Posts tagged RafaelPalmeiro at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

The era of the medication endorsing athlete, while still early, has been pretty good to us. No one will every forget when Rafael Palmeiro came out with the Viagra ads or those fascinating Nolan Ryan Advil collaborations.

Okay, so those are a little clownish (or suspicious in Raffy's case) and certainly, Mike Schmidt's willingness to tackle BPH and the issues that surround an enlarged prostate are much more worthwhile. Granted, the subject is ready available humor for those without any sense of decorum and a heavily juvenilized mind, but there's nothing funny about dudes getting older and having to pee a lot.

"These bathroom breaks got in the way of life's normal moments," explains Schmidt. "When my doctor diagnosed me with BPH, I was relieved to learn that it was a common condition. I was also relieved to know BPH is not cancer. Together, we developed a game plan to manage my symptoms with Uroxatral(R) (alfuzosin HCl 10 mg extended-release tablets)."

Most of the conversation about John Rocker's recent radio interviews have centered on his comments about Bud Selig, and in particular, Rocker's advice that the commish "do the world a favor and kill himself." Rocker doesn't appreciate Selig's attempts to portray himself as being unaware about baseball's steroid problem, claiming Selig was aware Rocker flunked a steroid test and did nothing about it. (Rocker fails to mention how MLB's CBA with the player's association didn't allow Selig to do anything at the time, but whatever ...)

But while the comments above received most of the attention yesterday, I think the bigger bombshell should be the fact that Rocker claims he actually received advice about how to "safely" do steroids at a Rangers' spring training session. From the AP:

Rocker said that doctors from management and the players' association, following a spring training talk with the Texas Rangers about steroids and other topics, pulled himself, A-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez aside. Rocker was with the Rangers in 2002.

"Look guys, if you take one kind of steroid, you don't triple stack them and take them 10 months out of the year like Lyle Alzado did," Rocker said the doctors told them. "If you do it responsibly, it's not going to hurt you."

Rocker didn't name the doctors, but it certainly sounds like they were under the employment of either MLB or the player's association, doesn't it? If true, this definitely widens the scope of responsibility for the steroid problem from solely players and rogue trainers to include the actual league itself. If Congress insists on a dog-and-pony show involving Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens, why can't they also force Rocker, A-Rod and Pudge in to testify?

With the Department of Justice officially looking into whether Miguel Tejada lied to federal investigators in 2005, there's a chance the Astros' shortstop could have difficulty gaining entry back into the United States or even face deportation once he's here. And he can blame Rafael Palmeiro for the trouble ...

When Palmeiro tested positive steroids soon after appearing in front of Congress denying that he had ever used PEDs, Palmeiro told federal investigators that he received the injection from Tejada. But Tejada denied the allegation, and for the next two years his problems appeared to be over. When the Mitchell Report implicated Tejada yet again, though, Congress asked the DOJ to investigate whether Tejada lied back in 2005.

If investigators find evidence that he lied -- or even if he comes clean at this point -- there's a chance that he could be deported, said Hosuton-based immigration lawyer Alexandre Afanassiev to the Houston Chronicle:

"If Mr. Tejada admits that he lied ... that might be enough for immigration to initiate deportation proceedings. Because the way immigration law is written, you either need a conviction or an admission you committed a crime."

Tejada has a green card, but it's not immediately known how long he's had it. If he's had it longer than five years, his chances of being deported are greatly reduced, although he could still have trouble returning to the country once charges are officially filed. That doesn't mean that he's not without options, though.

And then, after all that work -- after all that plausible deniability -- your biggest free agent signing of the season ends up being named prominently in the Mitchell Report. What do you do next? Admit nothing, of course:

"We've read reports on hundreds of players over the last two years, and you didn't know whether he had denied them," McLane said. "But you had no idea he was going to be in the Mitchell Report. Then this just came out of the blue. I was asking the commissioner a little while ago, I said, `Did y'all know that was going to happen?' and he said, 'We were startled too.' They had no knowledge."

