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Associated Press Gio Gonzalez denied ever taking any PEDs when he reported to camp last week. |
ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported tonight at least 25 players received PEDs from Biogenesis, but Gonzalez was not one of them.
Gonzalez did receive $1,000 worth of substances, but those listed are not banned by MLB: glutathione (an anti-oxidant) and intramuscular shots of methionine, inositol and choline. Those shots are often used for weight loss, which could suggest they were for Gonzalez's father, Max, who has admitted being a client of Biogenesis chief Anthony Bosch's weight-loss clinic.
Gonzalez is the only player who has been tied to Biogenesis so far who did not receive PEDs, two independent sources told ESPN.
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53 comments:
GIO! GIO! and the best part is this is in the crawl for ESPN! all the other news outlets are picking it up as well. THANK YOU TJ QUINN!
Eugene in Oregon said...
Mark Z: Wasn't Ryan Zimmerman on an SI cover a couple of years back celebrating the 'Class of 2005' draftees? Since he was among a number of players drafted that year, maybe that doesn't count as being 'featured'?
Technically not. He was on the fold-out of the March 31, 2008 cover (see link below)
There is a cool photo of Zim holding up an uncirculated March 31, 2008 cover of himself that was used for the photo shoot and if you look closely as each player held up a promo photo.
http://a4.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/50/c25d6670fba62f38b12d09b3744e201a/l.jpg
What MicheleS said! You go Gio! We had your back!
So ... how does this gibe with Gio's contention that he never received anything at all from Biogenesis, etc? I'll be interested to hear whether he will be revising his story.
John C., does it possibly say Gonzalez where it could mean Max Gonzalez?
Good, let's get back to real baseball!
In the meantime, MLB needs to keeping sweeping!
Guessing Gio pays for everything his dad wants. Hence-- Gio "bought" the weight loss products.
So far spring has been nothing but good news
That's not the way I read Mark's report, and it's not the way it is being reported on the web site article or video. From the site:
"Both sources, speaking independently, identified Gonzalez as the only Bosch client named thus far who did not receive performance-enhancing drugs. A document obtained by "Outside the Lines" bolsters their case: On a computer printout of clients, Gonzalez, identified by the code name "Gladiator," is said to have received $1,000 worth of substances, but under "notes" are several substances not banned by Major League Baseball: "gluthetyn" (which a source said was a misspelling of glutathione), "IM [intramuscular] shots," and amino acids.
Glutathione is an anti-oxidant, and one source said the "IM shots" Gonzalez received were "MICs," a medically dubious but legal combination of methionine, inositol and choline, often used for weight loss."
The video indicates that, independent of Gio, Max received weight loss drugs. So while I'm happy that Gio isn't likely to be suspended, the report doesn't gibe completely with his story.
John C., I know what you're saying. Initially when the story broke I wrote on the Post about "Gio Being A Distraction" I felt legally there's nothing credible but the story did have room to cause doubt as to "did Gio even receive the legal supplements like the AminoRip".
At first I questioned it as it didn't seem like a supplement a man older than me might be taking for someone trying to lose weight but when that New York Times article came out it really called into question Bosch's credibility and anything in that journal.
I also thought Gio did a good job on his interview in Viera.
If as you are thinking that Gio did get some of those supplements, then its a shame as that could be seen as to question his honesty, but again innocent until proven guilty.
John C., James Wagner brings up the points you just discussed:
James Wagner@JamesWagnerWP
Questions left: report says Gio, who denied knowing Bosch, received substances. No mention of dad, an admitted patient http://wapo.st/13cyBd2
First person to see Jason Stark.......give him a swift kick to the shin..
jdinFL, how's about a process server handing him a lawsuit! Hit him where it really hurts, his pocket!
Two independent anonymous sources say that Gio did not receive any banned substance. Gio name is listed next to some non-banned substances but Gio denies ever even knowing Bosch.
This is what I think.
What makes the most sense is that Gio father purchased some things for himself using Gio credit. He might have also purchased some other supplements for Gio without Gio really being aware of who he purchased them from hence Gio saying he never knew Bosch.
Good news!!!
I can't believe some of you people!!! Gio did not lie!!!!! There would be no reason for him to lie about picking up weight-loss meds for his father. And God knows Gio does not need to lose weight. The report is inaccurate because of the confusion of Gio's name included in the log along with his father's. Its the same as when you people write blogs and misspell words. I know what you meant and I read it that way. Gio's name was probably included with his father's name in the log because like Gio says, his father likes to brag that is son is a major league pitcher. And Bosche or whomever wrote in the log, thinks ah ha! Another potential client. I'll just jot his name down.
You people need to stop trying to make something out of nothing. You really piss me off!!!!!
Great news!!!
