On Saturday, The New York Times published an article called “Inside a Tempting World of Easy Steroids”. Its author, Michael S. Schmidt (not to be confused with Hall of Fame third baseman Michael Jack Schmidt) outlines alleged details behind the acquisition and use of steroids by several major leaguers during the years 2000-2004.
The highlighted group of players includes then-Angels and now-Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus.
The article’s details come via previously undisclosed evidence from a federal investigation of a since-indicted anti-aging doctor from California named Ramon Scruggs.
Glaus was reportedly using steroids prescribed by Scruggs sight unseen during 2003 and 2004 to help recover from a shoulder injury. This was especially surprising as the events apparently occurred after MLB had instituted their initial testing program.
Pressure was Glaus’ reason to take the step, stating he was “willing to take the risk” because he needed to play, according the Times. The article went on to document the frequency and duration of Glaus injecting himself with the steroids nandrolone and testosterone.
The NYT report notes that in 2005, Glaus told investigators that he stopped using steroids at the end of August 2004, but the piece ends abruptly with a description of the third baseman’s current shoulder woes. The treatment left me wondering what point they were trying to make.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch picked up the story from there, quoting the previous connection of injury and steroid use by Glaus as being “concerning” to Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak.
“Anytime something like this resurfaces in the context of him currently going through rehab, it’s concerning. We’re still hopeful it’s something he can work through and at the end it’s unrelated,” Mozeliak told the paper.
Mozeliak plans to meet with his third baseman as the Cardinals arrive in Arizona for a three-game series Monday through Wednesday. Glaus is rehabbing his shoulder in the Phoenix area.
Walton’s take: Here’s how I see it. Yes, five and six years ago, Glaus apparently used steroids at a time he knew it was against MLB rules.
Since then, he was caught, interrogated by Federal agents, named in the original Signature Pharmacy investigation and fingered in the Mitchell Report. Glaus has declined comment about the matter publicly.
Specifically, via a Sports Illustrated report in 2007, Glaus was connected to Scruggs and Signature Pharmacy, a Florida-based internet business that sent out numerous shipments of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes.
So, exactly what is new?
As far as I can tell, almost nothing except the NYT report appears to confirm Glaus’ use via his own leaked statements, where before all that seemed proven was that he received shipments of steroids. I guess that is mildly newsworthy, but to me, disclosing when he supposedly shot up feels more like ambulance chasing than anything. It all just lines up with what was already assumed by most everyone except perhaps the most naive, anyway.
The currency of his shoulder woes and rehab in Arizona away from the team is topical, but again, already documented. The implication that Glaus might be tempted to consider using steroids again to help speed his rehab here in 2009 seems completely inappropriate and unfair.
Given all he has been through since using previously plus stricter MLB testing policies and penalties than were in place back in 2003 and 2004, if Glaus needs a stern talking-to by the GM or prodding from newspaper articles to ensure he remains clean, he is far beyond help, anyway.
Much more likely, Glaus deserves the benefit of the doubt that he has learned his lesson and will not screw up again, but that isn’t newsworthy, is it?
Scruggs was prescribing steroids and HGH to anyone with a phone. He was selling the fountain of youth (anti-aging molecules). Must be lots of customers.
And if so, there must be loads of other generous doctors.
Testosterone is a normal endowment in humans. Some guys must want some more. There is not a test to detect abnormal levels of HGH, plus any player who can find a caring doc like Scruggsie, can register as an authorized user with MLB.
Glaus should have another doctor by now who can prescribe the molecules he may need to get playable. We want to overtake the Cubs in 2009!! Our guys need their fair share of molecules.
I don~t think the idea that Glauss might use PEDs again to come back from injury is ridiculous. Given his reasoning before, it would seem possible. I hope he has learned better but who knows.
I’m sure Mo is investigating. Might even request a test while he is there, which he can do. If there is an insurance carrier, they are also watching. He hasn’t played. If he took a bad test right now, the suspension could cost him big time money. He can’t be that dumb, can he? There are probably a number of interested parties here, BD being one. The steroid scenario is about a right wing attack on the Union if I recall. Ask Bonds, or better yet Giombi who had to be protected by the Union when the Yankee’s threated his contract.
Aw, Jeez.
Westie, the Cards do not want to test Glaus. We knew he had used some molecules before we ever traded for him.
Yes, the steroid stuff is an enthusiasm of the right wing, but the target is not the ML Players Union. The real purpose was to win votes from the public in elections by concocting an unimportant “problem” to distract from real ones. It got less fun for the right wing when Congressman Waxman waxed Roger Clemens.
Hey, you guys are probably right. All the steroid enhanced players breaking records didn’t really effect the market. If Mo is being sweet, its because he has a dim hope of turning him in July. Glaus will play here if there are no options. I’m of the opinion that there is a policy, even if its just fractional. 3million dollar range. It was probably expensive. BD insures.
