Noelvi Marte

[mgbrown66]

Marte has a 1.000 OPS after two games. Big enough sample for me to say he is the best Reds hitter.

[GAC]

That's the only thing I care about with this issue. If he was unknowingly taking banned substances, then it could very easily happen again.

He got a slap on the wrist this time. If he continues down that path then he deserves what he gets because won't he be monitored? This rule is just about as plain and straightforward as no gambling.

[Chip R]

I'm conflicted here. Part of me would like to see Marte back and - hopefully - raking and making great plays in the field. Also, people deserve second chances. But I guess I'm one of those anti-steroid Nazis. I don't want to see any of them in the HOF. I'm not exactly thrilled about having one on my favorite team. And I don't think we'd be so quick to overlook his transgressions if he were a Pirate, a Cub, a Cardinal or a Brewer. We would be ridiculing him and them.

My guess to what happened here is he pulled his hammy and he wanted it to get better for Spring Training. It's possible he talked with some older players who advised him to take something to facilitate healing. It could have been a one time thing or he may have still been taking it during ST.

[Redsfaithful]

Which is why there is an approved supplements list, and the players are supposed to get their stuff from the team. These guys are not out there on their own trying to decide what the can and can't take. They know exactly what they can take.

Right or wrong, a lot of athletes outsource all of these decisions to their trainers and nutritionists.

[Z-Fly]

I'm conflicted here. Part of me would like to see Marte back and - hopefully - raking and making great plays in the field. Also, people deserve second chances. But I guess I'm one of those anti-steroid Nazis. I don't want to see any of them in the HOF. I'm not exactly thrilled about having one on my favorite team. And I don't think we'd be so quick to overlook his transgressions if he were a Pirate, a Cub, a Cardinal or a Brewer. We would be ridiculing him and them.

My guess to what happened here is he pulled his hammy and he wanted it to get better for Spring Training. It's possible he talked with some older players who advised him to take something to facilitate healing. It could have been a one time thing or he may have still been taking it during ST.

I mean Sterling Marte and Ryan Braun snuck through pretty quietly.

I'm very anti-steroids' too. My reasoning is different than most. I feel that if one person takes it, then it forces basically everyone to take it. Obviously, no one has to take it. If you don't though, you are at a pretty significant disadvantage in a sport that is already incredibly difficult. No one should be force to put something in their body to be competitive.

I look at it this way, the MLB tests for it now. They seem to be pretty good at it. Lets leave it up to them to handle, and we'll try to enjoy being fans.

[Kingspoint]

I mean Sterling Marte and Ryan Braun snuck through pretty quietly.

I'm very anti-steroids' too. My reasoning is different than most. I feel that if one person takes it, then it forces basically everyone to take it. Obviously, no one has to take it. If you don't though, you are at a pretty significant disadvantage in a sport that is already incredibly difficult. No one should be force to put something in their body to be competitive.

It's why Dale Murphy is not in the Hall-of-Fame. The last half of his career was loaded with half of Major League Baseball taking steroids (I don't care who was caught and who wasn't. It was very obvious that half of the league was taking them.) Murphy's career numbers would have been even more dominant against his peers if not for so many taking steroids at the time (and they took them in the Minors before they even got to the Majors). I can't stand Bret Boone because of the steroids that he took. He did it as a well-informed Veteran, making it worse. Can't stand Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa and it's a joke they they should get any accolades. Same is true of Jeff Bagwell and so many others.

Marte has a chance to correct his mistake before he's even eligble for Rookie-of-the-Year honors and all can be forgiven up to this point. But, if he continues, then he's just another cheater, and should get no respect from anyone from baseball.

[Kingspoint]

Having lost 3 in a row, the goal is still to be 40-40 when Marte returns. It's doable, and we go from there.

[LeatherPants]

It's why Dale Murphy is not in the Hall-of-Fame. The last half of his career was loaded with half of Major League Baseball taking steroids (I don't care who was caught and who wasn't. It was very obvious that half of the league was taking them.) Murphy's career numbers would have been even more dominant against his peers if not for so many taking steroids at the time (and they took them in the Minors before they even got to the Majors). I can't stand Bret Boone because of the steroids that he took. He did it as a well-informed Veteran, making it worse. Can't stand Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa and it's a joke they they should get any accolades. Same is true of Jeff Bagwell and so many others.

