Fact-checking David Ortiz's PED-denial column in the Players' Tribune

David Ortiz in his younger, smaller days.

Speak of the devil! I was just talking about David (Sherlock) Ortiz with my friend Staci on Facebook yesterday, We brought up his name because of ESPN New York noting that Alex Rodriguez now faces additional steroid tests. And just after we made the inevitable Ortiz "searching for why he tested positive" joke that many Yankee fans do, Sherlock finally addressed this issue, six years after it was revealed he tested positive for PEDs.

Ortiz is now an "Editor at Large" for Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune, and has "written" an article denying that he ever used PEDs.

An aside: I kind of find Jeter calling these athletes writing for his site "editors" and "bureau chiefs" a little weird. Players' Tribune contributor Mets pitcher Matt Harvey revealed in New York Magazine that he has business cards from the venture that say "NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF." Really? Is Matt going to be assigning stories in the locker room, too? Marking up Juan Lagares' copy with a red pencil? Puh-lease.

Look, I make it a point of never saying "we" when it comes to the Yankees, because I ain't playing. So for athletes to be given such lofty titles for their contributions here would be like calling me a right fielder because I got stuck at that position in fifth grade gym glass.

Anyhow, I have a long memory when it comes to David Ortiz's PED denials. Plus, I wrote a lot on the issue back in 2009, when it was revealed that he tested positive in 2003. Anyhow, let's review Ortiz's claims in this article and see if they add up:

Ortiz starts his piece with a dramatic story of American drug testers showing up at his home at 7:30 in the morning in the Dominican Republic with "pee cups and big needles." He claims he has been tested "more than 80 times" for PEDs since 2004, and also says he has been tested "ten times a season" this whole time. His math doesn't add up in multiple ways (10x a year since 2004 is 110 times, not 80) and also because in 2009, he claimed he was tested "15 times" by MLB since 2003.

Incidentally, in the article I referenced above, ESPN claimed that in addition to everyone getting tested during the spring, there are only 350 random urine tests and 140 random blood tests done during each season, which, if those numbers are correct, would only cover a fraction of the 1200 players tested under the system. But we are supposed to believe that only Ortiz had been tested this many times? Really? C'mon now.

He also says, "I have never failed a single one of those tests and I never will." I say, "Neither did Alex Rodriguez and most of the players named in the Biogenesis scandal." (A-Rod reportedly told the feds he passed because he used midstream urine. If that actually works, then these tests are pretty meaningless!)

Ortiz then sez: "Some people still look at me like I’m a cheater because my name was on a list of players who got flagged for PEDs in 2003." (I want to put on my "Bette Davis in 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" voice to say, "But ya are, Blanche!")

Anyhow, after how talking about how much physical pain ballplayers are in (which I'm sure they are, but PEDs aren't painkillers!) Ortiz uses the "GNC" defense on his positive test, saying that in the early 2000s:

"I’m buying an over-the-f***ing-counter supplement in the United States of America. I’m buying this stuff in line next to doctors and lawyers. Now all of a sudden MLB comes out and says there’s some ingredient in GNC pills that have a form of steroid in them. I don’t know anything about it. If you think I’m full of it, go to your kitchen cabinet right now and read the back of a supplement bottle and honestly tell me you know what all of that stuff is. I’m not driving across the border to Mexico buying some shady pills from a drug dealer. I’m in a strip mall across from the Dunkin’ Donuts, bro."

However, contrary to his emphasis of buying the supplements in the U.S. at the friendly neighborhood GNC, Ortiz admitted in 2009 to buying some of those supplements in the Dominican Republic, where what is available over the counter is more loosey-goosey, to use an A-Rod-ism, than in the U.S. Ortiz also said then, "I definitely was a little bit careless back in those days when I was buying supplements and vitamins over the counter." Which made no sense -- why would you not pay attention to see what the stuff you took did, if for no other reason than to see if they worked?

He also doesn't mention Angel Presinal, the Dominican-born trainer who worked with both A-Rod and Ortiz, and who was banned from all MLB clubhouses after being linked to PEDs.

One of  my truisms in life is that those who are criticized the least overreact the most about it. And this whole piece seems to be a huge overreaction on Ortiz's part to mild criticism. As my friend Sully sez, the only MLB star who has gotten as much of a pass on the PED label than Andy Pettitte is Ortiz. So I don't know why he would bring this up now.

As those of us who have been paying attention in the last few years have noticed, Ortiz can be incredibly thin-skinned and self-absorbed -- a far cry from his lovable image. He whines a lot in this article, complaining about how people don't realize how hard he worked at hitting, griping about others not liking him pimping home runs -- and justifying it because he grew up poor in the Dominican Republic.

He plays up the racial angle about Dan Shaughnessy (the reporter with the red Jheri curls he refers to in the article) questioning him about PEDs in 2013; the actual conversation that they had was significantly different than the way he disparagingly describes it, with Shaughnessy making more concrete points -- that Ortiz has had injuries typical of those using PEDs and had quicker bat speed when getting older -- than he is described as doing.

Then Ortiz claims this is how he found out that he was on that failed test list:

I’ll never forget coming into the clubhouse before a day game against Oakland in 2009 when a reporter came up to me and said, “Hey, you know your name is about to be on a list of steroid users on ESPN?” I literally said, “Ha!” and walked away. God’s honest truth: I thought he was messing with me. About 30 minutes later, I’m getting dressed when I see my face pop up on the TV. I see “Failed Test. 2003.” No one had ever told me I’d failed any test.

Except The New York Times, not ESPN, broke the story. And Michael S. Schmidt, the reporter  on the case, talked to Ortiz before publishing the article, and Ortiz told him "I'm not talking about that anymore," a curious reaction from somebody who claims to have been blindsided by this news.

