Wednesday, March 17, 2004 Green's shift triggers other moves Trammell's role with the Dodgers could be reduced and Ventura's increased. By BILL PLUNKETT The Orange County Register VERO BEACH, FLA. – From the start, Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said the decision to have Shawn Green work at first base was a case of being "proactive." But Green's status as a right fielder was retroactive. Green acknowledged Tuesday that he had agreed to work out at first base on a temporary basis and never expected to be there on opening day unless the Dodgers made a trade to acquire a proven hitter who needed to play the outfield. "I basically knew I was going to work there for a couple weeks, learn the position, be proactive in case something happened," Green said Tuesday. "It (a trade) didn't happen. I'll do what's best for the team and we all agree that this is the best scenario right now. "If the situation came up where it would have been the right move (to play first base), I would have been there on opening day." Green's return to right had ramifications elsewhere on the roster, most immediately with opposite effects on two veterans - Bubba Trammell and Robin Ventura. With Green at first base, Trammell was the leading contender to get most of the playing time in left field. He is now displaced by Juan Encarnacion, who will move from right to left to make room for Green. "He (Green) was a right fielder when I signed so nothing's really changed," said Trammell, who signed as a free agent in January. "I still believe if I get 500 at bats, I can hit 25 to 30 home runs. ... I don't think anybody wants to sit on the bench but whatever they need me to do, I'll do." Trammell played just 22 games last season before leaving the New York Yankees in June to deal with depression. He didn't pick up a bat again until January but said the layoff had nothing to do with his slow start this spring (4 for 20). "I think my career average in spring training is .200," he said. "I've always been a guy who needs 30 or 40 swings to feel right." While Trammell's opportunities are diminished by Green's return to the outfield, Ventura's role increases. Tracy has said first base will be a "mix-and-match" situation based on pitching matchups and defensive needs. Ventura is likely to get most of the at-bats in that situation. "I signed as a backup. When I signed, Greenie was at first and Belly (Adrian Beltre) was at third," said Ventura, 36. "It changes things. Obviously it doesn't make me upset but I still don't think I'm an everyday player. I still look at it as a part-time thing. Paul (Lo Duca) will play there. Olmedo (Saenz) will play there. Greenie could still play there. And who knows? Something could still happen."
March 17, 2004 Players want more information on steroid policies BY PAUL SULLIVAN AND BOB FOLTMAN Chicago Tribune CHICAGO - (KRT) - Players reacted with both reservations and resignation to the news that Commissioner Bud Selig plan to beef up baseball's steroid testing policy, even if it means acting unilaterally. Cubs pitcher Mark Prior, the team's player representative, said he didn't know if the owners had to go to the union first or "if (Selig) has this almighty right to do whatever he wants." "He might, for all I know," Prior said. "I'm not going to say it would be the worst thing (but) I assume (Selig's) going to call the union and find out our opinions." "I think the way everything is right now and the way everybody is heading into the season and the way it's been speculated about_the problems, the game_it might, unfortunately, be the only way to clean up the integrity (of baseball), or at least make it seem like things are on the right track." Frank Thomas said he's kept quiet because he knows something eventually would be done. "We all know it's illegal but it's over our heads," Thomas said. "That's why I haven't said anything all spring because the bottom line is that it's going to be handled and we're really got no choice." Dodgers third baseman Robin Ventura seemed open to a change in the drug policy, saying the issue has become much bigger than when the collective bargaining agreement was signed two years ago. Prior agreed, saying that when the agreement was signed, claims of widespread steroid abuse in baseball by former players Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco were big stories that were widely discounted. Distrust between players and owners complicates matters. "We were told last spring that we were taking anonymous tests," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said Wednesday. "(I've) come to find out that that's not the case." He said if tests were administered by someone not aligned with the union or management, players would be overwhelmingly in favor of taking them. While the tests last year were administered by third parties - Comprehensive Drug Testing and Quest Diagnostics - the results for some players have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in California investigating illegal steroids and their distribution.
