New York Yankees' CC Sabathia, Nick Swisher hand Cleveland Indians 9th straight loss
Published: Friday, August 24, 2012, 9:56 PM Updated: Saturday, August 25, 2012, 3:34 AM
By Paul Hoynes, The Plain Dealer
There is going to be a lot of Corey Kluber, Cody Allen, Matt LaPorta and whoever else the front office deems worthy of future considerations in the Indians' final 37 games of the season. Streak II seems bound and determined to get a real good look as well.
Manager Manny Acta said before Friday's game that he was going to use Allen in more "high-leverage" situations. One of those situations arose in the seventh inning and it made the Indians a loser for the ninth straight time as Nick Swisher hit a two-run homer to give the Yankees a 3-1 victory.
The Indians have lost 22 of their past 26 games. Most of those losses are tied to two losing streaks. The current nine-game skid and an 11-gamer from July 27 through Aug. 7.
It's the first time since 1918, according to baseball-reference.com, that the Indians have had two losing streaks of nine or more games in the same season.
Allen (0-1) had thrown 13 scoreless innings in his first 12 big-league appearances before facing the Yankees. He gave up an infield single to Derek Jeter before Swisher hit his 100th homer as a member of the Yankees.
"It was bound to end, but I would have much rather given up a run in my first game than given it up in a 1-1 game when we're struggling to win a game," said Allen.
Acta is going to keep using Allen when the pressure is on.
"Swisher's homer is the first hit he's given up to a left-hander," said Acta. "Almost everyone else in our bullpen has given it up. He's going to get more opportunities. He deserves a chance."
CC Sabathia pitched 71/3 innings for the victory as the Yankees ended a three-game losing streak of their own. Sabathia (13-3, 3.44) came off the disabled where he'd been treated for a sore left elbow to beat his former team. He's 3-1 against the Indians.
Sabathia retired 10 straight before losing a perfect game. Leading, 1-0, he threw behind Asdrubal Cabrera in retaliation for Kluber hitting Jeter in the head in the second.
Plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth immediately warned both teams.
The perfect game vanished on the next pitch as Cabrera drove it over the center-field wall for a homer to make it 1-1. Cabrera's 14th homer traveled an estimated 408 feet.
It looked bad early for Kluber.
He allowed consecutive doubles to Jeter and Swisher to start the game. It looked a lot like Kluber's first big-league start Aug. 2, when he gave up six runs on six hits in the first inning against Kansas City. But it was a different game and a different day.
Kluber made things worse by walking Robinson Cano, but retired Mark Teixeira on a liner to right. Curtis Granderson singled to right with Swisher stopping at third in respect of Shin-Soo Choo's arm. Kluber regained control of the inning from there as he struck out Eric Chavez and retired Russell Martin on a fly ball to right.
"Getting out of the first inning helped my confidence," said Kluber. "I've still got some issues with the first inning that I've got to figure out."
The Yankees applied pressure again in the second. Ichiro Suzuki blooped a one-out single into left and Kluber drew a roar of protest from the hundreds of Yankee fans in the ballpark when he clipped Jeter in the batting helmet. Jeter took first base, but he was none too happy as he voiced his displeasure walking down the line.
Kluber walked Swisher to load the bases, but escaped by inducing the dangerous Cano to turn a 3-2 pitch in 4-6-3 double play.
"It was an inside fastball that got away from me," said Kluber. "There was no intent."
Kluber allowed one run on six hits in five innings. He struck out a career-high six and walked two on 93 pitches.
"I thought Kluber pitched pretty decent after his Houdini-act in the first two innings," said Acta. "He gave us five good innings. We like this kid's stuff."
LaPorta was called up Friday from Class AAA Columbus where he was hitting .264 (99-for-375) with 19 homers and 62 RBI. He started at first base and went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
He struck out with runners on second and third in the sixth. In the ninth, after Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley singled against closer Rafael Soriano to start the inning, LaPorta struck out on a high fastball.
The Indians loaded the bases, but pinch-hitter Jack Hannahan grounded out to give Soriano his 32nd save.
"LaPorta is going to get a lot of at-bats at DH and first base the rest of the way," said Acta.
This could be LaPorta's last shot with the Indians. Acquired from Milwaukee in the Sabathia deal in 2008, he's out of minor-league options after this season.
"I can't control what they think or do," said LaPorta, before the game. "All I can control is going out, playing hard and giving them hell out there."
Re: Articles
2117I thought LaPorka was a holy roller. Where did he pick up that filthy language?"I can't control what they think or do," said LaPorta, before the game. "All I can control is going out, playing hard and giving them hell out there."
Re: Articles
2118Probably something about not being able to hit curve balls, even if he hit fastball very much ... Bats afraid. Brings a crisis of faith. We've seen this before.
Re: Articles
2119This I found as a comment at the MLB site and it gave me a chuckle:
So let's look at the "upgrade" at 1st base. Taking LaPorta's ML stats and equating them to Kotchman's 366 ABs.
AB. Avg. HR. RBI
Kotchman. 366. .238. 11. 44
LaPorta. 366. .237. 11.9. 46.7
Catch the ball:
Kotchman Y, LaPorta N
Where is the benefit?
