DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum A-Rod juiced in 03 . . .

The year he got AL home run title AND AL MVP.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/02/07/alex-rodriguez-steroids/index.html

Sources tell SI Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003

By Selena Roberts and David Epstein

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."

Phone messages left by SI for players' union executive director Donald Fehr were not returned.

Though MLB's drug policy has expressly prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991, there were no penalties for a positive test in 2003. The results of that year's survey testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner's office and the players association. Rodriguez's testing information was found, however, after federal agents, armed with search warrants, seized the '03 test results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., of Long Beach, Calif., one of two labs used by MLB in connection with that year's survey testing. The seizure took place in April 2004 as part of the government's investigation into 10 major league players linked to the BALCO scandal -- though Rodriguez himself has never been connected to BALCO.

The list of the 104 players whose urine samples tested positive is under seal in California. However, two sources familiar with the evidence that the government has gathered in its investigation of steroid use in baseball and two other sources with knowledge of the testing results have told Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez is one of the 104 players identified as having tested positive, in his case for testosterone and an anabolic steroid known by the brand name Primobolan. All four sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the evidence.

Primobolan, which is also known by the chemical name methenolone, is an injected or orally administered drug that is more expensive than most steroids. (A 12-week cycle can cost $500.) It improves strength and maintains lean muscle with minimal bulk development, according to steroid experts, and has relatively few side effects. Kirk Radomski, the former New York Mets clubhouse employee who in 2007 pleaded guilty to illegal distribution of steroids to numerous major league players, described in his recent book, Bases Loaded: The Inside Story of the Steroid Era in Baseball by the Central Figure in the Mitchell Report, how players increasingly turned to drugs such as Primobolan in 2003, in part to avoid detection in testing. Primobolan is detectable for a shorter period of time than the steroid previously favored by players, Deca-Durabolin. According to a search of FDA records, Primobolan is not an approved prescription drug in the United States, nor was it in 2003. (Testosterone can be taken legally with an appropriate medical prescription.)

Rodriguez finished the 2003 season by winning his third straight league home run title (with 47) and the first of his three MVP awards.

Because more than 5% of big leaguers had tested positive in 2003, baseball instituted a mandatory random-testing program, with penalties, in '04. According to the 2007 Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball, in September 2004, Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' union, violated an agreement with MLB by tipping off a player (not named in the report) about an upcoming, supposedly unannounced drug test. Three major league players who spoke to SI said that Rodriguez was also tipped by Orza in early September 2004 that he would be tested later that month. Rodriguez declined to respond on Thursday when asked about the warning Orza provided him.

When Orza was asked on Friday in the union's New York City office about the tipping allegations, he told a reporter, "I'm not interested in discussing this information with you."

Anticipating that the 33-year-old Rodriguez, who has 553 career home runs, could become the game's alltime home run king, the Yankees signed him in November 2007 to a 10-year, incentive-laden deal that could be worth as much as $305 million. Rodriguez is reportedly guaranteed $275 million and could receive a $6 million bonus each time he ties one of the four players at the top of the list: Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762), and an additional $6 million for passing Bonds. In order to receive the incentive money, the contract reportedly requires Rodriguez to make extra promotional appearances and sign memorabilia for the Yankees as part of a marketing plan surrounding his pursuit of Bonds's record. Two sources familiar with Rodriguez's contract told SI that there is no language about steroids in the contract that would put Rodriguez at risk of losing money.

Arguments before an 11-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena are ongoing between government prosecutors and the players' association over the government's seizure of the test results from the Long Beach lab. The agents who collected the material had a search warrant only for the results for the 10 BALCO-linked players. Attorneys from the union argue that the government is entitled only to the results for those players, not the entire list. If the court sides with the union, federal authorities may be barred from using the positive survey test results of non-BALCO players such as Rodriguez in their ongoing investigations.

How shocking,...

The really sad part is there will be no penalty.

Why do we care again?

When I don't care, I don't post a reply.

I'm making a point. I'm just glad barry bonds wasn't a multisport athlete. I'd hate to see all this digging into football. We'd find a couple clean players... lol

Quote:

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Why do we care again?

