Corruption in Drug Testing

Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has had his fifty game suspension for use of performance enhancing drugs overturned. Apparently, protocols for handling of samples were not followed causing MLB to void the suspension. The sample taker, Dino Laurenzi, Jr., kept Braun's specimen in his home refrigerator instead of turning it over to FedEx as required by Baseball's labor agreement. Last week, Eric Davis, co-host of The Drive on 95.7 The Game, proclaimed that Braun's test was dirty and that he got off on a technicality.

There are reasons for technicalities. Human beings are imperfect and subject to mistakes and corruption. In his column in the San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Ostler parodies the late defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, “'If you don't ship the pee, he must go free.'”

This reference to the O.J. Simpson case was fitting. Setting aside the questions of O.J.'s guilt or innocence, it was at least demonstrated if not proved that Los Angeles Police detectives planted blood evidence around his property. A technician took a blood sample from Simpson and did not turn it in immediately. A detective took blood samples off a fence that DNA testing showed to be Simpson's. Additional testing by the defense showed that the sample contained a preservative that does not occur in the human body. A reasonable conclusion was that the detective had taken some of the blood drawn from O.J. and planted it on the fence.

The point is that Eric Davis can not say for certain that Ryan Bruan's test is dirty. The state of his test is unknown because procedures and protocols are not followed. Ryan Braun says he does not use PEDs and volunteers for a DNA test. He is saying that somehow the specimen he gives is traded for another contaminated one.

Now, what are the reasons that Mr. Laurenzi, or someone else, might substitute for Mr. Braun's specimen? Money and blackmail are the most obvious answers. It is possible that nefarious individuals are threatening innocent ballplayers with substitution of dirty tests for clean ones or offering, for a price, the substitution of clean samples for contaminated ones. Maybe the ballplayers are somehow setting up MLB by managing to substitute dirty tests for clean ones of supposedly innocent players resulting in the discrediting of the program. The players may then be able to resume using steroids without interference. Maybe MLB and certain players are in cahoots, because the steroid era was certainly beneficial for baseball. The preceding scenarios are speculation and examples and there is no implication that anyone acts improperly. It is also speculation to say that Ryan Braun's has a positive test. We just do not know.

Lew "Boob" Wolff: Loser, Loser Loser!

The Oakland Athletics are wallowing well below five hundred right now with no realistic hope of winning their division or anything else. The A's are a low payroll team and as such do not have much of a chance. The Major League Baseball revenue sharing and the luxury tax exist in order to enable teams such as this to become competitive. The MLB collective bargaining agreement states that this money must be used, “in an effort to improve its performance on the field.” Some team owners do not honor this requirement and just apply these funds to their profits. The ownership of the A's, led by Lew “Boob” Wolff, is among them. They take the Yankee money and stuff their pockets, meanwhile a valuable local asset degrades and fans are cheated.


This is reminiscent of the 1991 movie OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY with Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck in which a corporate raider finds a small public company with a large cash balance and a low stock price. He figures he can pocket the cash, sell off equipment and other parts of the company and then fire most of the workers. This not only eliminates jobs but destroys an asset of the community. The corporate raider is investing, but not creating anything much the same way that Boob Wolff invests in the A's, but his only interest is in cashing MLB checks and maybe using the team as the center piece of a real estate deal. In other words, he invests without creating anything and he should be investing to create a World Series champion.

Many say the baseball is a business and to an extent this is true. However, in many ways the ownership of a sports franchise is a wealthy man's plaything. You spend your money and you get your ring. From this perspective, the best owners in the Bay Area are the Haas family and Eddie DeBartolo. Even Charlie O. Finley and Al Davis, both scumbags, can at least point to trophies. Boob Wolff is a complete loser and the rest of the MLB ownership should be ashamed for allowing him to own a major league club.

Giants Value Climbs Inspite of Losses

Yesterday, Matier & Ross report that the playoffs have been quite a boon the San Francisco Giants and that due to post season revenues the Giants hope to posts profits in the range of $7 to $10 million. Without these additional sales they were looking at a loss of between $4 million to $5 million. Apparently, the teams value had been estimated to have increased by $12 million. It seemed that this estimate was made before the post season revenues were considered.

I just do not understand how teams' value can continue to rise despite continued losses. I think there is a great deal of creativity in MLB accounting and these teams keep threatening to move because they can not make money. They are such liars.

Perfection Denied

It is disappointing to see umpire Jim Joyce's blown call deprive Detroit Tigers' pitcher, Armando Galaraga, of a perfect game. It is also disappointing to hear the media cries for remedy. A perfect game must be that. Perfection is a demand everywhere on the field, including the officials. One may loose a perfect game due to a fielding error or a great play not made as well as a bad call. Luck has a substantial role. The worst suggestion I hear is that Commissioner Bud “Bud Lite” Selig should over rule the call by Joyce and manufacture perfection. This is a horrible idea and denigrates the twenty instances of faultlessness in baseball history.

I hear the hue and cry amongst some of the media for expanded instant replay. I may be old school, but I think mistakes are part of the game and over the course of 162 games they tend to even out. The exception today is that the Yankees and Red Sox get too many calls which they should not. Oakland Athletics post game radio buffoon, Chris Townsend, advocates for instant replay because of horrible officiating. Townsend goes further, suggesting a computerized system be used to call balls and strikes. Once again, blown calls even out and MLB still has the ability to adjust the system to benefit “special” teams.

No one likes blown calls, but instant replay would also eliminate many eminently entertaining moments. One is the blown call at first base in the 1985 World Series between the Cardinals and Royals by Don Denkinger. The Cardinals loose their cool and surrender a late Game 6 lead and then loose Game 7. Since I am a fan of neither team, this is completely entertaining and a good lesson in consequences of not maintaining one's composure. In the case of yesterday's game, instant replay would deprive us of the display of class by Galaraga, Joyce and eventually Tigers' manager, Jim Leyland.