Re: Articles
2120Sheldon Ocker: Opinionated fans have a lot to say
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports
Updated: August 26, 2012 - 07:39 AM
CLEVELAND: Here’s why Indians fans are mad as hell and don’t want to take it anymore.
• “[Pitching coach] Scott Radinsky was fired and the pitching continued to be awful. Obviously, the problem lies elsewhere, so there’s no real accountability.”
• “All they had to do was sign Josh Willingham to a reasonable [three-year, $21 million] deal, and the mess in left field would have been resolved.”
• “They gave Grady [Sizemore] $5 million to ride a treadmill.”
• “If the club hadn’t signed Sizemore and Derek Lowe, [General Manager Chris] Antonetti would have had $10 million to sign Willingham or Michael Cuddyer, who would have fixed first base.”
• “They got rid of CC Sabathia for a stiff [Matt LaPorta] and won’t give him a chance to see if he is a stiff.”
• “[Manager] Manny Acta doesn’t get thrown out of enough games.”
• “If this team bunted more, the offense wouldn’t be so pathetic.”
• “I heard there’s still one left-handed hitter out there the Indians don’t have. What’s Antonetti waiting for?”
• “If they trade [Shin-Soo] Choo, that means we’re starting over. Again.”
• “Are the Indians ever going to keep one of their good players?”
• “Victor Martinez wanted to stay in Cleveland and the club never tried to keep him.”
• “How can you keep drafting guys and have nobody in the farm system?”
• “Russ Canzler is leading Columbus with 20 home runs, and they didn’t call him up when Travis Hafner went on the disabled list.”
• “Everybody knew Hafner wasn’t going to drive in a bunch of runs, so the Dolans [owners Larry and Paul] should have eaten what was left of his [$13 million] contract and moved on.”
• “Shouldn’t these guys have been sellers at the trading deadline to bring in some prospects?”
• “How can a team that thinks it’s a contender do nothing at the trading deadline except get Brent Lillibridge to upgrade the 25th man on the roster?”
• “Why did they go out and get Brent Lillibridge when they already had Jason Donald at Columbus? And then they called up Donald, anyway.”
• “Does parking have to cost so much just to see a crappy team?”
• “Those dollar dogs aren’t worth 50 cents.”
• “They had bigger crowds here for Snow Days, and they canceled that.”
• “Why don’t they open the gates earlier, so we can see batting practice? That’s the only time this team hits.”
• “Chris Perez needs to shut up and pitch.”
• “Why did they bring in Johnny Damon? He couldn’t hit or throw, so who cares if he’s great a guy in the clubhouse?”
• “How does Antonetti keep his job after pulling the trigger on the [Ubaldo] Jimenez deal?”
• “Somebody needs to get fired.”
• “Why isn’t Sandy Alomar the manager already?”
• “If they fired the pitching coach because the pitching is lousy, why didn’t they fire the hitting coach?”
• “It’s a chicken [bleep] move to make coaches scapegoats for someone else’s mistakes. We know who really screwed up the team.”
• “The Dolans are cheap.”
• “The Dolans should sell, because they can’t afford to operate the team.”
• “You have to spend money to make money.”
• “I’m never buying another ticket until the Indians find an owner who will spend money.”
• “Dan Gilbert should buy the Indians.”
An opinionated fan base is a happy fan base. Then again, maybe not.
Chris Perez baited?
After watching the video of Chris Perez reacting to being harassed by a fan at Oakland Coliseum, my thought was that Perez was set up, suckered into a verbal fight so the fan (and his buddy with the video camera) could earn instant celebrity on You Tube.
I don’t actually know who was holding the camera used to record the incident, but I’m going to assume that a friend of the fan was aiming the lens and that the two of them had decided to stage the screaming match, using a player they knew wouldn’t let a little ridicule go without answering back.
Why do I think it was a setup? The camera was ready to roll as soon as the fan began yelling insults at Perez, who made the mistake of snapping back at the blowhard. But that’s his nature, and the fan obviously knew it.
If Perez had been standing a few feet from where the fan began deriding him, I could cut him a little slack. But he was 75 to 100 feet away and had time to consider whether walking all the way to the fan’s position behind the low outfield wall was a smart thing to do. It wasn’t.
Players caught up in that kind of situation almost always look bad. For whatever reason, the sporting public thinks it’s OK for players to have to listen to drunks and verbal exhibitionists torment them.
I can understand the urge to answer in kind, but it’s the better part of valor for players to walk away. Now that Perez has succumbed to the temptation to yell back, he will be a target for every moron that enjoys this kind of sport, particularly if he has a friend with a video camera.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports
Updated: August 26, 2012 - 07:39 AM
CLEVELAND: Here’s why Indians fans are mad as hell and don’t want to take it anymore.
• “[Pitching coach] Scott Radinsky was fired and the pitching continued to be awful. Obviously, the problem lies elsewhere, so there’s no real accountability.”
• “All they had to do was sign Josh Willingham to a reasonable [three-year, $21 million] deal, and the mess in left field would have been resolved.”
• “They gave Grady [Sizemore] $5 million to ride a treadmill.”
• “If the club hadn’t signed Sizemore and Derek Lowe, [General Manager Chris] Antonetti would have had $10 million to sign Willingham or Michael Cuddyer, who would have fixed first base.”
