Major League Baseball announced on Friday that St. Louis Cardinals minor league reliever Kenny Maiques (Springfield – pictured) has been suspended 50 games due to a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The commissioner’s office said that Maiques tested positive for “a drug of abuse,” but did not disclose the specific drug.
It is similar wording and result from just one month ago when Quad Cities starting pitcher Deryk Hooker was handed down the same suspension for the same basic reason.
The pair join two other Cardinals farmhands currently suspended. They are catcher Juan Castillo (Extended Spring Training) and second baseman Wilfred Vivas (Venezuelan Summer League).
Since 2005, the Cardinals have seen 13 of their Major or Minor Leaguers face suspension for drug violations. That total ranks as tied for fourth-highest among the 30 organizations and five suspensions above the average of eight.
While all of the Cards 13 hailed from the minors, current Cardinal Rick Ankiel was mentioned in the Mitchell Report as was Troy Glaus, called out for actions before he joined the club. Neither faced any disciplinary action from MLB.
The list of suspended Cardinals players since 2005 follows. Announced reasons vary from performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to specific substances to drugs of abuse, generally considered recreational drugs as opposed to PEDs.
| Date | Player Name | Substance | Length |
| 4/4/2005 | Sal Frisella | PEDs | 15 games |
| 5/13/2005 | Jeremy Cummings | PEDs | 15 games |
| 4/18/2006 | Yonathan Sivira | PEDs | 50 games |
| 8/2/2006 | Marcos Chavez | PEDs | 50 games |
| 8/2/2006 | Jonathan Gonzalez | PEDs | 50 games |
| 2/20/2008 | Scott Vander Weg | PEDs | 50 games |
| 7/29/2008 | Braulin Beltre | Boldenone | 50 games |
| 7/29/2008 | Andres Beras | Boldenone | 50 games |
| 7/29/2008 | Yedilson Pena | Boldenone | 50 games |
| 8/25/2008 | Juan Castillo | Stanozolol | 50 games |
| 12/1/2008 | Wilfred Vivas | Methandienone | 50 games |
| 4/9/2009 | Deryk Hooker | Drug of Abuse | 50 games |
| 5/15/2009 | Kenny Maiques | Drug of Abuse | 50 games |
Though I have not dug into movement of suspended players in detail, I found it interesting to note the Cardinals also signed four former Seattle Mariners who had previously been suspended, including current Major League closer Ryan Franklin. (The others were Troy Cate, Ryan Christianson and Omar Falcon, none of whom are still employed by the Cardinals today.)
With all the attempts at education, the core issue is driven by decisions made by young men, not clubs and as such, this is not intended to be an indictment of any organization. Also, the number of additional users not caught is of course unknown. Still, being prominently mentioned on this list of total suspensions since 2005 is not where any club would like to be.
| Number | Clubs |
| 3 | Indians, Red Sox |
| 4 | Astros, Nationals |
| 5 | Brewers |
| 6 | Marlins, Phillies, Rays, Tigers, White Sox |
| 7 | Braves, Padres, Rockies, Twins |
| 8 | MLB average, (none), Angels, D-Backs, Orioles, Pirates |
| 9 | Blue Jays, Dodgers, Giants, Yankees |
| 10 | Athletics |
| 11 | Reds |
| 12 | Royals |
| 13 | Cardinals, Rangers |
| 14 | Mariners |
| 15 | Mets |
| 16 | Cubs |
| 257 | Total |
(Note: “none” designates those players not a member of any organization at the time of their suspension.)
It is enlightening to scan the totals by team, with the Chicago Cubs bringing up the rear with the most players caught, 16, over five times the two clubs with the fewest suspensions, the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox at three each.
Of course, this simply indicates the organization of record at the time the player tested positive. For example, the furor over the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez’ recent suspension may have been felt nearly as strongly in Boston, where he helped lead the Red Sox to two World Series championships as in his current employment location, Los Angeles.
Hearty tips of the cap are given to the Biz of Baseball blog and longgandhi.com, among the sites where suspension details are maintained.
another site i’d like to point out the has loads and loads of info is Baseball Steriod’s Era: http://www.baseballssteroidera.com/
timelines, articles, and how everything is linked together at the site.
If Kenny Maiques had used a PED, he could demand his money back, given how he has pitched.
Maiques and Hooker both hail from S. California. MLB is doing them a favor: clean up the drug abuse for your own good.
