We all know the routine by now. Player takes drug test. Player fails drug test. Player gets suspended. Player denies taking said substance. EP doesn't believe the player. OK, so I added that last piece. But I have to admit its true. I never even think twice about it. I always think the player is guilty, and I'm not sure I want to know what that says about me. Even when the player is a member of the Red Sox, I believe it. eg. Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez.
So that brings us to this guy.
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| 2015 Choice Greenville Drive |
Third baseman Michael Chavis is the top prospect in the Red Sox minor league system. I've posted about him before. Last week it was announced he has tested positive for a performance enhancing substance. He's been suspended for 80 games. He was going to play for AA Portland, but 80 games is a huge chunk of the season. I hope this doesn't derail what was looking like a promising career.
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| 2015 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects |
Like so many before him, Chavis has gone into full denial mode. He went to Twitter with a lengthy post about the test result and maintained his innocence. His tweet can be found here if you are interested in reading it.
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| 2014 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome Refractors |
Here's the crazy thing...I believe him. My gut tells me he's telling the truth. I don't know Michael Chavis from Adam. But there's something about the words he uses and how he phrases things that makes me buy it.
What do you think?
I'm with you about Clemens and Manny..though I will defend David Ortiz to the death. Chavis fit the profile of a guy who boosted his stock with a breakout year, then got popped. I did read his statement you linked to, and..it does give me pause. It's clear he's a young man of faith and pride. You want to believe a kid like that.
ReplyDeleteBut then I believed Ryan Braun's denial, so I'm not the right person to ask here.
It's disappointing. I've liked Chavis ever since he showed up in a bow tie on draft day. I don't know what kind of resources the team provide the minor leaguers, but I have a tendency to believe a prospect more when they say they didn't know where the substance came from. He could have picked the wrong GNC suppliment for all we know. He's young enough that he can bounce back from this. He's not going to unseat anyone in our infield anytime soon anyway...
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