Update II: Gio Gonzalez has issued a statement via Twitter denying any wrongdoing in regards to the usage of performance-enhancing drugs.
Here is that statement:
“I’ve never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will ,I’ve never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance Provided by him.anything said to the contrary is a lie.”
Update: The Nationals have yet to comment on Gonzalez’s link to Biogenesis, and Gio Gonzalez has not responded to a voice mail, but Major League Baseball has released a lengthy statement, part of which you can read below.
“We are always extremely disappointed to learn of potential links between players and the use of performance-enhancing substances. These developments, however, provide evidence of the comprehensive nature of our anti-drug efforts. Through our Department of Investigations, we have been actively involved in the issues in South Florida. It is also important to note that three of the players allegedly involved have already been disciplined under the Joint Drug Program. ...
“We are in the midst of an active investigation and are gathering and reviewing information. We will refrain from further comment until this process is complete.”
Repoz
Posted: January 29, 2013 at 01:47 PM |
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1. Ray (RDP)"You have the right to remain silent. So SHUT THE #### UP."
Love,
FLNRSA
His average fastball is up 4-5 MPH over the last 3-4 years.
Rich people go to jail.
Even if they don't go to jail, rich people get convicted of felonies, which screw up your life in all kinds of ways, until you are dead or pardoned.
Well, it's the Obama administration, so, dead.
It also sets a bad example for anybody who thinks they're rich, or thinks they're innocent, or thinks their reputation is worth maintaining, etc., etc.
Just... don't say anything. People will think what they want to think, and nothing you say is going to change that.
I say ban him from the game for at least three years.
You have to weigh the upside and the downside. For most of us, the upside is tiny, but it could be millions and millions of dollars for Gio Gonzalez.
Because this counted for something for all the steroids players who were accused without evidence?
When the accusation alone counts as evidence in the minds of the public, there's not much counting-for-something you can do.
If everything Gio said above is 100% accurate, then he should shout it from the rooftop.
The Dad trying to take the fall is an interesting twist. God knows there are no other ways to lose weight than the local shady steroid dealer.
link
A professional football player? Using steroids?!
Why would that be dumb? Steroids would give your son a competitive advantage -- one it looks like he very well may availed himself of.
Not a problem. He talked with Jesus first.
It's nothing he can't shoot his way out of.
He was probably just sticking up for his friends.
Because, you know, it's totally natural to go from having a completely torn triceps muscle to playing professional football in like six weeks. Definitely nothing fishy there at all - and we all know Ray is a stand up guy.
He was trying to play better and keep his libido up. You know, kill two birds with one stone.
Don't worry, he'll cut through these allegations to get to the heart of the truth.
Maybe he saw others around him on PEDs and said "I'll take a stab at that as well"?
No one cares; the current narrative is that he is now an inspirational good guy, whose clever dance, winning smile and tough and inspirational play on the field over-rides any concerns of bad acts.
In all seriousness, he's going to get the Pettitte treatment. "He used PEDs to get back on the field because he cared SO much about winning, not like those cheaters like Bonds and A-Rod, who used PEDs for selfish gain like hitting home runs!"
Football has a culture of getting back on the field by any means necessary that long predates modern PEDs. I'm not sure there's an analog in baseball.
At this point, pro football in the United States is a culture unto itself that almost transcends sports. It's more akin to war. It doesn't really teach much of value to or about sport or sportsmanship, and therefore I wouldn't extrapolate any of its mores or lessons to more pure sports.
So football is different... simply because. Very profound, SugarBear.
Whether this is true or not, the league does have a PED policy and does issue suspensions for violations.
Do they suspend for violations that don't come from tests?
Yeah, because that's what I said -- "just because."
/eyeroll
While Gonzalez's father doing this is a, ummm, convenient coincidence, this isn't surprising at all. Did you read the story -- I made it through about the first 9 pages of it. The sources are these "regular people" who went to this guy. One source is a 40-year-old woman who felt her workouts were starting to drag and Bosch had her injecting Winstrol on a daily basis. The secretary was unpaid but she was kinda OK with it because she was getting the drugs for free. The main source is a guy who went there because he wanted to look better, looked up the drugs on the internet and kept injecting himself. I think that was the same guy whose main concern was whether his balls would shrivel up.
"Anti-aging" isn't a cover for "we provide PEDs for athletes", it's cover for "we provide PEDs and HGH for anybody with the money to pay for them." There are a lot of vain people with money in this world -- they've been keeping plastic surgeons in business for decades now.
What might be different here from BALCO is it seems that these regular people were fully informed of what they were taking. It would seem to be hard for any athlete caught up in this to succeed with a "I didn't know what I was doing" claim.
No, no, he shouldn't. Because if there is any real evidence to the contrary, or someone (without a dog in the fight, or otherwise clean/uninvolved) comes forward to contradict him, he will be seen as a liar who made self-serving statements to further his own self-interest. Many, many people have been convicted based on a denial, plus some evidence, no matter how weak, to the contrary.
Here's a video that spells this out well (from conservative Regent University; it's long, but the first twenty-five minutes are the best part): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc
And here's a recent case from the North Carolina Court of Appeals (affirmed per curiam, without an opinion, by the North Carolina Supreme Court just last week) upholding a first-degree murder conviction based on one piece of DNA physical evidence, come circumstantial evidence, and the defendant's unequivocal denial to the cops: http://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=2&pdf=MjAxMi8xMS0xMzgyLTEucGRm
FWIW, in case it isn't obvious, I'm a criminal defense attorney, too.
