Gibbons busted for HGH

by birdman on Sep 9, 2007 8:13 PM EDT

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/09/09/drugs.probe/index.html

In the ever-widening Signature Pharmacy scandal, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons is the latest pro athlete tied to an alleged illegal internet drug distribution network. According to information obtained by SI, Gibbons received shipments of performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) from an Orlando-based compound pharmacy raided last spring as part of a multi-agency bust, even after both drugs were on Major League Baseball's banned substance list.

--------

Is anybody surprised? Does anyone care?

FanPosts are user-created content and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of Camden Chat or SB Nation. They might, though.

Tweet Comment 75 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

not surprised, dont care

and more proof they dont work.

Jeremy Guthrie is better then you! Go to hell Rob Bell!

by westcoastOfan on Sep 9, 2007 8:21 PM EDT reply actions

more proof they DO work

he stopped getting them shipped in 2005. guess when his numbers started dropping?

I was once a kind and honest orthodontist experimenting with electric brainwave stimulation.

by zknower on Sep 10, 2007 3:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Performance enhancement?!

He must have REALLY sucked before he took them. I think he should pay the O's back his contract money and just go away, quietly...

by tbone shelby on Sep 9, 2007 8:25 PM EDT reply actions

MLB vs NFL

If this was the NFL, Jay would be suspended and lose his game checks. If the team wanted, they could cut him and the rest of his contract would go POOF!

In the MLB, the Orioles are powerless to do anything. They can't seek previously paid bonuses, they can't suspend him as a team, and if they do cut him, they eat his contract. Since the evidence was found as a result of an action that was not part of the MLB drug testing program, I doubt the MLB will even suspend him.

MLB might be the one instance where even I believe unions have too much power.

"And I'm respected in da hood like a 'G'..."
- Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & FNM

by duck on Sep 9, 2007 8:31 PM EDT reply actions

re:

The NFL is rife with steroids and the issue has been largely ignored. It's been a joke. It is only recently that the NFL has mandated suspensions and more testing. The first offense it four games, which is substantial.

I'm not sure what drugs are screened for, but with the celebration of increased size and speed (along with more vicious hits), I've always wondered if football is serious about this drug enforcement. It's really only this year we'll start to find out.

by drj on Sep 9, 2007 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions

MLB has also been rife with steroids

but at least the NFL has been suspending those who were stupid enough to get caught.

You'd have to have an IQ of 65, or be a target of a fed investigation, to get caught by MLB.

"And I'm respected in da hood like a 'G'..."
- Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & FNM

by duck on Sep 9, 2007 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions

have to have an iq of 65

That's my point below about Gibbons. He's not too bright.

Same for a guy like Rodney Harrison (not baseball but same brazen purchase).

by drj on Sep 9, 2007 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions

re:

Not surprised. But I do care, because it makes him -- and, thanks to him, the team -- an even bigger embarrassment.

by Scott Christ on Sep 9, 2007 8:46 PM EDT reply actions

re:

I think it makes Jay Gibbons look like he's not too bright to not have had some type of go between (a la Bonds).

With the current finger pointing at Ankiel and Glaus, do you say "I think the Cardinals and Angels or Blue Jays now have a tarnished reputation"? Have the Yankees been tarnished due to Giambi and Sheffield? I don't think so. This is a personal issue and it just tells me some players aren't as careful as others.

The O's tarnished image is due to years of ineptitude.

by drj on Sep 9, 2007 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions

re:

This is not the first or second time an Orioles player has been nabbed.

by Scott Christ on Sep 10, 2007 4:30 AM EDT up reply actions

re:

If my memory servers me, several players in the Twins organization have been caught. Are they a "tarnished" organization? Several Yankees have admitted to use. Former Mets are under suspicion because of some clubhouse guy who is supposedly cooperating with investigators.

I think it's a stretch to look at a player's individual choice (one I believe they almost all make at some point in their career) and say that it's the organization's fault. It's a broader issue in sports that player unions and the sports governing bodies have done little to stem in the past, and I'm dubious of their resolve moving forward.

by drj on Sep 10, 2007 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions

tarnished orgs

"If my memory servers me, several players in the Twins organization have been caught. Are they a "tarnished" organization?"