WC–
When you sell a house in Illinois, no matter how old it is, you have to sign a statement saying you are not aware of any lead paint. It doesn’t say there isn’t any lead paint, just that you aren’t aware of any, meaning you haven’t actually scraped all the paint off the walls and the bottom layers tested.
Mo doesn’t want to know if Glaus has been taking steroids. He might ask him to swear he hasn’t been, but he doesn’t want to know for sure that he has. It’s not information that would keep well or help Mo in dealing with the commissioner’s office.
The big question is whether the idea of Glaus returning on a one-year deal next year is a possibility now. I’m thinking the answer is no. It would be nice if Wallace would improve his fielding this year to make the decision an easy one.
There is no reason Glaus could not be tested under MLB’s program even while on rehab. I don’t know the details of the frequency or the process used, but one would think the deterrent is already there. Either that or the current policy is still ineffective, something that undoubtedly Bud Selig would vehemently argue against.
RedC, I don’t see how this latest “news” affects the status of the decision whether or not to re-sign Glaus for 2010. The Cardinals already knew he used steroids in 2003-04 before they traded for him. I do think this season’s injury could be a deterrent, but I have felt all along that at his age (33 when he hits free agency), Glaus will be looking to try to score one more big contract.
The longer Glaus spends on the DL in 2009, the less likely it would seem that another club would feel confident in signing him. I could see a scenario in which the Cardinals offer a one year deal and take a chance on arbitration. If this season is an entire washout, which is quite possible, Glaus might be willing to go the one year route and use 2010 to prove he is healthy enough to score a multi-year deal following next season.
As you note, a strong 2009 season by Wallace could help decide matters for next. It has only been a week, but Freese seems to be pressing offensively. He has not looked comfortable at the plate at all.
WC: I doubt the Cards have insurance on star players. IIRC, they have a policy of not commenting in relation to this topic. This is prudent, because fans are naive about this topic. Fans want teams to have “insurance” like fans get for their cars. But if insuring a baseball player is truly “expensive” as you claim, then its a needless expense. If a star goes down, then he goes down. Insurance on ballplayers is mostly P.R. piffle to quiet the fans. So your suspicion that the Cards want to profit by collecting on Glaus’ insurance policy is, by logical extension, sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, also piffle. DeWitt deliberately chose to assume Troy’s monster salary for 2009 and hopes to have him playing for us for the back-half.
The Cardinals were willing to assume Glaus’ “monster” contract (and the steroids baggage that came with him) only to rid themselves of Rolen and his even worse (one year longer) deal. I will let the two of you battle over who has the most piffle!
I have sympathy for Bud Selig.
A player like Glaus can obtain a prescription for HGH, if this molecule helps a trifle to restore muscles. Its called medicine and players have a right to be treated, just like fans! Astounding! Players are people too. 3Bman Ron Santo retired from the Cubs is a diabetic and injects himself with the steroid our bodies normally produce, insulin. This enabled Ronnie to live as well as to play ball. Was this unfair?
Glaus would have to register with MLB if he is taking HGH pursuant to doctor’s orders. If Glaus were to be urine tested, however, the testers do not know how to distinguish abnormal levels of HGH, so he will not be discovered that way.
MLB’s urine testing program is probably much more rigorous than some other pro sports, out of deference to their fans and maurauding politicians.
I have sympathy for Brian Walton too. Brian works hard and writes nice essays. How is he rewarded? All sorts of low-brow piffle gets posted at his web site! Its very disappointing.
I suggest the adoption of random piffle tests. I hereby volunteer any of my precious bodily fluids for such testing, in the event that analytic chemists develop reliable tests for the piffle molecule. Then we would have a way of scientifically measuring which posters have the most piffle in their precious bodily fluids. (As if we did not know, already.)
Brian–
My comment isn’t related to the steroids “news,” which isn’t very interesting to me and probably not the front office, either. It’s really a comment on whether a guy who can’t get himself healthy should be paid $12 million a year to play any position. The past injuries and the steroids just reinforces Glaus’s lack of overall soundness physically. I would like to see him come back on a one-year deal if Wallace isn’t ready. Hard to know, though, since TLR won’t bring him up in any case.
Jumbo, I think what Brian is saying is that there is a very large world of activities surrounding baseball that you are seemingly unaware of. The athletic insurance business in particular. You could probably google for information, doctoral thesis work and such. Do some reading.
