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Post by templeusox on Jul 16, 2015 15:13:11 GMT -5
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Boston Red Sox Minor League right-handed pitcher Michael Kopech has received a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Oxilofrine, a stimulant in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The suspension of Kopech, who is currently on the roster of Single-A Greenville of the South Atlantic League, is effective immediately.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Jul 16, 2015 15:15:02 GMT -5
Yikes.
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Post by Jonathan Singer on Jul 16, 2015 15:16:14 GMT -5
50 games takes it to the end of the 2015 season. See you in 2016.
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Post by templeusox on Jul 16, 2015 15:19:26 GMT -5
Could be worse. I cut guys more slack on stimulants than I do on steroids. Especially a low level stimulant like this that can be purchased at GNC.
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ianrs
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Post by ianrs on Jul 16, 2015 15:20:04 GMT -5
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Jul 16, 2015 15:23:42 GMT -5
Poor decision making from a guy who probably didn't need to use this drug. Really disappointing.
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Post by chrisfromnc on Jul 16, 2015 15:24:01 GMT -5
Shucks. I was planning to see him pitch a couple of starts from now vs. Charleston.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Jul 16, 2015 15:39:02 GMT -5
Its not all that bad after looking into the substance, as it was detailed in news reports following the suspension of sprinter Tyson Gay in 2013 for the substance, it appears that its not available for prescription in the US and the only way to obtain it is through "sports nutritional supplements,"
From a 2013 guardian article, What is oxilofrine? Oxilofrine is a stimulant of the amphetamine class that was developed to treat hypotension (low blood pressure) in people who do not respond to conventional treatment. Oxilofrine is the prescription name for methylsynephrine, hydroxyephrine and oxyephrine. It is not widely used in the UK and is not a licensed drug in the US. Some firms use oxilofrine, in the form of synephrine, in so-called sports nutritional supplements as it is thought to allow people to burn fat faster and lose weight.
What are its effects? Oxilofrine is thought to increase adrenaline production, boosting endurance, focus, alertness and heart rate and increasing oxygenation of the blood.
How do you take it? If not supplied on prescription, oxilofrine (methylsynephrine) would most commonly be taken as a sports nutrition supplement, mixed with other supplements, in liquid capsule form.
At first I heard, the "oxi" prefix I thought the worst but it appears that its commonly found in supplements and the only way to take it would be through such a nutritional substance so while many use the "supplement" excuse it might actually hold up in this case. Kids supposed to be workout machine and highly dedicated so it would make sense he would be a supplement guy...Yes its sucks but in the "glass half full department" what's worse this case (wherin his only performance that can be analyzed is dominant and the substance is benign compared to steroids ect) or the second option no suspension but he completely breaks down and gets shelled the rest of the way? I for one would take this...
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jul 16, 2015 15:40:01 GMT -5
Could be worse. I cut guys more slack on stimulants than I do on steroids. Especially a low level stimulant like this that can be purchased at GNC. I'm admittedly forgiving to a fault, but as soon as I read a little about this drug, it looked like he took a bad supplement or something. My guess is that this likely less reflects poor decision-making than that it reflects a lack of awareness/care. Still not a good thing, but not the same thing as Miguel Pena getting suspended multiple times for pot, for example.
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 16, 2015 16:26:21 GMT -5
I don't understand why the Sox don't have a policy for their players at all levels that is basically "No supplements until approved by a team official whose job is to be aware of what can and cannot be taken. Given the investment that the team is making in these guys it seem like a simple and cost effective way to prevent this type of thing rather than relying on a kid to know or having to find out on his own especially when it comes to OTC stuff.
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Post by burythehammer on Jul 16, 2015 16:31:57 GMT -5
You're assuming they don't have such a policy and that guys don't just do stuff on their own.
