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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Apr 24, 2014 11:48:52 GMT -5
The league sets up more stringent PED controls and then the guys now getting off to huge starts are Braun and Melky Cabrera. Are these new controls being used in the off season also? I seriously doubt it. What is to stop a guy from bulking up all winter and coasting through the first 1/3 of the year at least, maybe 1/2 as a result? My bet is that all these guys fade in the 2nd half.
And to me, Nava just hasn't been getting the calls. It is a series of issues for him and some of it is he just isn't getting those close calls as balls. The umps are calling them strikes. And that kills his game. Ergo, him now being willing to chase more. He needed to keep his approach and eventually he would get some calls, but the umps have not been his friend recently. If you watch closely, I don't think they have been our friend in general on the Sox team.
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Post by jimed14 on Apr 24, 2014 11:53:28 GMT -5
The league sets up more stringent PED controls and then the guys now getting off to huge starts are Braun and Melky Cabrera. Are these new controls being used in the off season also? I seriously doubt it. What is to stop a guy from bulking up all winter and coasting through the first 1/3 of the year at least, maybe 1/2 as a result? My bet is that all these guys fade in the 2nd half. That's why Clemens and Pettite used to wait until May to announce their "comebacks" every year. |
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Post by okin15 on Apr 24, 2014 12:03:28 GMT -5
I think there is now testing all winter, no? Isn't that why Colon took a year off?
And if they don't care about pine tar, they should make it legal like rosin.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Apr 24, 2014 12:08:43 GMT -5
My understanding was that they would make testing year round, but did it start last winter? When exactly did it start? I just don't see Melky Cabrera being one of the best players in baseball, unaided.
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Post by okin15 on Apr 24, 2014 12:24:26 GMT -5
My understanding was that they would make testing year round, but did it start last winter? When exactly did it start? I just don't see Melky Cabrera being one of the best players in baseball, unaided. Random testing started in the 2012/13 off-season. Not every player is tested. How about doing a google search before you accuse the league and players of pretty gross things. Your un-backed opinions on stuff come close to ruining a discussion every few days. Furthermore, if they fade, that won't mean anything, given plenty of players fade over the course of the season due to injuries, tiredness, luck, etc. Note: I'm not discrediting your arguments, just your inability to search google for two seconds before blurting them out. |
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Apr 24, 2014 14:57:46 GMT -5
My understanding was that they would make testing year round, but did it start last winter? When exactly did it start? I just don't see Melky Cabrera being one of the best players in baseball, unaided. Random testing started in the 2012/13 off-season. Not every player is tested. How about doing a google search before you accuse the league and players of pretty gross things. Your un-backed opinions on stuff come close to ruining a discussion every few days. Furthermore, if they fade, that won't mean anything, given plenty of players fade over the course of the season due to injuries, tiredness, luck, etc. Note: I'm not discrediting your arguments, just your inability to search google for two seconds before blurting them out. Guys like Ryan Braun and Melky Cabrera are starting out with tremendous numbers again this year, which indicates to me that MLB testing still isn't strong enough, particularly in the off season. I don't need a google search to suspect that, or comment on that in a baseball forum. My understanding was that there was at least some off season testing, but I don't see any evidence of that being a realistic deterrent. I vaguely remembered a strengthened policy, as noted here: www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/mlb-adds-better-drug-tests-longer-bans-postseason-ineligibility-article-1.1738443but it appears to me that more needs to be done. I asked because I see no evidence of significant off season testing and I thought it was supposed to be in place. Possibly some of the concern about the quality of my posts is more the ignorance of the people expressing concern rather my comments being unfounded in fact. I think there is plenty of reasonable concern and suspicion regarding the starts this year of guys like Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz. The testing is still not cutting it in my opinion. And it seems to be in part due to a lack of off season testing. |
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Post by jimed14 on Apr 24, 2014 15:07:44 GMT -5
I'm not sure how you can force offseason testing. Players are all over the world.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Apr 24, 2014 15:10:55 GMT -5
From what I have found, there was a total of up to 225 off season drug tests last winter, according to the CBA. I don't think that is enough or we wouldn't see some of these guys get off to such good starts already this year.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Apr 24, 2014 15:11:26 GMT -5
Lavarnway, think about what your saying. Your logic leads to the idea that you won't be happy with the testing program until and unless those who've served suspensions hit like crap. What's wrong with that picture?
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Post by jmei on Apr 24, 2014 15:30:50 GMT -5
From what I have found, there was a total of up to 225 off season drug tests last winter, according to the CBA. I don't think that is enough or we wouldn't see some of these guys get off to such good starts already this year. Braun and Cabrera are off to a good start -> PED testing is not strong enough!!! Braun and Cabrera are off to a bad start -> now that they're not on steroids, they suck!!! The idea that Braun or Cabrera (or Nelson Cruz) are using PEDs is complete speculation. You're basing it entirely on the fact that they're off to a good start, while ignoring the fact that both players have performed at this level before (for instance, Braun has three full seasons where he's hit better than he has this year). You are using the same awful logic that leads every breakout player to immediately be suspected of steroid use (e.g., Jose Bautista or Chris Davis). |
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Apr 24, 2014 19:26:22 GMT -5
Newsflash: Ryan Braun's ability was not ingested in a pill or injected with a needle.
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