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If your looking for an answer other than because it TARNISHES THE GAME .... I have none ...

maybe U don't care ... but there sure as all hell is a TON OF US THAT DO ... folks that care about integrity and honesty and things like that ... we also don't care what "others"in his era were doing ... cause that does NOT MAKE IT RIGHT ....

Deep ... I just saw this myself and was coming to post it on the Barrroid thread .... under the heading of SHOCKER .... *L* ...

Say what U want about Canseco .. but everyone who he has blown th ewhistle on to a man ... has pretty much been "caught" as much as these a-holes can be ..

'and another ones gone and another ones gone and ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!!! ....

Steroids ruined football too right?

Another player on the juice.... yawwwnnn... I'm sorry, this is a surprise how?

Stop watching sports on TV. Stop going to the games. Stop buying the merch. As soon as the money goes away, so will the roids. Until then, there's too much incentive to bend the rules.

Roids did not ruin football ... nor did it ruin baseball ... i never said that .. I said it TARNISHED IT ... big diff .... and between this and labor strikes and the "salary structure" ... baseball is a pretty damm dull entity to me anymore .. I didn't watch any for about 7 years and now watch VERY VERY LITTLE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ... still love the game though ..

I know where this is going .. not gonna waste my time with U or others like u ...

U can have your opinion and I can have mine ... were not going to change each others so why bother ....

IMO your wrong ... in your opinion I;m wrong ... no big deal .... we'll just leave it at that ...

as for the "incentive" being there ... I agree 100% ... I UNDERSTAND why they do it (especially marginal guys ... guys that would not have made it to the $$$ without them .. guys like Bonds, Clements, Pudge, Palmerio .. they did it for EGO not for $$$$ .. )...

anyhow . i do agree with the incentive part .. but THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT ... appearantly U must be from the younger generation that for the most part could care less about truth, justice and the american way .. *L* ..

and as far as I'm concerned .. U can stick your opinion and excuses and attitude where the sun don't shine ... it matters not to me ....

Well at least you're entertained

This is really sad. As much as I don't like A-Fraud as a human being I certainly didn't want Bonds holding/tainting Aaron's record for any longer than possible. I thought A-Fraud was a the real deal.

Now we have to go through another half-hearted homerun chase over the next

He's 210 HR's shy of Bonds. He's averaging 40 per season (553 over 13 full seasons), so we probably have 5-6 years of his fake chase.

Manny Ramirez has ~530 over 14 full seasons averaging about 35 seasons. So, we could see 6-8 seasons of his 'chase' if Manny keeps playing.

I think anyone PROVEN to have used steriods should be wiped from the Record Books. PERIOD. Any HR Titles, MVPs, Cy Youngs, etc. And I believe anyone proven to have used HGH or steriods should get the 'Bad for Baseball' Pete Rose ban..PERIOD.

The sad thing is that he was tested in 2003 and MLB did nothing about this. They've never gotten ahead of this story. They keep pushing it under the rug and it only gets uglier.

Getting hard on those involved in this is the ONLY way to maintain the integrity of the game. However, as the players and owners keep making record amounts of money, they aren't going to say anything because there would be a short-term slip in the sports' desirability. The rebound would happen over two-three years if they did this right. But because they are not, this is going to hang over Baseball for the next decade and will be revisited EVERY time one of these tools become eligible for the Hall.

From Ties to Steriods, Selig has allowed America's pastime to get ruined on his watch. And the fact that A-Rod tested positive in 2003 and no reprocussions ocurred is proof he did NOTHING about it.

Absolutely makes me sick. We bought some Indians newborn outfits for our son. I'm seriously considering throwing them away...the only problem - have there been any Indians in this? I remember Byrd from his injury but nothing on Manny, Thome, those guys?

And it brings to light another question...Had all or most of the Indians not been cheating, how many Championships would we have from that Alomar, Manny, Thome era????? How badly does that cheating screw us as Indians fans. I'd probably be naive to think that none of our guys were doing Roids or HGH, but I still would like to know the 104 names on that report.

Integrity in baseball was lost as soon as money got involved...

And to think the Indians were screwed over, as if somehow no Indians were juicing and they were cheated out by teams that were....

