It appears that our old friend Yasmani Grandal has been suspended for fifty games by MLB for “a positive test of testosterone.” Make of that what you will.
It appears that our old friend Yasmani Grandal has been suspended for fifty games by MLB for “a positive test of testosterone.” Make of that what you will.
What should happen is the Reds faithful can breathe knowing that we didn’t give up two potential stars.
Whoa. Keeping Mez was the right choice. Maybe Yasmani has an E.D./Low T problem like Ryan Braun. lol.
Wow, that does put things in a different light. Grandhal’s hitting at the major league level in 2012 exceeded expectations, maybe this is why. But we still might regret trading Grandhal some day, if he doesn’t screw up again and develops into an outstanding catcher and switch hitter.
In any case I’m glad the Reds still have Mes and expect him to come back strong with the Reds at some point.
I wonder if the Red’s had anecdotal knowledge from their minor league affiliates of his ‘regimen’ and decided the reward of trade-able prospect was his best value?
As I understand it, team mates almost always know and so do some managerial staff even if it’s not condoned and meant to be hidden.
I believe this to be another manifestation of the genius of Walt. I suspect that certain folks in the Reds organization either knew or suspected as much concerning Grandal. Hmmm, this makes me also wonder about Alonso. Both Grandal and Alonso are products of “The U” and I would think that Grandal did not simply pick up the habit only recently.
The ESPN article says seven major leaguers were suspended this year plus a lot of minor league suspensions:
@Drew Mac: Alonso hardly has the body of juicer. Grandal has looked like beast since he came onto the scene. The drug detection/ enforcement program in the minors was somewhat more stringent than MLB until the last couple of years; and Alonso was exposed to it for a much longer period than Grandal. So I think such speculation is just that and not really deserved.
Unfortunately for the Reds, this mistake by Grandal doesn’t make Mesoraco a major league hitter
There are no details other than the suspension. The drug rules of baseball are so far to the other extreme now who knows what came up positive. Maybe he was taking a supplement that he didn’t fully understand. Maybe he drove by a GNC on his way to the testing center. Who knows?
@OhioJim: My man…you kill me. How can one person be so negative about a 23 year old catcher? So…so negative. I die a little inside every time you find it relevant to discuss Mesoraco.
@OhioJim: Bartolo Colon doesn’t have the body of a juicer, either. For that matter, I didn’t think Grandal had the body of a juicer, either. I do realize this is speculation. However, these two guys are very, very tight. I cannot help but think that if Grandal was using, Alonso was/is as well.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2012/story/_/id/7666674/mlb-yonder-alonso-yasmani-grandal-san-diego-padres-connection-traces-back-cuba
Guys are still getting caught here and there, some big name players. Braun, MeCabrera, Grandal, Colon, Manny. Also Freddie Galvis, Marlon Byrd, Volquez.
How many are not getting caught? How many are just better at gaming the system and using the under the radar masking agents? I’d bet more than we would think. A lot of money is to be had being successful at baseball.
“But Charles Yesalis, a professor emeritus at Penn State and a widely known antidoping expert, said he was not convinced that WADA or Usada was doing a better job than baseball when it came to testing and that cheats were usually far ahead of the testers.
‘I’ve said for decades only the stupid and lazy people get caught,’ he said. ‘I really don’t think baseball is any cleaner or dirtier than Olympic sports, and they have the so-called gold standard of testing.'”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/sports/baseball/to-baseballs-chagrin-steroid-era-continues.html?pagewanted=all
The Reds kept the better defensive catcher and traded the better offensive catcher. Now the better offensive catcher tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Good decision by a Reds team that values pitching and defense over hitting.