• “They got rid of CC Sabathia for a stiff [Matt LaPorta] and won’t give him a chance to see if he is a stiff.”
• “[Manager] Manny Acta doesn’t get thrown out of enough games.”
• “If this team bunted more, the offense wouldn’t be so pathetic.”
• “I heard there’s still one left-handed hitter out there the Indians don’t have. What’s Antonetti waiting for?”
• “If they trade [Shin-Soo] Choo, that means we’re starting over. Again.”
• “Are the Indians ever going to keep one of their good players?”
• “Victor Martinez wanted to stay in Cleveland and the club never tried to keep him.”
• “How can you keep drafting guys and have nobody in the farm system?”
• “Russ Canzler is leading Columbus with 20 home runs, and they didn’t call him up when Travis Hafner went on the disabled list.”
• “Everybody knew Hafner wasn’t going to drive in a bunch of runs, so the Dolans [owners Larry and Paul] should have eaten what was left of his [$13 million] contract and moved on.”
• “Shouldn’t these guys have been sellers at the trading deadline to bring in some prospects?”
• “How can a team that thinks it’s a contender do nothing at the trading deadline except get Brent Lillibridge to upgrade the 25th man on the roster?”
• “Why did they go out and get Brent Lillibridge when they already had Jason Donald at Columbus? And then they called up Donald, anyway.”
• “Does parking have to cost so much just to see a crappy team?”
• “Those dollar dogs aren’t worth 50 cents.”
• “They had bigger crowds here for Snow Days, and they canceled that.”
• “Why don’t they open the gates earlier, so we can see batting practice? That’s the only time this team hits.”
• “Chris Perez needs to shut up and pitch.”
• “Why did they bring in Johnny Damon? He couldn’t hit or throw, so who cares if he’s great a guy in the clubhouse?”
• “How does Antonetti keep his job after pulling the trigger on the [Ubaldo] Jimenez deal?”
• “Somebody needs to get fired.”
• “Why isn’t Sandy Alomar the manager already?”
• “If they fired the pitching coach because the pitching is lousy, why didn’t they fire the hitting coach?”
• “It’s a chicken [bleep] move to make coaches scapegoats for someone else’s mistakes. We know who really screwed up the team.”
• “The Dolans are cheap.”
• “The Dolans should sell, because they can’t afford to operate the team.”
• “You have to spend money to make money.”
• “I’m never buying another ticket until the Indians find an owner who will spend money.”
• “Dan Gilbert should buy the Indians.”
An opinionated fan base is a happy fan base. Then again, maybe not.
Chris Perez baited?
After watching the video of Chris Perez reacting to being harassed by a fan at Oakland Coliseum, my thought was that Perez was set up, suckered into a verbal fight so the fan (and his buddy with the video camera) could earn instant celebrity on You Tube.
I don’t actually know who was holding the camera used to record the incident, but I’m going to assume that a friend of the fan was aiming the lens and that the two of them had decided to stage the screaming match, using a player they knew wouldn’t let a little ridicule go without answering back.
Why do I think it was a setup? The camera was ready to roll as soon as the fan began yelling insults at Perez, who made the mistake of snapping back at the blowhard. But that’s his nature, and the fan obviously knew it.
If Perez had been standing a few feet from where the fan began deriding him, I could cut him a little slack. But he was 75 to 100 feet away and had time to consider whether walking all the way to the fan’s position behind the low outfield wall was a smart thing to do. It wasn’t.
Players caught up in that kind of situation almost always look bad. For whatever reason, the sporting public thinks it’s OK for players to have to listen to drunks and verbal exhibitionists torment them.
I can understand the urge to answer in kind, but it’s the better part of valor for players to walk away. Now that Perez has succumbed to the temptation to yell back, he will be a target for every moron that enjoys this kind of sport, particularly if he has a friend with a video camera.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at http://www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
Re: Articles
2122Has baseball suffered a drug relapse?
By Mark Emmons and Daniel Brown
Staff writers - Oakland Tribune
Posted: 08/26/2012 12:07:32 AM PDT
Updated: 08/26/2012 12:07:34 AM PDT
Baseball seemed to have cleaned up its act. Players, who once sported cartoonish physiques, were smaller. So were their statistics.
But the recent suspensions of Giants star Melky Cabrera and A's pitcher Bartolo Colon have resurrected feelings of disillusionment among fans and concern that the game has suffered a relapse with performance-enhancing drugs.
It's unclear whether Cabrera and Colon are isolated cases, or the harbinger of another scandal. But anti-doping experts are certain of this much: Old-school synthetic testosterone is creating the new mischief as the drug of choice among athletes willing to cheat.
Testosterone creams and patches created for legitimate medical purposes are being used by unscrupulous athletes as fast-acting performance-enhancers that are difficult to detect. Both Cabrera and Colon received 50-game suspensions after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.
"Nothing has changed with synthetic testosterone, but what has changed is the delivery system," said Dr. Gary Wadler, one of the country's leading authorities on sports drugs. "The doping gurus looking at these products said: 'This is great for us. We can give very low doses to athletes and it doesn't last very long.' "
And it works.
