Columnist Ron Kantowski: 51s scandal barely registers on fan radar

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Don't shoot the messenger. Or in this case, don't shoot up the messenger.

The 51s have done a pretty nice job of deflecting attention and scrutiny from the three players who tested positive for banned substances and received 15-game suspensions this weekend, essentially putting the blame on Major League Baseball for not making a list of banned substances public so players know which ones to avoid.

They make a valid point, but if it's cold remedies and protein shakes that turned the litmus paper blue, then it would be nice if the three players would say so themselves.

Pitchers Tom Farmer and Heath Totten and infielder Jose Torres have been quieter than the 51s bats on the current home stand in responding to the charges, giving skeptics reason to wonder if they were ingesting something a little stronger than Red Bull.

Of the three, only Farmer has issued a statement, and it was about as vague as your doctor's penmanship.

"What I did was wrong," Farmer said. "So I will serve my suspension and move on."

Thanks for the insight, Tom.

Supposedly, there was a difference between what the pitchers tested positive for and what set off the needle -- that's figuratively speaking -- in Flores' case. Terry Collins, the Dodgers' player development director, said he was surprised that "Jose didn't say anything" to defend himself.

"He took something over the counter to give him some energy," Collins told the Sun's Nick Christenson.

Otherwise, Collins wasn't saying much, either. He chose his words carefully, as if they were guarded by one of those motion detection devices that give burglars fits. And note that he didn't say anything about the pitchers getting a raw deal. So maybe they were getting something under the counter.

51s manager Jerry Royster told reporters that if the players tried to explain themselves it would only sound like an excuse. Or, Royster added, perhaps they were advised by their agents not to talk.

Of course, there also might be a one-percent chance the accused are guilty, but then nobody would ever say that, not even at a congressional hearing.

Not that it matters, anyway.

It's not as if anybody is going to pin a scarlet letter on their uniforms even if they did speak up and/or confess. As long as the baseball fan is ultimately responsible for paying the baseball player's salary, Farmer, Totten and Torres have nothing to fear.

Other than Jason Giambi, who was the only stand-up guy (or fool) to semi-admit using hard-core, performance-enhancing drugs, the only ballplayers who have received a slap on the wrist for testing positive are fringe major leaguers and even more anonymous minor leaguers. Thus, I don't believe the average fan cares. The positive tests have become so common and have involved players of such little repute that fans have begun to tune them out like a Paris Hilton reality show.

Certainly, the 51s' lab report made another mundane PCL home stand a little more interesting for local sports writers. But I seriously doubt that the guy who brought his family out to Cashman Field to watch free fireworks Saturday night noticed the 51s were three players short.

Nobody cares when a minor leaguer pulls a groin muscle so why should this be any different?