Mr.Gonzalez assured me that Gio is as American as a whistle.
Not yet, anyway.
David Price
2009 - 92.9
2010 - 94.6
2011 - 94.8
2012 - 95.5
Sabathia
2002 - 92.3
2003 - 92.8
2004 - 93.8
2005 - 94.7
Josh Johnson
2005 - 91.0
2006 - 91.8
2007 - 92.4
2008 - 93.5
2009 - 95.0
Good point. Does Gio have any plans this weekend to visit a strip club in New Orleans?
It's not clear the sec'y was getting the drugs for free. She says she wasn't paid for two months of work but kept working (in that 2nd month presumably) because it was a bit of a "hobby" and she "wanted the drugs".
Also the article says the main source: He had visited the Coral Gables clinic on a friend's recommendation for the same reason so many others did: He'd recently hit his late 40s, felt his energy and libido sagging, and wanted to see what Bosch could do for him. So maybe he didn't want to "look better".
this isn't far from the truth, to me. the shameful way the guys who run the sport use up athletes, the barely concealed gambling culture, the PED pass they get from the press, etc. ... and it continues to be popular. it certainly doesn't feel like 'sport' in the antiquated sense of the word. gladiatorial, more like.
i watch it on occasion, and will probably watch some or all of the superbowl, but its like a bad habit i can't shake. i really dislike the NFL. if it got banned tomorrow, i'd have no problem with that whatsoever.
Better be safe and suspend him from his next game.
Totally understand that. That's why I led off with "No, no, he shouldn't. Because if there is any real evidence to the contrary, or someone (without a dog in the fight, or otherwise clean/uninvolved) comes forward to contradict him, he will be seen as a liar who made self-serving statements to further his own self-interest." He'll be "convicted" in the court of public opinion. See: Braun, Ryan; Clemens, Roger; Bonds, Barry.
BTW, there is now a "TJ" on the site, in addition to me ("T.J."). I'm pretty sure I've been around longer (mid-'90s?) than the new one! :)
Then why say anything?
Well, if you're old enough, you may recall that Gio was tossed off his high school team because the coach had finally had enough of Gio's mother. So, I'd say that the bona fides of his helicopter parents have been well-established.
Gio in Baseball America May 2004
Because Mantei T'eo's girlfriend was on call waiting, and he had to hang up before he got anything of substance from Gio.
You would think after Riding on Gio's back all through HS to get playing time, it would be max that would take the fall for him. The dad comes off as a hen-pecked schlep in that article.
Or Palmeiro.
I get you, T.J. (Can we get TJ to change his handle?) Still, I don't believe Ryan Braun -- again, assuming he believed himself to be 100% innocent -- made a mistanke by angrily responding to the failed drug test. When you're already being tried in the court of opinion, dead silence isn't going to be your salvation.
I had kicked college football entirely, until UGA played Florida this year. Then I was back on that brownstone as well as the NFL habit. Luckily I won't have any need to watch the Superbowl this year, so I can start over again. This time I'm going to try to kick football entirely.
He'd have to have failed a test for the substance he supposedly took. But the NFL doesn't test for it.
Code for "we provide actual PEDs as well as overpriced placebos for our dumber clients".
When is HGH coming off the PEDs list, hasn't A-Rod's recent track record put the final stake in the heart of it's claim to "enhance" players?
That's funny, I served with him on the USS Enterprise and just exhanged messages with him via subspace. I also have no further comment, unless it is Q ####### with me again, in which case I will have some comments.
What are these Flinsonte vitamins? Can I get some? Will they make me look younger? Lose weight? Add inches to my fastball?
question: do you say that when they, say, want to ask you questions about something you might could have witnessed?
do they really have the right to keep you imprisoned for 48 hours if you don't answer any questions? can they actually charge you with obstructing an investigation (like they do on TV)
2 - i am not getting all the outrage over older people like gio's father using hormone therapy to look/feel better. they have to pay for it themselves, it doesn't raise insurance prices and if it makes them stay healthier, it's better for them and us. so the problem is????
"Add inches to my fastball?"
The kids are calling it a 'fastball' nowadays, are they?
They are, with an eye toward putting it low & inside.
I kicked college football pretty much entirely this year. It helps that I'm far away from my alma mater. I don't think I could kick the NFL unless it got really heinous. I haven't kicked college basketball entirely (I detest the NCAA's exploitation of athletes at this point) but I've found myself way less interested than I ever have before.
Baseball could make it a rule to murder puppies before each at bat and I would probably still watch.
The article also quotes "experts" who suggest these items might have some weight management uses, which could dovetail with the statement by Gio's Dad.
I don't watch any other collegiate sport. I gave up college basketball when Danny Ferry was a recent graduate.
Don't give players like Chris Truby & Albert Belle any ideas.
307.
:-)
Vargas Llosa's "The Way to Paradise" is about Gaugin (and a parallel story about his ... mother, grandmother)
Vonnegut's Bluebeard ... which I recall as not very good until the last chapter where he describes a painter's master work.
Rushdie's the Moor's Last Sigh also has a key character that's a painter and does some neat descriptions. That book always seemed under-rated to me but then it was my first Rushdie.
Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word which is basically just a screed against abstract art (as is Bluebeard).
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