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The Spike
2005-04-10 09:31
by Will Carroll

You hear players talking about 'the spike' a lot in baseball. Not cleats, but the shot they get, filled with cortisone or in some cases stronger pain relievers, to be able to go out and play. All these are done under doctor's care, the injections given in the training room before games.

Emily Badger of the Orlando Sentinel writes about the problems of these injections, equating them with other performance enhancers. While there's certainly a case to be made - and Badger makes one of the more convincing ones I've seen - I remain unconvinced.

There's an ethical line somewhere that separates PEDs from drugs that should be available. If cortisone is over the line, how do we leave Vioxx/Celebrex behind? How many Aleve does a player take before he's over it? Is Tommy John surgery performance enhancing?

It's good to think about this line. I have no idea where it's drawn for me, though I do know it's different for everyone and that I don't have a problem with that.

Comments
2005-04-10 09:45:14
1.   OrieGirl
I see a difference in the two personally. I don't consider a cortisone shot or any other type given to stop pain to be a "boost" for the player.

Is it great that they are doing this? No, but are you going to sit out a game because of pain or are you going to do something for it?

I don't see this as abuse or an advantage to the player though. They aren't doing it because they want to use it at least I would hope they aren't. Cortisone shots aren't fun. That's for sure.

Just my two cents :)

2005-04-11 00:52:53
2.   chris in illinois
Taking the uber-conservative point of view: Isn't something like cortisone or TJ surgery the ultimate performance enhancer?? Can these guys play without them?? Did the players have the 20's and 30's have that choice??

We know TJ surgery can extend/save careers, we speculate that steroids enhance performance...there is one difference.

2005-04-11 07:35:27
3.   Tangotiger
Will, you may not have a problem with a personalized-line, but you'd be one of the few. A line, by definition, should be uniform. You can't have a different line for Pedro, Smoltz, and Bruce Chen. What's the point of calling it a "line"?

It seems that people define a PED as one that's been branded illegal by the US government. And we know how much ahead of the curve they are. Andro gets banned by the IOC and Health Canada many years ahead of MLB. ((Will, do you talk about the difference between the FDA, the IOC, and Health Canada in your book?) But, as long as it was sanctioned by MLB, the media doesn't make that big a stink over it.

The other line that people seem to adopt is that if you only take enough drugs to get back to your drug-free potential. Hence, laser eye surgery, cortisone shots, and the like. But again, no talk about amphetamines?

Is there anything more biased and unrevealing than the US media?

2005-04-11 10:06:35
4.   briankopec
Can an otherwise healthy 38 year old player take something that helps him get back to his 33 year old level of performance?

I agree...most folks take their cue from the government or media when they categorize a drug as 'good' or bad.

Perhaps the line should be drawn at whether or not a drug has performance enhancing qualities for completely healthy athletes. That would rule out steroids and mother's little helpers while allowing cortisone shots, arthritis medicines, etc. I'm sure even this line is dotted.

2005-04-11 10:44:40
5.   Tangotiger
Not knowing anything about biology, I'd guess that line is "dotted". If you take the perfect athlete who is as healthy as he's ever been, say Carlos Beltran, Ichiro, Bo Jackson, etc, my guess is that you can pump them with some OTC medications, and their bodies would still benefit. I'm sure those oxygen chambers and a host of other things would help them.

Stephane Quintal (journeyman hockey player) said that his drug of choice is Sudafed (pseudophedrine) chased with coffee. He guesses 40% of hockey players use some sort of uppers like this.

Long story short, I don't see where the public can have any kind of outcry over the line. That line must be drawn by the organization itself (IOC, Health Canada, MLB, etc). They establish the line, and the fans judge the players based on that line.

I see no point in the media try to make a story out of this, other than that's what the media likes to do.

One thing I noticed when I moved to the states, is that the media loves to "preview" their stories: "you won't believe what happened in Queens today".

All I know is that MLB attendance is the highest it's just about ever been. Fans don't care.

2005-04-11 16:06:04
6.   Will Carroll
Good points as usual. Let me address what I have here:

I do address the FDA. I ignored Health Canada because, well, I knew nothing about them, it's Canada, and well, to include them would require explaining the Canadian health care system and philosophy.

I don't address the IOC because they have abrogated their responsibility for drug testing to WADA. Yes, that's right, the IOC does NOTHING about drug testing. WADA is addressed.

Sudafed. Man, that stuff puts me to sleep.

Line - yes, I was speaking of a moral line, not a line drawn by a sanctioning organization like MLB, WADA, or PS 132. They have the right to draw it whereever and if you don't like it, don't play. There was an attempt to have drug-free bodybuilding about 10 years ago that tanked. When the WWF watched steroids closely, they tanked (tho honestly that's more about storyline and personality, I think.)

2005-04-12 06:49:32
7.   Tangotiger
Health Canada would have been a good contrast to FDA, in my opinion. Generally speaking, American pundits (not necessarily anyone reading here) take the "America = World" view on things. (USA has 5% of the world population, but usually 90% of the World's most beautiful people.) Andro, for example, was an illegal substance when McGwire was taking it, I believe. McGwire did play in Toronto and Montreal. Anyway, the FDA has these weird rules about what they consider a drug, and therefore, can regulate. Health Canada doesn't have (as much) politics around this as the FDA does.

Sudafed: next time, try it with an espresso! NHL players swear by it.

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