"You don't know whether that was just some big scene and will fade away, or is it a real issue," McLane said. "We just need to determine what the committee and Congress is going to do, and what his side of the story is."

Whoopsies!

While I don't think McLane and the Astros would have signed Tejada if they would have known for sure he was in the Mitchell Report, it's just as ridiculous to assume they'd heard nothing -- nothing, we say! -- about Tejada's past connections to steroids. The Astros are shocked, shocked! And Rafael Palmeiro is still waiting for his B12 shot.

It was just pointed out to me that I rarely -- if ever -- am overly one-sided on a topic of debate. For the most part, I can see both sides of an argument and discern a considerable amount of logic from each, even if I only truly agree with one point of contention.

But fortheloveofallthatisgoodandholy Roger Clemens has made me think he is incredibly guilty in this whole Mitchell Report mess. After he didn't speak for days, put out a rather odd and rehearsed YouTube video then agreed to do a 60 Minutes interview with uber-fan Mike Wallace, he gives us this from that interview, set to air Sunday:

When asked by Wallace if McNamee had ever injected him with any drugs, Clemens responds: "Lidocaine and B-12. It's for my joints, and B-12 I still take today."

Clemens calls the accusation "ridiculous" and says he "never" used any banned substances.

"Swear?" asks Wallace.

"[I] swear," says Clemens.

OK, Roger. Come on, now. Honestly. If this was truly the case -- which by the way, this was the same excuse Rafael Palmeiro used, we all know how that worked out -- why in the hell would you NOT SAY THIS ON THE DAY THE REPORT CAME OUT. Why would you wait nearly three and a half weeks to state this? It makes no sense. I'm not sure who Clemens' PR adviser is, but they're doing an awful job. (I suspect he does his own PR. This is the only logical conclusion.)

So, if you were under the impression the Jason Grimsley affidavit was officially on blast for all to see, you were only half right. It was released back in the summer of '06, but let us not forget, there were still some names blacked out. And, darn it, if we've learned anything about this whole PED baseball mess, it's that we want names and lots of them.

Today, the document was unsealed with no blacked out names to speak of, and here's what we got:

Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra, Glenallen Hill and Geronimo Berroa were accused of using steroids by former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley in a federal agent's affidavit unsealed Thursday.

Grimsley also accused Chuck Knoblauch of using human growth hormone; David Segui and Allen Watson of using performance-enhancing drugs; and Rafael Palmeiro and Pete Incaviglia of taking amphetamines, according to IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky's sworn statement.

All but Incaviglia, Berroa and Watson were mentioned last week in the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball.

Whoa, no way ... Jose Canseco? I guess no one is safe from the terrors of steroids. At any rate, nothing overly shocking or astounding here. What is of interest, though, is how Roger Clemens' name was allegedly in this thing according to the L.A. Times, but his name never surfaced. I suppose that has to do with Brian McNamee being mentioned by Grimsley as referer for PEDs.

So yes: it looks as if the Grimsley chapter is all read and closed. Don't worry though, there's plenty more to come.

An argument can be made -- if people are so opposed to Barry Bonds, then why don't they do something about it? Well, a Chicago sports memorabilia store has done just that.

Bleachers Sports, a sports memorabilia and baseball card store operating on the North Shore for the last 15 years, is refusing to offer Bonds items as he closes in on Hank Aaron's career home-run record of 755.

Store owner Keith McDonough believes Bonds is approaching this hallowed record unfairly.

"Bonds knew he was taking performance-enhancing drugs, and he continued to take them after Major League Baseball declared their use to be illegal," said McDonough, whose store is in Winnetka.

"We have 5 million baseball cards and we have removed all of Bonds offerings, including cards and signed items, and [we] will hold a bonfire on the day he breaks the record.

"We have hundreds of children as customers, and at least they will know that we do not support attaining athletic superiority through chemical ingestion. Quite simply, we want kids to say 'no' to taking steroids and any other drugs like this, so we will at least not sell Barry Bonds in our store."

