Schoeneweis named in steroids case

By Wire Services  |  October 2, 2007

Veteran Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis, a survivor of testicular cancer, received six steroids shipments from Signature Pharmacy while playing for the White Sox in 2003 and 2004, according to a report on ESPN.com yesterday.

Major League Baseball will investigate Schoeneweis, spokesman Rich Levin told the New York Times.

A source in Florida close to the investigation of Signature told ESPN that Schoeneweis's name appears on packages that were sent to Comiskey Park while the White Sox were in the chase for the AL Central title in 2003. The reliever also received two shipments in 2004.

The doctor who prescribed the drugs, Ramon Scruggs of New Hope Health Center in Tustin, Calif., also wrote prescriptions for Toronto third baseman Troy Glaus.

The 33-year-old Schoeneweis pitched 59 innings with a 5.03 ERA this year and was part of the bullpen collapse that caused the Mets to miss the postseason.

The source who reviewed the invoices said that Schoeneweis spent $1,160 on the steroids.

Fans get apology

The Mets sent a message to their fans, apologizing for the team's September collapse that caused them to miss the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.

The Mets lost 12 of their final 17 games, blowing a seven-game lead in the East, and were beaten out by the Phillies for the division title Sunday. No team has blown a bigger lead so late in the season.

"All of us at the Mets are bitterly disappointed in failing to achieve our collective goal of building upon last year's success," the team said in the e-mailed message. "We did not meet our organization's expectations - or yours."

Phillies pepped up

With their 10,000th franchise loss just a memory, the surging Phillies celebrated their unlikely title at City Hall in Philadelphia yesterday amid thousands of delirious fans.

Patience Jacobs, a fan for half a century, sported a threadbare 1970s-era T-shirt featuring Bugs Bunny in a Phillies uniform.

"I go way back to when they blew it like the Mets," said the 70-year-old Philadelphian, referring to the Phillies' epic late-season collapse in 1964.

This year's team fought back from a seven-game deficit with just 17 games left to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 1993.

The Phillies begin the postseason tomorrow when they host Colorado.

Arizona on the map

The Diamondbacks haven't gotten all that much national attention for their late-season run to the playoffs. That should change when the popular Cubs come to town for the first two games of the series tomorrow and Thursday nights. "Any time you play the Cubs, it can be a traveling circus," said Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin. "There is a lot of excitement." The Phoenix area is loaded with Cubs fans, so expect the support at Chase Field to be divided . . . The likely pitching matchups for Game 1 are Cubs righthander Carlos Zambrano (18-13) vs. righthander Brandon Webb (18-10). In the second game, Ted Lily (15-8) likely will go against the Diamondbacks' Doug Davis (13-12) . . . The Diamondbacks are making the fourth playoff appearance of their 10-season history but first since 2001. Unlike the earlier teams, this one is almost entirely homegrown, the result of what has been arguably the best farm system in baseball . . . Despite starting four rookies and having the worst batting average in the league (.250), the Diamondbacks had the NL's best record, 90-72.