If Bud Suspends Giambi, Yankees Should Strike Back
I was thinking about the whole Giambi thing this morning.
There’s no rule in baseball about bringing a player off the D.L. – other than ensuring he served “X” amount of days equal or greater than the number of days of the list that he was on…for example: Say you have a speed-burner on the 15-day D.L. with a broken hand. On the 16th day, you can take him off the D.L., even though his hand is still in a cast, and use him as a pinch-runner deluxe (if that’s what you want). You don’t need a note from a doctor to take him off the D.L. – as long as the player is willing to come off. And, you don’t need to prove to the league that he is medically cleared as fit to return to work.
So, if the league wants to suspend Jason Giambi – say, for 50 games – as punishment for not talking about PED use – then the Yankees, even though Giambi has a busted foot, should take Giambi off the D.L. (on the spot).
Let Giambi serve the suspension while his foot heals (no pun intended) and kill two birds with one stone. The Yankees can replace a player on the active roster if he’s suspended – - I don’t recall the Mets playing a man short when Guillermo Mota was serving his 50 days for PED use.
Of course, the league would howl over this – but, they would have nothing…because, as far as I see it, the move is within the rules.
It would just be a matter of whether or not the Yanks would have the cojones to take such a strike back at the league for keying on one of their players.
Nah, they’d probably never do it. Too bad.
Your logic is fine if someone was to be suspended for failing a steroid test. If Giambi is suspended for other reasons (detrimental to baseball?)the loophole might not be available.
Selig could always use the same type of suspension that was used for Proctor after the Betancourt incident. I don’t think the rules are set for those types of suspension. That doesn’t allow for player replacement.
If it gets that far then the Players’ Association and courts would probably get involved.
Good times… Good times.
“Selig informed Giambi yesterday that his punishment for admitting steroid use in a recent interview with USA Today will depend on how cooperative he is with Mitchell and his investigators.”
So either snitch or get suspended.
As much as I don’t like steroid use, to me snitching on the past is worse. It is over & done with, all that can be done is have stringent testing now.
What would be interesting is to depose Bud himself and get him on the record as to what he knew/suspected about steroids and amphetamines — all the way back to when he was an owner. Does he really want to open up that can of worms?
I don’t think MLB would care if his suspension was simultaneous with his d/l stint, because substance suspensions take the player off the active 25 man roster. MLB is look to punish Giambi by costing him 50 days of Salary, which he would lose under during the suspension, which might be as much as 6 million dollars. The problem MLB is going to face is that the union negotiated suspensions for failing a drug test and that is not what happened. Any suspension of Giambi would have to come under conduct detrimental to the league and that is not a case the union is going to let go easy. I think Selig is just trying to talk tough, because that is all he can really do.
if i was him id admit to doing it to the senator, then say he doesn’t recall ever seeing anyone else do it. hes cooperating still
~if i was him id admit to doing it to the senator, then say he doesn’t recall ever seeing anyone else do it. hes cooperating still~
Except for Canseco “yeah, saw him do it, and Raffy Palmeiro”
Problem is, Yankees may try and use any admission as a way out of his contract. Thus, I’d keep my mouth shut.