Michele, enjoyed the trip to HOF but needed more time. I think you need two days to fully enjoy the HOF. I plan to upload some pics whenever get some free time soon.
>>>Questions left: report says Gio, who denied knowing Bosch, received substances. No mention of dad, an admitted patient http://wapo.st/13cyBd2
No questions at all. He still may not have known Bosch or received the substances. Assuming he got the supplements from them (which is still an assumption), he didn't have to know Bosch personally. He also didn't have to be the one who purchased them so he wouldn't necessarily have known where they came from. He has "people" who have the ability to buy things for him using his money.
Also, not mentioning his father doesn't mean they weren't for him.
Best news I've read today! It counterbalances the "bad" news of Harper being on the cover of SI. For someone as superstitious as I am about Nats things, that is. Gio neither looks nor acts like someone who would have been implicated with banned PEDs. I know that's anecdotal, yadda, yadda, yadda, and he may have been too close for comfort to being in a bad situation, but so have many of us at one time or another in our lives.
We need his joy, his smile, and his curveball this year!
Already we had Boz reporting that MLB back channels told the Nats "don't worry about it," in reference to Gio. He was selected for the WBC. He didn't buy any PEDs, and as far as we know, has never tested positive.
You could question his trainer. You could suggest he change agents. You could wonder if his father used his credit card to pay for weight loss products of "dubious value." But, seriously, enough is enough. Let's play ball!!!!
It was a little surprising to me that there were originally "12" names in the Biogenesis records and now we are up to "25." Gio has had the shock of his baseball life. Just learn from it--and all our boys. Stay CLEAN. Period.
A non-issue before the first spring training game. SWEET! Play Ball....
Whoooo Hoooo!!
Just get home from a great concert at the Birchmere (Unkyd - Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale) and find out Gio is cleared!! Life is especially good except for that sport with the big round orange ball that is sometimes played well in College Park and often not played very well in other gyms. Terps = NIT
sjm, I drove past the Birchmere the other day and thought of you.
You are right. Play ball!
Yep, the Terps just wasted the significance of the Duke win.
It's over. Gio did nothing wrong, and the facts show it.
How easy it is to accuse an innocent man. Gio is lucky that there was documentary evidence that substantiated his assertion of never having used PEDs. Not everyone in his position is so fortunate.
From a commenter on WaPo:
0073
2/19/2013 11:01 PM EST
I know that ESPN is reporting that Gio did receive substances--just not any banned ones--from Biogenesis because there's a notation about "Gladiator," which some unnamed source told ESPN refers to Gio. But the main character in "Gladiator" is named Maximo, and Gio's father, a patient or customer at the clinic, is named Max. I wonder if "Gladiator" doesn't refer to Max Gonzalez.
I know we all hate the WBC. Actually, I don't, and they don't in Venezuela. Fun picture==> "Los 28."
Yet another sign Venezuela is WBC-crazy: both all-sports national dailies lead with the tournament
pic.twitter.com/0Gg6O51M
Scooter - thanks!, wish the place was closer. I will be looking forward to your Viera report.
Don't let Natsjack corrupt you.
The place is practically around the corner from me, sjm. And yet I never avail myself. Ah, life's ironies.
As to Gio:
Move along, there's nothing to see here.
I'm totally with SonnyG10 @10:37 p.m. on this garbage. This whole "story" was a bunch of crapola from a lousy, unprofessional reporter that worked for a useless rag of a South Florida tabloid. This innocent young man's name has now been dragged through the mud by the mainstream press. Many of the fans that heard the original story don't/won't hear the followup story that exonerates him, thus leaving him with an undeserved bad name. Now what really stinks is that there are still people questioning Gio's innocence because of the way ESPN worded the new "story."
"But the main character in "Gladiator" is named Maximo, and Gio's father, a patient or customer at the clinic, is named Max. I wonder if "Gladiator" doesn't refer to Max Gonzalez."
Exactly.
I can see Gio having his bank issue a credit card in his name, with his dad as an approved co-user, so that his dad could afford to purchase items and services which Gio could pay for. Hence Gio's name could easily have been introduced into this mess because it was his credit card that was used to pay for the services and substances purchased by his dad.
So Gio's good intentions came back to bite him in the arse. "No good deed goes unpunished," as they say, and I suspect that's what happened here. I have no proof, of course, but it is the simplest and most logical explanation for what the public record shows.
If others want to make assumptions about how bad all this makes Gio look, there is an equal and more likely case to be made that the record shows he is a good guy who wants to share his success and wealth with his family. It would also explain why he never met Bosch, never bought anything from Biogenesis, and why his name appears in their records, nevertheless.
That the substances purchased from Biogenesis are for weight reduction purposes substantiates the his dad's explanation of how things played out.
