I am certainly not one to bluster about PEDs. I tend to not even write about it, because it rarely touches this team. If you look at my theoretical HoF voting, you’ll see that I included of Bonds, Clemens and even Pud Galvin. But the news about Gio Gonzalez using a Miami clinic linked to steroids and HGH is certainly disheartening. As I’ve stated before, I don’t care that much about the use of PEDs.
I think it is good that the league is getting rid of them (to whatever level you believe they are trying) because I don’t think any young player should feel the need to use in order to compete. But that’s about it. However, with all the rules, with all the publicity, and with all of the modern news outlets and sources of cash for people who want to reveal thing famous people do… to paraphrase the film classic Friday, you’ve got to be one stupid mf to take PEDs these days. You just can’t think you’re not going to get caught.
Getting caught costs your team, and it costs you. Imagine that MLB ends up suspending people on this list. 50 games. The Nats losing their #2 pitcher for 50 suddenly means maybe they’re not in such good shape for making the playoffs. That is my number one concern, by leaps and bounds. I don’t care much about Gio’s legacy, although I may hesitate to buy his jersey if he got suspended. But Gio should certainly be concerned with Gio’s legacy, and if he did indeed do something illegal, again, it has to be chalked up to stupidity.
It is hard to give players the benefit of the doubt, but it is certainly possible that Gio has done absolutely nothing wrong. The article states that he ordered “1.c.1 with Zinc/MIC/… and Aminorip. For Gio and charge $1,000.” What does that first part means, I have no idea. But if 1.c.1 is just a notes heading (like in an outline), he may well have done nothing illegal at all. As pointed out in Mr. Irrelevant, nothing listed there is on the list of banned substances.
The skeptic would ask why the heck would he go to a steroid/HGH factory to get legal medication? There is a very easy explanation for this, that wouldn’t at all be a stretch. It’s a place frequented by pro athletes and they talk to each other. Whether its real estate, financial advice, physical training, knee surgery or pharmaceutical suppliers, these guys all go to the same people.
They go to the same people because they want to go to someone they think they can trust. Someone who is used to dealing with rich and famous people, who won’t be overwhelmed by the celebrity, will be more discreet and is considered the best, at a price premium. So it’s certainly possible this is a place, local to Gio’s home, that pro athletes go to, and he went there as well, without ever knowing this place was supplying some of its clients anything illegal.
Do I buy that explanation? Sure, but I don’t know if it’s true. Gio is definitely one of my favorite players, but again, more than anything else, he is key to them winning this year and down the road. So I hope he didn’t do it, but other than deciding not to buy his jersey anymore, it’s not really for personal reasons. If he was suspended 50 games, I’d still want him to win for the remaining 112 games this year, and beyond. But the cost of 50 games, around 10 starts, would be an awful lot for something so stupid and selfish.
I am hoping that he didn’t do anything illegal. If that is the case, he will just be tagged with the associated to PEDs for the rest of his life, which will suck for his legacy. But at least it won’t hurt his team and his teammates. And if he didn’t do anything illegal, I really hope, for his sake, that the investigation comes out and clears him completely of any wrongdoing, because it’s completely unfair for someone to be simply “associated” with this stuff, left in legacy limbo.