I'm not terribly worried about it either. I have a feeling that a bunch more names will be coming. I'm pretty sure all the names will be spread out across different organizations. Having a player test positive for PEDs doesn't help the org's image but it hardly damages it because players are testing positive across a lot of different teams. If anything, the MLB's, rather than any individual team, reputation is tarnished.

by birdman on Sep 10, 2007 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions

re:

I also factor in the fact that we suck here. The Twins aren't as "tarnished" because at least their guys win. These are major league players on our major league teams that major league suck getting caught, and it seems like it's annual.

by Scott Christ on Sep 10, 2007 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Jerry Hairston Jr. was also implicated

... from 2004, when he was in Baltimore. Raffy and Jason Grimesly, both previously busted, were also on the team that year. Mazilli must have been running one hell of a clubhouse.

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

by spike2131 on Sep 9, 2007 9:03 PM EDT reply actions

I'm so naive

You think this was known and condoned by the team? Please say no.

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 9, 2007 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Mazilli personally injected Gibbons.

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 9, 2007 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I can handle losing.

I'll stick with them through decades of bad seasons, but doping is another matter. I hope the Os take care of this.

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 9, 2007 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions

They'll care of it

be resigning Sosa or some other overpriced, over the hill veteran

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 9, 2007 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Just call it

Miggy juice

by merdon1332000 on Sep 11, 2007 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Man! Terrible!

That's a serious bummer. I echo what tbone and SC said. Ugh! I just can't think of my team doing that. I can't support an unethical team. It's shameful.

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 9, 2007 9:40 PM EDT reply actions

This guy is terrible.

Congrats, Jay Gibbons.

On a sort of related note, every time I saw someone wearing a Jay Gibbons jersey at the yard this weekend, I made it a point to laugh at them.

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 9, 2007 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

There are really people who bought Gibbons shirts?

I was once a kind and honest orthodontist experimenting with electric brainwave stimulation.

by zknower on Sep 9, 2007 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

When I was at the Inner Harbor

I was in one of the sports stores and I saw a stack of Gibbons shirts, so I jokingly said to my girlfriend that they were probably 2 for $5, and the guy behind the counter was like "No one's going to buy that shit."

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 9, 2007 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Gibbons' bullshit denial in '06

Last October he did a non-denial denial:

Gibbons told the Sun he has never failed a drug test.

"And I am not going to dignify these claims and accusations with any further response," he said.

He said he's never failed a drug test, and that's it. Didn't deny using.

Smooth. Quite the politician.

And it's not just HGH, it's steroids too (Sportsline):

According to information obtained by SI, Gibbons received shipments of performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) from an Orlando-based compound pharmacy raided last spring as part of a multi-agency bust, even after both drugs were on Major League Baseball's banned substance list.

I was once a kind and honest orthodontist experimenting with electric brainwave stimulation.

by zknower on Sep 9, 2007 10:19 PM EDT reply actions

Tejada and Roberts too?

This is too much to digest. What have they done to my team. :-(

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 9, 2007 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Who said anything about Miggi and B-Rob

Grimsley supposedly named them, but when the feds show up with guns and dark sunglasses at your house, you'll tell them what they want to hear.

"And I'm respected in da hood like a 'G'..."
- Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & FNM

by duck on Sep 9, 2007 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions

K. I hope you're right!!!

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 9, 2007 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Tejada I could see doing it

... after all, he's the guy who laced Raffy's Vitamin B12 shot with steroids.

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

by spike2131 on Sep 10, 2007 9:22 AM EDT up reply actions

haha

I laughed out loud when I read this, imagining how bad he would've been WITHOUT the roids and HGH! It's no big deal to me though, because everyone has been doing this stuff for years now....every team has had roidheads in the organization, as I'm sure we'll find out soon...

by oriolez on Sep 9, 2007 10:34 PM EDT reply actions

re:

I don't think anyone believes that PEDs significantly raise one's ability. They help an athlete recover and gain a bit of strength, which are advantages. That being said, it now seems Jay Gibbons got his contract while playing juiced up. If he had been this bad before sans PEDs, perhaps even the Orioles FO would not have given the contract. Regardless of the juice or not, the contract was stupid, but it sure makes it sting a bit more to know what was (most likely) going on.

by drj on Sep 10, 2007 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions

Hmm...

Seems like Angelos could make a good case that the contract was signed by Gibbons under fraudulent circumstances, and therefore the contract is void. That would get us out of the next several years of Gibbons' suckitude.

