Steroids - News & Notes

I've been trying to stay away from the steroid issue as much as possible for the past couple of days because quite honestly I'm starting to be so bored by the story that I really don't care anymore. But in reality, steroids in baseball are a big deal, so here's an update on what has been going on.

- Here’s an article from the New York Daily News about the winners and losers of the recent Congressional hearing that in my opinion accomplished nothing.

- The Miami News Times spoke to a former former Florida Marlins and Cincinnati Reds trainer Larry Starr, who discussed steroid use in the game, and may have put more holes in Roger Clemens’ B-12 excuse:

B-12 is used in the medical community for people who are truly vitamin deficient. A typical use is for alcoholics with liver damage. The theory on B-12 is that it helps athletes recover from fatigue faster and strengthens their immune system, Starr said.

“In the 70s, B-12 was very common in baseball,” Starr said. “Players would come to me and say they needed a B-12 shot, and I would tell them 'I don't give shots.'”

B-12 is also thought to work as a masking agent in urine tests for steroids and other PEDs, Starr said.

“Clemens said he didn't get the drugs himself, but why would Clemens go to his trainer?” Starr asked. “Lidocain and injectable B-12 are prescription items. Someone else would have to get the drugs. Also, trainers really shouldn't be giving shots unless directed by a team physician or doctor. You are putting a needle in someone, you can hit a nerve or blood vessel.”

He saw the first signs of what he suspected was steroid use among players when he was working with the Cincinnati Reds in 1984.

“We weren't allowed to test [for steroids], but my first suspicion was a player that came out of the minor leagues to Spring Training and had gained an incredible amount of weight in a short period of time,” Starr said. “The weight he gained was almost totally lean muscle mass ... His production went up incredibly that year.

- Former Yankee manager Stump Merrill talked steroids with Seacoast Online, go here to read what he had to say.