"It's a proven performance-enhancer," said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "If there was no drug testing, testosterone and its chemical cousins are what athletes would use.
And it's an ideal choice for athletes who still think they can get away with using it."
Colon and Cabrera got caught. Both players, given up on by multiple other teams, were having outstanding seasons, fueling feel-good stories beyond their fan bases.
Cabrera, 28, was having the best year of his career with a .346 batting average, second-best in the National League. He was named most valuable player of the All-Star Game last month and had become such a fan favorite at AT&T Park that some fans were dressing as "Melkmen" and "Melkmaids."
Colon, recovered from years of serious arm trouble, was having an age-defying season at 39, sporting a 10-9 record and a 3.43 ERA.
Now it all appears to have been a chemical charade. Cabrera and Colon are among five players suspended this season for using various illegal substances. That's the most since 2007, when there also were five.
And that number doesn't include Ryan Braun, the National League MVP whose 50-game suspension in December for elevated testosterone levels was overturned on a technicality.
This has produced a new round of soul-searching about baseball's cleanliness, and whether more needs to be done to assure fans that they can believe what they're seeing on the field.
"You want baseball to be played with legitimacy and integrity," said Dale Murphy, a retired two-time MVP for the Atlanta Braves. "But right now baseball is being used as a punch line and a joke. I don't think drug use is as widespread as people think, but that's not the perception. And the issue is the perception of the game."
Doping is a scourge that plagues all sports. At the recent London Olympics, a Belarus shot-putter was stripped of her gold medal for using anabolic steroids. And just last week, cyclist Lance Armstrong lost claim to all seven of his Tour de France titles when he announced he would no longer fight the drug-use accusations from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that have hounded him for years.
Baseball has been especially tarnished by drugs, and the Bay Area has been at the center of the story.
From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, now commonly known as the Steroid Era, players with cartoonish physiques put up cartoonish numbers. Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, three years after Mark McGwire had hit 70. In the previous hundred years of baseball, only two men had hit 60. A 50-homer season had happened 18 times. Then it happened 18 times from 1995 to 2002.
Fans loved the long ball ... until the show proved to be too good to be true.
The investigation into Victor Conte and his infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) in Burlingame helped reveal the dirty truth of steroid use throughout sports. It ultimately led to the 2011 conviction of Bonds for perjury and resulted in Conte serving four months in jail and four months of home detention for steroid distribution and money laundering. It also pushed baseball to adopt a more aggressive attitude in combating performance-enhancers.
With the implementation of a stricter drug policy in 2005 that now includes mandatory urine and blood testing at spring training as well as additional random tests, baseball had earned praise for making progress in curtailing drug use.
Although the Wild West attitude of steroid use is gone, recent news suggests that a more subtle form of cheating is occurring. Tygart said players no longer will risk using long-lasting designer steroids such as THG, which was at the heart of BALCO's programs, because testers are looking for those.
But as Colon and Cabrera show, some athletes have turned to an old standby: testosterone. It's a naturally produced hormone that builds muscle mass. The synthetic version is used to treat ailments in men who are testosterone-deficient or patients coping with diseases such as AIDS or cancers.
For athletes?
"Testosterone is the granddaddy of all anabolic steroids," said Conte, the BALCO founder who said he now wants to help clean up sports. "It promotes muscle growth, strength, speed and is excellent for recovery.
Testosterone is a huge muscle-enhancing drug. It makes a tremendous difference in performance."
With patches and creams, testosterone can be administered in small doses that allow athletes to derive benefits with the confidence that the drug will be gone from their systems within hours, before a test can detect it.
Baseball's primary test is a urinalysis that measures testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels. A sample that exceeds a 4-to-1 ratio is considered suspicious and automatically prompts a second analysis, called a Carbon Isotope Ratio test, that can determine if the testosterone is naturally produced or synthetic.
Baseball officials say the punishments of Cabrera and Colon demonstrate that its crackdown on cheaters is working. MLB has issued 31 suspensions since 2005 for players who violate the league's drug prevention and treatment program.
Still, MLB spokesman Patrick Courtney acknowledges that the drug users forever will be trying to outsmart drug testers.
"That's the world we live in," Courtney said. "All sports struggle with this problem. We rely on the experts as well as our professional baseball athletic trainers and doctors to tell us what's going on with our program, and they all tell us we're in the right spot."
Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, whose 19-year career spanned much of the Steroid Era, hopes the culture will change.
"I've been seeing a lot of articles saying people are still cheating in baseball, and with the positive tests in the last couple of weeks it's still an issue," Jones said. "But rest assured, those who are doing it will be caught. It's a shame, because baseball's obviously had enough black eyes over the years, and we need to get past it and get back to a level playing field."
Conte believes that won't happen until baseball adopts a tougher policy. He recently said "maybe as much as 50 percent" of players are using something -- a claim that was quickly followed by a joint statement from MLB and the players association that much public commentary about testing protocols "has been inaccurate."
Still, Conte contends there is not nearly enough random testing in the winter months when players are likely be doping to gain strength for the long season ahead. He also said every urine sample should be subjected to Carbon Isotope Ratio monitoring, which he calls "the nail in the coffin test" because of its infallibility.