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

by spike2131 on Sep 10, 2007 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions

aren't roberts and gibbons best friends?

i remember reading or hearing that these guys were good buddies and roomed together and such. while obviously nobody here gives a shit about jay gibbons, we should all be a little worried that this could blow up to include roberts, tejada, mora, etc etc. they all had big years that they havent really come close to repeating, so...

by dan the man on Sep 9, 2007 10:35 PM EDT reply actions

Tejada has already been mentioned

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 9, 2007 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Anyone shocked?

Anyone? Anyone at all?

What will people do IF everyone's favorite non-hustler B-Rob is linked (again)?

Grimsley, Raffie, Tejada, Gibbons...how many guys have been linked to the Orioles now? And, I still find it odd the strength coach just 'happened' to leave last year, and that Gibbons 'happened' to get surgery for his 'injured shoulder'. (They won't test a guy on the DL that's not on the active roster, RIGHT?)

by dtuck81 on Sep 9, 2007 10:42 PM EDT reply actions

re:

Hey, please don't throw Miguel Tejada's name in there like he's ever been anything more than accused by Jason Grimsley (later retracted) and a bunch of idle speculation by people with hard-ons to find PED users. Palmeiro shamefully tested positive, Grimsley admitted all his wrongdoings, and Gibbons has been officially linked in a real investigation. Roberts has been as "linked" as Tejada has.

by Scott Christ on Sep 9, 2007 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Jose

Did you read Canseco's book?

Kind of funny nobody sued the guy for claiming that these dudes were into roids.

by dtuck81 on Sep 10, 2007 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions

re:

I started to read Canseco's book, but in all honesty it was so bad that I couldn't finish it. And Canseco is a me-first scumbag who would accuse you of doing steroids if it could get him further attention. Forgive me if I don't take his word with much weight. Jose Canseco is a completely unlikable person -- not that you have to be liked to tell the truth, but I don't really think he much deserves the benefit of the doubt.

I am also not saying that Miguel Tejada has never done anything. I don't know one way or the other. But I do know he's never tested positive and has yet to be officially linked to any of these investigations.

by Scott Christ on Sep 10, 2007 4:22 AM EDT up reply actions

The real Canseco(s)-on-steroids questions:

Jose was, obviously, but

(1) why wasn't Ozzie? I mean, with a couple months of B-12 shots, maybe the guy could have hit one [1] dinger in the bigs, raising the record twin-brother career HR total to 463. And

(2) was Mrs. Jose also pumping 'roids?!? As one Amazon reader noted, the Playboy pix raise some serious questions...

http://www.amazon.com/Juicy-Confessions-Former-Baseball-Wife/dp/0060889454/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-10420 18-8662216?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189491448&sr=1-2

BTW, Mrs. Jose's ghostwriter beat Jose's all hollow. For a clever (and occasionaly hilarious) novel on celeb ghostwriters, see Mil Millington's "A Certain Chemistry"-- perfect for a Spanish beach or a rainy day in the rumpus room.

http://www.amazon.com/Certain-Chemistry-Novel-Mil-Millington/dp/0812966678/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1042018- 8662216?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189492430&sr=1-1

The best place to spend the worst home losing streak since 1953 is on a beach in Spain.

by Titov on Sep 11, 2007 2:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually...

a few weeks back, Bonds hired a lawyer to start investigating the feasability of libel suits.

"And I'm respected in da hood like a 'G'..."
- Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & FNM

by duck on Sep 10, 2007 6:41 AM EDT up reply actions

as if i needed another reason to hate gibbons.

"It would behoove the Orioles to play better." - Jim Palmer

by 2632 on Sep 9, 2007 11:12 PM EDT reply actions

I am really annoyed by people who make it

more and more difficult to express shock and vent self-righteous anger at Barry Bonds.

The best place to spend the worst home losing streak since 1953 is on a beach in Spain.

by Titov on Sep 10, 2007 2:10 AM EDT reply actions

Bullshit

This doesn't make it more difficult at all.

The whole "everyone's doing it" argument is crap. Everyone is not doing it. A bunch of guys are? Fine. They're cheaters. You cheat? You're one of them. The fact that there are a lot of cheaters doesn't make any individual cheater less culpable for his actions. So I'll vent my anger at Bonds all I want, thank you very much. And if by "self-righteous", you mean "in possession of some morals/ethics" as opposed to "don't give a shit and will happily cheat to get wealthy" then yeah, color me guilty.

