Diamondbacks minor leaguer Rocha suspended 100 games for steroids
Arizona Diamondbacks minor league pitcher Angel Rocha was suspended for 100 games yesterday, the toughest penalty baseball has levied for a positive steroids test.
Rocha was suspended for 15 games last June 6.
Four players were suspended for 50 games each for testing positive: Los Angeles Angels pitcher Karl Jelinas, New York Mets pitcher Jorge Reyes, St. Louis outfielder Yonathan Sivira, and San Diego pitcher Matthew Varner.
The penalty for an initial positive test this year was increased from 15 games to 50 for players with minor league contracts, and the penalty for a second positive test rose from 30 games to 100.
For major leaguers, the punishment was lengthened from 10 days to 50 games — but any test for major leaguers is treated as a first positive test.
There were 81 suspensions last season for violations of the minor league drug program, and four minor league pitchers were suspended last week.
Giants trainer called
The head trainer for the San Francisco Giants was told to appear before a federal grand jury investigating whether Barry Bonds lied about his connection to the BALCO steroids scandal, a newspaper reported.
Stan Conte, who is not related to Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative owner Victor Conte, was subpoenaed to appear in a San Francisco federal courtroom April 27, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.
Conte is scheduled to appear before the grand jury on the same day as Bonds’s orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Arthur Ting. The grand jury subpoenaed Ting’s medical records related to Bonds a year ago, the Chronicle reported.
The panel has been hearing testimony for more than a month about whether the outfielder lied to a grand jury in December 2003 about his connection to BALCO.
Bonds addressed the latest probe publicly for the first time last night on his television show, "Bonds on Bonds."
"I knew I was still being investigated, but I didn’t know that was particularly coming," he said.
Of his grand jury testimony, Bonds added, ‘‘That’s what I stated and that’s what I will live by for the rest of my life.’’
GM Bowden charged
Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly running a stop sign while in Miami during his team’s series against the Marlins last weekend.
A few minutes before he was stopped, Bowden and his girlfriend apparently were involved in a physical altercation that left him with scratches and resulted in battery and resisting arrest charges against her.
A Miami Beach police report said the 44-year-old Bowden refused to take a breath-alcohol test after he was stopped at 2:22 a.m. Monday. An officer said he saw Bowden run the stop sign on Collins Avenue, a main thoroughfare in the South Beach neighborhood. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested, the report said.
The report said that "a strong smell of an alcoholic beverage" emanated from the gray 2006 Cadillac STS Bowden was driving and that he had ‘‘bloodshot eyes, glassy eyes, flush red face and slurred speech.’’ The arresting officers concluded that Bowden ‘‘was unable to operate a motor vehicle safely.’’
Griffey on DL
Ken Griffey said he agreed to go on the 15-day disabled list to let his leg heal fully and to help the Cincinnati Reds with a roster predicament. The team wanted to put the 36-year-old outfielder on the disabled list Monday night after a medical test found an inflamed tendon behind his right knee. Griffey had missed five games at that point. Griffey went along even though he should be ready to play before he’s eligible to return in 10 days. The move gave the Reds an opening to activate catcher Jason LaRue off the disabled list.
LaRue, who had knee surgery during spring training, was activated and rejoined the team. "Certain things work good for the player and good for the team," Griffey said. "It’s a mutual decision on what we needed at the time — they needed a spot for LaRue and things like that. So it’s beneficial for both of us."
