Edinson Volquez Suspended 50 Games for Violating PED Policy [Post #20]

[burnzy24]

FIB4Brew[/b]]Since Volquez is on the 60 day DL, what would stop the Reds from activating before he's healthy so that his suspension would be up by the time he's fully healthy?

SI is reporting that the suspension will begin April 21. I don't like that at all, a suspension should not run at the same time while the guy is already out with an injury. link

[sheethead]

I thought Volquez was considered out for at least the first half of this year anyway. It will cost him money, but ultimately will not cost the Reds anything.

[RyDogg66]

His arby case should be interesting this winter. TJ surgery + PED suspension. I wonder how his agent will justify a big raise for him.

[GoudaBrew]

His arby case should be interesting this winter. TJ surgery + PED suspension. I wonder how his agent will justify a big raise for him.

But he was an all-star in 2008!

 

April 21st is the day he's eligible to come off the DL, so this really doesn't hurt the team. He could still pitch in 2010 theoretically I guess.

[bjkrautk]

If nothing else, the suspension means that the Reds will be playing with a 24-man roster for nearly 2 months. Losing a guy on either their bench or in the pen can't be great for their chances.

[Patrick425]

sheethead[/b]]I thought Volquez was considered out for at least the first half of this year anyway. It will cost him money, but ultimately will not cost the Reds anything.

Why should it necessarily cost the Reds anything? A team getting penalized because a player broke the rules is just an unfortunate "side affect" of the penalty in my opinion. If the Reds (or any other team) were "lucky" enough to have the same player that gets suspended also on an extended DL stint, then so be it.

 

[Patrick425]

If nothing else, the suspension means that the Reds will be playing with a 24-man roster for nearly 2 months. Losing a guy on either their bench or in the pen can't be great for their chances.

Is that how it works? You can't fill the roster spot of a suspended player?

 

[sheethead]

Why should it necessarily cost the Reds anything?

 

Easy, I didn't say it SHOULD cost the Reds anything. I simply stated it won't.

[Invader3K]

So, this has to somewhat put a damper on any playoff aspirations the Reds had, right?

[joepepsi]

It seems like the majority of those being suspended are from the Dominican or at least Latin/South America. Is this a problem with the "supplements" they are taking when they're home over the winter?

[jerichoholicninja]

It seems like the majority of those being suspended are from the Dominican or at least Latin/South America. Is this a problem with the "supplements" they are taking when they're home over the winter?

I believe that was David Ortiz's excuse.

[chuckiehacks]

If nothing else, the suspension means that the Reds will be playing with a 24-man roster for nearly 2 months. Losing a guy on either their bench or in the pen can't be great for their chances.

Actually no. Teams can replace a player suspended for PEDs.

 

[Baldkin]

If nothing else, the suspension means that the Reds will be playing with a 24-man roster for nearly 2 months. Losing a guy on either their bench or in the pen can't be great for their chances.

Is that how it works? You can't fill the roster spot of a suspended player?

No, that's not how it works. The Brewers definitely had 25 guys during Cameron's suspension in 2008.

[homer]

FIB4Brew[/b]]Since Volquez is on the 60 day DL, what would stop the Reds from activating before he's healthy so that his suspension would be up by the time he's fully healthy?

SI is reporting that the suspension will begin April 21. I don't like that at all, a suspension should not run at the same time while the guy is already out with an injury. link

Didn't that happen with Derrick Lee a few years ago? He was suspended for two games but was hurt and wouldn't have played anyway. Kind of a sucky way to skirt the rule.

[zzzmanwitz]

Didn't that happen with Derrick Lee a few years ago? He was suspended for two games but was hurt and wouldn't have played anyway. Kind of a sucky way to skirt the rule.

 

I think this was said earlier in this thread, but Suspensions are meant to hurt the player, not the team. The player loses money by being suspended.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Reportedly due to something he was taking so that he and his wife could start having a family...

 

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, why on earth wouldn't you run this through your team trainer before you start taking it?

[bjkrautk]

If nothing else, the suspension means that the Reds will be playing with a 24-man roster for nearly 2 months. Losing a guy on either their bench or in the pen can't be great for their chances.

Is that how it works? You can't fill the roster spot of a suspended player?

No, that's not how it works. The Brewers definitely had 25 guys during Cameron's suspension in 2008.

 

Thank you of a good example of how I was wrong. ESPN.com doesn't list the transaction, but the MLB page does.

 

Date		Transaction
3/30/08		Reassigned RHP Steve Bray, SS Ozzie Chavez, LHP Chris Narveson and IF Abraham Nunez to Minor League camp; Placed OF Mike Cameron on the restricted list, serving a 25-game drug suspension.

...

4/29/08

Reinstated OF Mike Cameron from the restricted list

http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/team/transactions.jsp?c_id=mil&year=2008&month=4

 

I honestly didn't know that MLB had a restricted list.

[TooLiveBrew]

Reportedly due to something he was taking so that he and his wife could start having a family...

And I hear he's got a bridge he's looking to sell...

[bjkrautk]

Reportedly due to something he was taking so that he and his wife could start having a family...

 

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, why on earth wouldn't you run this through your team trainer before you start taking it?

 

Maybe he didn't think that was the kind of "performance-enhancing" drug that the league tested for.

[joepepsi]

Maybe the league or the teams need to give a list to the players which drugs contain banned substances.

[TooLiveBrew]

Or maybe the players need to show some personal responsibility & make sure they aren't putting anything into their bodies that will clash with the list of banned substances.

[Schlitz001]

Wow, the excuses that these guys give just keep getting better and better. Man up already, you're getting suspended either way!!

[Invader3K]

I've heard MLB has a hotline players can call any time to find out if a certain substance is on the banned list or not. It's just another pathetic excuse from an athlete not willing to take personal responsibility. Kind of sad, if you ask me. He'll be back and it will be forgotten soon enough, though.

[crewcrazy]

Maybe the league or the teams need to give a list to the players which drugs contain banned substances.

The MLBPA makes sure that information is easily accessible for the players -- I believe there's even a hotline for players to call if they're not sure, and the people on the other end will look up the supplements' active ingredients and tell them if it would cause a positive test. Pleading ignorance in your appeal isn't going to get you out of a suspension.

 

Edit: Invader beat me by a few seconds. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[TheCrew07]

Or maybe the players need to show some personal responsibility & make sure they aren't putting anything into their bodies that will clash with the list of banned substances.

I sat through a presentation on supplements a couple of years ago. The scary part of this that certain companies don't adequately purge their production lines. Meaning once they switch production from a steroid to something else, the residue left over is enough to be caught my modern testing, some of these athletes are telling truth, it's just hard to know who is actually being honest. Most of the companies have been outed by independent testing and I know that the NFL maintains a list of suspect supplements that their players should be wary of.

 

I really like Volquez as a pitcher, but it wouldn't make sense to get banned for a PED while doing rehab for TMJ surgery, the problem isn't muscular in nature, a substance of abuse would have made more sense, like pain killers. Normally I'm suspicious of the player's intention, but here's a pitcher rehabbing an elbow, who's got little to gain from steroids given his recovery cycle, it just doesn't add up. He did suffer some setbacks in his recovery, but given what I know about steroids, I'm not understanding where the recovery benefit would come from in this case.

 

On a side note I was thinking about the Reds today and their pitching as I drove around. Leake is already up and if Bailey and Chapman can give them anything... look out. Cueto, Leake, Chapman, Volquez, and Bailey or whomever as a 5th next season... look out NL Central. BTW, Chapman went straight to Louisville (AAA) and has pitched very well thus far.