2009 MLB Thread

[Trotskie]

a interesting article on why Raul Ibanez might "not" be using PED this season:

http://www.thegoodphight.com/2009/6/12/907119/raul-ibanez-and-the-juice-another

[nec13]

Good find, Trotskie. Thanks.

[hugman]

is the category of PED's broader than banned substances then?  Otherwise, why aren't there 102 more suspensions being handed out?

[scratchbomb]

is the category of PED's broader than banned substances then?  Otherwise, why aren't there 102 more suspensions being handed out?

Because the testing was supposed to be anonymous, to gauge the level of use in the majors at the time. The names shouldn't be coming out to begin with.

I wonder why the hell the test results weren't just burned, deleted, etc. Obviously, no good could come of names getting out there, and everyone wondering why Sammy Sosa, A-Rod et al. were never suspended.

[yesno]

I wonder why the hell the test results weren't just burned, deleted, etc. Obviously, no good could come of names getting out there, and everyone wondering why Sammy Sosa, A-Rod et al. were never suspended.

I believe the player's union pulled a choke job.

[hugman]

Okay, I obviously don't read enough.  Does this have nothing to do with Manny Ramirez?  I'm so dumb.

[jbissell]

I was absolutely shocked to hear Sosa's name linked to a positive PED test.

All kidding aside, the homer battle with McGwire was fun to watch and nothing will ever change that for me.

[scratchbomb]

Okay, I obviously don't read enough.  Does this have nothing to do with Manny Ramirez?  I'm so dumb.

Different thing. Manny got caught with a female hormone that you take to counteract the effects of PEDs.

[nec13]

I wonder why the hell the test results weren't just burned, deleted, etc. Obviously, no good could come of names getting out there, and everyone wondering why Sammy Sosa, A-Rod et al. were never suspended.

I believe the player's union pulled a choke job.

Absolutely correct. All copies of that list should have been destroyed immediately. It's truly amazing that for as smart as Donald Fehr and many of the reps at the MLBPA are, they completely lacked foresight and common sense on this matter.

With that being said, I don't feel sorry for the players. They were stupid enough to use PED's and stupid enough to get caught. Furthermore, Donald Fehr and Gene Orza did nothing to address the issue and, in fact, strongly resisted any attempts to implement a strict drug testing policy in the CBA. Of course, now MLB does have a tougher drug testing policy, but the damage has already been done to the reputation of the MLBPA and MLB.

Yesno, you have a law degree, are there any courses of legal action that the players can pursue because this info was leaked?

[hugman]

Okay, I obviously don't read enough.  Does this have nothing to do with Manny Ramirez?  I'm so dumb.

Different thing. Manny got caught with a female hormone that you take to counteract the effects of PEDs.

i am qualified to comment on nothing more than how cute albert pujols' facial hair is looking this week.

[nec13]

The Cards are only one game back of the lead in the NL Central.

They just need one more player:

[yesno]

Yesno, you have a law degree, are there any courses of legal action that the players can pursue because this info was leaked?

You can't have libel, if the information is true.  There is indeed a tort for public disclosure of private facts, but newsworthiness (and other things applicable here) is a defense.  So there's probably not a claim for the leaking itself, but only possibly against the people who were supposed to safeguard the information.

Maybe someone has some kind of breach of contract claim against the people who were supposed to keep it secret.  Also, the players might be able to sue the union for negligence; i.e. the union had a duty to the players which it breached, causing them injury.

[nec13]

Yesno, you have a law degree, are there any courses of legal action that the players can pursue because this info was leaked?

You can't have libel, if the information is true.  There is indeed a tort for public disclosure of private facts, but newsworthiness (and other things applicable here) is a defense.  So there's probably not a claim for the leaking itself, but only possibly against the people who were supposed to safeguard the information.

Maybe someone has some kind of breach of contract claim against the people who were supposed to keep it secret.  Also, the players might be able to sue the union for negligence; i.e. the union had a duty to the players which it breached, causing them injury.

So, in other words, their legal options are limited. I suppose that if one could pinpoint the source of the leaked information, then there could be more severe repercussions.

[yesno]

Yeah, a lot depends on whether the person who leaked the information had any sort of legal duty to the players, by contract or because of some special relationship.  I'm pretty sure it's a government source, the government having gotten a hold of the list legally.  Maybe there's some sort of way to recover against government employees who leak information obtained in a police raid or something; I have no idea.

Practically speaking, though, any lawsuit would be an admission by the players that they were doping.  Players who we already know did it would look like bigger douches for suing people for telling the truth, even if there was some legal wrong against them.  And players who we don't know did it can't sue if their information hasn't leaked.  So basically, they're all fucked.

[nec13]

That was an excellent summation of the issue, yesno. They are fucked.

What a shame.