Dominican player Robinson Cano denies PED suspension rumor

Dominican player and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano along with his agent, Scott Boras, yesterday said there was no truth to rumors of Cano being suspended for performance-enhancing drugs. Boras, told The New York Daily News that the rumors were false. He had traced the allegation to a rumor that originated in the Dominican Republic, a reporter in the U.S. and a rival agent.

Hard to stop a 'rumor' originating from the Dominican Republic. The rumor mill and oral communication in general is one of the top forms of communication in the Dominican Republic. I have often told people that are trying to contact Dominicans in the Dominican Republic to just go down there and start asking people. If you know what city a Dominican person is in, then I bet you can find them in half a day just by asking the first people you come across in whatever Dominican city you may be in.

But the 'U.S. reporter and the 'rival agent' obviously lack integrity if they were involved in this rumor in any way.

Cano has never really been suspected of performance enhancing drugs. His numbers have been consistently awesome since he was in the minor leagues and there is nothing in his injury history to suggest PEDs.

That was not the case last month, when Dominican player Melky Cabrera got busted for PEDs and suspended 50 games. Cabrera was in the midst of his best year ever, and coming in his seventh full-time big league season, the jump in stats were an anomaly that may have suggested PED use.

Cano's friendship with the fellow Dominican baseball player Cabrera fueled the suspicion that Cano could have failed a PED test. But it appears that the rumors were entirely false, and Cano hopes to focus on making the playoffs this season with the Yankees.

"You can't control what people say," Cano told the New York Daily News. "There's a lot of negative stuff out there and I can't control that. I have to stay above that."

Dominican beisbol player of the week Robinson Cano, by Keith Allison on Flickr

Dominican player Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games for steroids

Once again we have a Dominican baseball player suspended for performance enhancing drugs. Bartolo Colon was busted and handed a 50-game suspension for a first time offender. That is the first time he has been convicted, not accused.

Just this past May, MLB investigated an off-season surgery on Colon's elbow. Doctors reportedly injected stem cells from Colon's back into his elbow, a procedure that did not violate MLB drug regulations. You would think he would try not do use illegal substances after that off-season, but in a statement he all but admits to the steroid use:

"I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A's. I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required by the Joint Drug Program."

I miss the days when players would at least lie and try and act like they had not been taking performance enhancing drugs. The Dominican Baseball Guy thought all along that is what the stem cells from his back that had him off to such a good season. But now I am not sure if it was the surgery or the PEDs or the fact that his is a really talented pitcher that led him to such a good year.

He has the surprising A's in playoff contention and is 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA. And he had a 20-plus inning scoreless streak this season. Now we will have to see what the A's will do without him because he will not be back until next year, because the A's are not making it to the second round of the playoffs.

Bartolo is from Altamira, Dominican Republic.

Dominican player Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games for steroids, photo by Keith Allison

All-Star MVP Melky Cabrera suspended for Performance Enhancing Drugs

Dominican baseball player Melky Cabrera, Giants outfielder and the All-Star game MVP this season, has been suspended 50 games for the use of performance enhancing drugs. MLB says he tested positive for testosterone. The suspension is effective immediately. He will miss the remainder of the regular season, and the first five games of next year or the playoffs.

Cabrera came to the Giants in a trade with Kansas City Royals last November that sent left-hander Jonathan Sanchez to the Royals. He has also played for the Yankees. He was having a career year, with the 2012 All-Star game MVP award and on pace for a career high in average, home runs, and RBI. But the numbers are not that far off his career numbers to say they were all due to the uptick in testosterone.

Who knows if he used an outlawed supplement in good faith without knowing or if perhaps someone advised him to take something with banned testosterone in it? The Dominican Baseball Guy would normally rush to condemn him as a cheater yet. But his response and that of the Giants is basically a tacit admission of guilt. Their responses are laughable.

Cabrera released through a statement: "My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."

And the Giants said before today's game, "We were extremely disappointed to learn of the suspension of Melky Cabrera for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention & Treatment Program. We fully support Major League Baseball's policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing drugs from our game. Per the protocol outline by Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, the Giants will not comment further on this matter."

So, he used them and is admitting it? So, he was cheating the whole time and knew it? Perhaps he should have just kept his mouth shut and not responded. So, sad when players cheat the game like this. With that said I say make everything legal or make the tests way more stringent, a la NFL testing policies.

Cabrera is from Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic.

Dominican Melky Cabrera suspended for Performance Enhancing Drugs

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Rijo charged with money laundering in the Dominican

Dominican native and former big league pitcher Jose Rijo has been charged with money laundering in the Dominican Republic. He has been charged with laundering money for 'alleged' drug trafficker Avelino Castro. Prosecutors did not arrest Rijo, but ordered him to remain in the Dominican Republic.

