A Little More Than Two Weeks Ago. . . I posted that I thought the baseball players association proposal for steroid testing was a joke. Just a little while ago, the AP's Steve Wilstein basically agreed with me:
Along with copies of the drug-testing plan that's being worked out, baseball should send players free samples of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, andro and other testosterone-boosting supplements.
They'll be free to use them, anyway.
They'll be able to juice up on illegal steroids all they want during the winter, building strength for the season ahead. They'll just have to taper off, maybe take some masking agents, to slip through a urine test in spring training or later in the season, whenever it's most convenient.
Even if one or two players per team flunk the test, that's OK.
Under the union's initial proposal, 60 players in the majors -- 5 percent of all 1,200 players on the 40-man rosters -- could bust the seams of their jerseys with steroid-inflated muscles. That would still be considered "insignificant use" under this sham of a plan.
Go read the rest. What the players have laid on the table isn't even the beginning of a serious proposal. Don't think for a second that the owners might not compromise either. If there's a way they can give in on steroids in order to get what they want elsewhere, then they'll do it. Worse yet, I'm beginning to believe that neither side really wants steroid testing, especially when increased power numbers seem to put folks in the seats.
