A week of unadulterated Eagles fever has been interrupted by the bizarre case of Phillies reliever J.C. Romero.
The guy who expertly manned the eighth inning for the Phils, providing the so-called “Bridge to Lidge,” and winning two games in the World Series, will not be with the team for the first third of the upcoming season.
Romero has been slapped with a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned substance.
But it’s Romero who is the one crying foul. The reliever says he didn’t do anything illegal, that he asked several people about the substance before using it, and that he resents the label of “cheater” that is now being hung around his neck.
Here’s what happened. Romero bought the substance, some concoction called 6-OXO Extreme, at a store in Cherry Hill. It’s a testosterone builder. He went to the Phillies trainers and inquired if there was anything in it that that would get him in trouble with Major League Baseball’s testing program to crack down on steroid use. He also checked with his own nutritionist. Romero also checked the label for any banned substance.
Apparently the Phillies trainer was not sure. But Romero went ahead and ingested the substance. He subsequently failed two MLB drug tests. At that point he immediately stopped taking the substance.
A lot of people appear to have come up small in this instance. Romero likely should not have taken the stuff until he was absolutely sure it would not cause him a problem.
The union didn’t really do Romero any favors. Romero says he got a letter from players’ union on Nov. 21 indicating that their earlier indication that a supplement bought over the counter at stores in the U.S. would not cause any problems was in error.
No kidding. Romero is paying a hefty price for that now. He’ll miss 50 games, at a cost to him of more than $1 million.
The Phillies didn’t exactly provide a stout defense of Romero yesterday. New GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tried his best to straddle a fine line, saying the team was standing behind Romero, but also backing Major League Baseball’s testing program.
And so the Phils will be without a key component to the best bullpen in baseball until somewhere around June 1. Romero can take part in spring training, and pitch in Grapefruit League games, but he will not be able to appear in any regular season games.
I hope that testosterone boost was worth it.
The guy who expertly manned the eighth inning for the Phils, providing the so-called “Bridge to Lidge,” and winning two games in the World Series, will not be with the team for the first third of the upcoming season.
Romero has been slapped with a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a banned substance.
But it’s Romero who is the one crying foul. The reliever says he didn’t do anything illegal, that he asked several people about the substance before using it, and that he resents the label of “cheater” that is now being hung around his neck.
Here’s what happened. Romero bought the substance, some concoction called 6-OXO Extreme, at a store in Cherry Hill. It’s a testosterone builder. He went to the Phillies trainers and inquired if there was anything in it that that would get him in trouble with Major League Baseball’s testing program to crack down on steroid use. He also checked with his own nutritionist. Romero also checked the label for any banned substance.
Apparently the Phillies trainer was not sure. But Romero went ahead and ingested the substance. He subsequently failed two MLB drug tests. At that point he immediately stopped taking the substance.
A lot of people appear to have come up small in this instance. Romero likely should not have taken the stuff until he was absolutely sure it would not cause him a problem.
The union didn’t really do Romero any favors. Romero says he got a letter from players’ union on Nov. 21 indicating that their earlier indication that a supplement bought over the counter at stores in the U.S. would not cause any problems was in error.
No kidding. Romero is paying a hefty price for that now. He’ll miss 50 games, at a cost to him of more than $1 million.
The Phillies didn’t exactly provide a stout defense of Romero yesterday. New GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tried his best to straddle a fine line, saying the team was standing behind Romero, but also backing Major League Baseball’s testing program.
And so the Phils will be without a key component to the best bullpen in baseball until somewhere around June 1. Romero can take part in spring training, and pitch in Grapefruit League games, but he will not be able to appear in any regular season games.
I hope that testosterone boost was worth it.
Comments
“Some press stories have stated that the Association advised players that the particular supplement J.C. took was safe. Others have suggested that the Association knew, in advance of the positive tests, that this supplement contained a banned substance. Neither is accurate. The Association knew nothing about the particular supplements involved here prior to learning of these positive results."
The general counsel of the world’s most powerful union essentially calling Romero (and his claims) a liar.
I cannot believe, for a second, that the senior attorney for the union would publish a comment like this without it being a bulletproof statement.