Don’t Believe Cano
There was a famous scene in The Shawshank Redemption where Red says to Andy Dufresne, “You’re gonna fit right in. Everyone in here is innocent, you know that?”
The joke carried on later in the movie when it was discovered Andy really wasn’t a murderer. A shocked Heywood would later exclaim, “Red? You saying Andy’s innocent? I mean *for real* innocent?”
Whenever another player is caught for steroids, these scenes from Shawshank should be replayed right after the accused and punished player offers their excuse. Same goes for Robinson Cano, who after it was announced he was suspended for using a masking agent, put out a tweet saying:
Like all the players before him, Cano is innocent. Really!
He’s just the next in a long line of innocent players who were screwed over by someone. Jenrry Mejia‘s mom was only trying to treat his asthma. Manny Ramirez was only trying to have a child. Ryan Braun was the victim of a vicious anti-Semitic attack. David Ortiz was falsely accused because someone needed to balance out all the Yankees suspensions in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.
The list goes on and on with innocent man after innocent man either being duped by a medical professional or falsely accused to settle a score. Again, there are no guilty men in Shawshank.
The thing with Cano’s statement is you want to believe him. Maybe he is Andy. Afterall, he had a medical issue, and he says it is a drug that is commonly prescribed in the Dominican Republic!
As noted by T.J. Quinn of ESPN, the drug, Furosemide, is a commonly used to mask PEDs. Also noted by Quinn, the suspension is likely the result of MLB being able to sufficiently prove in appeal after appeal after appeal Cano used it not for a medical benefit, but really as a masking agent.
Now, as noted by some, like Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal noted the drug does have a valid medical use to reduce edema mostly related to the heart, liver, or kidneys.
Could it be possible Cano had a real medical emergency which required quick thinking leading to his being prescribed and using Furosemide? After all, he did say it was used to treat a medical ailment. Maybe, just maybe he’s the innocent one.
But, he’s not.
Remember, Cano is not some wide eyed rookie. This is a 14 year veteran in the midst of a 10 year $240 million contract. He was previously represented by Scott Boras, and he is now being represented by Roc Nation.
If there is any player who should know better, it’s Cano. Putting aside the avenues MLB makes readily available to its players to make sure these mistakes do not happen, his agents are a phone call or text message away. Cano should know a suspension may not just mean a loss of over $10 million, but it could also cost him his shot at the Hall of Fame.
Yes, if this was a split second medical emergency, you can’t fault Cano. But here’s how you know this wasn’t the case. There was no leaked report. Any agent worth his salt would have made sure this was leaked THE MINUTE Cano either took a test or tested positive. That’s PR damage control.
That didn’t happen because it’s very likely Cano knew what he was taking, and he thought he could get away with it. How long this innocent man in Shawshank got away with it is anyone’s guess . . . .
On October 2, 2016 at a press conference at Fenway Park, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said it was “entirely possible” Ortiz did not test positive during the MLB survey drug testing in 2003. The commissioner stated that the alleged failed test should not harm Ortiz’s legacy, and that there were “legitimate scientific questions about whether or not those were truly positives.” He also said that it is unfair for Hall of Fame voters to consider “leaks, rumors, innuendo and non-confirmed positive test results,” when assessing a player.[71]
You do realize the commissioner has to say that because it was supposed to be a blind test and an MLB official is not permitted to acknowledge whether any player tested positive.
On the same day, both Major League Baseball[69] and the Major League Baseball Players Association issued statements[70] pointing out that because of several factors, any player appearing on the list compiled by federal investigators in 2003 did not necessarily test positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Among those factors were that the total number of players said to be on the list far exceeded the number of collected specimens that tested positive. In addition, there were questions raised regarding the lab that performed the testing and their interpretation of the positive tests. Also, the statement pointed out that certain legal supplements that were available over the counter at the time could cause a positive test result.
So at a time when a CBA was being finalized, there was a joint statement on that? I’m shocked . . . SHOCKED . . . a statement was made about what was supposed to be blind test results.
“According to a report by writer Tom Fish, over half of all players (57%) who tested positive for steroid usage were from the Dominican Republic.”
http://dr1.com/articles/steroids.shtml
Well, Tiger’s body broke down — A-Rod’s hips needed surgery…. Let us revisit Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Beltran at 50 years old.
http://www.nydailynews dot com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-carlos-beltran-jose-reyes-fbi-focusing-hgh-probe-tiger-woods-doctor-tony-galea-article-1.172720
It’s interesting how of all those implicated nothing stuck to Reyes or Beltran.
In the investigation, there were people like Gio Gonzalez who were there not for steroids.