Conte called the current testing program "a joke and propaganda. The back door is wide open with loopholes and that's where the players are going through. If you understand how to do it," he said of staying under the 4-to-1 ratio, "it's like stealing candy from a baby."
In the A's and Giants clubhouses, where each team now is entering the pennant stretch minus a key contributor, players express a mixture of surprise and resignation that some people are continuing to look for an edge.
"I don't know how you're going to stop people from trying to better themselves one way or another, even if (cheating) is involved," said Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. "It's human nature. Obviously, I don't want it to happen and I'm upset when it does. It's kind of embarrassing. But with that, it's just always going to be out there."
A's pitcher Travis Blackley said if players are using something, they're being quieter about it.
"If people do it, they do it hush-hush," he said. "You look around the room and you just don't see what you would expect from someone on that kind of substance. You don't see the big, huge, obvious-looking guys like you used to see back in the day."
Both the Anti-Doping Agency's Tygart and Wadler would like to see baseball turn to an independent testing organization as a way to ensure greater transparency. And while Wadler believes baseball has made significant strides, he understands those who fear that the Steroid Era isn't dead but merely has a new drug of choice.
"When you start seeing all-stars and MVPs getting caught, then you start scratching your head and wondering what's going on here?" Wadler said. "Now, two were just caught, and that's good. But you wonder how many others haven't been caught."
By Mark Emmons and Daniel Brown
Staff writers - Oakland Tribune
Posted: 08/26/2012 12:07:32 AM PDT
Updated: 08/26/2012 12:07:34 AM PDT
Baseball seemed to have cleaned up its act. Players, who once sported cartoonish physiques, were smaller. So were their statistics.
But the recent suspensions of Giants star Melky Cabrera and A's pitcher Bartolo Colon have resurrected feelings of disillusionment among fans and concern that the game has suffered a relapse with performance-enhancing drugs.
It's unclear whether Cabrera and Colon are isolated cases, or the harbinger of another scandal. But anti-doping experts are certain of this much: Old-school synthetic testosterone is creating the new mischief as the drug of choice among athletes willing to cheat.
Testosterone creams and patches created for legitimate medical purposes are being used by unscrupulous athletes as fast-acting performance-enhancers that are difficult to detect. Both Cabrera and Colon received 50-game suspensions after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.
"Nothing has changed with synthetic testosterone, but what has changed is the delivery system," said Dr. Gary Wadler, one of the country's leading authorities on sports drugs. "The doping gurus looking at these products said: 'This is great for us. We can give very low doses to athletes and it doesn't last very long.' "
And it works.
"It's a proven performance-enhancer," said Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "If there was no drug testing, testosterone and its chemical cousins are what athletes would use.
And it's an ideal choice for athletes who still think they can get away with using it."
Colon and Cabrera got caught. Both players, given up on by multiple other teams, were having outstanding seasons, fueling feel-good stories beyond their fan bases.
Cabrera, 28, was having the best year of his career with a .346 batting average, second-best in the National League. He was named most valuable player of the All-Star Game last month and had become such a fan favorite at AT&T Park that some fans were dressing as "Melkmen" and "Melkmaids."
Colon, recovered from years of serious arm trouble, was having an age-defying season at 39, sporting a 10-9 record and a 3.43 ERA.
Now it all appears to have been a chemical charade. Cabrera and Colon are among five players suspended this season for using various illegal substances. That's the most since 2007, when there also were five.
And that number doesn't include Ryan Braun, the National League MVP whose 50-game suspension in December for elevated testosterone levels was overturned on a technicality.
This has produced a new round of soul-searching about baseball's cleanliness, and whether more needs to be done to assure fans that they can believe what they're seeing on the field.
"You want baseball to be played with legitimacy and integrity," said Dale Murphy, a retired two-time MVP for the Atlanta Braves. "But right now baseball is being used as a punch line and a joke. I don't think drug use is as widespread as people think, but that's not the perception. And the issue is the perception of the game."
Doping is a scourge that plagues all sports. At the recent London Olympics, a Belarus shot-putter was stripped of her gold medal for using anabolic steroids. And just last week, cyclist Lance Armstrong lost claim to all seven of his Tour de France titles when he announced he would no longer fight the drug-use accusations from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that have hounded him for years.
Baseball has been especially tarnished by drugs, and the Bay Area has been at the center of the story.
From the late 1980s to the mid-2000s, now commonly known as the Steroid Era, players with cartoonish physiques put up cartoonish numbers. Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, three years after Mark McGwire had hit 70. In the previous hundred years of baseball, only two men had hit 60. A 50-homer season had happened 18 times. Then it happened 18 times from 1995 to 2002.
Fans loved the long ball ... until the show proved to be too good to be true.
The investigation into Victor Conte and his infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) in Burlingame helped reveal the dirty truth of steroid use throughout sports. It ultimately led to the 2011 conviction of Bonds for perjury and resulted in Conte serving four months in jail and four months of home detention for steroid distribution and money laundering. It also pushed baseball to adopt a more aggressive attitude in combating performance-enhancers.
With the implementation of a stricter drug policy in 2005 that now includes mandatory urine and blood testing at spring training as well as additional random tests, baseball had earned praise for making progress in curtailing drug use.
