We were all wondering why Geovany Soto looked fat and lazy this year after such a great rookie season in 2008. It turns out Soto was rocking the ganja in the off-season.
Chris DeLuca, of the Sun-Times, reports that Soto tested positive for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic.
"While I fully acknowledge my inappropriate behavior, I want to assure my fans and my family that this was an isolated incident," Soto said in a statement released by the Cubs during their game against the Tigers. "I do not say this to minimize or deflect from my conduct and I fully understand the ramifications of my actions. I have and will accept any and all consequences.
"I am fully dedicated to the game of baseball and my teammates, and I apologize for any distraction and embarrassment this may cause them.
Finally, I would like to thank the Chicago Cubs organization for its support in this matter. I take great pride in putting on my Cubs uniform every day and I look forward to helping the team achieve a successful season."
That is a nice statement, with all the correct sentiments and buzz phrases. It was an "isolated incident." It was "inappropriate." He "understands" and "accepts" the repercussions. He is "dedicated" to the team. Blah, blah, blah.
I have been around the batting cage in Spring Training when Soto is hanging out with other guys and based on what I have heard from him, I would be shocked if he could pronounce most of the multi-syllabic words used in this statement, much less use them in a coherent appropriate way. Someone wrote this for him, explained what it meant, and he said that he would be fine saying the statement came from him. I think it would have been more realistic if they had at least peppered the statement with some expletives.
Meanwhile, the Cubs and MLB aren't going to punish Soto. Apparently, they have no problems with athletes using drugs that don't threaten homerun records, as long as it is in the off-season and it is an "isolated" incident.
He can't participate in international play for two years, which is essentially meaningless since baseball is no longer an Olympic event and the WBC doesn't occur again until 2013.
I'm glad he is so open to "accept any and all consequences." Right now, the most significant consequence will be having bloggers like me using him as a convenient punching bag while we all suffer from Offense Withdrawal during this unbelievably maddening season.
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5 comments:
Maybe he should kee puffing during the season. Maybe it will improve his concentration. I can't see it making him worse at this point...
keep smoking it, u were obviously a lot better of a player last year when u were hitting that pipe....Don't apologize for smoking something that is 100 percent natural..
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="">I do not believe smoking pot is immoral and I do not care about the legal issues, but when I heard that Soto tested positive for pot, all the pieces fell into place. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reporting to camp over weight and struggling this season, Soto has all the markings of a player that won Rookie of the Year and got complacent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>
It just pisses me off to no end. You can smoke all the pot you want after the Cubs win a World Series.
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