...gotten into the wrong line when they were passing out common sense.
When will they ever learn?
NEW YORK (April 30) - San Francisco Giants minor league catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was suspended 50 games Wednesday for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, the first player penalized this year under Major League Baseball's drug program.
Alfonzo is on San Francisco's 40-man roster so he falls under the major league program even though he has played all season at Triple-A Fresno.
"I made a mistake, and I want to apologize to my family, my teammates, the fans and the Giants organization," Alfonzo said in a statement released by the team. "I know what I did was wrong, and now I will pay the penalty. As a father, I now have to look my children in the eye and explain to them that I have made a big mistake, one, unfortunately, that they are also going to have to deal with, as well as me."
The 29-year-old Venezuelan was optioned to Fresno just before opening day and is batting .306 with three homers and 14 RBI in 16 games. The suspension will start Thursday, and Alfonzo will be eligible to return to play June 27, assuming there are no postponements.
He played 113 games with the Giants in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, batting .263 with 13 homers and 45 RBI.
The Giants said in a statement they also were disappointed to learn about the positive test and that they support baseball's testing program. Alfonzo is the first Giants player to be suspended under the major league drug program that first started suspensions in 2004.
"As an organization, we will continue to work with our players, Major League Baseball and the players association to do what we can do to eliminate these performance enhancing substances from our game," the team said. "We will continue to support and counsel Eliezer during his suspension."
Five players have been suspended this year under the minor league program.
Oh, please. Spare us the apologies. Funny how they all think they're gonna get away with it. Maybe it's time to up the ante on cheaters. Kick them out of the league for good the first time they get caught. No second chances. They're supposed to be role models for younger athletes.
And, the record book should be expunged of any records set by cheaters.
Dawn
Athletes must have...
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wang_chi7
- Hall of Fame Candidate
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I'm not a big fan of kicking them out on the first offense. They can fail the test by taking suppliments that are legal and available at GNC. I like how it is set now with the really long suspensions and kicked out after number 3. Though I would probably like to see them kicked out after number two for at least 3 years (and then have to be seen in front of a committee for reinstatement.)
I'd like to see the record books cleaned up, but its a slippery slope. Do we only change the ones who got caught by the league? Do we take out their whole career or just a part? I guess its probably best to leave the numbers the way they really are and just know that its common knowledge that this era is tainted and all numbers are possibly tainted.
I just wish there was a reliable HGH test out there. By the time they get one, the cheaters will have moved onto something else.
I'd like to see the record books cleaned up, but its a slippery slope. Do we only change the ones who got caught by the league? Do we take out their whole career or just a part? I guess its probably best to leave the numbers the way they really are and just know that its common knowledge that this era is tainted and all numbers are possibly tainted.
I just wish there was a reliable HGH test out there. By the time they get one, the cheaters will have moved onto something else.
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TrenchGoon
- Hall of Fame Candidate
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The premise of this topic is an application of the specific to the general. That is a logical fallacy without more evidence to support the conclusion.
While some athletes are lacking in sense, lacking in morals, or lacking in character, a few examples do not necessarily apply to the population group as a whole.
One must compare the group results with the results from the greater population to see differences in outcomes. In this case, one would expect a given number of athletes, as a percentage of that population, to have these traits in proportion to the greater population, and that would mean that some of them would have these problems.
Athletes have more to lose by getting caught, but they have more to gain by using banned substances. If the chance of getting caught is reduced, the increase in potential gain can be a major variable. If the chance of getting caught is increased, the variable has less impact. Even in this case, one must ask if athletes are influenced by these factor any more or less than the general population.
Not that you were really making a logical premise out of the post, Dawn.
While some athletes are lacking in sense, lacking in morals, or lacking in character, a few examples do not necessarily apply to the population group as a whole.
One must compare the group results with the results from the greater population to see differences in outcomes. In this case, one would expect a given number of athletes, as a percentage of that population, to have these traits in proportion to the greater population, and that would mean that some of them would have these problems.
Athletes have more to lose by getting caught, but they have more to gain by using banned substances. If the chance of getting caught is reduced, the increase in potential gain can be a major variable. If the chance of getting caught is increased, the variable has less impact. Even in this case, one must ask if athletes are influenced by these factor any more or less than the general population.
Not that you were really making a logical premise out of the post, Dawn.
We come from the land of the ice and snow .... 