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sarasoxer
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Post by sarasoxer on Jul 16, 2015 16:35:36 GMT -5
I don't understand why the Sox don't have a policy for their players at all levels that is basically "No supplements until approved by a team official whose job is to be aware of what can and cannot be taken. Given the investment that the team is making in these guys it seem like a simple and cost effective way to prevent this type of thing rather than relying on a kid to know or having to find out on his own especially when it comes to OTC stuff. ....and you think that they don't Anno Domini 2015??
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Post by maxwellsdemon on Jul 16, 2015 17:16:32 GMT -5
And if they do have that individual the job isn't getting done. I know they're young and all, I used to teach kids that age, but if they're telling them like once every few days in a team meeting "If you are taking a new supplement just bring it in before you do (maybe even just a phone call/text with the name) or it could cost you 50 games and cite the most recent example paying special attention to the workout warriors. Sorry but yeah I think they don't in 2015 M.E.
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Post by shaqtus on Jul 16, 2015 18:08:55 GMT -5
As someone who works in the psychiatric field, I can tell you Oxilofrine isn't prescribed for anything, really, so it's not as if he could get something like this under the table (a la Adderall, Ritalin, et al). It's nearly-certain that this was found in a supplement he should have cleared with the team trainer.
That being said, I'd be shocked if there wasn't a team policy to clear any "supplements" one could buy at GNC or off the internet with the team prior to use. You'd be shocked how many of them have undisclosed Schedule II substances in them.
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 16, 2015 18:29:19 GMT -5
I guess I am in the minority but I don't agree with this suspension. I think MLB has over-reacted to the use of various drugs. This one isn't particularly harmful and not regulated. At the maximum the kid should have gotten a warning.
This whole country went mad about drug use and we have hundreds of thousands of people in prisons because of non-violent drug use or related offenses. I heard a piece on NPR today with a woman who got a 30-year sentence for selling meth. Obama recently commuted it. According to the Prez we are spending $80 billion a year incarcerating people, many, maybe the majority of whom, committed no violent offenses, and that doesn't count the billions spent on the war on drugs - our longest and most unsuccessful war. I don't like drugs. I don't use them. But I think people have a right to use them so long as they don't harm anyone else. And in this case, I think MLB should have to demonstrate that his use of this drug somehow artificially improved his performance. I don't think they can do that.
Sorry for the preaching, but this is just bad policy.
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Post by kman22 on Jul 16, 2015 18:30:38 GMT -5
Obviously this is a cover to shut him down. He's pitched 5x as many innings as his previous professional high.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Jul 16, 2015 18:35:25 GMT -5
And if they do have that individual the job isn't getting done. I know they're young and all, I used to teach kids that age, but if they're telling them like once every few days in a team meeting "If you are taking a new supplement just bring it in before you do (maybe even just a phone call/text with the name) or it could cost you 50 games and cite the most recent example paying special attention to the workout warriors. Sorry but yeah I think they don't in 2015 M.E. Most, even those who frequent such establishments, have zero idea about the truely absurd nature of the supplement/nutrition industry: consider that zero pre release regulations exist for ANY supplement s sold at these stores due to a 1994 regulatory act that made these products analogus to food products instead of prespection or medical products and thus no vetting of these substances is required. Per a 2013 NYT article, "The F.D.A. requires that companies test the products they sell to make sure that they are safe. But the system essentially operates on the honor code. Unlike prescription drugs, supplements are generally considered safe until proved otherwise. Under a 1994 law, they can be sold and marketed with little regulatory oversight, and they are pulled from shelves generally only after complaints of serious injury. The F.D.A. audits a small number of companies, but even industry representatives say more oversight is needed. -Due to this " honor system" prodical and the fact that that few harsh penalities are ever levied against the makers few if any comply with the basic rules, most completly disregard them and simply mislabel or dont disclose all the ingredigents. Shelly Burgess, a spokeswoman for the F.D.A., said that companies were required to adhere to a set of good manufacturing practices designed to prevent adulteration, but that many were