The drug trafficking issue in the Dominican Republic has not been spotlighted as it has with the Mexican drug cartels of the 2000s or the Columbian cartels of the 1990s. But the fact is those same cartels actually ship their product through the Dominican Republic on the way to New York and the East Coast.

So, drug trafficking and organized crime are major problems in the Dominican Republic. Law enforcement in the Dominican Republic is undoubtedly more poorly funded and less organized than even Mexico or Columbia. The conditions are ripe for drug gangs to take advantage of the lack of law enforcement.

Murders, kidnappings, and bribery are the norm in the Dominican Republic, and even law enforcement officers are often caught up in the cycle of drug violence. Dominican news channels spout out stories of prosecutors being killed and police officers being bought off. And with the lack of law enforcement infrastructure (such as forensics teams) almost non-existent, many of the crimes go unsolved or are not investigated at all.

There are good law enforcement officers and prosecutors in the Dominican Republic. They just lack the infrastructure and man power to maintain the type of law and order we are used to in the States and other western countries. What drew prosecutors to the Rijo case was the fact that Avelino Castro was 'allegedly' involved in the kidnap and murder of Dominican journalist Jose Silvestre.

Rijo signed with the Yankees in 1980 and debuted with New York in 1984. He was the MVP of 1990 World Series with the Reds and made one All-Star team. Rijo last pitched in the Majors in 2002, rounding out a 14 year big league career. Interesting to note that he won the Reds Joe Nuxhall Good Guy award twice, and he is in the Reds Hall of Fame. Wonder if they can take those back?

He is from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic.

Dominican pitcher Jose Rijo, member of the Reds Hall of Fame, charged with
laundering drug money in the Dominican Republic, photo by zeejaydee on Flickr

Dominican prospect Angel Villalona plays first game in three years

It has been a long road for Dominican prospect Angel Villalona. Once one of the top five prospects in the Giants system, he was arrested and charged with murder in the Dominican Republic in 2009. He faced civil and criminal prosecution. The civil case was dropped after he made a payment to the family, and the criminal case eventually fell apart due to lack of evidence.

This is such a sad case. I predicted back in 2009 that the Villalona would eventually be cleared. I think Villalona or someone in his group may have committed the crime, but the whole situation seemed like a bar fight gone wrong. And I suggested the victim's family may have been trying to extort money.

We will never know what happened in that bar in La Romana, the hometown of Villalona. The prosecuting branch of Dominican law enforcement does not have the same resources at its disposal as their American counter parts, and that is the main reason I thought this case may get dropped. It seemed like a 'he said, he said' case to begin with, and without substantial resources it was a hard case to prove.

As for the victim and the civil case, the family of the victim probably got what they deserved even if it was an accident or a bar fight gone too far. Villalona gave them a payment of $139,000.

So, Villalona lost three years of his life and baseball career. Much worse can be said for the victim's family.  But he is only 21 and has finally been cleared to join the Giants system again. He started out with a game in the Dominican Summer League Thursday and went 1-4.

He is still going to have to jump through some hoops just to get a visa to play in the US again, so expect him to play in the DSL the rest of the season. And at 21, he could still turn into that power hitting first baseman that everyone predicted him to be back three years ago as an 18 year old prospect. It will be a long road though, as he is starting from square one in the lowest division of professional baseball in all of the minor league system.

Dominican Juan Carlos Oviedo suspended for age fraud

Dominican Juan Carlos Oviedo aka Leo Nunez was recently suspended for age and identity fraud. Age fraud has been an issue with signing Dominican baseball prospects ever since teams first started signing Dominican prospects to big money deals. Dominican prospects have tried to misrepresent their ages because teams were more likely to sign a younger player that had time to develop. If they turned out to be older than they said, then it was just the teams left holding their *!?@ in their hands, and the players left to face legal backlash.

But recently the MLB implemented an age limit on signing international free agents. Dominican prospects must now be 17 years old before they are signed by a big league club. At the same time they introduced new measures to ensure a player's age. So, now the legal repercussions are greater. Basically, MLB is making it virtually impossible for Dominican prospects to commit age fraud. There are tests of birth certificates and other documents, but now also interviews with the person who assisted in the birth of the prospect or blood tests that verify a player's age.

Now the Oviedo/Nunez case comes about because signed with a team before the additional measures were made to ensure a prospects age. In 2008 MLB offered amnesty to any player that admitted to age fraud, and Leo Nunez did not come forward.

Nunez is perhaps the most high profile player to be busted for age AND identity fraud. He was the Marlins everyday closer for three years. Miguel Tejada was caught for age fraud, but he never misrepresented his identity. With all the homeland security issues in the United States, the identity fraud has added to Oviedo's plight. He was facing charges in both the Dominican Republic and the United States.