I think you will find that you can insure almost anything. The cost and substance of these policies are very detailed speculations by experts, which are essentially a form of gambling mixed with high finance. DeWitt is a very practical business man. These large guaranteed contacts, with there actual application to baseball operations are an art unto themselves. While most aspects of a contract become public knowledge, the financial accommodations around their payment vary. As Brian pointed out, the Glaus acquisition was just the first step in a very complex solution to another Cardinal problem. Scott Rolens. We are all aware of the details surrounding this deal. What we wouldn’t be privy to would be any insurance speculations made by DeWitt surrounding Troy’s Cardinal career. The very public ceremony surrounding Troy’s rehab plans, with an expensive appearance by Dr Yocum via teleconference, seemed much more than just showmanship. I contend that such a meeting was also necessary to validate a non-performance aspect for Troy’s mystery insurance policy. A guaranteed contract is money going somewhere else in exchange for services. It is lost. Money coming in on an insurance speculation, saying you had the cash to play that game, would be off the books so to speak. Private. No way DeWitt finds someone to underwrite 11.5 large against Troy’s injury history. It is likely that he might have played a million against a 3 or 4 million dollar policy (payout) on certain injury or performance contingencies. Just a wild guess that BD might like any money coming in, against any goofy baseball antics by Troy this year. He has no future here. Never did. Just like Holiday. A means to an end.
Westie: There are sophisticated futures markets for oil and natural gas. Yet, many manufacturing firms do not buy future gas prices. They may not trust their decision-makers as to when to buy. Or they prefer to follow price swings versus seek greater price stability and predictability. This is an example of a kind of insurance, price insurance for future year gas prices, that not every major energy user elects to buy.
The baseball market is more specific and specialized than gas. One methane molecule is as good as another, whereas individual ballplayers differ a fair amount. An insurance company for individual baseball contracts would need to consider data for the injury frequency for a given position, plus person specific information. Since teams and players will generally know more about the player’s health than any 3rd party like an insurance company, the concept of insuring baseball players against on-field injuries makes little sense. You could insure somebody’s life against actuarily established incidence of non-baseball accidents or diseases, but a contract could simply be written to terminate in the event of premature death. I doubt teams often take out insurance on players in relation to on-field injuries.
You seem to be speculating a lot, surprise, on the modest evidentiary grounds that the Cards included Dr. Yocum, Troy’s longtime doctor, in a phone call. From this slender reed, you imagine DeWitt is trying to profit off Glaus’ shoulder injury. Maybe the Cards included Yocum in the call, simply because their fans do not have profound trust in Dr. Paletta and would be encouraged to hear another doctor is involved.
And you imagine Holliday was not in play for a trade, though he in fact was traded to another Moneyball team.
If Troy returns to action this season, are you going to stride manfully up to the plate and graciously and humbly admit that your April speculation about DeWitt wanting to knock Troy out of action for the year so as to make some “off the books” moola was daffy, a spring-time flight of fancy by a fevered imagination?
Glaus took the risk when there was a toothless policy. Tests were not even made public and no punishments were handed out. Baseball ownership probably drug their foot on making the policy tougher but probably was not willing to take a strike to tighten things up. The Players Association probably is more at fault for allowing it to go on with their laughable concern for privacy. Almost anyone who takes a job at any company of any size has to be drug tested to get the job and often are subject to random tests. It is hard for me to be concerned for millionaire ballplayers privacy compared to the many hard working people who pay big bucks to see them play.
For a media member to hint that Glaus may be taking steroids is typically irresponsible journalism that we have come to expect. Apologies in advance to Brian.
You do see the problem here Brian? Jumbo, I would recommend that you do some study on this subject. That would no doubt advance our ability to share a productive and insightful dialog. Do it.
You are vaguely gathering some of the points here, but I can’t really be sure from your last message. You seem like a very practical and thoughtful country doctor, Jumbo. Its called an
Airplane son, flies just like a bird. You can take a ride for just 5 bucks.
Sooner, no apology required. I didn’t agree with this item being “news” in the first place.
CC, sorry your last two comments took so long to display. I cannot determine why they were caught in the spam filter. Certainly it had nothing to do with your fine remarks. They are released now.
WC, what I know is that the Cardinals do not disclose whether they buy full, partial or no insurance on individual players. Whatever they did or didn’t do for Glaus does not affect when he will be on the field or how he will produce when he gets there, anyway. That is pretty much all that interests me.
Westie, I have noticed of late some folks (not merely yourself) who do not know what they are talking about, like to mask this by challenging others to do some vague research (or prove something utterly irrelevant to the topic at hand).
By this logic, someone claims he is right, but the onus is 100 percent on the other party (in this case, JumboShrimp) to do the work to prove the other guy is right. Its kind of a heads I win, tails you lose proposition. The sucker (JS) is sent off with the onus to prove that WCBW is right, even though because WCBW is not right, the sucker is sent on a fool’s errand or truly a mission impossible.
Thank you, but I must decline your kind invitation to uphold your side of your argument.
1. You have not established there is an insurance policy on Glaus. (In fact, you earlier conceded it would not be possible to insure him at all.)
