DukeNukeEm

Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com The Mariners' Michael Morse admits that he was desperate to salvage his career. Admits that he took steroids from Nov. 2003 to Jan. 2004. Admits that he was wrong, and that he should be punished. The problem is, the 10-game suspension announced for Morse on Wednesday is the third such penalty he has received for the same offense. Plain and simple, that is unjust — and the three-man arbitration panel that denied Morse's grievance knows it. "The panel recognizes that this result might be viewed as unfair to Michael Morse, a further suspension resulting from conduct which likely ended before the 2004 season began," the panel states in its decision, details of which were obtained by FOXSports.com. From the moment Major League Baseball and the players' association agreed to announce penalties for those who tested positive for steroids, representatives on the players' side feared that a player could be wrongly smeared. In the case of Morse, 23, those fears have proven justified. If ever there was a steroid user who deserves sympathy, Morse is it. Since his promotion to the Mariners on June 1, he has posted a .360 on-base percentage and emerged as a potential building block while playing shortstop and left field. Now this. Unlike Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, who hinted that he was the victim of contamination, and Mariners right-hander Ryan Franklin, who said he took only legal, over-the-counter supplements. Morse takes full responsibility for his use of two different forms of steroids. He just doesn't understand why he's a victim of triple jeopardy, getting penalized for testing positive in May when he already received minor-league suspensions for the same transgression in May and July of 2004. If commissioner Bud Selig wants to implement a "three- strikes-and-out" policy — a 50-game suspension for a first offense, 100-game suspension for a second and lifetime ban for a third — then it's imperative that MLB's testing program be evenhanded. Ditto if Congress carries out its threat to crack down on steroid use in pro sports; four proposed bills, including one authored by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., a Hall of Fame pitcher, call for a two-year ban for a first-time offense and a lifetime ban for a second. Morse's suspension gives the appearance that MLB is more interested in demonstrating the worthiness of its current program to Congress than in treating its players fairly. It also points out a significant flaw in the sport's testing process: A player who tests positive in the minors can be punished repeatedly for that offense, then punished again in the majors as long as the steroid stays in his system. That problem, which MLB and the players' union should have anticipated, needs to be addressed. The arbitration panel viewed the major- and minor-league programs as separate and distinct. The panel's decision states: That Morse's positive test in May was "more likely than not" from the same use that led to each of his two minor-league suspensions. That it is "undisputed" that the low amount of the substance found when Morse tested positive in May has no performance-enhancing effect. That the evidence supports Morse's testimony that he last used steroids during the 2003-04 off-season. If the point of the program is to educate and deter players, then Morse should be held up as a success: He learned from his mistake and stopped using performance-enhancing drugs. Instead, he becomes just another statistic for MLB. Morse testified that he suffered a torn left-thigh muscle in 2000. As time passed, the muscle deteriorated to the point where the strength in his left thigh was about 50 percent of his right thigh. In Oct. 2003, after completing Instructional League play, Morse feared his career was in jeopardy. In November and December, he took Deca Durabolin to increase the strength in his thigh muscle. In Jan. 2004, he took Winstrol to shed his excess muscle and weight. But by Feb. 1, 2004, he testified that he had stopped taking all substances. In the major-league program, the burden of proof is on MLB to prove that the player used steroids a second time. Typically, MLB would do that by showing that a player had the same level of steroids in his system or an increased amount. But in the minor-league program, the burden of proof is on the player, who theoretically could be tested daily and found in violation each time until the steroid is out of his system — a power that could be abused by MLB. Minor leaguers, who are not members of the Major League Baseball Players' Association, are unable to avoid additional suspensions even when subsequent tests show decreasing amounts of steroid levels. That's what happened with Morse, who was penalized twice in three months for the same usage. Each time, he was allowed back on the field with steroids in his system — while subject to further testing. When Morse joined the Mariners, he became subject to the MLB policy, again with steroids still in his system. Rather than consider his special circumstances, the panel interpreted the testing policy literally. The panel consisted of Shyam Das, an arbitrator, John McHale Jr., MLB's executive-vice president of administration, and Stephen Fehr, a union official who is the brother of union chief Donald Fehr. Das, the panel chairman, effectively cast the deciding vote. After reinstating Rangers left-hander Kenny Rogers last month — Das angered MLB officials by reducing the pitcher's 20-game suspension for shoving two cameramen to 13 games — the arbitrator might have been worried that a decision in favor of Morse would have cost him his position. Das is jointly employed by the MLB and the MLBPA with the understanding that he can be fired by either party. Instead, the person who gets hurt is Morse, who admitted to his mistake, served his minor-league punishment and received no performance-enhancing benefit from the amount of steroid for which he tested positive in the majors. Regardless, MLB is sticking it to him. It's a terrible message. And terribly unfair. Suspended this season The following major league players have been suspended for testing positive for a banned substance in the first year of MLB's new steroid policy: Sept. 7 - Michael Morse, IF/OF, Mariners Aug. 2 - Ryan Franklin, P, Mariners Aug. 1 - Rafael Palmeiro, 1B, Orioles July 8 - Rafael Betancourt, P, Indians May 2 - Juan Rincon, P, Twins April 26 - Jamal Strong, OF, Mariners April 20 - Agustin Montero, P, Rangers April 11 - Jorge Piedra, OF, Rockies April 4 - Alex Sanchez, OF, Devil Rays

FSU - MIAMI tonight Good Game.

Were first in the CSL South. Sweet.

We only have 2 f***ing people in chat. Wake up dudes!

I think we've got a real player in Greg Blue on Georgia. Nothing but impressed with his physicalness (sp?) and coverage.

WHAT AR ETARD. MICHIGAN BALL WHAT A f***HEAD.

Wolfe really just f***ed up

they know its coming, they just cnanot stop it. Raiola and Bernstien are just whippin thier ass.

OK, Jacobs Time

BG is getting RUN OVER

be careful what you wish for.

LETS GO TCU.

Disagree

TD!!!! That really wasnt Jacobs. I could make that pass. But helluva job driving. WOOOO

Jacobs = Leftwich > Pennington, Big Ben

JACOBS. Perfect pass.

calhoun is a stud. But he's not this studly.

they dont have a pass D either.

Im dissapointed in Iowa. Come on, you gotta win by like... 70.

go for 2.

I LOVE watching this kid play ball.

OOOOOMAR JAAAAACOBS.

Poor Omar Jacobs. What a HORRIBLE defense.

Yea. Whatever. lol.