Green glad to be back in right field Dodgers manager ends outfielder's experiment at first base The Associated Press Updated: 6:51 p.m. ET March 16, 2004 VERO BEACH, Fla. - Shawn Green is back in right field and happy to be there. Green, a right fielder his entire career, had been working out at first base all spring until Los Angeles Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said Monday that the two-time All-Star would return to his original position. Green played right field Tuesday for the first time this spring in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves that was canceled because of rain in the fourth inning. Green said the plan all along called for him to move to first base only if the Dodgers had added another outfielder. “Now that the situation is what it is as of Tuesday, March 16, we need to move forward and settle in with the thought in mind that this is where we’re going to be as of opening day,” Tracy said Tuesday. “We need to move the pieces where they best fit at this point.” The 31-year-old Green said he was gradually growing more comfortable at first base, but admitted he felt more at home in right field. “It’s definitely easier to go out and play a position you’ve played your whole career,” he said. The Dodgers left open the possibility that Green could move back to first if an outfielder is added during the season, although he won’t shift back and forth between the two positions. Green’s move creates a domino effect throughout the lineup. Juan Encarnacion, acquired from the Florida Marlins in December, moves from right field to left. Encarnacion hasn’t played left field since 1999 when he was with the Detroit Tigers. Robin Ventura, a six-time Gold Glove winner at third base, is the leading candidate to get most of the playing time at first. Ventura, 37, played first after the Dodgers acquired him from the New York Yankees last July. “Right now, we have one of the best defensive players in the game playing first in Robin,” Green said. “Put him with the other guys we have on the infield and it’s pretty fun to watch.” Catcher Paul Lo Duca and utilityman Jolbert Cabrera also could fill in at first along with non-roster players Olmedo Saenz and Luis Garcia. That probably leaves Bubba Trammell coming off the bench. Trammell was the leading contender to start in left field if Green stayed at first and the Dodgers didn’t add another outfielder. “Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do,” Trammell said. “I signed here knowing there was a chance I’d be a role player. If I happen to go out there and play a lot, I still think I’m one of those guys who can get you 25-30 home runs guaranteed.”
MARCH 16, 2004 LATIMES.com DODGER REPORT Tracy Decides He'll Do Right by Green By Bill Shaikin, Times Staff Writer VERO BEACH, Fla. — With no trade in sight and no desire to alienate their cleanup hitter, the Dodgers ended Shawn Green's trial as a first baseman Monday and will return him to right field today. "Due to the offensive load Shawn has to carry, having him where he's 100% comfortable is extremely important," Manager Jim Tracy said. Green had agreed to work out at first base to give the Dodgers the option to acquire an outfielder as well as a first baseman in their search for a big bat. General Manager Paul DePodesta said the decision did not indicate a trade for a first baseman was imminent, although he added that a first baseman usually is easier to acquire than an outfielder. "In general, yes," he said. "In the next three weeks, I don't know." DePodesta spoke Monday with New York Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman. Although Jon Lieber aggravated a groin injury over the weekend, a challenge to an already fragile Yankee rotation, DePodesta said Cashman did not appear to be interested in trading for one of the Dodgers' surplus starters at this time. "He seemed pretty comfortable with what they have," DePodesta said. The Dodgers' opening-day first baseman figures to be Robin Ventura, with Paul Lo Duca playing there on days he does not catch. The Dodgers also are looking at nonroster invitees Olmedo Saenz and Luis Garcia. Garcia homered for the second consecutive day Monday and is eight for 13 this spring. Garcia, 25, hit the decisive home run for Mexico in the game that eliminated the U.S. in last fall's Olympic qualifying tournament, but he has yet to play in the majors and hit .215 with seven home runs at triple-A Buffalo last year.
