Taken literally, the ESPN report stating that Major League Baseball will suspend the 20 players involved with the Biogenesis clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., sometime after the All-Star break is accurate.
The time determination is indefinite, however, HardBallTalk.com reports.
According to the HardBallTalk.com report, MLB officials have not determined when it will announce any suspensions regarding the players, including Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
MLB Players Union executive director Michael Weiner lashed out publicly in response to leaks to the media regarding the Biogenesis case.
"The leaking of confidential information to members of the media interferes with the thoroughness and credibility of the Biogenesis investigation," Weiner said in a released statement. "These repeated leaks threaten to harm the integrity of the Joint Drug Agreement and call into question the required level of confidentiality needed to operate a successful prevention program. It would be unfortunate if anyone prejudged the results of the investigation based on unsubstantiated leaks that are a clear violation of the Joint Drug Agreement."
The HardBallTalk.com report added that MLB also has not established a disciplinary time period but is considering the 100-game suspension, as ESPN reported.
HardBallTalk.com argued that a 100-game suspension - which media outlets have reported would consist of 50 games for using performance enhancing drugs and 50 games for lying about it - for any athlete involved would be inconsistent with the punishment handed to Melky Cabrera, who played with the San Francisco Giants last season.
Cabrera tried to create a phony website with a fake ad for a product that didn't exist to give him an excuse for testing positive for PEDs. So his deception plus his positive test should have resulted in a 100-game suspension under the same conditions as the Biogenesis subjects.
Cabrera, however, received only a 50-game suspension. He now is playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. HardBallTalk.com reported that he plea-bargained his way from a possible 100-game suspension down to his 50-game suspension.
Which leads to the question - if MLB does try to invoke a 100-game suspension to the Biogenesis-connected players - couldn't they also plea-bargin for a lesser sentence?
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