Marte has a chance to correct his mistake before he's even eligble for Rookie-of-the-Year honors and all can be forgiven up to this point. But, if he continues, then he's just another cheater, and should get no respect from anyone from baseball.

I had to look it up, because I wasn't alive then, but Murphy's last full season in the majors was 1991, doesn't that pre-date the steroid era by a few years? Like, I'm sure guys were taking stuff, but it didn't explode until after that, right? His age 30 season was in 1986 according to BR. Just not seeing it.

[Chip R]

I had to look it up, because I wasn't alive then, but Murphy's last full season in the majors was 1991, doesn't that pre-date the steroid era by a few years? Like, I'm sure guys were taking stuff, but it didn't explode until after that, right? His age 30 season was in 1986 according to BR. Just not seeing it.

Not quite. Canseco said he and McGwire were juicing in the minors. I'm sure they weren't the first either.

[Z-Fly]

Not quite. Canseco said he and McGwire were juicing in the minors. I'm sure they weren't the first either.

I always assumed;
Late 70s - Started showing up
Late 80s - They were available for the willing
Late 90s - Full on pandemic

[LeatherPants]

Not quite. Canseco said he and McGwire were juicing in the minors. I'm sure they weren't the first either.

I'm pushing back on the idea that Dale Murphy lost half his career to guys on steroids, I just don't think that's accurate. I've watched most of the 1990 Reds season on YouTube, and the players were all skinny guys, and that was basically Murphy's last year.

[cumberlandreds]

I'm pushing back on the idea that Dale Murphy lost half his career to guys on steroids, I just don't think that's accurate. I've watched most of the 1990 Reds season on YouTube, and the players were all skinny guys, and that was basically Murphy's last year.

I watched Murphy a lot on WTBS in the 80's and I highly doubt he took steroids. I believe he was just one of many players who's career just fell off a cliff. Real shame too. He won two MVP's and was a dominant player for 8 years or so. Very close to being a HOFer's.

[westofyou]

Not quite. Canseco said he and McGwire were juicing in the minors. I'm sure they weren't the first either.

I always had an inkling that Brian Downing was dabbling. He was one of the early weight lifters too. Tom House who pitched in the 1970's said he took them and then he said....

https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2052364

House, perhaps best known for catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run ball in 1974 in the Atlanta Braves' bullpen, said he and several teammates used amphetamines, and that he tried human growth hormone and "whatever steroid" he could find in order to keep up with the competition.

"I pretty much popped everything cold turkey," House said.
"We were doing steroids they wouldn't give to horses. That was the '60s, when nobody knew. The good thing is, we know now. There's a lot more research and understanding."

House, a former pitching coach with the Texas Rangers and co-founder of the National Pitching Association near San Diego, is one of the first players to describe steroid use as far back as the 1960s.

He was drafted in 1967 by the Braves and pitched eight seasons for Atlanta, Boston and Seattle, finishing his career with a 29-23 record and 3.79 ERA.

"We didn't get beat, we got out-milligrammed," House, 58, said. "And when you found out what they were taking, you started taking them."

House said he gained almost 30 pounds while using steroids, blaming the extra weight for contributing to knee problems. He said the drugs helped improve recovery time and conditioning but did not add velocity to his fastball.

"I tried everything known to man to improve my fastball, and it still didn't go faster than 82 miles per hour," House said. "I was a failed experiment."

SI had a had a big expose on steroid use in the NFL in 1969, I'm fairly certain that Reds were juicing, especially one amped up guy with a funny haircut

[Redsfaithful]

I had to look it up, because I wasn't alive then, but Murphy's last full season in the majors was 1991, doesn't that pre-date the steroid era by a few years? Like, I'm sure guys were taking stuff, but it didn't explode until after that, right? His age 30 season was in 1986 according to BR. Just not seeing it.

Read about the Steelers in the 70's, the steroid era was long (and ongoing).

[westofyou]

Murphy in six year increments

.260	.324	.445	.769	2210 PAs
.289	.383	.531	.913	4173 PAs
.234	.307	.396	.703	2658 PAs