Only in baseball does a system that catches and punishes a guy trying to cheat the system get assailed. Like this article from Sports Illustrated?s Tom Verducci, who believes that the fact that the union defends members who fail drug tests ? like every union on the planet in every industry ? means that the system is somehow broken:
What Cabrera did was expose everything that is faulty with the system: The penalties don?t serve as enough of a deterrent, the players and owners bring differing agendas to a ?joint? program, and the loopholes are big enough to allow fans to question the reputation of ballplayers as whole.
This is silly. There are 750 ballplayers on active rosters at any given time. A couple test positive a year. How on Earth is that evidence of a broken system. And are we really going to use Melky Freaking Cabrera?s failure to be deterred by a 50 game suspension against the system? We learned on Sunday that Melky Cabrera is dumber than dog crap. The system is designed to address the vast majority of players who aren?t total morons and have the capacity to reason, so Melky?s example is not one on which to rest your claim that it?s broken.
Of course you don?t have to read far down the article to find the name Gary Wadler pop up. The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency is always around to argue that independent testing is required in sports leagues. ?It?s merely a coincidence that his agency also happens to be the one who administers independent testing programs for leagues. Programs which pay Mr. Wadler?s salary. Go back and Google the name of any athlete who has ever been given a drug suspension with ?Gary Wadler.? ?He hits the media in the wake of such things like clockwork, giving writers talking points which pump up his organization. ?There?s a lot I don?t like about how Major League Baseball handles drug testing, but I applaud them for not caving in to Wadler?s cynical, self-serving public relations machine.
And speaking of salary: Melky Cabrera?s 50-game suspension is costing him nearly $2 million in present salary. Can you find any other instance when someone is fined $2 million for anything? It is also likely costing him a long-term contract worth upwards of $40 million. ?Yet we?re supposed to buy the notion that the penalties aren?t enough? That this sort of thing does not deter others?
Due process when one?s money and livelihood are on the line is not evidence of a failed system. The fact that a star player on a playoff-bound team is suspended is certainly not evidence of a failed system. ?In fact, they?re quite the opposite. They are evidence of the system?s health, and suggesting otherwise is the second dumbest thing I?ve heard today.
The dumbest thing? Well, that also has to do with Melky Cabrera. It comes from Rick Sutcliffe ? noted immigration scholar ? who says that Melky Cabrera should be deported. Never mind that he has neither been charged with nor has he been convicted of any crime or otherwise deportable offense.
This is all madness. Just imagine what people would be saying if we knew Melky was taking drugs and he wasn?t caught and punished.
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