MARCH 16, 2004 AP Green Glad to Be Back in Right Field Green, a right fielder his entire career, had been working out at first base all spring until Los Angeles Dodgers (news) manager Jim Tracy said Monday that the two-time All-Star would return to his original position. Green played right field Tuesday for the first time this spring in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Braves (news) that was canceled because of rain in the fourth inning. Green said the plan all along called for him to move to first base only if the Dodgers had added another outfielder. "Now that the situation is what it is as of Tuesday, March 16, we need to move forward and settle in with the thought in mind that this is where we're going to be as of opening day," Tracy said Tuesday. "We need to move the pieces where they best fit at this point." The 31-year-old Green said he was gradually growing more comfortable at first base, but admitted he felt more at home in right field. "It's definitely easier to go out and play a position you've played your whole career," he said. The Dodgers left open the possibility that Green could move back to first if an outfielder is added during the season, although he won't shift back and forth between the two positions. Green's move creates a domino effect throughout the lineup. Juan Encarnacion, acquired from the Florida Marlins (news) in December, moves from right field to left. Encarnacion hasn't played left field since 1999 when he was with the Detroit Tigers (news). Robin Ventura, a six-time Gold Glove winner at third base, is the leading candidate to get most of the playing time at first. Ventura, 37, played first after the Dodgers acquired him from the New York Yankees (news) last July. "Right now, we have one of the best defensive players in the game playing first in Robin," Green said. "Put him with the other guys we have on the infield and it's pretty fun to watch." Catcher Paul Lo Duca and utilityman Jolbert Cabrera also could fill in at first along with non-roster players Olmedo Saenz and Luis Garcia. That probably leaves Bubba Trammell coming off the bench. Trammell was the leading contender to start in left field if Green stayed at first and the Dodgers didn't add another outfielder. "Whatever they want me to do, I'll do," Trammell said. "I signed here knowing there was a chance I'd be a role player. If I happen to go out there and play a lot, I still think I'm one of those guys who can get you 25-30 home runs guaranteed." Notes:@ LHP Kazuhisa Ishii struck out four in two scoreless innings before the rain came. He struggled his first two appearances while adjusting to changes in his delivery. "I'm just kind of slowly making progress right now," Ishii said through an interpreter. "My ultimate goal is just to be prepared for the season. When the season starts, I don't want to pull the team down."
MARCH 16, 2004 FIRST THINGS FIRST, GREEN BACK IN RIGHT From Dodgers.com VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Shawn Green experiment at first base has been a success. It's also over. Green, as he predicted five days earlier, was returned to right field Monday by manager Jim Tracy. The experiment was designed to open an outfield spot should the Dodgers acquire a big-hitting outfielder, which they haven't. Now Green will have three weeks to readjust to outfield play. "It's no big secret," said Green, who last week predicted he would open the season back in the outfield. "It's gotten to the point where I have to start getting ready for right field. You can't just play one position all spring and show up somewhere else and expect to be in good form." The move sends Juan Encarnacion to left field, a position he has not played since 1999, although that doesn't seem to bother him. "A fly ball is a fly ball," said Encarnacion, who played center field last Wednesday and will spell Dave Roberts there against some left-handed pitchers. "It doesn't matter to me. I'll make the adjustment in the game." Tracy called the Green experiment a success, declaring Green a good first baseman who played the position "flawlessly." He also said that it was time to make Green "100 percent comfortable" because of the offensive load he carries, adding that Green will play only one position once the season starts. Tracy said that Green's move back to the outfield allows him to add a bat to the lineup. That bat more often than not will belong to Robin Ventura, who will play first base against right-handed pitching and bat seventh behind Encarnacion. Against left-handers, Tracy said he can use Olmedo Saenz, Jolbert Cabrera, Paul Lo Duca or roster longshot Luis Garcia, who hit his second home run in as many games Monday. Tracy and Green agreed that the experiment could have a deferred benefit, should the Dodgers acquire an outfielder during the season. "I'm real happy with the way it went," said Green. "It turned out better than I'd hoped for. Doing it now will make it a lot easier for me to make the change at another point, during the season or in the future. Obviously, I don't have a ton of experience and there's still a lot more learning to do, but I could do it with more practice." General manager Paul DePodesta said that while trade talks have become "more substantive, it doesn't mean anything is imminent," most clubs are not looking to deal away Major League players that would create holes. Word of the Green decision immediately fueled speculation among writers covering the Oakland A's that the Dodgers would have interest in Graham Koonce, a left-handed-hitting first baseman who had 34 home runs and 115 RBIs at Triple-A last year. Tracy attempted to minimize the decision's impact on Bubba Trammell's playing time in left field. Trammell had been given the primary playing time in left field this spring, but is hitting only .200 with one home run and two RBIs in 20 at-bats. "He's very much in the mix here," Tracy said of Trammell, who still figures to make the club as a right-handed pinch-hitter.
