Red Sox P Rick Porcello yesterday said that he "is in favor of a lifetime ban after a player has a first positive drug test if that will help eradicate doping from the sport," according to Christian Red of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Porcello alluded to former Mets P Jenrry Mejia "testing positive three times for PEDs before receiving a lifetime ban earlier this year." Porcello said, "I'm all in favor for (stiffer penalties). Obviously what's going on right now is not preventing guys from doing it. This year, there's a guy that literally tested positive three times. That's obviously not effective. I'm all in favor for a much, much more severe punishment or a lifetime ban. At the end of the day, it's looking like that's the only thing that's going to keep guys from doing it. If that ever happens, we'll find out if that's even enough. There's no right or wrong answer right now, but I think there at least needs to be some adjustments for sure." He added, "I don't have a conclusive way to figure out how to prevent (doping) from happening, but you're talking about guys that have tested positive that are still impacting games, and you know that they're impacting games. What are we trying to avoid? We're trying to avoid that but it's still going on. ... I just don't think that that's right." He said of recent comments made by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on home run rates and PED use, "If a guy tests positive, he should not be able to appeal and continue to play. I think that's the worst-case scenario. There's nothing to stand by with what (Manfred) is talking about. It's failed" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/19).
GROWING SENTIMENT: ESPN's Buster Olney said Porcello’s comments reflects a "lot of the anger that I hear from players over what’s going on, because they feel like it is clear that the potential rewards for cheating under the current rules outweigh the risks." They have seen "players get busted making a ton of money." Olney: "The perception of this from veteran players, from guys just starting out in the big leagues, is, ‘These guys are stealing our money.’ … The players, more and more are saying privately and publicly, ‘We’ve got to do something more. We have to do something to deter guys to make more of a penalty if someone is caught’" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 7/19).