Although the Wild West attitude of steroid use is gone, recent news suggests that a more subtle form of cheating is occurring. Tygart said players no longer will risk using long-lasting designer steroids such as THG, which was at the heart of BALCO's programs, because testers are looking for those.
But as Colon and Cabrera show, some athletes have turned to an old standby: testosterone. It's a naturally produced hormone that builds muscle mass. The synthetic version is used to treat ailments in men who are testosterone-deficient or patients coping with diseases such as AIDS or cancers.
For athletes?
"Testosterone is the granddaddy of all anabolic steroids," said Conte, the BALCO founder who said he now wants to help clean up sports. "It promotes muscle growth, strength, speed and is excellent for recovery.
Testosterone is a huge muscle-enhancing drug. It makes a tremendous difference in performance."
With patches and creams, testosterone can be administered in small doses that allow athletes to derive benefits with the confidence that the drug will be gone from their systems within hours, before a test can detect it.
Baseball's primary test is a urinalysis that measures testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels. A sample that exceeds a 4-to-1 ratio is considered suspicious and automatically prompts a second analysis, called a Carbon Isotope Ratio test, that can determine if the testosterone is naturally produced or synthetic.
Baseball officials say the punishments of Cabrera and Colon demonstrate that its crackdown on cheaters is working. MLB has issued 31 suspensions since 2005 for players who violate the league's drug prevention and treatment program.
Still, MLB spokesman Patrick Courtney acknowledges that the drug users forever will be trying to outsmart drug testers.
"That's the world we live in," Courtney said. "All sports struggle with this problem. We rely on the experts as well as our professional baseball athletic trainers and doctors to tell us what's going on with our program, and they all tell us we're in the right spot."
Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, whose 19-year career spanned much of the Steroid Era, hopes the culture will change.
"I've been seeing a lot of articles saying people are still cheating in baseball, and with the positive tests in the last couple of weeks it's still an issue," Jones said. "But rest assured, those who are doing it will be caught. It's a shame, because baseball's obviously had enough black eyes over the years, and we need to get past it and get back to a level playing field."
Conte believes that won't happen until baseball adopts a tougher policy. He recently said "maybe as much as 50 percent" of players are using something -- a claim that was quickly followed by a joint statement from MLB and the players association that much public commentary about testing protocols "has been inaccurate."
Still, Conte contends there is not nearly enough random testing in the winter months when players are likely be doping to gain strength for the long season ahead. He also said every urine sample should be subjected to Carbon Isotope Ratio monitoring, which he calls "the nail in the coffin test" because of its infallibility.
Conte called the current testing program "a joke and propaganda. The back door is wide open with loopholes and that's where the players are going through. If you understand how to do it," he said of staying under the 4-to-1 ratio, "it's like stealing candy from a baby."
In the A's and Giants clubhouses, where each team now is entering the pennant stretch minus a key contributor, players express a mixture of surprise and resignation that some people are continuing to look for an edge.
"I don't know how you're going to stop people from trying to better themselves one way or another, even if (cheating) is involved," said Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. "It's human nature. Obviously, I don't want it to happen and I'm upset when it does. It's kind of embarrassing. But with that, it's just always going to be out there."
A's pitcher Travis Blackley said if players are using something, they're being quieter about it.
"If people do it, they do it hush-hush," he said. "You look around the room and you just don't see what you would expect from someone on that kind of substance. You don't see the big, huge, obvious-looking guys like you used to see back in the day."
Both the Anti-Doping Agency's Tygart and Wadler would like to see baseball turn to an independent testing organization as a way to ensure greater transparency. And while Wadler believes baseball has made significant strides, he understands those who fear that the Steroid Era isn't dead but merely has a new drug of choice.
"When you start seeing all-stars and MVPs getting caught, then you start scratching your head and wondering what's going on here?" Wadler said. "Now, two were just caught, and that's good. But you wonder how many others haven't been caught."
Re: Articles
2123You swear these sportswriters are on vacation and their collumns are written by interns.
I like Ingraham but he usually has a stinker this time of year.
I like Ingraham but he usually has a stinker this time of year.
Re: Articles
2124Apparently 50 games is worth the risk if you get to keep the rest of the money on your contract.
The cheaters are always ahead of the testers.
Lance Armstrong claims to have passed over 500 tests.
The cheaters are always ahead of the testers.
Lance Armstrong claims to have passed over 500 tests.
Re: Articles
2126 Indians report: Tribe could get title for lowest attendance
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports
Updated: August 26, 2012 - 11:06 PM
CLEVELAND: The Indians might be out of the race for the playoffs, but they are embroiled in another competition as one of four teams trying to stay out of last place in attendance.
So far, the Tribe is holding its own against the Rays, Athletics and Astros. At the moment, Houston ranks 27th in average attendance with 21,140, Cleveland is 28th with an average of 21,021, Oakland is 29th (20,351) and Tampa Bay is last (19,925).
A difference of only 1,215 fans per game separates the Astros from the Rays, who along with the A’s play in front of sparse crowds even though they are in contention for the postseason.
What perks come with finishing at the bottom? The following season the last-place team doesn’t have to hire a huge crew to clean the ballpark after games. One guy operating an Oreck with a long cord will do.
