Cincinnati Pitcher Volquez Suspended 50 Games
Volquez, who has not pitched yet this season, has a career record of 24-19 with an earned run average of 4.37. His best year was in 2008 when he went 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA.
The 26 year old pitcher is currently on the 60 day disabled list recovering from right elbow surgery. He was not expected to be activated until late July, at the earliest, and he can serve the suspension while on the disabled list. In theory this isn't a blow at all to the Reds for they were planning to be without Volquez anyway. Volquez will have to deal with a hit to his wallet because he does not get paid for the 50 games he is suspended.
Two groups will take a worse hit than wither the Reds or Volquez and they are MLB and Hispanic players. Once again MLB will be in the news for PEDs and every sports talk show across the country will lambaste them. They will once again rehash the names of Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez. MLB will be raked over the coals for its cheating players, while in similar situations the National Football League seems to get a pass.
Latino players will have to address questions as to why a majority of players that test positive are Latino. 17 of the 27 players that have been suspended for PEDs since 2005 have been Hispanic. Is there some confusion in the rules that some Latin Americans don't understand? I think it is something that MLB needs to look into to avoid these black eyes on the image of the game.
I won't take shots at MLB for having one of its players test positive for PEDs, but I do have one question for them. How in the world does someone get to serve a suspension when they are on the disabled list? This is even worse than the rule that allowed Manny Ramirez to play in the minors last season at the end of his suspension. If you want people to take your drug policy seriously you need to close these loopholes, preferably before they can be taken advantage of.
Published by Darren Pare - Featured Contributor in Sports
I am an author from Orono, Maine currently working on writing my second book and promoting my first one, 33 Summers. I am married and have two children. I am a freelance writer who has a passion for sports... View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentAre you kidding me? You think MLB's policy might somehow be racist to Latino players? Come on don't be stupid and I use the word stupid in the most possible non-mean-spirited way but seriously it is stupid. These men have lawyers and agents who represent them they have all kinds of people who they should be trusting if they can't read English but I am absolutely sure the policy is written in Spanish also. Don't for even a second think the guys who haven't been caught yet don't think they are getting one over on the system weather they be white, black or Latino.
The current drug policy of MLB is a joke. Players will never take it seriously until the repercussions are meaningful and (at least financially) painful. There should also be testing in the minor leagues and any player wishing to try out for the minors. This would help to nip it in the bud.