Jorge Polanco Receives 80-Game Suspension For PED

Depends on what the teams offer, in that regard. Honestly, it's such a minimal expense, they should be provided during the season, and the players should be given/shipped an offseason supply at the end of the season.

 

If teams aren't doing that for million-dollar investments, they do bear some of the blame here. (Even with just a 1-2 WAR projection, the Twins are missing out on millions worth of production from Polanco's suspension.)

Doesn't mean that the players would take that given to them. And I'm sure if, a player asked he would get an answer, to what he intends to ingest. Again all on the player.

It's pretty easy to sit back at your computer and say that people trying to preserve their (and their family's....many from poor countries, oddly coincidentally) future should just not do everything in their power to do so....you aren't at jeopardy of losing millions of dollars. 

 

As if Tom Kelly didn't throw away syringes back in the day.....teams know. They only care when players get caught. Thinking otherwise seems naive to me. 

I agree that on some level teams know. Idk if I'd go as far as saying that they know exactly which players are using PEDs but I can't imagine they're shocked if/when guys in the organization get caught. Statistically there have to be some players using. Players are going to do whatever it takes when there's significant $$ on the line. I can empathize with the situation some of these guys from poor backgrounds are in. 

The question is where does the burden of responsibility fall? Chief is right, ownership is hurt by a damaged on field product. For this team, Polanco vs. Adrianza/Aybar might be the difference between making a WC game or watching from home. The money "saved," by the Polanco suspension is negligible in this case but we know damn well if it was Mauer (not that it would ever happen) being suspended that money would go right back to the Pohlads and it wouldn't be spent this season. If the $$ was moved to a central fund rather than the owner, and MLB distributed it among youth camps ect. I think it everybody would be better served. IMO these suspensions are more than just a mild inconvenience and a chance to recoup $$ for owners. 

Honestly, what is a team supposed to do if a player chooses to spend time with a sketchy trainer during his time away from the team? If the Twins were forcing players to only use their training grounds, or not to interact with certain trainers or frequent certain facilities, how long would it be before that action was labeled a means to control minority players and by extension racist? I'm not saying it is, but we know that's how it would be portrayed. There's no winning for the Twins in this scenario. If the club decides to put a facility in the DR and staff it with trainers, dietitians, ect I'm fine with it, but they have all those amenities here in the US and the players are choosing not to use them. I understand wanting to spend time back home with family during the offseason, but the resources Polanco needed were literally a phone call away, and he choose not to make the call.  

I actually said none of that....but nice straw man.

 

I said it was easy to sit back and pass judgement on someone, when none of us are in the same position. I never said he had the right to do this, nor did I say that he should not be punished, since these are the rules.....never once did I say anything you just typed.

 

OTOH, I do think it is a stupid rule that should go away, but that is a different discussion that has nothing to do with the post you quoted.

I would guess that most of us have had the opportunity to cheat or lie to gain an advantage over another employee or student at some point in our lives. So, I disagree that none of us have been in the same position.

I can't believe some people think these grown adults need to be babysat by teams, and that the teams should be jointly liable for not babysitting them 24/7.

These are grown adults, not little kids.

Seems patronizing to all players to suggest they aren't capable of the responsibility of their own behavior.

Do you feel the same way about all jobs, or just athletes?

http://www.mlb.com/pa/pdf/jda.pdf

According to the policy, the team, the players association, and the league knows 72 hours before the player does.

 

My guess is this has been a week or less. My employees were non-union, but i suspended my reports as soon as I found out or at the beginning of their next shift if they were off. I’d literally find them in the plant or at the beginning of the shift wait at the time clock.

 

Everyone knew someone got popped if I greeted everyone at the door, which was once or twice a month.

According to Polanco’s press conference, he has known he failed a test for about a month, but only told Molitor and Falvey yesterday.

I made this point pages back. It’s legal in the DR and almost encouraged and I’d bet agents are involved in this as well. Enticing and luring, actually preying on the impoverished. Why I don’t believe it’s a race issue when a very high percentage of those caught are from the DR. That is not coincidental to me.

So what if it's legal in the DR? Is he playing in the DR?  He's 24, not 16. the  players know it's not legal in the US and not allowed by their employer.  It's up to them if they want to risk it, but shouldn't bitch ( or make up BS excuses) when they get caught.

You're missing the point. The player and the team both want the same thing. They want the player to use PEDs. If teams didn't want this, there are concrete actions they could take to stop it. This isn't "babysitting." It's an investment.

such as?

IMO there is zero possibility he didn't know what he was taking.

None.

Completely agree.  Furthermore, if he didn't know, he's just as, if not more culpable.

I know this is a family-friendly site, so let me paraphrase my reaction to the news as "F-bomb x 3" followed by a few "Gosh darned it."

By the way, I looked up the drug on Wikipedia and found:

"stanozolol has been used in US horse racing".

'Nuf said?

I made this point pages back. It’s legal in the DR and almost encouraged and I’d bet agents are involved in this as well. Enticing and luring, actually preying on the impoverished. Why I don’t believe it’s a race issue when a very high percentage of those caught are from the DR. That is not coincidental to me.

I mostly agree. Imagine being offered a lot of money to perform your dream job in another country, only the industry has a zero tolerance policy banning the consumption of caffeine. It would be easy to understand such a ban intellectually, but a person who's culturally used to drinking coffee may not see what the big deal is if they have a cup every morning. I don't think MLB's drug policy is meant to target Dominicans, but if they face the majority of suspensions (a claim that needs to be cited), then the policy is racist inasmuch as it punishes one ethnic group more than others. So, it would be more accurate to say that any racism is systemic—probably the result of personal blind spots in MLBPA and the league office, rather than intentional malice because Rob Manfred dislikes Dominicans.

And for those posters correlating this to their own experiences: No one is trying to discredit your work ethic. No one is taking anything from you. Polanco's suspension isn't actually about you.