Hey, I'm right there with him for trying to set an example for the kids. One thing though, have they rid themselves of Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Canseco, and Sammy Sosa items as well? Those are all players who have been either caught cheating or been heavily implicated. That's something I'd like to know. At any rate, this store owner must really dislike Bonds to put sales in jeopardy. That's saying a lot.

(via Ben Maller)

For testing positive for performance-enhancing substances for a second time. Wire reports say Garcia was also suspended 15 games on June 24th for violating baseball's minor-league drug policy. I'm really not sure how the minor-league policy differs from the major league policy, considering I thought a first violation was for 50 games. Then again, Neifi Perez only received 25 games, so this is all over the board.

Here's one item to note about Garcia's suspension: he's been in the Dodger system since 2002, and hasn't hit more than 20 home runs in over 1,300 career minor-league at-bats. It's quite curious that many of the drug policy violators seem to have been either pitchers, minor leaguers, or non-power hitters. That makes me believe that either the tests for big-time players are covered up, or whatever substances they take aren't easily detectable. How else can you explain Rafael Palmeiro being the only noteworthy player busted for violating the substance policy in baseball?

Previously at FanHouse:
Neifi Perez Suspended 25 Games

From the "Gee Whiz -- Really?" file comes confirmation from the MLB Players' Union today that they'll refuse to turn over anonymous medical records to George Mitchell's investigation. Mitchell has been seeking such records for a couple months now, and even stepped up the "pressure" when he named specific players (Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Jerry Hairston Jr., etc) a few days ago.

There is one chance Mitchell's probe could get some of the records: in April, the Union negotiated a deal in which teams would give their individual players their records. The players could then decide whether or not to give them up to Mitchell's probe ... but of course no one is choosing to do that, leaving Mitchell every bit in the dark as before.

So, it's unlikely that any sort of meaningful analysis will be done from these medical records, including those of highly suspected players like Sosa or Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire. Even Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, won't be required to give up his medical past.

And to be perfectly honest, I can't really blame players for this. Their medical records are private, and they're not obliged to give them up en masse for the sake of catching what is likely a minimal percentage of players using performance enhancing drugs. Mitchell -- who, as Fornelli said the other day, knew this would be unproductive from the start -- had better come up with some more creative ways of obtaining information about steroid users. Because his current schtick just ain't getting it done.

Previously on the FanHouse:
If Sammy Sosa Pees In a Cup, George Mitchell Wants to Know About It
George Mitchell Readying Final Phase of World Domination Plan
Kirk Radomski Must Cooperate With George Mitchell's Staff

In the latest move of MLB's and George Mitchell's ongoing investigation into steroid use by the league's players, it has been reported in the New York Times that Mitchell is going after the medical records of a few current and former Baltimore Orioles. Including Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.

Investigators of steroid use in baseball are seeking medical records from at least two of the game's premier sluggers over the past dozen years, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, along with records from dozens of other players suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, a baseball official with direct knowledge of the request said.

The investigators in the inquiry, headed by the former Senator George J. Mitchell, have also asked the Baltimore Orioles to send medical files to Jason Grimsley, David Segui and Fernando Tatis, the official said.

There's only one problem with Mitchell's latest move. The players in question don't have to give up their medical records if they don't want to. So really, this newest "attempt" to uncover steroid abuse in baseball will serve no purpose.

Really though, what should we expect? What has Mitchell done over the last year that has come up with any actual information? Bud Selig and George Mitchell don't want to find anything out about steroid use and baseball, and probably because they already know everything that has gone on in the game over the last 20 years or so.

Mitchell knows that the players don't have to release their medical records to him, so that's exactly why he's asked for them. That way it gets on the front of the New York Times sports section and makes it look like baseball is actually trying to do something about the problem.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
George Mitchell Readying Final Phase Of World Domination Plan
Gary Sheffield Won't Cooperate With George Mitchell, Either
Remember That Steroid Ivestigation? George Mitchell's Not Done Yet