The Indians know what that feels like: They finished in the cellar in 2010 with an average crowd of 17,181 and total attendance of 1,391,644. Last year, thanks to the club’s early success, attendance increased sharply to 1,840,835, a rise in the standings to 24th place.
But that momentum quickly dissipated this year. Even though the Indians remained in the race into July, their inconsistency kept fans from buying in. And since the past month’s Great El Foldo, any chance to recoup lost attendance has been frittered away and the Tribe probably will draw about 1.7 million.
How does the team feel about playing before sparse crowds? Obviously, Chris Perez made it clear earlier in the season that he didn’t like it or understand it.
“A player’s focus should be on playing the game,” manager Manny Acta said. “Once the game starts, who cares who’s in the stands and how many are there? You’re competing one on one with the pitcher.”
Before returning for this homestand, the Tribe spent three days in Oakland, where the entire upper deck (except for a small area behind the plate) has been covered with canvas for years, closing off about 12,000 seats. Even on the road, players prefer large hostile crowds to small gatherings.
“Every player would rather play in front of a sellout crowd,” Jason Donald said. “That’s what makes it fun. When there’s a big crowd, a little more adrenalin is flowing. At home, a big crowd is your home-field advantage. But even if it’s a small crowd, you know [they are die-hards] cheering for you.”
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports
Updated: August 26, 2012 - 11:06 PM
CLEVELAND: The Indians might be out of the race for the playoffs, but they are embroiled in another competition as one of four teams trying to stay out of last place in attendance.
So far, the Tribe is holding its own against the Rays, Athletics and Astros. At the moment, Houston ranks 27th in average attendance with 21,140, Cleveland is 28th with an average of 21,021, Oakland is 29th (20,351) and Tampa Bay is last (19,925).
A difference of only 1,215 fans per game separates the Astros from the Rays, who along with the A’s play in front of sparse crowds even though they are in contention for the postseason.
What perks come with finishing at the bottom? The following season the last-place team doesn’t have to hire a huge crew to clean the ballpark after games. One guy operating an Oreck with a long cord will do.
The Indians know what that feels like: They finished in the cellar in 2010 with an average crowd of 17,181 and total attendance of 1,391,644. Last year, thanks to the club’s early success, attendance increased sharply to 1,840,835, a rise in the standings to 24th place.
But that momentum quickly dissipated this year. Even though the Indians remained in the race into July, their inconsistency kept fans from buying in. And since the past month’s Great El Foldo, any chance to recoup lost attendance has been frittered away and the Tribe probably will draw about 1.7 million.
How does the team feel about playing before sparse crowds? Obviously, Chris Perez made it clear earlier in the season that he didn’t like it or understand it.
“A player’s focus should be on playing the game,” manager Manny Acta said. “Once the game starts, who cares who’s in the stands and how many are there? You’re competing one on one with the pitcher.”
Before returning for this homestand, the Tribe spent three days in Oakland, where the entire upper deck (except for a small area behind the plate) has been covered with canvas for years, closing off about 12,000 seats. Even on the road, players prefer large hostile crowds to small gatherings.
“Every player would rather play in front of a sellout crowd,” Jason Donald said. “That’s what makes it fun. When there’s a big crowd, a little more adrenalin is flowing. At home, a big crowd is your home-field advantage. But even if it’s a small crowd, you know [they are die-hards] cheering for you.”
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SheldonOckerABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
Re: Articles
2127Indians notes: Brantley the bastion of consistency
Filed by Chris Assenheimer August 26th, 2012
CLEVELAND — It’s been a productive season for center fielder Michael Brantley, who entered Sunday batting a team-leading .292 with 34 doubles, six home runs and 55 RBIs in 122 games.
Unlike last season, Brantley has remained injury-free — and it’s shown.
“It’s been interesting to see Michael’s consistency,” manager Manny Acta said. “He started a little bit slow, but, man, he has been our most consistent hitter. Without some of the guys we’ve lost to injuries, he’s been our savior.
“It’s very satisfying for us. We feel like we have a very good player with Michael.”
While the majority of his teammates have been up-and-down, Brantley has been steady in the face of mounting losses that have hit his team since the end of July.
“In my opinion, there’s no such thing as personal accomplishments when you’re losing,” Brantley said. “It’s been rough, I’m not going to lie. It doesn’t matter about a losing streak, though. It’s our job to go out each and every day and play as hard as we can.”
Always next year
No matter what happens the rest of the season, closer Chris Perez doesn’t think the Indians will ease the sting from a historic month-worth of struggles that took his team out of contention.
“I don’t think we’ll wash it all away,” Perez said. “We were right there. I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life. At the same time, we’ve got 30-some games left to make an impression for next year.”
Cleveland’s poor play down the stretch has raised questions about their ability to contend with a similar roster in 2013.
“I think there’s a lot of question marks,” Perez said. “I thought we had a lot of question marks coming in (this season). At the same time, we have talent here. You don’t compete for two years without talent.”
Perez, who has been outspoken this season, was asked if the club’s problems were a player or front office issue.
“I’m not going to go there,” he said.
Closing time
Perez entered Sunday with 33 saves, accounting for the third-most in the American League and fourth-most in the majors.