March 14, 2004
LA Times
DODGER REPORT
Two Spots Could Be Mix, Match Proposition
By Bill Shaikin, Times Staff Writer
FORT MYERS, Fla. — With one big bat still missing from the Dodger lineup and opening day three weeks away, Manager Jim Tracy reluctantly acknowledged the team could have to staff first base or left field by committee.
"In a perfect world, would I like to have to do something like that? No, not really," he said. "But, if that's what gives us the best chance to win, I'll do it."
The Dodgers have not abandoned efforts to acquire a hitter. They are believed to be interested in trading a pitcher to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Jay Gibbons, who can play first base or right field.
Gibbons, 27, hit .277 with 23 home runs and 100 runs batted in last season. He will make $2.6 million this season.
In the absence of a trade, Shawn Green has said he expected to return to right field, which could leave first base to Robin Ventura and Olmedo Saenz. If the Dodgers insist on moving Green to first, Bubba Trammell, Jolbert Cabrera and either Jason Romano or Wilkin Ruan could share left field. Paul Lo Duca could play either position on days he does not catch.
Juan Encarnacion would start in right field if Green played first and in left field if Green played right.
Tracy said he would have to mix and match "in our current state," choosing among available players for a premium offensive position based on such factors as hot streaks and track records against a given opposing pitcher.
"That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing," he said.
Ventura was the opening-day third baseman for the New York Yankees last season, a role to be filled this season by Alex Rodriguez.
In New York, Ventura suggests, Rodriguez might be in for culture shock. The fawning reception that greeted him on arrival will turn to derision with his first slump, most-valuable-player credentials notwithstanding.
"It doesn't matter if it's Enrique Wilson or Alex," Ventura said. "If you don't do well, you're going to hear about it."
In Texas, Rodriguez was branded a great player on a bad team. There are no such labels in New York, where captain Derek Jeter says any season without a World Series championship is a failure.
Could Rodriguez be called a failure if he wins his second consecutive MVP award but the Yankees do not win the World Series?
"If he doesn't do it in the playoffs, it's still his fault," Ventura said. "They'll have to blame somebody."
March 13, 2004
From Dodgers.com
Bench help needed: The Dodgers have publicly backed away from pursuing the Frank Thomas-type big hitter, but they are on the lookout for a professional left-handed hitter for the bench, especially with the likelihood increasing that Robin Ventura will play first base semi-regularly.
MARCH 9, 2004
TCPALM.com
Ventura not ready to hit the highway
The veteran will back up third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Shawn Green for the Dodgers.
By Steve Megargee staff writer March 9, 2004
VERO BEACH — He has won six Gold Gloves at third base and also has proved he can play first base with effortless precision.
So there's no reason to think Robin Ventura will struggle with the new position in which he finds himself.
For the first time in his major-league career, Ventura enters a season without a set role in the starting lineup. Although he acknowledges the situation is unfamiliar, it doesn't make him feel uncomfortable.
"It's still baseball," the Los Angeles Dodgers infielder said. "I'm still going to do the same things and prepare the same way. I'm not worried. I think it will work out fine."
Ventura, 36, spent most of his career at third base before moving to first after the Dodgers acquired him from the New York Yankees last summer.
The Dodgers already have Adrian Beltre entrenched at third base. Shawn Green, the starting right fielder last year, has been working out at first base all spring.
That would leave Ventura out of the Dodgers' lineup, though it doesn't leave the veteran out of the team's plans.
"He's extremely valuable," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said.
Ventura's ability to play both corner positions effectively should allow him to get plenty of playing time one way or another.
And a team in dire need of offense can always use a two-time All-Star with 289 career homers and 1,154 career RBIs. Ventura also leads all active major league players with 16 career grand slams.
"Whatever they want me to do," Ventura said, "I'm going to do."
That includes giving Green advice on playing first base, even though Ventura knows he's losing playing time because of the former outfielder's position switch.
Green appreciates the unselfish gesture.
"Those are the guys you want to learn from — the guys who are the best in the game," Green said. "He's as good a third baseman as you'll find and he plays first base as smooth as anybody."
Ventura played both positions last year while batting .242 with 14 homers and 55 RBIs.