ignoring the rules. “Unfortunately, we are seeing a very high percentage — approximately 70 percent — of firms’ noncompliance,” she said, “and we are very active in taking enforcement actions against such violations.” -Researchers from Canada and India tested more than 90 different herbal products—including capsules, powders, and teas—from 12 of the industry’s largest producers. Here’s what they found: More than 30% of the supplements tested contained a substitution plant instead of the herb listed on the label, meaning the product contained none of the herb you thought you were buying. One-third contained “fillers”, usually grasses like rice or wheat, or contaminants not listed among the labeled contents. Just 16% of the supplements tested contained the right herbs without any contaminants, fillers, or substitutions. The researchers analyzed multiple samples of each product to ensure their results were accurate. -A study last year for the International Olympic Committee by Wilhelm Scher of the German Sport University in Cologne found that of 634 supplements purchased in 13 countries, nearly 15 percent contained substances that would have made athletes taking them test positive. So even if you try and check any of these supplements purchased at gnc ect. There is a very good chance that the "banned" substances contained within are not appropriately listed. Making matters worse a vast majority of the "banned substances" have many sudonames that are not listed on the mlb policy. Take this substance Oxilofrine for example, wikipedia lists it as "also known as methylsynephrine, hydroxyephrine, oxyephrine, and 4-HMP" yet despite having 5 commonly accepted names in the scientific community only 2 (oxilofrine and methlsynephrine) are listed in the 2015 policy. As a frame of reference I typed each of these terms into the search on GNC and found that 628 items resulted from searching for "4-HMP" yet the two names listed in the mlb resulted in zero matches...
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Post by greatscottcooper on Jul 16, 2015 18:53:47 GMT -5
I wonder how many supplements I can buy at GNC or Vitamin world that would land me a suspension if I was playing professional baseball. I bet it's a lot. I'm not trying to defend Kopech (and by that I mean I kinda am trying to defend him) but it's not like he was shooting up Decca into his glutes, this is a drug that is often found in many common over the counter supplements that aren't illegal.
Maybe that doesn't make a difference in the number of games he gets suspended for, but I do think it goes a long way to not damage his charactor the same way it should if he was using injectable illegal steroids.
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Post by grmoore27 on Jul 16, 2015 19:20:10 GMT -5
Obviously this is a cover to shut him down. He's pitched 5x as many innings as his previous professional high. He was suspended by the MLB commissioners office. Why would the Commissioner care how many pitches this kid has thrown? If you're being sarcastic, it wasn't very good. Sarcasm only works when the thing you say makes sense.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Jul 16, 2015 19:22:38 GMT -5
Obviously this is a cover to shut him down. He's pitched 5x as many innings as his previous professional high. He was suspended by the MLB commissioners office. Why would the Commissioner care how many pitches this kid has thrown? If you're being sarcastic, it wasn't very good. Sarcasm only works when the thing you say makes sense. Sarcasm is only sarcasm when it's not sarcasm.
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Post by bentossaurus on Jul 16, 2015 19:26:00 GMT -5
It doesn't have to be good, only has to be in italics.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Jul 16, 2015 19:38:43 GMT -5
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 16, 2015 19:47:16 GMT -5
This seems to me to be part of the extreme over-reaction of MLB after having completely disregarded steroid use, with a wink and a nod, at the end of the last millenium and the beginning of this one. Unable to identify a middle ground, the broad brush approach sucks in even marginal drugs such as this stimulant. As shaqtus and brnichols have pointed out, the extremely broad formulations and complete lack of regulation insure an enormous swath of shadow-land exists in the supplement business. The only answer is the one mentioned by a few posters, of having trainers check the supplements you're using. and most of the players probably do use them. But, as the NY Times story makes clear, you or the trainer may not have a clue about the complete list of ingredients.
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Post by greatscottcooper on Jul 16, 2015 19:54:58 GMT -5
You know, Kopech brings up a good point. He definitely looks like someone who would be trying to put on weight and not lose it.
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Post by rafael on Jul 16, 2015 19:59:03 GMT -5
Kind of ridiculous to ban someone for using a drug that does not bring any benefit. Anyway, bad decision-making by Kopech.
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