Good one Jumbo.
Missed the game today. Wow…….Suppan the ace.
Chris Duncan catches allot of flack. He does have one of the best swings on the team. People seem divided emotional by his presence here. He looks so formidable, and yet always seems to come up short when he is give “The Man” role. The question is, can Chris Duncan pull his weight in the position of responsibility he seems to be give and even earns sometimes. Is this a playoff player? Does he ever surprise you with his virtuosity, or like me, are you just relieved when he does something. He isn’t going away, even though I’m sure he will leave with Tony and Dave somehow.
Ankiel was doing better when he left, but be honest, his swing is below ML standards. This team started to dive before Ludwick got hurt. Be honest Colorado is beating Pittsburgh. We suck. Seven scoreless against Suppan is a sign of a weak hitting concept, with poor roll accountability. It will be hard to pass people in this division. We have seen the help now. I expect we will try to move Greene, and Glaus if the opportunity presents itself. I see it as a salary dump from 6/7 games back. Not a real intension to win this year. I’m not going to lecture on what this means. Pujols is struggling with a number of issues, some of which appear to be related to a weak team competitive environment. Oh well, just making a few observations. We will most likely reach my forth place prediction from early this week. Passing these guys with kids isn’t going to be easy.
If K. Greene does not lift his game, he is not going to have much market value, such that another team would trade for him. A lot of teams do not want to add salary.
There are a few teams separated by a game. The team that is first now could be 4th in a week.
The Cards need to focus on pulling out some wins, until their reinforcements return from the DL. Suppan seems to have our number. Too bad, but so be it.
Duncan hit fine in the playoffs in 2006. (His glove was shaky, but he has improved it since then.) So, is he a playoff player is not a difficult question.
You might be right Jumbo. I personally struggle with it I must admit. Maybe I’ll get over it. I feel like a chump when I find myself mouthing profanities when he just throws out the bat head in a positive or neutral count. Its like he would rather be lucky than good.
The good news today was a great game by Wainwright. He will be important this season.
Shane Robinson made a positive contribution; two hits, stole a base.
K. Greene has a sore arm, so TLR is playing T Greene for defense, bringing in K Greene for a couple of late at bats. We are scuffling at 3B/SS.
Its crazy bad luck that Glaus AND Freese suffered or were found to have injuries this off season. TLR must have nixed Allen Craig as a 3Bman. We may see Wallace before the season is out. He has got more bat than Thurston.
There is nothing wrong with Barden and Thurston. Barden just got xxxx (edited to meet site guidelines) on to justify Tony’s alternating R+L. Those guys just want to be big leaguers and Tony’s system keeps them from getting comfortable. Part of Tony’s weakness as a Manager is him pressing the illusion that he is working miracles with xxxx. It isn’t easy to believe in your self in the show. These kids had the press and everyone else telling them that they were just bodies under Tony’s genius spell. Barden has lost his self confidence………………………………………The hitting scheme is xxxx, which doesn’t help.
Back in mere reality, Barden and Thurston are estatic to be in the Show and love Tony. They have spent many years at AAA. They are not “kids”, rather young men, advanced in baseball years, rookie grey beards. Barden is underpowered for 3B, as is Thurston. We are platooning to try to get as much as we can at 3B, which has become a jinxed position. Rolen had injuries, Glaus has acquired one, Freese got a non-baseball injury, Mather is showing that hamate injuries require a long recovery, T. Greene could use more reps at AAA, so TLR is left with the platoon of Thurston and Barden.
The drug suspension could be the best thing to happen to Mr. Maiques. After a fine 2007, he has been headed toward the baseball junkheap. If he is messing himself up with drugs, this could help explain the terrible pitching. If he can go cold turkey and unmess himself, maybe he has a chance to recover his game.
The list above did not factor the drug abuse and lamentable dissolution of Scott Spiezio, who was not suspended, but was able to profess to seek treatment.
On a cheerier note, its great that Curt Smith got promoted to Springfield. If a guy can hit in the Florida State league, he can hit. He joins the legions with a position question mark, but he played infield at Maine and the Cards may give him an audition at 3B for all I know. If a minor leaguer plays well, its good for morale to be able to give him timely promotions.
Its nice some guys are getting let out of EST. Bogany is looking for his first hit, but has a a walk off walk. If Travis Mitchell can recover his batting stroke from 2007, he can contribute in the Midwest League.