He began the 2003 season as the Yankees' starting third baseman. But on the same day the Yankees acquired Aaron Boone from the Cincinnati Reds, they traded Ventura to Los Angeles in a July 31 deal that sent outfielder Bubba Crosby and pitcher Scott Proctor to New York.
"There weren't really any rumors of getting traded, so it was kind of a shock at first," said Ventura, who was born in Santa Maria, Calif.
"But if I was going to get traded anywhere, I was glad it was here."
MARCH 7, 2004
NY DAILY NEWS.com
Union shows cracks over steroid scandal
Some players push for stronger testing By MICHAEL O'KEEFFE in New Yorkand T.J. QUINN in Vero Beach, Fla.
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS
Robin Ventura is the oldest player in the Dodgers' clubhouse, and he has known nothing but an all-powerful union during his 15 years in the major leagues.
Two years ago, the Players Association had no reason to give up privacy rights over an issue like steroids, so when it came to forging a testing policy, it drafted a weak one. And then BALCO came along.
"You look at the whole thing differently than you did two years ago," Ventura says.
No one in baseball knew then that the game's biggest names would be dragged into sports' biggest doping scandal. And while no player has been charged with taking steroids, the landscape has changed dramatically.
Players such as Ventura who wanted to maintain their privacy realize that the onslaught of criticism is damaging their game, and that they need to do something about it.
"There is that issue that you're giving up part of your rights to be able to go forward with tougher testing," Ventura says. "But the more information that's coming out, the more it seems like it keeps rolling, and the more you look at the whole thing differently."
The union, one of the most successful in the history of American labor, is in a position it has not faced in its 38-year existence. Players are sharply split, with many union stalwarts - notably John Smoltz, Turk Wendell, Denny Neagle and Kenny Rogers - openly contradicting union chief Don Fehr and COO Gene Orza.
"I've never seen something like this," says Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez, a former player rep with the Montreal Expos.
As union lawyer Michael Weiner swings through all 30 major league camps, he is trying to keep the players united, urging them to give the testing program time to work.
"I think there are differences of opinions among the players on all kinds of issues, and drug testing is one of them," Weiner said yesterday, after meeting with the Houston Astros in Kissimmee, Fla. "The players are satisfied with the agreement that was negotiated and want to give it a chance to work."
Orza, who has been the recent focus of public outrage over the issue, insists the players are far more united than the press has portrayed them. "What some players say to the press to show how clean they are should not be taken as divisiveness," he told the Daily News yesterday. "The collective bargaining agreement was ratified 958-2 after many discussions. It had the unanimous support of the executive board."
Orza insists the drug-testing plan is working, pointing to press reports that some players have come to camp "smaller" this year than in the past. His only fear, he says, "is that some people will perceive (the steroid) issue as divisive and will attempt to use it as a wedge between the players."
As some players contradict Orza's message of unity, it is clear that his fear is well-founded. Owners smell blood in the water and are eager to use steroids against a union that has beaten them senseless since its inception in 1966. MLB officials told The News last week they are trying to get documents from the BALCO investigation that would allow them to test several players for probable cause, and they expect additional embarrassing revelations as the case progresses.
The political world is lining up against the union as well, as the White House (inhabited by a former owner), the Senate and House all are pushing for anti-steroid measures.
Fehr is scheduled to appear with MLB, NFL and NFLPA officials before the U.S. Senate's Commerce Committee Wednesday to answer questions about steroid policies. Twin anti-steroid bills are also pending in the House and Senate.
"It's not going to blow over," one veteran player says. "This is going to bite them right on the ass."
Like several players interviewed over the past week, he says he is tired of seeing suspected steroid users avoid accountability. "A lot of players feel that way," he says. "There's more of us than there are of them."
* * * Until retired sluggers Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco told the world that they had used steroids and that as many as 50-85% of players did, too (figures that were largely discounted), baseball had never had what could be considered a "steroid problem," at least in terms of public perception. Even when Mark McGwire admitted to using androstenedione, a steroid "precursor," in 1998, the embarrassment was brief and limited.
But when baseball's owners and players began negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement three years ago, both sides knew they needed a policy, even though the owners focused on revenue sharing as the primary issue in the talks.