2. And yet you allege DeWitt is making money, “off the books”
3. This is proved by bringing in Yocum into a phone call, to indicate to some insurer that said insurer has to pay off DeWitt for Glaus.
4. You also fantasize Holliday was not in play, when he was in fact traded, and not to a big spending team like the Bombers, but to the low-rolling Athletics.
Its spring time. Its fun to speculate. But there is not much evidence to back up your fantasies. I regretfully decline the honor of looking for your evidence. We shall entrust WCBW with this noble mission.
I’ve already said too much here Jumbo. Best I could do. Lets go Cards.
WCBW: Brian observed the Cards do not comment about insurance on specific players. I would guess the reason could be:
1) they do not want to be second guessed by fans about insurance decisions, if they obtain insurance; however,
2) I doubt teams buy insurance to cover baseball injuries. To admit this would be socially unacceptable with some fans, so teams are discreet about hiding this by refusing to comment about insurance matters. Some fns very much like to think there must be financial insurance against player injuries, because some will otherwise panic if a pricey player gets hurt. Accordingly teams do not think it prudent to pop the belief balloons of their loyal fans (by telling the truth) and starting a needless panic among the faithful.
Lets go Cards.
He will rejoin the team if all else fails, Brian. If the team hits the wall, they will start talking about his second coming as the solution. I would be surprised to see Freese play today after the profanity. He better hope BD wasn’t there. Did you say there was insurance Jumbo? Thats a start.
The lineups have been posted for quite some time now with Freese in there batting sixth and playing third base.
Jumbo suggested there is an illusion of insurance, which misleads the fan base, as intended.
If Glaus heals, he will return, like Doug MacArthur, whether we are in first place or last. As Glaus says, he has to play. Singers sing and 3rd basemen field third; its their raison d’etre.
The illusion of insurance is designed to mislead the fan base? Seriously? The piffle meter is registering off the dial…
Shall we say it is designed to reassure fans, then? Is not keeping fans happy an important mission of any team?
I know that I am speculating, but since the team will neither confirm nor deny its status on insurance for players, what is reliably known about player insurance?
Baseball teams have a lot of income in relation to player salaries, so paying players is generally not a problem. Players get injured all the time, but teams do not seem to go bankrupt. Its generally not feasible to find a new star during the same season an incumbent one is hurt, so insurance payments would not bolster the team’s chances that season. For such reasons, insurance for baseball incurred injuries does not seem likely to me, not knowing any better.
Maybe there is a thriving insurance industry reimbursing teams for player injuries. Maybe much is written about it. I will have to do a Google search to diminsh my deep ignorance on this topic.
I would hazard a guess that a very high percentage of baseball fans do not care one iota whether or not clubs insure their player contracts. It is an internal operating matter that teams choose to keep to themselves.
I found a 2002 article by Murray Chass about how the disability insurance market was then getting a lot tougher for teams. One GM was quoted saying the “insurance market has changed dramatically. Very small number of insurers. Lots of conditions and high cost. Teams may go into a contract without any insurance at all and hope for the best.”
It used to be insurance was easy for teams. By 2002, not so.
It strikes me a team would only want to insure long or high contracts. Glaus could be one such candidate for insurance. (Smile WCBW).
One of the side benefits of home growing players is they are younger and cheaper, as DeWitt likes, and would cost less to insure, if a team wanted to insure them.
Doing without insurance would be the cheapest recourse. An insurance company will want to turn a profit, across all its policies. Why add a middleman?
Go for it Jumbo…………. my estimation of Tony’s estimation about the field playing fast was accurate, sparing Shu. It will be interesting to see if Ryan isn’t there tomorrow backing Carp. That would necessitate Shu playing in the outfield, with Colby and ?. Ankiel is digging deeper into his funk every game. Tony’s risk at leaving Dunc in for that final at bat almost backfired. He doubles. Tony’s on a roll.
Better to be caught in the spam filter than the piffle filter!
The piffle filter seems out of order.
Regarding owners and the cost of ballplayers….
Hicks Sports Group, which owns the Texas Rangers, is in default on re-paying those who have loaned it money. Tom Hicks gave A-Rod his first mega deal, after he left Seattle. Over-extended, Hicks had to unload A-Rod on the Yanks. The ML payroll on the Rangers is nowadays said to be $68MM, about $23MM less than the Cards, putting the Rangers in the bottom third among teams. Dallas is a large, affluent metropolitan area. And yet the Rangers are not making enough money to make good on debts.
Can Hicks be the tip of an iceberg? The Yankees have a $1.5B new stadium, the Mets one that cost $800MM. More teams may turn out to be financially over-extended (like too much of the rest of America).
Yankees had no trouble selling tax free bonds to all the shysters that had pulled there money out of the market place. Easy money. There will investigations ongoing there for years. Better lay low in the mid-west huh.