MLB has conducted its investigation, and there is no "there" there.
No one on the Biogenesis list has failed a drug test. A failed drug test is the only way that MLB should punish players. It is up to MLB to conduct testing fairly and effectively. Being connected to places like Biogenesis by having your name on a handwritten list is not good enough. Convicting people thru media and public opinion without concrete evidence is ridiculous.
It doesn't matter what the MLB investigation reveals unless a player has possession or fails a drug test.
I had faith that Gio had not taken PED's. But his reputation has a spot on it because of his father's visits and handwritten notes. Ridiculous!
read this in the paper: http://on.wsj.com/Y9GezF
HOF should be all over this.
Well, maybe a little higher than that, and get behind him first. (Oh, my. Did I just type that? :-))
djinFl. said...
First person to see Jason Stark.......give him a swift kick to the shin..
February 19, 2013 10:11 PM
Great News!!! Now, I want to see a new "official" report that indicates a specific source's name, not "independent source;" a report that doesn't refer to "code names"; a report that officially exonerates Gio, not one that "doesn't officially exonerate" him; a report that says Gio WON'T face punishment, because he is innocent, not a report that says "unlikely to face punishment". As I said...Whew!
Just to follow up on my comments from last night, I'm not challenging Gio's veracity in any way, shape or form. I was merely pointing out that the story being floated on ESPN was not completely consistant with Gio's flat denial. It's quite likely that the story is where the inaccuracy is (for many of the reasons pointed out in other comments). I would be shocked if we ever get it definitively resolved. For one thing, that's not the way these things work; typically an investigation goes until the investigator decides its no longer worth pursuing, a threshold well short of exonerating the subjects of the investigation. For another thing, in our society it is hard to get to the point of "definitively resolved" - there are always conspiracy theorists who view additional "proof" of [X] to be increasing evidence of the sophistication of those trying to hide the fact that [Y].
It's so tiresome that I am glad to come to baseball and leave that (mostly) behind. And I'm glad that even the investigators have now decided that Gio is clean enough to leave this (mostly) behind. Countdown clock says 39 days; best 25 go North!
New Post.. Per the beats tweets, Gio will be talking after practice today.
If nothing else good comes from this is that Nats players need to be weary of who they associate with and I'm sure Rizzo is going to drive that point home.
Guilt by association or even silly pictures can come back to haunt you.
TMZ will try their best to make news of something silly. They tried yesterday with photos of Colin Kaepernick on a cruise ship with girls in bikinis pouring alcohol on his abs.
Without the internet, those photos go nowhere. With the internet, millions now see it, critique it, twist it, and exploit it, yah, kind of like that Miami rag did with the Biogenesis thing. Its that easy to make something out of nothing.
The statements made in the original documents were hearsay. Likewise, the statements in the most recent set of documents are hearsay. In fact they are probably double hearsay because my guess is the entries in the computer were derived from the handwritten notes. Further, the "facts" extracted from the newest documents are not co-extensive with the "facts" reported from the original documents. And, until those "independent sources" are identified and vetted, their information is totally incapable of being verified.
First, this looks like good news for Gonzalez (and the Nats, and the fans, etc.). Second, it is still a long way from total exoneration. Third, there won't be any reason for a public celebration until MLB announces they've completed their investigation of Biogenesis -- and I do think eventually it will come to that -- and no sanctions have been imposed on Gonzalez.
What John C. said, also.
I'm with John C.
Even if it was just his Dad seeking help with weight loss, his father is a fool to go anywhere near a place like this.
Are there any photos of Mr. Gonzalez out there? If there are, I hope he looks like he needs (or needed) weight loss help. It would be even more suspicious if he's thin and athletic and always has been.
Sec314
"Second, it is still a long way from total exoneration."
Uh, exoneration from what? There is no hard evidence that he needs "exoneration" from anything. I could speculate as to your reasons for posting that. Would you then be obliged to "exonerate" yourself from whatever unsupported accusation that I would care to make. Of course not.
Whatever "exoneration" you require of Gio has no more standing than any "exoneration" that I might require of you.
Repeat after me:
There. Is. Nothing. There.
It ain't weary, it's wary. And it's not nobody's got stress. They're wearing a dress.
I'm just saying. :-)
Ghost Of Steve M. said...
If nothing else good comes from this is that Nats players need to be weary of who they associate with and I'm sure Rizzo is going to drive that point home.
That being said, good point. :-)
I don't quite know how to answer this but from what I'd seen (and no offense to Mr. G.), his physique did not appear to me as you describe here.
It would be even more suspicious if he's thin and athletic and always has been.
NatsJack....you are correct! You got the point. But let's hope what is wanted is received or Gio is in a world of hurt.
Yes. And they were punished...because thay failed a drug test. Not because their name was on a list
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