Considering that Barden has a .957 OPS in 32 AB against RHP and a .600 OPS in 25 AB against LHP this season, benching him against RH starters seems not to have worked out terribly well so far. Granted, Thurston has fared better against RHP himself, but Barden beats him in both categories. I also like Barden’s defense at the hot corner.
I’m with WC on this one. Stop trotting Thurston out there and give Barden more time.
Sorry about the xxx’s! Those look so much more sinister, I’ll just use them from now on.
I wonder what Barden has done against RHPs and LHPs during his 1,500+ ABs at AAA? His large amount of play at AAA should indicate his abilities to hit righties versus southpaws. The more ML at bats he gets, the more he should tend toward his AAA tendencies.
xxxx Jumbo!!!!!!!
Hows that. Sorry! Just had to. I’m watching the Brewers feed. They’ve got a text message voting pole on who you would build a team around………Braun or Pujols? I want to see who stands up here. We’re in trouble tomorrow if we don’t catch a little momentum today.
Welly’s already in trouble. Pecking…….. Ball is flat. He is trying to stay balanced and within himself but he looks very inhibited, bound up if you will.
There are a great number of ways to fail in this game. Stava’s swing, Colbys I wanna be, but Ryans first pitch heroic gesture is what bad teams are made of. Spare me the idea that there is any tension in the dugout after that display. McRae is ineffective.
I take it back. The Brewers feed showed Tony big dogging Ryan when he got back to the Bench, probably over the catch out of territory but maybe a little tension from his at bat in there. They just announce Lohse against Looper tomorrow.
Its brave of you to watch these games, Westie. The home team is not finding it easy going. Wellie has 7 walks and a hit batter. And has collected one-third of our hits, too.
Thanks Jumbo. Its really nothing. I will say this. K. Greene has a very disturbing expression. When a guy with his mental challenges starts looking like Jeremiah Johnson, you have problems.
Well, the shirts came out. I listened to their announcers chiding the cards, essentially calling them lame XXXXX’s. Tomorrows use of Lohse and the placement of Carpenter shows how serious Tony and Dave think this is. If we can’t get even against Looper, and gets some momentum for the Cubs, this will get ugly. I think the Brewers pulling Gallardo set up that exact scenario. If we don’t score early and often, I believe we’ll be seeing BD make a statement.
I looked for Triple A L/R splits for Barden, but I can’t seem to find any.
All I’m saying is that it hasn’t been working to date.
Its not about numbers to me Nut. Barden isn’t a mental cripple in my book. He will give you an honest swing and play good defense. He was uppercutting some today, but with 2 strikes he did the job. The swings are silly, and selfish, and tactical suicidal. Lohse gets no support tomorrow and loses, like Waino, It going to cause problems.
WC said:
I’ll take the bait. Based on how their offense is going, I doubt the Cards will score early and often and I also doubt DeWitt will be making a statement about anything.
Just a hunch. You will agree he has been quite invisible of late, enjoying our hot streak. The profit motive will again present itself no matter how veiled. Lets watch and see. It hurts to be without Luddy, mainly because it exposes Duncan. Ankiel was doing better, but be honest about the swing. Pitching isn’t going to shield this line up. The Greene situation is eroding. Albert is showing tension beyond the scope of these competitions. These things are true in my eyes. To me, it not whether they are valid, but what becomes of these developments. Our new RF, with the bases loaded 2 outs, fails to make an attempt on a ball that had to be played. He thinks he is hitting well enough to survive. He isn’t going to take any rookie chances, make any rookie errors.. All the kids are in the “every man for himself” mode now. Not good. Seen it before. Good luck.
WC, one word:
M-a-r-a-t-h-o-n
Lighten up and deal with it.
[...] 8. The suspension of Cardinals’ minor-league lefty Dail Villanueva on Tuesday for a positive drug test makes 14 total for the Cardinals system since baseball began publicly announcing minor-league suspensions. That count is done with the help of Scout.com’s Brian Walton, who charted the first 13 at his blog. [...]
I just posted the details in a subscriber-only article at Scout.com, but Batavia’s Alan Ahmady was suspended 50 games for failing a test for amphetamines. He is the 15th on this list after Dail Villanueva was added in July.
Jim Bouton’s Ball Four claimed amphetamine (greenies) use was widespread through MLB during 1969, the year covered in his book.
What a thread Brian. I sound like Zarathustra…….maybe a little drunk………..and I don’t drink, and thats a take.