I was once a kind and honest orthodontist experimenting with electric brainwave stimulation.

by zknower on Sep 10, 2007 3:27 AM EDT up reply actions

But Mom, EVERYONE smokes weed now....

Yeah, that didn't work, either. For my friends. Who, you know, actually smoked weed.

Seriously, never touched the stuff. Honest. Swear on the lives of both my kids.

"And I'm respected in da hood like a 'G'..."
- Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. & FNM

by duck on Sep 10, 2007 6:42 AM EDT up reply actions

How much of the steroid hysteria

is legitimately based on a concern over cheating & protecting the "integrity" of the game & how much is because of drug war propaganda?

Reminds me of a great quote from Bill Maher -

"Did you see those Super Bowl ads? Let me tell you, Viagra, Cialis & Levitra aren't the names of 3 hookers who showed up at the Patriots post game party. It's not that they don't want you taking drugs, they just want to make sure you're taking THEIR drugs."

"You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever." - Ron White

by Sluggo @ Camden Chat on Sep 10, 2007 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Re

Seems my post was misleading. In my take, the primary target people here, the ones who should be expressing shock and anger at BB, are those whose putative function is to regulate the sport-- starting with the Commissioner's office. Said office has strenuously resisted doing exactly that.

http://www.camdenchat.com/comments/2006/7/13/7545/66119/9#9

When statements have issued forth from official MLB sources, the "shock" has been phony and "anger" has registered as self-righteous-- for all the reasons H. Bryant (and various others) have detailed. Sure, the Gibbons case (and others) should make it more incumbent on PC Bud and MLB collectively to express the appropriate sentiments; but it/they is/are likely to have the opposite effect, judging by the decreasing severity of the measures being taken against/toward actual and reported violators. MLB apparently wants us to view this problem as something like "a regrettable chapter in the history of the sport which, if we would all just shut up about it, would probably go away quietly."

When your idea of regulating the sport is sitting in the stands and rooting for BB to break records, whatever Gibbonses come along can serve as de facto allies in the cause of numbing public consciousness of what's at hand by effectively trvializing it through repetition and dilution of the context.

The best place to spend the worst home losing streak since 1953 is on a beach in Spain.

by Titov on Sep 11, 2007 3:53 AM EDT up reply actions

bonds

"more and more difficult to express shock and vent self-righteous anger at Barry Bonds."

I don't know if it's self-righteous because every player who tests positive receives a lot of slack. Bonds receives a lot more attention and hate because he's breaking hallowed records. If Gibbons or Glaus were sitting on 68 homers now with 19 games to go, there will be a huge media uproar about these reports and the level of scorn placed upon the players would rise quite a bit. But Gibbons is a nobody. Glaus is a high profile name but not elite status like Bonds, A-Rod, Pujols. Look what happened to Palmiero. Plus Barry is a jerk. So some of the anger stems from that.

by birdman on Sep 10, 2007 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Why I'm for Bonds

Most of the media hated him LONG before he appoached any records or was suspected of using steroids.

He didn't tap dance & shuffle the way they expected and they resented him for it.

"You can't fix stupid. Stupid is forever." - Ron White

by Sluggo @ Camden Chat on Sep 10, 2007 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions

No... and no.

Does this makes us "lovable users... uh, losers" yet?

The Birds have officially packed it in. -Me

by dayzd toe on Sep 10, 2007 10:30 AM EDT reply actions

ugh...

can we do a fredo on gibby?

...or at least a sir fat sidney?

by jq higgins on Sep 10, 2007 10:57 AM EDT reply actions

i'd like it

if he "accidentally" got caught in a trash compactor. but that's just me.

"It would behoove the Orioles to play better." - Jim Palmer

by 2632 on Sep 10, 2007 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions

if you accidentally pushed him?

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 10, 2007 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions

i can be a real clutz sometimes

"It would behoove the Orioles to play better." - Jim Palmer

by 2632 on Sep 10, 2007 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions

If

we can void his contract, this isn't such bad news.

by Jonnypops on Sep 10, 2007 1:44 PM EDT reply actions

this was my thought.

by jq higgins on Sep 10, 2007 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Ummmm....

...can somebody dig something up on Baez now?

by Jonnypops on Sep 10, 2007 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions

voiding gibby's contract

A newspaper report probably isn't enougth but if the O's can get their hands on the same pieces of evidence as the SI, they may be in business.

by birdman on Sep 11, 2007 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't know

I'm just having a hard time caring about this. Maybe because I can't stand Jay Gibbons. Or maybe it's because this team has broken my will and stolen my ability to feel anything.