He seems to have been cleared of those charges, but MLB is slapping him with an eight-week ban. Expect to see him back with the Marlins some time in mid-July.

With the new precautions being enforced by MLB, the teams, and the Dominican government also on-board to help out, the Dominican Baseball Guy expects to see little-to-none of this going forward.

Dominican Leo Nunez aka Juan Carlos Oviedo suspended for age and identity fraud,
photo by bkrieger02 on Flickr

Dominican player Vladimir Guerrero arrested in Dominican Republic, denies role in bar brawl

Dominican player Vladimir Guererro has turned himself in to police in the Dominican Republic following an altercation at a bar. Bar fights in the Dominican Republic seem to be a big issue with Dominican baseball players. Who can forget Dominican player Angel Villalona pretty much ruining his career over a bar stool fight on a winter visit back home?

For his part, Guererro is claiming he is innocent. ''At no time did I attack anyone, nor was I fleeing,'' Guerrero told the AP. ''I presented myself at the jail last night after the complaint from the disco, and this morning first thing I went to the police that are handling the case.''

Looks like your typical Dominican baseball player wrongly accused and possible extortion attempt on a well-known player. But who knows. It seems like a minor incident even if the prosecutors follow through with the charges. It sounds like Vladdy bumped a police officer when they were trying to break up a fight.

For all the lack of law and order in the Dominican Republic, it sure seems that Dominican baseball players end up in a lot of legal troubles in their home country. That is the major reason the Dominican Baseball Guy often thinks 'extortion' rather than the player is 'guilty' upon hearing of Dominican player legal problems.

Vladimir spent last season with the Orioles and hit .290 and 13 home runs. He is still unsigned for this season and is looking for a job. The former MVP is from Nizao, Dominican Republic.

Dominican beisbol player Vladimir Guerrero pictured last year with the Orioles,
photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Manny Ramirez goes to jail, then released, Manny Ramirez va a el cárcel

Everyone knows that Manny Ramirez is one of the Dominican Baseball Guy's all time favorite players.  But even the Dominican Baseball Guy cannot support his beloved Manny in this case.  The word is he was jailed for one night in Florida after a domestic disturbance involving his wife.

Actually Manny's actions in recent years have made even his most avid fans stop following him.  He faced a 100 game suspension for his second performance enhancing drugs suspension before retiring at the start of this year.  And now add this incident on to getting busted, not once, but twice for performance enhancing drugs, and Manny is not doing anything favorable for his legacy.  People quickly forget even the best when they do foolish things like this.

In the eyes of the Dominican Baseball Guy, Manny has fallen from the top of the Dominican Baseball pyramid.  He will always be one of the greatest Dominicans to play in MLB, but he just won't be as loved and appreciated for his quirky style, as he was by fans before these incidents.

He does plan to play in the Dominican Winter Baseball League this year, and the Dominican Baseball Guy will certainly try to catch him down there this winter if he does, despite his disdain for Ramirez's recent behavior.  It is too bad, because it is really hard for the Dominican Baseball Guy to dislike Manny, but I think I do right now.

Manny Ramirez es de Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, la capital.  And Keith Winters is the Dominican Baseball Guy, expert on beisbol Dominicano.

Manny Ramirez with the Red Sox, what a great time to
be a Manny Ramirez fan, by Keith Allison on  Flickr

Angel Villalona Update

The Dominican Baseball guy wants to update the Angel Villalona story which I posted on a few weeks ago here.  Apparently he made a payment to the victim of the family which will take care of any civil action that the family may have seeked against Villalona. Andrew Baggarly posted this on his blog, citing an AP story. The Listin Diario daily newspaper in Santo Domingo also released this article. You can use this free translator from Verbatim Solutions if you want to read the Spanish article.

There is a good discussion at the Baggarly blog and at a blog post by Garrett Broshuis, a former teammate of Villalona.

This is a sticky situation. He made a payment to diffuse the possibility of later civil actions by the family. Some think this may admit guilt. I for one do not think this admits guilt. The justice system is not perfect in the US. In the DR, it is even less perfect (corruption, underfunding, and understaffng being major problems). I posted on my original post that there are witnesses from both sides (some saying he did it, others saying he was outside). I think extortion is a very high possibility, if friends of the victim thought they could get money out of Angel, they could have concocted a story.

And the prosecutor is also a politician, so he could be using this for his own gains. The things I find strange are that they have not recovered a gun, nor have they proven that Angel ever owned a gun, and that the only motive they have mentioned is that there was a fight over a seat. Not a very strong case in my opinion.

I said that everyone is innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the Dominican Baseball Guy in the original post, and I continue to believe this. The latest news is that Angel has had his visa revoked by the US, so whether he is guilty or not this is not good news for him.