Vague substance policies bitter pill for 51s

Nick Christensen

Monday, May 23, 2005 | 10:50 a.m.

Soon, Los Angeles Dodgers doctor Michael Mellman will begin a tour of the minor leagues, giving players a more detailed explanation of what's legal to use and what's not.

It can't come soon enough.

Two days after pitchers Tom Farmer and Heath Totten and infielder Jose Flores were all given 15-game suspensions for violating baseball's Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, many Las Vegas 51s expressed confusion and frustration with policies enacted before this season started.

Chief among those complaints is the lack of specific guidelines as to what supplements and nutritional products are legal under current baseball rules, and what products land a player with two weeks unpaid vacation. Currently, no detailed list is available to players.

"It's not too specific at all," 51s second baseman Joe Thurston said. "They've basically said, 'Don't take anything until we find out what's good and what's not good.' Basically nothing's good right now because you don't want to take a chance."

That doesn't sit well with many players, including 51s catcher Mike Rose. Rose agrees wholeheartedly with the testing program - so long as it's just testing for steroids.

"To make it through a 162-game season in the big leagues, or a 142-game season here, there's no way you can do it without some kind of supplements, whether it's protein shakes, creatine or whatever," Rose said. "I'm not taking anything now, because it's too big a risk. It's not even worth it."

Business went on Sunday in the 51s clubhouse, even without Farmer, Totten and Flores. There was a difference between the suspensions handed down to the pitchers and Flores, although neither 51s manager Jerry Royster nor Dodgers player development director Terry Collins would disclose what differentiated the suspensions. Collins was selective in what he would say.

"I know what was in there, I know what they talked about and I'm really surprised that Jose didn't say anything," Collins said. "His is something -- he's just like Jon Weber. He took something over the counter that he tried to give him some energy."

Weber was the first Dodgers minor leaguer suspended this year. He failed a drug test taken last season when he was with the Sacramento River Cats, and was notified in April. At the time, he told the Florida Times-Union that he was taking an energy booster that contained ephedrine.

An official release from Major League Baseball on Friday named only Totten and Farmer as players in violation.

For now, Collins said, the players are in communication with him about what to do with the next 11 days. He said arrangements are being made so players can continue working out with the 51s while they're at home, then travel elsewhere to train when the 51s travel to Tucson for a four-game series later this week. The three players are not allowed to be at Cashman Field during games.

Still, the three will miss two weeks of pay for breaking a rule with which nobody in the 51s clubhouse is very familiar, and that has Royster irritated.

"It's tough, especially when you don't know," Royster said. "You don't get a list of things that contain banned substances. These kids have no chance.

"If they get caught, 15 days is huge. I know people think like that's nothing, because they think they're sitting in the back room injecting themselves with a freaking needle. It's not. I'm not defending my guys, I'm talking about it in general. I know for sure we need more education or whatever it is."

Royster also said that baseball's being too harsh on players taking normal supplements.

"If it isn't a hardcore steroid, how can you be banned?" he said. "How can (Tampa Bay outfielder) Alex Sanchez walk in with a jug of what he took and say 'This is what I'm doing,' and he's penalized, like Giambi, who hasn't been penalized and he's admitted it?

"We've got to get a better grip on it. Stop getting my guy when you've got guys raising their hands saying 'I did it!' If my guy says I did it, is he off the hook? And if he isn't, why not? Their guy was."

For Rose, the policy in general is just too strict.

"We go to GNC to buy stuff to help us get through a season. I don't think that deserves a 15-game suspension with no pay. That could ruin somebody's season or their career," he said. "A lot of it's done in the winter. We rely on some kind of supplement to keep us going, keep us healthy and strong and keep the numbers up. That's our living. That's our job.

"You're not going to tell a body builder he can't take protein shakes or go to GNC or a health food store and buy some supplements that are going to keep him strong throughout the body building season."

Las Vegas trainer Jason Mahnke said he hasn't noticed any drastic differences in players' workout regimens since the new policy passed.

Less than a year ago, 51s outfielder Nick Theodorou was subjected to even stiffer scrutiny when he was playing for the Greek national team at the Athens Olympics. When he arrived, he had a cold and a 102-degree fever.

"They couldn't give me Sudafed because it had ephedrine and some other stuff that are masking agents for steroids, so you can't take (anything)," he said. "I had a fever for 12 days straight and all I was taking was regular Tylenol. That's all I could take. I lost 15 pounds - it was fun."

Theodorou and Rose both said players should be asked for a list of supplements they're taking, then have those products - and their ingredients - analyzed for their legality.

"Let's ask the guy what he was taking before the test, or are you taking anything right now," Rose said. "We're relying on what we see on the back of a bottle. I agree with the testing program - there should be a level playing field.

"Steroids should not be allowed in baseball or any sport, but at the same time we should be able to keep our bodies strong somehow by taking some kind of supplements that are perfectly legal."