Baseball still having problems with players using performance enhancing drugs.

[Bob Hunter]

So here we are, several years into baseball's drug controversy and we still have players not getting it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...2_a2&eref=sihp

Melky Cabera is banned 50 games for using Testosterone to boost performance. Let me explain how it works, Testosterone is a very popular drug right now due to large segments of the male population suffering from testosterone deficiency. Getting a dosage of testosterone is easy. Doctors are pretty liberal about prescribing it to patients with low T. And there are tons of samples floating around out there on the black market. Most men are using Androgel which is a gel you rub on your chest and arms once a day. No injections, no pills, no side-affects. Unless a player uses unusually high dosages, it will not really have any long term effects. Cheating has never been easier, a little gel in the morning and you are on your way to burning more fat and developing more muscle. Look what it did to me....

[Ryan Scott]

I don't know the system baseball uses off-hand, but I do know the governing body of track and field has essentially made testosterone a regulated substance.

After issues with gender testing of female athletes they essentially came up with a range of acceptable testosterone for men and for women and when tested, expect athletes to be within the range. There are tests for synthetic testosterone, but you would have to be an idiot to get caught with those.

What they're allowing, basically, is for people with lower levels to boost theirs a bit without being ruled a cheater.

Those athletes with naturally higher levels (well, at least for the time being) are flat out of luck.

Other governing bodies, like cycling and swimming, are requiring athletes to develop a profile with the testing agencies. They're tested very frequently both in and out of competition so the testing authority can figure out what the normal range is for all of their levels, then using that range to detect some of the tougher to discover banned substances.

With Melky Cabrera, he's always been a talented guy, just under the cusp of greatness. They made a big deal about his improved play at the all star game - now, apparently, we see why.

[Bob Hunter]

I don't know the system baseball uses off-hand, but I do know the governing body of track and field has essentially made testosterone a regulated substance.

After issues with gender testing of female athletes they essentially came up with a range of acceptable testosterone for men and for women and when tested, expect athletes to be within the range. There are tests for synthetic testosterone, but you would have to be an idiot to get caught with those.

What they're allowing, basically, is for people with lower levels to boost theirs a bit without being ruled a cheater.

Those athletes with naturally higher levels (well, at least for the time being) are flat out of luck.

Other governing bodies, like cycling and swimming, are requiring athletes to develop a profile with the testing agencies. They're tested very frequently both in and out of competition so the testing authority can figure out what the normal range is for all of their levels, then using that range to detect some of the tougher to discover banned substances.

With Melky Cabrera, he's always been a talented guy, just under the cusp of greatness. They made a big deal about his improved play at the all star game - now, apparently, we see why.

It sounds like a lab-testing nightmare. When test testosterone levels are tested you have to do it multiple times because your body sends it out in spurts. Most men bounce around within a certain range depending on their diet, level of activity and the amount of sleep they get. If they are taking blood draws for the sake of accuracy, then that is a lot of pokes (I've had my share). I have heard they have a saliva test, not sure how accurate it is, but what a nightmare to regulate. Who woulda thunk?

[Jim Poteet]

So here we are, several years into baseball's drug controversy and we still have players not getting it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...2_a2&eref=sihp

Melky Cabera is banned 50 games for using Testosterone to boost performance. Let me explain how it works, Testosterone is a very popular drug right now due to large segments of the male population suffering from testosterone deficiency. Getting a dosage of testosterone is easy. Doctors are pretty liberal about prescribing it to patients with low T. And there are tons of samples floating around out there on the black market. Most men are using Androgel which is a gel you rub on your chest and arms once a day. No injections, no pills, no side-affects. Unless a player uses unusually high dosages, it will not really have any long term effects. Cheating has never been easier, a little gel in the morning and you are on your way to burning more fat and developing more muscle. Look what it did to me....
Attachment 4056

This is the best news the Dodgers have received in quite awhile.

[Peggy Gray]

And now Bartolo Colon. Am I missing something? How do they dare take such a risk?

[Benjamin Burch]

And now Bartolo Colon. Am I missing something? How do they dare take such a risk?

For both of the current players, it makes perfect sense. Neither of them had much hope of careers without taking some form of PED, as they both were pretty poor players -- Melky was never good and Colon was past his prime. So, they both felt that the money they'd get in contracts would be worth it and felt their chances were good of not being tested this season. Not every player is tested every season. It is all random. Thus, they both felt their odds were good and, sadly for them, were mistaken.

[Nate Pruitt]

For both of the current players, it makes perfect sense. Neither of them had much hope of careers without taking some form of PED, as they both were pretty poor players -- Melky was never good and Colon was past his prime. So, they both felt that the money they'd get in contracts would be worth it and felt their chances were good of not being tested this season. Not every player is tested every season. It is all random. Thus, they both felt their odds were good and, sadly for them, were mistaken.

I was thinking it was still just the Bay Area trying to get away with things like they always have. Just like Bonds, Canseco, McGuire and others back in the day, right? Or maybe there's just something in the water.