that hire PED users still get to benefit from the wins and get a discount on the salaries when they are suspended.

[Homebrewer]

Still, nothing about bringing the testing methods up to "state of the art", where the PED chemists aren't 3 steps ahead of the testing process. Few, if any, of last seasons suspensions were from positive testing.

[Season Over]

4th offense - Joe Blanton must start every fifth day for your team for the rest of the season

[Stradling]

Cue Cez

[Don]

I found these three both interesting and sensible:

· A first-time performance-enhancing substance violation of the Joint Drug Program will now result in an unpaid 80-game suspension, increased from 50 games. A player's second violation will result in an unpaid 162-game suspension (and a loss of 183 days of pay), increased from 100 games. A third violation will result in a permanent suspension from Baseball.

· A Player who is suspended for a violation involving a performance-enhancing substance will be ineligible to participate in the Postseason, and will not be eligible for an automatic share of the Player's Pool provided to players on Clubs who participate in the Postseason. (Such Players are already ineligible to participate in the All-Star Game.)

· Every Player whose suspension for a performance-enhancing substance is upheld will be subject to six additional unannounced urine collections, and three additional unannounced blood collections, during every subsequent year of his entire career.

[Spirit]

I was sure the new policy would include the phrase:  "Smoke 'em if you got 'em."

[Homebrewer]

I was sure the new policy would include the phrase:  "Smoke 'em if you got 'em."

lol...yeah, what's the policy on PIDs, performance impairing drugs, these days?

[nate]

This is excellent.  Especially the part about missing the playoffs.  It was such BS that players would be eligible that got banned during the regular season.

 

I still think the first offense should be an entire season and the second one should be a lifetime ban but this is a great step in the right direction.

[gotbeer]

Still, nothing about bringing the testing methods up to "state of the art", where the PED chemists aren't 3 steps ahead of the testing process. Few, if any, of last seasons suspensions were from positive testing.

 

This does bring up a good point.  You have to remember that I believe that Lance Armstrong never tested positive.  And Cycling's program is up there with the WADA.  He was caught similar to Arod with circumstancial evidence.

 

I wish that they addressed that in new rules.  

[nate]

This does bring up a good point.  You have to remember that I believe that Lance Armstrong never tested positive.  And Cycling's program is up there with the WADA.  He was caught similar to Arod with circumstancial evidence.

 

I wish that they addressed that in new rules.  

 

Armstrong got away with it mostly because he bribed the the testers.  The tests would have detected it.

[Don]

I'm shocked that the MLBPA agreed to this.

I'm a bit surprised too, as these new penalties are significantly stricter than the older ones. Then again, maybe the MLBPA has reached a point where they see PED use as a health issue, and are just as motivated to get rid of them as MLB itself. I remember one clause that pointed to that in a way....

"The parties established a program in which players will have year-round access to supplements that will not cause a positive test result and which will improve home and visiting weight rooms."

[Homebrewer]

As it stands in MLB, most of the recent suspensions have been because guys were ratted out.

Testing hasn't caught many violations, even when players admit guilt.

All of the increased testing seems pretty hollow, that being the case.