MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner yesterday said that if MLB had offered Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez "a certain number of games in a suspension, Weiner would have advised Rodriguez to take it," according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN N.Y. Weiner said, "I don't want to give a number, but there was a number that I gave A-Rod and we advised him to take it. He was never given that number." Weiner added, "Based on the evidence that we saw, we made a recommendation. The commissioner's office didn't meet it. They were much higher. And therefore we're at a hearing." Rodriguez is appealing his 211-game suspension and is allowed to play during the process (ESPNNY.com, 8/6). In N.Y., Ken Davidoff writes under the header, "PA Boss Disputes Ban Length, Not Guilt." Weiner "made his feelings clear" that he objected to the length of the suspension "rather than the suspension itself" (N.Y. POST, 8/7). Davidoff writes it "wouldn’t make sense for the union to shrug its collective shoulders and accede to [MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s] wishes for such a historic sentence." Even if the MLBPA "doesn’t think much personally of A-Rod, there are precedents to protect and missions to uphold" (N.Y. POST, 8/7).
CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman writes Selig "appears to have truly gotten religion on working with, rather than against, the powerful" MLBPA. Selig now "understands that combating the union and its members head-on doesn't usually turn out very well for management." Selig involved the union in the process, and "largely avoided what could have been months of litigation and the chance for the players to beat the suspensions on an evidentiary technicality" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/7). In DC, Barry Svrluga writes the Biogenesis suspensions show that MLB’s "battle with performance-enhancing drugs isn’t 'over with.'” Doping experts believe that the "problems in baseball -- and cycling, track and field and other sports -- remain widespread and that policing sports is proving to be nearly impossible" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/7).
NOT ENOUGH: In Phoenix, Bob Young writes Selig "didn’t have the fortitude to cite 'The best interest of the national game of baseball.'" Young: "If ever there was a time for Selig to use it, this was it." MLB's drug-testing system "is not working." Young: "Quit playing softball, Bud" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/7). In Tampa, Tom Jones writes, "Nothing has changed. Not really." The rewards for players taking PEDs "remain greater than the risks." Jones: "Let's not act as if Major League Baseball has a foolproof system for sniffing out drug users." It is time to "rip up the Collective Bargaining Agreement and create a new drug policy." One PED infraction and "you're suspended a year and your contract is voided." A second PED infraction "and you're banned for life" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/7).
WORKERS UNITE: In L.A., Kevin Baxter writes the suspensions have "galvanized opposition to baseball's drug culture in the one place where it can have the most effect: the clubhouse." Players now are "talking about lifetime bans" (L.A. TIMES, 8/7). In Philadelphia, Bob Brookover writes the "majority of players are loudly pleading for harsher penalties," which represents a "drastic changes in attitude over the last decade" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/7). Tigers P Max Scherzer: "Players as a whole, we're tied of cheating. We're tired of guys who blatantly try to break the system" (DETROIT NEWS, 8/7).
OTHER SPORTS GET OFF EASY: In Detroit, John Niyo writes, "Do the fans really care who’s injecting what and where in professional sports? They sure don’t seem to in the NFL or the NHL or the NBA" (DETROIT NEWS, 8/7). Reds P Homer Bailey said, "If people think baseball is the only sport (with PED issues), they are insane. We have the strictest, fairest drug policy, that's why people are getting caught. This isn't just going on in baseball. You hear about it in baseball, why? Because we have the strictest drug policy" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/7). In Denver, Benjamin Hochman writes under the header, "NFL Gets Off Easy Compared To Baseball As Far As Drug Use Goes." Hochman: "Does the NFL have an Alex Rodriguez? Better yet, do you care if it does?" (DENVER POST, 8/7).
FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD: A WASHINGTON POST editorial states if there is an "upside to the A-Rod saga, it is that it highlights a changing culture in professional baseball." Rank-and-file players are "increasingly rejecting performance-enhancing drugs and those who use them." Future players will be "healthier, and the game more honest, for it" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/7). A CHARLOTTE OBSERVER editorial states Selig and other MLB administrators "were right to aggressively pursue the Biogenesis leads." But the sport "can't just hope to luck into disgruntled employees going forward." The owners and players "need to toughen the drug testing and stiffen the penalties for violations." The editorial: "What do you call the suspension of 13 baseball players for drug use? A good start" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/7).