"Today, it's like there is rock bottom, fifty feet of crap, and then me."
Rachel Green understands how I feel about the Orioles.

by Stacey on Sep 10, 2007 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Gibbons blows nuts, happy hes gone for good

by Baltimo on Sep 10, 2007 2:27 PM EDT reply actions

Now we know how he got 100

Ribbies a few years back.

by Baltimo on Sep 10, 2007 2:28 PM EDT reply actions

What are we gonna do with ourselves tonight?

Careful, a good mood might set in without the Os crushing our spirits.

Sometimes there's just not enough vodka.

by Osfan on Sep 10, 2007 6:38 PM EDT reply actions

BTW

Regarding the thread title. Gibbons has not been "busted", but accused of receiving shipments. All the talk of a voided contract is far-fetched right now. Wonder if we'll all be so anxious to have contracts revoked if a player we like (O's or not) is nabbed.

by drj on Sep 11, 2007 9:49 AM EDT reply actions

of course not dude

But I am pretty sure we all hate Gibbons

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 11, 2007 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions

re:

Wonder if we'll all be so anxious to have contracts revoked if a player we like (O's or not) is nabbed.

Obviously not. This is a nightmare if it happens to someone playing well. But we're essentially over a barrell as a franchise right now and the thought of getting out of one of our many bad contracts represents a small glimmer of hope to me at least. Frankly, if I were Andy MacPhail I'd have detectives snooping out a whole bunch of people right now in the hopes of dumping these contracts. Of course the players could always go to their Union Rep...but wait, That's JAY GIBBONS!!!

by Jonnypops on Sep 11, 2007 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Yay

Another happy Eddie picture that makes me smile.

"Today, it's like there is rock bottom, fifty feet of crap, and then me."
Rachel Green understands how I feel about the Orioles.

by Stacey on Sep 11, 2007 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions

murray pic

is AWESOME.

And yes, Gibbons has been accused not busted. My bad. And if Jamie Walker was accused of receiving roids, I would have ignored the report, questioned it's validity, and vigorously proclaimed that Walker is baddest motherfcker on the planet.

by birdman on Sep 11, 2007 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

re: players we like

It's gonna happen (again, depending on your perspective). And it's gonna suck. A lot.

"It would behoove the Orioles to play better." - Jim Palmer

by 2632 on Sep 13, 2007 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Not if we trade somebody

for prospects, maybe a reliever, and a nice salary dump, with the quickness, it won't!!! I hope MacPhail's talking to the Angels this series.

Friend of the Working Man

by Jonnypops on Sep 13, 2007 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe the O's might void his contract?

Found this on MLB Trade Rumors via the Baltimore Examiner.

Sean Welsh of the Baltimore Examiner has a source indicating that the Orioles may try to void the remaining two years and $11.9MM on Jay Gibbons' contract based on allegations of steroid use.

While the O's wouldn't mind getting out from the lousy contract they signed, it seems highly unlikely. There's no precedent for it; the Yankees wanted out of the Giambi contract and failed. There's no language in Gibbons' contract about steroids. He never failed a test that we know of. And the original SI.com report doesn't say Gibbons used steroids, just that he received them.

If somehow the Orioles did succeed, perhaps the Blue Jays would look into the same regarding Troy Glaus. He'll make $23.5MM over 2008-09 and has a full no-trade clause. The Angels could try to void the Gary Matthews Jr. contract. Perhaps if the Mitchell Report names certain players, that will carry enough weight to void contracts. It'd still be tough to get past the Players Union though.

"If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Sep 11, 2007 1:22 PM EDT reply actions

We should care

because THIS means the Orioles can get out from a bad contract!

"Beauty is in the eye of the bill-folder." - Buck O'Neill

by Born Under a Bad Moon on Sep 11, 2007 3:18 PM EDT reply actions

I'm on roids

Thanks to a blown out back!

by merdon1332000 on Sep 11, 2007 3:21 PM EDT reply actions

Gibbons

I'm not surprised. It's unfortunate that his contract likely can't be voided. In some ways this is perfect. MLB has always had week testing policies, and even though they have a testing program and we know that he purchased them, he still comes up clean. So it's not like there are real legal grounds to void his contract.

Gibbons, like the organization, is a joke.

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Sep 11, 2007 6:25 PM EDT reply actions