The right-hander ranked first in another closer category through Saturday, saving 60 percent of Cleveland’s 55 wins — the highest percentage in the big leagues.
Next up
The Indians continue the homestand with a four-game series against Oakland that begins tonight at 7:05.
Roberto Hernandez (0-2, 6.75 ERA) opens the set, opposing LHP Brett Anderson (1-0, 1.29), while Zach McAllister (5-4, 3.50) starts for Cleveland on Tuesday (7:05 p.m.) against LHP Tommy Milone (10-9, 3.87).
Corey Kluber (0-1, 8.56) goes for the Indians on Wednesday (7:05 p.m.) against RHP Tyson Ross (2-9, 6.45), while Justin Masterson (10-11, 4.60) starts the series finale Thursday (12:05 p.m.) against RHP Jarrod Parker (8-7, 3.52).
Roundin’ third
The Indians entered Sunday with the worst record (11-30) in the AL since the All-Star break, second-worst in the majors behind Houston’s 7-34 mark. … Matt LaPorta is 1-for-8 with three strikeouts in two games since his recall from Triple-A Columbus. … Senator John Glenn, an Ohio native, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
Filed by Chris Assenheimer August 26th, 2012
CLEVELAND — It’s been a productive season for center fielder Michael Brantley, who entered Sunday batting a team-leading .292 with 34 doubles, six home runs and 55 RBIs in 122 games.
Unlike last season, Brantley has remained injury-free — and it’s shown.
“It’s been interesting to see Michael’s consistency,” manager Manny Acta said. “He started a little bit slow, but, man, he has been our most consistent hitter. Without some of the guys we’ve lost to injuries, he’s been our savior.
“It’s very satisfying for us. We feel like we have a very good player with Michael.”
While the majority of his teammates have been up-and-down, Brantley has been steady in the face of mounting losses that have hit his team since the end of July.
“In my opinion, there’s no such thing as personal accomplishments when you’re losing,” Brantley said. “It’s been rough, I’m not going to lie. It doesn’t matter about a losing streak, though. It’s our job to go out each and every day and play as hard as we can.”
Always next year
No matter what happens the rest of the season, closer Chris Perez doesn’t think the Indians will ease the sting from a historic month-worth of struggles that took his team out of contention.
“I don’t think we’ll wash it all away,” Perez said. “We were right there. I’ll never forget this for the rest of my life. At the same time, we’ve got 30-some games left to make an impression for next year.”
Cleveland’s poor play down the stretch has raised questions about their ability to contend with a similar roster in 2013.
“I think there’s a lot of question marks,” Perez said. “I thought we had a lot of question marks coming in (this season). At the same time, we have talent here. You don’t compete for two years without talent.”
Perez, who has been outspoken this season, was asked if the club’s problems were a player or front office issue.
“I’m not going to go there,” he said.
Closing time
Perez entered Sunday with 33 saves, accounting for the third-most in the American League and fourth-most in the majors.
The right-hander ranked first in another closer category through Saturday, saving 60 percent of Cleveland’s 55 wins — the highest percentage in the big leagues.
Next up
The Indians continue the homestand with a four-game series against Oakland that begins tonight at 7:05.
Roberto Hernandez (0-2, 6.75 ERA) opens the set, opposing LHP Brett Anderson (1-0, 1.29), while Zach McAllister (5-4, 3.50) starts for Cleveland on Tuesday (7:05 p.m.) against LHP Tommy Milone (10-9, 3.87).
Corey Kluber (0-1, 8.56) goes for the Indians on Wednesday (7:05 p.m.) against RHP Tyson Ross (2-9, 6.45), while Justin Masterson (10-11, 4.60) starts the series finale Thursday (12:05 p.m.) against RHP Jarrod Parker (8-7, 3.52).
Roundin’ third
The Indians entered Sunday with the worst record (11-30) in the AL since the All-Star break, second-worst in the majors behind Houston’s 7-34 mark. … Matt LaPorta is 1-for-8 with three strikeouts in two games since his recall from Triple-A Columbus. … Senator John Glenn, an Ohio native, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … Tonight, 7:05, STO/WTAM 1100-AM.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
Re: Articles
2128Kipnis, who has stolen 26 bases, is the first Indian to steal three in a game since Grady Sizemore accomplished as much, Aug. 23, 2008. Kipnis joined six other players — Bobby Bonds (1979), Von Hayes (1982), Joe Carter (1986-88), Kenny Lofton (1996, ‘98, 2000) and Roberto Alomar (1999-2001) — to record at least 10 homers, 60 RBIs and 25 steals in a season.
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012 ... ke-series/
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012 ... ke-series/
Re: Articles
2129Rusty - I agree with Ocker. & SUrprise, surpirse - I don't agree with you.
If we have status quo - with ownership/management, I won't be here next year. I believe the word is fugum.
And I know this won't break your heart. I've had 64 years of watching a loser. Make that 64-1.
If we have status quo - with ownership/management, I won't be here next year. I believe the word is fugum.
And I know this won't break your heart. I've had 64 years of watching a loser. Make that 64-1.
Re: Articles
2130I like that word fugum.I won't be here next year. I believe the word is fugum.
Where you going?