Bud Selig is ready to tighten the screws even more.
The Commissioner of baseball let players know that things are going to get even worse for cheaters. At a news conference at the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training ballpark, Selig put offending players on notice. With the positive test of Melky Cabrera and recent allegations regarding a Florida anti-aging clinic allegedly providing HGH to players such as Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, Selig will recommend stiffer penalties for those caught. He's been in talks with MLB players' union chief Michael Weiner, who was optimistic that they could work out a deal.
"The players have been discussing whether changes in the penalties are warranted since the offseason," Weiner said. "As I've said throughout spring training, there's a variety of player views on the subject. In fact, during the offseason, we suggested to the commissioner's office the possibility of differential penalties, namely advance penalties for certain intentional violations, but reduced penalties for negligent violations."
With a sport that became synonmous with performance enhancing drugs, Selig wasn't very receptive to the tiered punishment approach.
"That format was not of interest to MLB at that time," Weiner continued. "We look forward to ongoing negotiations over the the drug program, but any change in the penalties would be a 2014 issue.
Although the numbers of suspended players have steadily decreased, whenever there are revelations of high profile players getting caught using PED's, it casts a shadow over the integrity of the game. MLB was the first major sports league in North America to test for HGH. The current "3 Strikes" rule in play is 50 games for the first violation, 100 games for the second, and a lifetime ban for the third. Selig wants the penalties to be even stiffer.
"We've made meaningful adjustments to our testing, and the time has come to make meaningful adjustments to our penalties," Selig said. "There is no question that there have been enough events that say to me the program is good, but apparently the penalties haven't deterred some people."