FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz wants players who test positive for steroids to be suspended from baseball for a year instead of the current 50-game penalty.

Taking players to court, though, for cases involving use of the substances before players were subject to penalty is not the way to clean up the game, the Boston Red Sox designated hitter said Monday (Feb. 17, 2009).

"I would suggest everybody get tested, not random, everybody," he said. "You go team by team. You test everybody three, four times a year and that's about it."

And if a player tests positive for steroids?

"Ban 'em for the whole year," the slugger said.

The current penalties are a 50-game suspension for a player who tests positive once, 100 games for a second positive test for the same player and a lifetime ban for a third positive test, though a player can seek to return after two years.

Don't mean to get all Jeff Foxworthy on you but... When your HR totals double from 20 in 2002 to 41 in 2004 before maxing out at 54 in 2006, You're probably on steroids. When you hit 54 homers in 2006 and can barely get the ball out of the infield for most of the season just three years later and shortly after a new steroid policy is implemented, Your probably on steroids. If you come out and publicly condem MLB's current drug policy in the midst of accusations of your own steroid use, You're probably on steroids.

I guess Papi's condeming comments were an attempt to throw the dogs off or maybe he just denied using so many times with little effect that he felt he had to take it up a notch. Or perhaps he believes in the old George Costanza line of thinking: "It's not a lie if you believe it." Whatever it was, all it is now is another MLB star being outed as an imposter. And for somebody who hasn't been believing his BS for years, it's long overdue.

Thursday, July 30, 2009 8:57:43 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [2]