Two Juicers On ’07 World Champ Red Sox
Here’s one for the RSN trolls today. From the AP -
The Red Sox suspected relievers Brendan Donnelly and Eric Gagne of using performance-enhancing drugs but acquired them anyway, according to the Mitchell Report.
No current Red Sox players were among the 12 with Boston connections identified in the report, though Gagne and Donnelly spent time with the team that won the 2007 World Series.
Donnelly was acquired from the Angels last offseason.
“He was a juice guy but his velocity hasn’t changed a lot over the years … If he was a juice guy, he could be a breakdown candidate,” Zack Scott of the Red Sox baseball operations staff wrote of Donnelly in a Dec. 13, 2006, e-mail.
Donnelly finished the season on the disabled list and underwent Tommy John surgery. Hours before the report was released, Boston declined to tender him a contract offer for 2008.
“The club had no idea about names prior to release of this report,” Red Sox spokesman John Blake said. “We didn’t get anything until Mitchell released it at 2 o’clock.”
Boston didn’t sign Gagne as a free agent, but they got the ’03 NL Cy Young winner at the midsummer trading deadline.
In a Nov. 1, 2006, e-mail to Red Sox scout Mark Delpiano, GM Theo Epstein asked, “Have you done any digging on Gagne? I know the Dodgers think he was a steroid guy. Maybe so. What do you hear on his medical?”
The scout responded, “Some digging on Gagne and steroid is the issue.”
This is interesting to me. If the Red Sox knew that these two players were “juiced,” and did not immediately share that information with Bud Selig, are they then guilty of knowingly withholding information that baseball would have wanted to know?
Don’t get me wrong here – I’m pretty sure the Yankees knew that Jason Giambi was on something when they signed him, and they looked the other way. But, that was a long time before baseball seemed to care about who was using or not.
It will be interesting to see if Bud slaps the Sox’ hands for this one. Somehow, I doubt it will happen.
As I said yesterday, few people come out of this report looking as bad as Theo.
Of course he won’t.
Moreover, why would he? This only serves to reinforce the very point of the Mitchell Report: that it was prepared by a member of management on behalf of and per the request of management as a means to distance management from the issue entirely. Anything to make the players and their union appear obstructionist, guilty, and culpable. Coming down on Theo would defeat the point of making sure that the players, and not the teams, owners, and GM’s, share in the blame of the steroids era.
It’s been Selig’s M.O. since that day he got hauled in front of the House of Representatives and got his bony little ass handed to him.
I wish the Mitchell Investigation would just fade away like every other steroid-related story in baseball.
This is why this report is ridiculous, dangerous and unfair. Zack Scott THINKS Donnelly was a ‘roid guy. What proof does he have? The scout says steroids were a problem with Gagne. What “digging” did he do and what’s the proof?
All this shows is that GMs and scouts hear the same rumors we do. And they don’t know who’s juicing and who’s not.
I don’t give a damn about Donnelly, but did he really deserve this?
I just think the whole report is based on the word of two scared guys who were pressured, and a lot of speculation. It’s supposed to be this definitive document, and yet it feels like a giant waste of time. The idea that Selig actually suggested people would get suspended because of it is laughable. Bud, you have NOTHING here. Try suspending someone and you’ll get taken to court and the whole thing will be exposed as horseshit.
“I just think the whole report is based on the word of two scared guys who were pressured, and a lot of speculation.”
baileywalk, I would like to be fair to the Mitchell report for just a second and clarify this. The allegations against specific players (in sections VIII and IX of the report) is indeed based mostly on the testimony of Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee, although is sometimes corroborated with testimony from players such as Larry Bigbie and Adam Piatt.
The grand bulk of the report has nothing to do with player names, and everything to do with recommendations of how to proceed and prevent the steroid culture from continuing. Mitchell calls for “non-testing based physical evidence,” such as the shipping labels and canceled checks he has provided, looking for other proof besides drug testing. He calls for a greater policing of the minor leagues, where he details stories of Arizona League players sneaking over the border to get steroids, or college players juicing. This is the true intent and crux of the report.