"We figured we'd get a policy and then go back at it in the next (CBA)," a high-ranking MLB official says.
The policy they agreed to was far from the standard the World Anti-Doping Agency has recommended. The players and owners agreed that during the first year of the contract, all players would be tested on a "survey" basis, meaning that if more than 5% of the tests were positive at the end of the season, the players would enter "program testing" in the second year. But even under program testing, a player could fail five times before being kicked out of the game for a year. The policy was attacked by anti-doping groups, but even some players who supported steroid testing felt the new system was a good first step.
Not all players were pleased, however. Several members of the Chicago White Sox threatened to boycott the tests because they felt they were too easy to beat. Refusing to take the test counts as a positive result and they wanted to make sure that there were enough positives to meet the 5% threshold. Houston's Jeff Kent, a former Giant and Met, said last week he considered not taking a test for the same reason, but that he was talked out of doing so by Orza, as were the White Sox players. Orza told them to give the plan a chance.
But no one knew about a federal investigation into a San Francisco-area nutrition lab that would eventually dominate this spring training.
"I suspect (the union) had a grand plan, that they were looking ahead," when they developed the testing system, says sports marketing expert Marc Ganis. "The guys who run the Players Association are among the most clever in sports. They knew two years ago that it was no longer a matter of if testing would occur, but when it would occur. So they negotiated a deal so only the most stupid of players couldn't get off the juice. But the BALCO investigation screwed up their timetable."
In the first week of September, federal agents raided the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and the home of Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds' longtime friend and personal trainer.
Since then the leaks that Anderson allegedly gave steroids to Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and three other major league players have put pressure on the union that leaders never anticipated. Public sentiment seems to be working against the players, and several agree that tougher testing is on the horizon.
Orza dismisses such talk, however, and says that he is hearing a different message from the rank-and-file.
"People who are informed on this issue know players want to be liked, they don't want to be on the opposite side of public opinion," he says. "It's what they say behind closed doors, in executive sessions, that really counts. It's like the replacement player issue. Some players say one thing publicly - they believe a replacement player should be allowed to join the union - but when it's time to vote on the issue they say something else."
* * * In the past, the Players Association has never cared a whit about public perception. Not when Marvin Miller convinced players suspicious of organized labor that they needed to unionize, not when they fought for free agency and for arbitration, not when they struck or were locked out.
"Everybody has got their opinions and they're going to point their fingers and do all that stuff, but I would prefer to sit back and be patient and let the system we have in place try to deal with it," Mets pitcher and longtime union leader Tom Glavine says.
But Glavine also admits that if players' reputations are tainted by the burgeoning scandal, the fans will let them know.
"If they start finding out that guys are cheating, then absolutely they're going to look at people differently. I think there will be far more tolerance among players than there will be from fans to players," he says. "And to me that's what I would be more concerned about - you're going to have that public perception now that you were one of those guys. That's not something personally that I would want to live with."
The union's founder, Miller, says the entire issue is a media creation. "You are on the eve of anonymous, random testing of every single player. What more can the union do? The union agreed to testing in the current CBA. What more do you want?" he says. "Nothing will satisfy the need to sell papers. The furor over this is as phony as a $3 bill. I've never seen such a witch hunt in all my years, or at least not since the days of Sen. Joe McCarthy."
Sources who have spoken to Orza and other union officials say the union brass is convinced the issue "will blow over," and several players say they have heard the same message.
Orza's recent public comments on the subject, however, have only added fuel to the union's opponents. He was quoted last week at a panel discussion on steroids as saying, "I have no doubt that they are not worse than cigarettes. But I would never say that to the clubs as an individual who represents the interests of players, 'Gee, I guess by not allowing baseball to suspend and fine players for smoking cigarettes, I am not protecting their health.'"
U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), one of the House steroid bill's co-signers, fired off a response Friday, saying, "Mr. Orza's flippant remarks comparing steroids and cigarettes suggest he is sadly misinformed on this issue. ... It is unfortunate that the union's lack of understanding of the core issues is causing it to misrepresent the players it is supposed to protect."
Ventura says he knows that the owners might be looking for leverage against the union, and he does not want to see his side weakened. But to him, that possibility means that the players cannot wait for the issue to overwhelm them.