That's the number that tested positve. The number taking performance enhancing drugs is/was considerably higher. Not everyone will fail a test because they know how to work around tests.... Only the stupid ones will get caught.

Why does Manny escape the "cloud" ... I have no clue if he did or didn't .. but theres no reason to believe he did not ...

IMO Manny is the best pure hitter of this generation and top 3 hitter all time .. right there with Ted and Rod and Tony ... but I have no feeling on him and roids .. i would not even bat an eyelash or be the tiniest bit surprised if it came out he used ...

about the best thing he has going for his innocence so far is that Jose hasn't mentioned him .. *L* ...

and u had to be a real dolt to get caught .. as far as I know they still don't have good tests for HGH ... even the IOC witch is leap years ahead of everyone as far as technology and staying ahead of the cheaters goes does not have an adequate test for that to the best of my knowledge ...

U couldn't convince me that Youkalis didn't use and is more than likely still using .. yet his name never comes up ...

Is that blood test relatively new (the last year or two) or has it been around awhile ... the last time I paid attention to these a-holes (owners,players, union .. I don't favor one over the other .. they ALL SUCK as far as I'm concerned .. *L*) .. were saying they either didn't have adequate testing for it or it was to expensive ...

I agree on the pitchers ... I said I would not be shocked if Clements was on them for 4 or 5 years now ... a few years before it was ever speculated about in the press I was saying this ... and I would argue with a couple buds about this all the time ... they gain a BIG ADVANTAGE also ....

they just don't need to get "big" like the hitters .... so the fans see no "bulk" up and therefore think there not using ....

bowling?? .. wow ... I'd *L* but it is not funny ... U need to at least change the story bro ...

If I was Bud Selig I would rule that any stats from any player that juiced would be expunged from the record books for that season (or seasons) that it was established that they did it, whether it was discovered through testing, the player's own confession, or the undisputed testimony of others under oath.

Henry Aaron = All Time Home Run King

I keep wondering why anyone would be surprised by this... Oh well.

A roided batter vs a roided batter pretty much cancels out the advantage don't you think?

I hope you meant a "roided batter vs. a roided pitcher" ??,.... but,...in my opinion, that is not much of a defense for this "action" in the first place.

It just ruins the basic premise of everything being an athletic contest,...i.e. a game.

i was surprised to hear this, but then when i thought about it, the texas rangers seem to be the most tainted team in terms of taking roids...

i don't know how you shake this, and more importantly, if he chases bonds' all time home run record, we will have to go through this asterisk stuff again...

once again canseco looks good in all of this....

Email them:
bud.selig@mlb.com

MLB president and chief operating office
bob.dupuy@mlb.com

Executive vice president of MLB
tim.brosnan@mlb.com

the number for the commissioner's office is 212-931-7800.

I know in my heart it won't make a difference, but here's my attempt at voicing my opinion in an earlier email to these clowns:
Mr. Selig, Mr. Dupuy and Mr. Brosnan,

My favorite picture from my childhood was taken while I was an infant and being held by Ron Hassey when he was a Rookie with the Indians. Of course I was sporting a baby Indian's outfit with the classic hardhat. I'll never forget the pre-game Baseball Camps at Municipal Stadium with Joe Carter, Cory Snyder, etc in Cleveland.

I'm 31, so I remember how cherished the game was and I never thought there would come a day where it was impure. In a few weeks, my wife and I are having our first child, a boy.

I've stayed mum as many of my childhood heroes became zeros...people like Mark McGwire, Canseco and Roger Clemens (I have his first name and wore his number). I can't even look at their Rookie cards. It's never really hit me until the A-Rod story broke this weekend and as I ponder raising a boy...I'm incredibly torn because I feel like Steroids in the game will remove a cherished moment with my son someday. I can't support MLB until everything gets cleaned up and some sort of historical correction doesn't tarnish the tradition of this great game.

I know there are legal agreements and HIPPA issues that prevent much of this information from accurately hitting the press. We have to rely on hack, dishonest leaks for our information. And with MLB not taking swift action, that information leaked into the media is the only perceived truth that crosses our minds.

