Former Cub Mitre banned 50 games

The real question is this: Why the hell do professional baseball players shop at GNC?

about 3 years ago dtpollitt 15 comments 0 recs |

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The question isn't why they shop at GNC...

… because why shouldn’t players be allowed to buy LEGAL supplements?

Quote from Mitre’s agent in the article.

“As confirmed through the drug testing and grievance processes, it contained a ‘contaminant’ amount of an illegal, performance-enhancing drug. This was not listed as an ingredient on the packaging, should not have been in the supplement and certainly should not have been available for legal purchase at a store.”

So what’s the solution to this?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 6, 2009 4:36 AM CST reply actions

I think...

at some point the professional leagues are going to get together to form their own, GNC type supplemental distribution. It’s the only legitimate way to keep the mistakes in house.

There are a couple NFL players who have been “caught” under similar circumstances where an ingredient wasn’t listed on an approved supplement. The players sued to block the suspensions (and obviously the pay that goes with it.)

What happens if Mitre and Romero sue GNC for lost wages? Or the manufacturer of the supplements for not listing the ingredients correctly?

The MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, etc should get together and fund an independent group whose sole purpose is to test supplements and approve them. Then, players can buy them directly through their respective league’s offices and can track shipments. If a player wants to use something not approved by the league, he can have it tested or petition to have it added to the approved list or risk testing positive on his own.

by CubFan81 on Jan 6, 2009 8:45 AM CST up reply actions

The NFL...

… has a phone line that is supposedly manned 24 hours a day. Players can call in and check to see if store bought supplements violate league policy. I’m not sure if this exists for MLB but players are responsible to know what they’re putting in their body, even if it is legal (but against sport rules).

by dmlichte on Jan 6, 2009 8:49 AM CST up reply actions

It would probably be a good idea...

…. for the MLBPA to start such a phone line, if MLB won’t do it. You’d think that the players association is supposed to do this sort of thing for its members.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 6, 2009 9:13 AM CST up reply actions

A phone line is a good idea.

Or, if that’s feasible at the moment, at least put up a Web site with a list of “safe” supplements.

Yes, yes ... winter is indeed a pond upon which all of us must skate, braving frostbite and runny noses in the hopes that our cars will start and we shan't embarass ourselves slipping on a patch of black ice. Spring is more a quagmire of cold mud and slush, and fall is a pile of fallen leaves that may or may not hide a pile of doggy doo-doo. But summer, ah summer is an oasis of endless green that disappears all too quickly beneath our feet as we rush through its warm, glorious bliss.

by daver on Jan 6, 2009 9:50 AM CST up reply actions

Certainly a good idea,

but would it have prevented this incident? Wouldn’t the supplement have been listed as “safe” considering it was supposed to be andro-free?

http://thegettinplace.blogspot.com/

by TheTruth11 on Jan 6, 2009 5:56 PM CST up reply actions

Yes, but...

… since it was on the “approved” list, they wouldn’t have grounds for suspension.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 6, 2009 7:54 PM CST up reply actions

Gotcha.

http://thegettinplace.blogspot.com/

by TheTruth11 on Jan 12, 2009 10:06 PM CST up reply actions

I think it is ridiculous

that trace amounts of andro were found in Mitre’s GNC supplement, which were obviously NOT supposed to be in the drug, yet he gets blamed for it. There’s no room for accidents or mistakes—and it was GNC’s fault, not his!

Evey Hammond: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. V: By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

by dtpollitt on Jan 6, 2009 9:40 AM CST up reply actions

I agree.

Or, at the very least, give lighter suspensions in cases like this where it’s almost certainly a mistake – not an intentional effort to cheat. 50 games is way too harsh. That’s what – 10 starts? I was going to make a snarky remark about Mitre, such as “Never trust a guy with a moustache like that,” but this punishment is cruel and unusual.

by daver on Jan 6, 2009 9:49 AM CST up reply actions

On the flip side,

MLB has pretty black-and-white definitions of what is and is not acceptable. If they start making exceptions, it opens the floodgates for all kinds of loopholes down the road, and then we wind up with another Mitchell Report in ten years. As I was taught a long time ago, “know your dealer.” If the same source keeps being pointed to as providing dirty stuff, you buy from someone else, and tell your friends to do the same. (Nobody likes lots of seeds.)

I don’t like that guys are getting busted for someone else’s mistakes. I also don’t like that the game has gotten to the point where guys feel they have to alter their body chemistry to compete. And I really don’t like that the lines being drawn over what is and what is not legal is being drawn in a shifting landscape. But you play by the rules, and take your lumps when you get ’em.

Bleed Cubbie Blue: Like Drāno for your internet tubes.

by znohitter on Jan 6, 2009 6:10 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, that's true.

And taking responsibility for one’s own actions is always important. But I really wasn’t suggesting MLB make an exception with Mitre – just give him a lighter sentence. Maybe 10 games – he misses a couple starts, his name is still in all the papers (so to speak) and he presumably still learns the same lesson.

by daver on Jan 7, 2009 9:32 AM CST up reply actions

ya'll didn't believe me

I used to preached it day in and day out, but today the truth behind it is known. Mitre, who has kept it hidden for years, has finally been caught! Its finally been determined that he……………………………shopped at GNC, I knew it!!

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by Chanman25 on Jan 6, 2009 5:13 PM CST reply actions

I can see it all so clearly now...

…Sergio goes to the mall – stops at Supercuts to get his moustache trimmed, picks up a hot pretzel at the food court and then swings by GMC for some tainted supplement on the way out. Did he really think he could get away with this?

by daver on Jan 7, 2009 9:31 AM CST up reply actions