"It would be nice," he says, "to clean it up ourselves."
MARCH 5, 2004
LA TIMES.com
One Hot Topic
Seemingly all anyone wants to talk about this spring is steroids, and players are eager to change the subject
By Elliott Teaford and Ben Bolch, Times Staff Writers
MESA, Ariz. — In major league clubhouses, behind batting cages, on the diamonds and in the grandstands, even in Washington, it seems everyone is talking about baseball and steroids.
Everyone that is but Barry Bonds, one of six major league players reported to have received a new designer steroid from a Burlingame, Calif., supplement company, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).
After playing in the San Francisco Giants' spring training opener Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Mesa, Bonds declined to answer steroid-related questions, saying he would speak only to baseball-related issues.
"There's no need to address anything other than baseball," he said, as a crush of reporters six deep surrounded him
at his locker stall. "That's what I do, play baseball."
The mood at HoHokam Park was dampened Thursday not by the specter of a growing steroid scandal but by unseasonable 46-degree temperatures with a 10-mph wind and light rain during the Giants' 9-3 victory.
Bonds was greeted by a mix of cheers and boos from the crowd of 10,797 who braved the elements. As he stepped to the plate with none out and runners on first and second in the first inning, a Giant fan said, "At least his bat's not corked," a not-so-subtle dig at Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa, who last year was caught with an illegal bat.
Bonds grounded out in his only at-bat. He played one inning before Manager Felipe Alou pulled him, fearful of an injury in the sloppy conditions.
A beer vendor further enlivened the day with a sales pitch that showed he was abreast of current events: "Old Style, five bucks, steroid-free."
Rick Fleming, 26, a student from Dubuque, Iowa, said fans would continue to fill ballparks because he believes they are savvy enough to identify steroid users.
"You can tell by the size of their physique," Fleming said.
Thomas Lemke, 25, a baggage handler for United Airlines, was less troubled by the steroid talk. "I think I'll be a fan regardless," he said. "I love the game."
Todd Grobstein, 22, a restaurant manager from Scottsdale, Ariz., placed some of the blame for the growing scandal on the media, suggesting it had been blown out of proportion. Grobstein said he would not stop rooting for his beloved Cubs, no matter how widespread steroid use might prove to be in baseball.
"I think it's a dark cloud, definitely, but I don't think it's ruining the game," he said. "It's a select few individuals that have taken advantage of select circumstances."
Last Friday, a lawyer for Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, said Bonds' name appeared on a document listing steroids and dosages that was seized by federal agents as part of the BALCO investigation. But attorney J. Tony Serra said the slugger never took the drugs. On Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that federal authorities had been told Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and three other players received steroids. Since those reports, the issue has come under intense scrutiny by lawmakers, reporters and Major League Baseball.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) announced the introduction of a bill to broaden the definition of illegal steroids and stiffen the penalties for their distribution. The White House, following President Bush's call for the eradication of steroid use in professional sports in the State of the Union address, is trying to organize a summit of major sports leagues and the U.S. Olympic Committee to discuss steroid use by athletes.
Back inside the Cub clubhouse Thursday, Chicago Manager Dusty Baker sought to distance himself from recent comments in which he compared the steroid probe to McCarthyism, suggesting his words were misconstrued.
"It's hard to end talk," said Baker, a former Giant manager. "There's always somebody going to come around with the same question everybody has already answered. There's going to be somebody here tomorrow. Somebody here the day after that.
"What ends it is me [refusing to discuss it further]."
The Giants' media relations department has monitored reporters' interviews with players this week. Henry Schulman, Giant beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, said the club was wary of players answering repeated questions about steroids. "They really don't want to answer them and they're told not to answer them," he said.
Commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday sent a directive to all 30 clubs telling officials, managers and coaches not to comment on the BALCO case in particular and steroids in general.
Players, in other camps in Arizona and Florida, are not covered by the gag order and some have been forthcoming when asked about steroids.
On the day the Chronicle reported that federal investigators were told Bonds, Giambi, Sheffield and three others received a new designer steroid — tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG — from BALCO, reporters descended on spring training complexes.