Please, please, please wipe out any records of players who used Steroids, who have EVER tested positive. Do one HUGE sweep and move on. That is the only way you will get ahead of this story or issue.

You will lose market share to the NFL and although owners and players are making record amounts of money, you will never be able to recover if you don't act swiftly.

I believe that if you do two things, you will rebound incredibly and only these two actions will restore the perceived credibility in America's former Pastime....
1. Asterisk or wipe out any records, batting titles, mvp's, etc of any players who have tested positive for Steroids.
2. Impose the 'Bad for the game' Pete Rose rule for ANYONE who has ever tested positive. Don't make it an argument, don't make it of any discussion.

These players have committed fraud. They have made all of you liars. Those young children who have cherished them are heartbroken. Those 'Make a Wish' kids, many went to the grave not knowing their heroes were frauds. These thieves will single-handedly cause the ruin of this wonderful game if you don't step up and do what is right.

So many men like me will sit back and watch. As we have options to coach our kids in football, basketball, golf, etc versus baseball, if you don't offer some form of retribution, some kind of historical correction, you will love a generation of fans. Reward those who have been honest. They deserve it.

Until you correct the mistakes the occurred on your watch, I can't support MLB any longer.

Good luck as sitting idly by has put you into this mess, now it's time to do the right thing and clean up this mess.

A-Rod admits using performance-enhancers
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer



(AP)—Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03, saying he did so because of the pressures of being baseball’s highest-paid player.

“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day,” the New York Yankees star said in an interview with ESPN that was broadcast Monday shortly after it was recorded.

Rodriguez, who for years has denied using steroids, was given a $252 million, 10-year contract by the Texas Rangers in December 2000.

His admission came two days after Sports Illustrated reported he tested positive for steroids in 2003, one of 104 players who tested positive during baseball’s survey testing, which wasn’t subject to discipline and was supposed to remain anonymous.

“Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid,” he said. “I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth, you know—and being one of the greatest players of all time.”

Rodriguez hit 52, 57 and 47 homers in his three seasons with the Rangers, winning the first of three AL MVP awards during his final season with Texas. Because the Rangers were uncompetitive, he pushed for a trade to the Yankees in February 2004. Although he’s won two more MVP awards in pinstripes, he’s been a postseason failure and has never been to the World Series.

“It was such a loosey-goosey era. I’m guilty for a lot of things. I’m guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions,” Rodriguez said. “And to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.”

SI.com reported he tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone.

“And I did take a banned substance and, you know, for that I’m very sorry and deeply regretful. And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very—I just feel that—You know, I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time. I’m sorry to fans. I’m sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I ever thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that.”

Rodriguez directly contradicted a December 2007 interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” when he said, “No” when asked whether he’s ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance.

“I’ve never felt overmatched on the baseball field,” he said then. “I felt that if I did my, my work as I’ve done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn’t have a problem competing at any level.”

That interview came after he opted out of his $252 million contract and agreed to a $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rodriguez-steroids&prov=ap&type=lgns

At least he's come clean about it and hasn't taken the Bonds or Clemens route. The public seem to be a lot more forgiving towards athletes who admit their use rather than deny, deny, deny.

That being said he still lied about it before getting caught. He told a 60 minutes reporter last year or so that he'd never done any performance enhancing drugs. Add to the fact hes the higest paid player in baseball, a Yankee, and in a couple years he'll be challenging for the homerun record.

I also find it interesting that when the tests were taken in 2003 they were supposed to be confidential and the samples destroyed. Apparently not. But A-rod is just one player. 103 other players also tested positive but we have yet to hear any of their names.

The best part is .... the documentation came from of all places ... the PLAYERS UNION!!! ... *LOL* ...

these dirt bags fight and claw to allow there clients to use and then the dumb asses save the records of who tested positive .. *LOL* ..

incredibily ironic in my book ...

he came clean?? .. so he's telling the truth this time??? .. OK .. i guess he should be trusted this time ...

and Ya A-Roid ... U definetly proved to me that U didn't need the stuff ... cause well U said so .... and your words almost as good as Palmero's at thihs point .. *LOL* ..

And just what will become of all this anyways??