I agree that the allegations levied against most specific players are based on a lot of dubious evidence. But none of it was intended to be a basis for prosecution, it was intended to be instructive of the steroid problem. If anyone’s guilty of slander and libel, it’s the media, including anyone who publishes a “list” of players without making note of the substance of the allegations.
Read the Brian Roberts section. It’s amazing that Mitchell even printed it. I legitimately feel bad for Roberts.
I agree with what you’re saying, mehmattski. So my question is: what was the point of putting the names in there at all? Who gains ANYTHING from it? It’s pretty obvious Selig wanted names to look tough on steroids. But all you end up with is suspicious, flawed, easily-contradicted testimony that was never challenged by the accused and a lot of rumor. This is not evidence. That report proves almost nothing. It’s very likely innocent players are being named. Clemens could be innocent and he’ll be thought of as a juicer for the rest of his life. The report was simply unfair.
If a player writes a check to a dentist for $3,000 and receives a shipment of HGH and even a child can see what’s going on — hey, suspend the guy. Fine, that’s evidence. If you can produce something that would hold up in a court of law, go for it. But most of the “evidence” in this very short-sighted “investigation” is flimsy. The whole thing really gets me angry, to be honest with you. It’s just a hack job from start to finish. Mitchell is kidding himself if he thinks anyone cares about his recommendations for baseball. It was all about outing people. What he did by including these names with his evidence is stunningly cruel and unfair.
The problem is that these players have no real recourse. They can sue, but they won’t win. I think it’s a screw-job all around, but the media is off and running with it like Clemens was caught with a needle in his pocket. These hack tabloid-style columnists are already saying he’s as bad as Bonds, a truly dumb statement.
Anyway, the whole thing leaves me angry.
Yes, but as ESPN tells us, Mitchell is trustworthy because he’s…a politician. I think we live in Lewis Carroll’s idea of reality now.
I was put on to this site by Phil Allard as something I should check on a DAILY basis. The first thing I read it stupid and ill-informed to say the least. That the Redsox should have informed Major League Baseball because they ‘knew’ that two players were using steroids. Ah, duh you idiot!! That would violate the Major League Player Agreement to do this! Wow, I hope it gets better from here.
Thank you very much.
“Two Juicers On ’07 World Champ Red Sox”
Gagne and Donnelly? You see what the report said about prominent yankees during their world series run and your hanging your hat on that? Keep reaching for straws.
“If the Red Sox knew that these two players were “juiced” ”
You do understand that this is “knew” as in that was their opinion. There was no drug test failed. There was nothing to back it up except opinion. You do get that difference right?
This post reads like it came out of the onion.
“You see what the report said about prominent yankees during their world series run and your hanging your hat on that? Keep reaching for straws…There was no drug test failed. There was nothing to back it up except opinion. You do get that difference right?”
One might say the same thing to you. If Gagne and Donnelly were both included in a report which you consider speculative then it’s hard to claim that the Yankees World Series run was drug-fueled based on that same speculation.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Or, in this case, the asswipe who spends his time in a Yankee blog to stir the pot.
“Mitchell again arrogantly dismissed his obvious conflict of interest by citing his good works and his efforts brokering peace in Northern Ireland. It’s astounding that a man as smart as Mitchell can so easily shrug off his compromised position. He either has a blind spot or he thinks his audience is stupid. The man is the official ‘director’ of the Red Sox and he just issued a report that trashes some Yankee gods while leaving the championship Red Sox unscathed (Mo Vaughn played here in the pre-Mitchell era, Eric Gagné was dirty as a Dodger, and who cares about Mike Lansing?). Mitchell’s reputation is impeccable, but he had no business holding his Red Sox title while conducting this investigation.”
That’s from Mr. Red Sox himself, Dan Shaughnessy. It’s good to know someone in Boston can think straight.
The thing the Sox shouldn’t have done was to acquire Gagne given the information they had.