Carlos Ruiz suspended 25 games

[Moonlight J]

failed a stimulant test for a 2nd time

[revo]

no wonder how he had the season he had (.325, 16 HRs, 68 RBIs in 372 ABs -- all career highs)

[Erik]

He took Adderall despite not being on MLB's list of players with an approved medical condition for it.

[Fresno Bob]

focus, Carlos, FOCUS!

[Long John]

OBJECTION! Assumes facts not in evidence!

Honestly, people, let's think rationally for a second. You can not prove causality (in this case, that Adderall improved Ruiz's power in 2012) without knowing whether or not he was taking Adderall in earlier years.

[joncarlos]

He took Adderall despite not being on MLB's list of players with an approved medical condition for it.

At least twice. And knowing that he'd be tested a billion times this year because he previously failed a test.

And he wouldn't be the first person in history to abuse adderall or take it for a reason other than its original intent.

[revo]

OBJECTION! Assumes facts not in evidence!

Honestly, people, let's think rationally for a second. You can not prove causality (in this case, that Adderall improved Ruiz's power in 2012) without knowing whether or not he was taking Adderall in earlier years.

Objection overruled!

Adderall has been a banned substance in MLB since 2006, and any player who has a medical condition needed to have been cleared for it since then. So if Ruiz had indeed been using it before, he had escaped detection. In 2011, 105 players (almost 10% of MLB) had medical clearance to use it for ADHD (or so they have claimed), and Ruiz was not one of them. In the US, only 4.4% of adults actually take Adderrall for ADHD. So either MLB has a high percentage of players who have ADHD, or hmmm.........

[Long John]

So Ruiz is guilty of what? Not defrauding an MLB-approved doctor? Who gives a **** if it's banned?

When do we starting making sure players have acceptable levels of seratonin or endorphins in their system? Pretty soon Gatorade will be banned from MLB dugouts.

[B-Fly]

If it is indeed viewed as performance enhancing, isn't it unfair to let 10% of MLB players use it as an ADHD drug? Can MLB players use steroids or HGH with a doctor's prescription, or no?

[Bob Kohm]

There's a part of me that just wants to say "Screw it all" and let them use whatever they want. The issue is my son, Marcus, who is a good ballplayer, wants to keep playing ball (he's 9 now) and likely has the talent to be a High School player but his body is wiry. That's where the problem is-- when I played HS football there were probably a dozen guys on the team who were using (mid-80s). What kind of pressure are we putting a kid like that-- talented but not the body archetype-- who wants to keep playing, perhaps in college? How about the other 575 kids in the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth League I run? No, sorry, no fuc"ing way-- I don't want that message, that if you want to keep chasing your dream you need to use drugs that will fuc' you up, sent to my son and the hundreds of others kids in my charge. Screw it. I know there are no perfect solutions, but I just don't understand how any of you who have a kid can condone this crap as tempting as it is from a "stats/history" point of view.

[revo]

So Ruiz is guilty of what? Not defrauding an MLB-approved doctor? Who gives a **** if it's banned?

When do we starting making sure players have acceptable levels of seratonin or endorphins in their system? Pretty soon Gatorade will be banned from MLB dugouts.

It's an amphetamine.

From today's Business Insider:
"The widespread use of Adderall in general highlights the complicated task the NFL—and Major League Baseball—face in regulating a powerful prescription drug that the leagues exempt as medicine for players who need it and classify as a performance-enhancer for those who don't.

The drug itself is misunderstood. There is a counter-intuitive aspect to how Adderall works. It is a stimulant, but it has a calming effect on those who use it to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by basically balancing out chemicals in the brain.

For those who don't need the drug, Adderall acts as a powerful stimulant—an alertness aid for students in an all-night study session, a pick-me-up for those wishing to extend the party, or, in the case of an athlete looking to gain an edge, an energy boost when they need it.

"It's a stimulant," NFL senior vice president of labor law and policy Adolph Birch says. "When taken in a non-medically-indicated, non-therapeutic use, it's a stimulant that can combat fatigue and feelings of fatigue on a playing field."

http://www.businessinsider.com/adderall-in-pro-sports-2012-11

There have been 12 suspensions for Adderall in the NFL this season, including Eric Wright this past weekend.

[Bob Kohm]

I get it-- there's a part of me that would like to see Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, Bagwell and Sosa all go into the Hall of Fame this year just to get it over with; they're all (well, maybe not Sosa) either going to get in eventually OR they're going to be a consistent sore thumb for the next 10 years that keeps flinging this issue back in our faces.There's also a part of me that would like to see them banned forever or else in the hall with a big red S on their plaques, as unworkable as that is. I'm almost more pissed off about the idiots who are still using and getting caught than I am at these knuckleheads--- how do you fail a test, know you're going to get tested and tested and still use? I just think you need to come down on that with both feet.

[DMT]

It's an amphetamine.

From today's Business Insider:
"The widespread use of Adderall in general highlights the complicated task the NFL—and Major League Baseball—face in regulating a powerful prescription drug that the leagues exempt as medicine for players who need it and classify as a performance-enhancer for those who don't.

The drug itself is misunderstood. There is a counter-intuitive aspect to how Adderall works. It is a stimulant, but it has a calming effect on those who use it to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by basically balancing out chemicals in the brain.

For those who don't need the drug, Adderall acts as a powerful stimulant—an alertness aid for students in an all-night study session, a pick-me-up for those wishing to extend the party, or, in the case of an athlete looking to gain an edge, an energy boost when they need it.

"It's a stimulant," NFL senior vice president of labor law and policy Adolph Birch says. "When taken in a non-medically-indicated, non-therapeutic use, it's a stimulant that can combat fatigue and feelings of fatigue on a playing field."

http://www.businessinsider.com/adderall-in-pro-sports-2012-11

There have been 12 suspensions for Adderall in the NFL this season, including Eric Wright this past weekend.

I've done neuropsych testing, it is not that difficult to get an ADHD diagnosis if you're looking to get access to Adderall as a performance-enhancer. The fact that the prevalence among MLB players is over 2x higher than the general public tells us all that over 1/2 of the players using Adderall don't actually have ADHD.

[Sharky]

I get it-- there's a part of me that would like to see Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Palmeiro, Bagwell and Sosa all go into the Hall of Fame this year just to get it over with; they're all (well, maybe not Sosa) either going to get in eventually OR they're going to be a consistent sore thumb for the next 10 years that keeps flinging this issue back in our faces.There's also a part of me that would like to see them banned forever or else in the hall with a big red S on their plaques, as unworkable as that is. I'm almost more pissed off about the idiots who are still using and getting caught than I am at these knuckleheads--- how do you fail a test, know you're going to get tested and tested and still use? I just think you need to come down on that with both feet.

Bob, the answer is money. Ruiz signed a 3-year deal in 2010. Maybe the Adderall helped him get an "edge" and land the contract. Why he was still using? That's a head-scratcher. Maybe he felt he couldn't produce without it.

That said, I have never agreed with you more than about the message this sends to kids. That's THE relevant issue here.