Baseball union officials "were telling us about the 5%" who tested positive for steroids last year, Oakland Athletic third baseman Eric Chavez told reporters in Arizona. "And we were saying, 'OK, we're just over 5%, so 95% of us are clean.' But it doesn't feel like that. It feels like 95% are guilty.
"So whatever we need to do, this clubhouse was pretty outspoken about getting whatever testing is out there to get our names cleared. Because we feel like every single player that has a uniform is kind of targeted."
And that's a legacy Angel designated hitter Tim Salmon hates to think about leaving to the next generation of baseball players and fans.
"It's not good," Salmon said at the Angels' camp at Tempe, Ariz., "that it could potentially influence kids and stuff, that's who we play the game for. We market ourselves to the kids. None of this is good. The sooner we can figure this out, the better, because we don't need that kind of speculation in the game.
"Going to Little League games, being around kids, you hear the comments, 'Are you on steroids, man?' It's not fair, but [Chavez] is right in a sense that we all have to defend ourselves now, and it shouldn't be that way, just because a handful of guys who do it."
Instead of talking about the Angels' off-season roster upgrades, the fiery New York Yankee-Boston Red Sox rivalry and other, more mundane spring training topics, players have grown weary of speaking to one subject: steroids.
"I think it's unfortunate for the game that all people are talking about right now are steroids," Angel pitcher Jarrod Washburn said. "More than anything it's caused a lot of finger-pointing and doubt. There's all kinds of people getting fingers pointed at them now, and no one has tested positive [so far this season].
"Is that to say there's no steroids in baseball? No. It's obvious there are."
At the Dodgers' camp at Vero Beach, Fla., catcher Paul Lo Duca said this spring training had been a good deal like past ones. At the same time, he acknowledged the difficulty for Bonds and the other players said to have received steroids from BALCO.
"I know Barry," Lo Duca said. "It's a tough situation because those guys are guilty by association and because of the numbers they put up. Whether it's true or not, you don't know. They're not getting their chance to fight back; everyone is assuming [they're guilty]."
Dodger right fielder Shawn Green said that clubhouse discussion of steroids hadn't been any more than usual.
"It's always been kind of a joke to see a guy come into camp 20 pounds heavier all shredded up," Green said. "Guys kind of joke around and say, 'What have you been doing all winter?' The amount of talk in the clubhouse is really no different now because of what's going on."
Added infielder Robin Ventura: "There were always rumblings, but you didn't really know how many guys were using. Then you have a test that everybody knows about, but over 5% still test positive. Obviously, [steroid use] is going to continue. Getting a handle on it is probably going to be slower than people would probably like, but eventually it will get to that point."
March 4, 2004
NEWSDAY
Robin remains realistic
No one received more hugs on the field during batting practice from the Mets than former teammate Robin Ventura. After being teased about his long hair and unshaven face, Ventura joked, "I'm kind of the backup at first base. They've got this guy [slugger Shawn] Green who will start. He's pretty good. I'm the emergency guy at third base. But I'm all right with that."
March 4, 2004
THE NY POST
VERO BEACH- Robin Ventura might be the most level-headed ballplayer out there, so it is important to get his take on the plague of steroids in Major League Baseball. Ventura had this question: "Ask me why I don't take steroids?"
When asked, he had this answer: "Because I'm not fond of kidney failure."
Here is the most important point made by the former Yankee and Met. He said it is too late for this generation of players to be helped, so it's time baseball steps up and properly guides the next generation of pro players, the ones now in high school and college.
Ventura said there is basically nothing you can do to the players who already have danced with the devil.
"What are you going to do? You can't take a whole lot away from them now," the Dodgers infielder said yesterday. "People worry about the numbers and the history of the game, but it's more about the kids that are coming up behind you and they feel they have to take that stuff to stay at a level. I'm not worried about what somebody's numbers are; I'm worried more about somebody's kid feeling they have to do this to compete.
"I go to high school games, I see what's happening out there," Ventura said. "To me, you take away somebody's numbers, so what, it is what it is, you are not going to be able to take it back. Are you going to take somebody's contract back? You can't do that.
"Don't worry about that," Ventura said. "Worry about what it is actually doing to kids. You're putting kids in the situation that they are going to have to do it to compete and that is not good for anybody."