Also, Ortiz makes no mention in this article of the fact that the MLB players' union informed all the players who tested positive of this fact in 2004. So he knew about this back then, contrary to this dramatic story above.

At any rate, by doing this article, Ortiz is giving reporters a chance to bring this up all over again. There is already a perception among Yankee fans that A-Rod served his time for breaking the rules, while Ortiz had never been held accountable. This article certainly feeds into that perception. I think Big Papi made a big mistake in writing this.

Note to the media: What part of 'A-Rod has a guaranteed contract' did you not understand?

So I've been asked what I think about the Biogenesis scandal, and what do I think will happen to Alex Rodriguez, Francisco Cervelli, and the rest of the players named in the scandal now that Biogenesis head honcho Tony Bosch is reportedly about to sing like a canary. Since you asked, here are my thoughts:

1. The idea of 100-game suspensions here for what are technically first-time offenses is overblown, and is based on this from the ESPN article that broke the story:

"One source familiar with the case said the commissioner's office might seek 100-game suspensions for Rodriguez, Braun and other players, the penalty for a second doping offense. The argument, the source said, is the players' connection to Bosch constitutes one offense, and previous statements to MLB officials denying any such connection or the use of PEDs constitute another."

That is a real reach, given that the MLB Players' Agreement clearly states that a first-time offense would be only 50 games. Using that logic, every player who denied being dirty and appealed a test would have had to have been suspended for 100 games for lying about it. MLB may try this, but they are not likely to win.

If A-Rod, Braun, et al are proven to have juiced, then they deserve to be punished. But forget about them getting 100-game suspensions.

2. Note to the media: Stop talking about how the Yankees really ought to give A-Rod the what-for and void his contract: We have been hearing this nonsense for months, and it will never happen. What part of "A-Rod has a guaranteed contract" do you all not understand?  The New York Post's Joel Sherman, who should know better, makes some noise about it today. And the Star-Ledger's Steve Politi has a whole screed today talking about the Yankees' voiding the contract, and that even if they are unsuccessful, this will be the end of his time in pinstripes. "His career in the Bronx, already in doubt because of his broken-down body, is over now." Really, Steve? Have any evidence to back that up? I suppose the Yankees could release him tomorrow, and eat the 100+ million still owed him, but I strongly doubt that will happen.

3. PED suspensions happen the same time a player is on the DL: If A-Rod and Cervelli are suspended, they would conceivably serve that suspension at the same time they are on the disabled list (of course, Cervelli is supposed to be back within this month.) I wrote in 2010 about how ridiculous it was that a player like Edinson Volquez could be on the DL with Tommy John surgery, and not miss a game due to a 50-game PED suspension.

4. Be careful what you wish for: ESPN's Ian O'Connor sez today that Rodriguez should get ahead of the story and "come clean" now. Imagine if A-Rod really did, and ratted out not just other players using, but Yankee team management being complicit in PED use? (Sorry, there are no innocents here -- front offices and managers are content to look the other way, as long as they can reap the benefits of players juicing. Of course, the players take all the risks here -- financial, legal, and health-wise.)

Anyhow, if you really want to get PEDs out of baseball, start with taking away wins and punishing managers and general managers, instead of just the players. If team front offices started suffering personal financial consequences from players juicing, they would be much better at policing their own teams.

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A-Rod, Andy, and a Squawker Beach Day

Squawker Jon and I took advantage of Monday's beautiful weather to head down to Asbury Park for the day. So I missed watching the Yankee game, of course, although we heard the highlights later. (About fifty times, really, given that it took us three and a half hours to get back to Staten Island - everybody in my borough seemed to be coming back from the beach at the very same time!)

Anyhow, bad things happen to other teams when they walk Mark Teixeira to face A-Rod. He's hit three grand slams that way, most recently that monster shot he hit yesterday. Fellow blogger Greg Cohen of Sliding Into Home compiled a list of all the times this has happened, and the results. And guess what? It never really works out well for the opposition - Alex is "5-for-6 with 3 HR and 18 RBI," Cohen notes, in those situations. The blog did a good job noting all the numbers, like the one time when A-Rod should have ended the game by making an out ended up with the infamous Castillo dropped popup play!

Speaking of A-Rod, we heard Lori Rubenson interview Ken Davidoff on WFAN on that long, long drive home. She started by praising Andy Pettitte for being so great this year, then mentioned Alex's grand slam, and criticized A-Rod on the steroid issue. Of course, she never mentioned that Pettitte admitted to using HGH.

This is a real disconnect that I hear a lot, now that A-Rod is heading towards 600 homers, and Pettitte is about to surpass Whitey Ford for most Yankee wins. While I think a lot of the criticism A-Rod gets is silly, I can understand why people might question the validity of his home runs because of steroids. But geez, at least be consistent. As much as I admire Andy Pettitte - he was my favorite player of the late 90s dynasty years - he is just as guilty of PED usage as Rodriguez is. If you're going to knock A-Rod for it, then you have to give Andy the same sort of treatment. Fair is fair.

But too many people don't think that way. It's easier to just pretend that the only juicers in the game were villains like A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Manny Ramirez, instead of noting that somebody like Pettitte - one of the classiest, nicest players to ever put on the uniform - also used PEDs. To me, an upstanding citizen like Pettitte being involved makes me think that this problem was even more widespread than has been acknowledged.

Look, I'm not saying Andy should have have to wear scarlet HGH letters on his uniform or anything like that. Just that if you're having a conversation about the Yankees, and you decry No. 13's steroid use, you ought to remember what No. 46 did, too.


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