In The News

GQ Magazine named Stephen Strasburg as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful People in Washington, DC (after the President & Vice President). He was the only sports figure to make the list. Come on! I'm a Strasburg fan, and I'm not a Georgetown basketball fan, but hey! John Thompson III didn't make the list, but Strasburg did?

Several of last year's Chiefs are on Washington's 40-man roster: Yunkesky Maya, Atahualpa Severino, Jhonatan Solano, Steve Lombardozzi, Chris Marrero to name a few.

My most favorite and least favorite players are both non-roster invitees to spring training: Carlos Maldonado & Corey Brown.

And finally, the local paper reported last week that the county is contemplating selling the stadium to the team. My first question: does that mean the ushers will no longer be county union employees?

Brett Axe interviewed John Simone about this story and other upcoming changes, including the probability of a new scoreboard by opening day! YES!

Double-digit countdown to opening day.

I can't wait.

Shame On Me: An Apology

In my last post, I shared that Zech Zincola (I still love that name!) has been suspended for 50 games for using an illegal substance. I stated that it was performance enhancing drug use.

MY BAD.

After over 30 years of hanging with journalists and other news types, I know I should have dug a little deeper before posting something as serious as drug abuse. On the other hand, I am not a journalist, nor have I ever claimed to be a journalist. I'm probably not even a pundit. I'm just a fan. A crackpot theorist.  But I shouldn't have written that he was using illegal performance-enhancing drugs without checking and verifying. Lesson learned.

ZECH: I APOLOGIZE.

And thank you to Anonymous who pointed out to me that Zech wasn't using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, but had tried some synthetic marijuana then was tested.

A second time.

"I got done playing winter ball and I decided to have a little fun," Zinicola told MLB.com. "I tried out this synthetic marijuana. I tried it a few times ... and I got drug tested. It's pretty much what it is. I take responsibility for it. There is no excuse."

Same here. Not about the synthetic marijuana (of which I have never heard) but the "responsibility" part. The "no excuse" part.

Zech, next time you're in Syracuse, I owe you a beer.

Fool Me Twice

Zech Zinicola.

Isn't that a great name? I love good names. In fact, Zech was the Chief's entry in Minor League Baseball's Best Name contest this year. Naturally I voted for him.

And he has beautiful eyes. His picture doesn't do his eyes justice. When I spoke to him on autograph day, I was completely taken by his eyes. I'm going to use those eyes in a book.

Well, Zech's been in the news this week. He's earned himself a 50-game suspension after a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse.

A second violation.

I can understand wanting something so badly that you'll do almost anything to achieve it. I empathize with feeling frustrated when all the hard work one has put into something still isn't enough to make it to the big leagues (literally & figuratively).  We all make mistakes. To err is human, and all that. What I don't understand is making the same mistake twice.

If you were caught using an illegal substance once, wouldn't you feel a little . . . worried you might be on the radar for additional random testing? If I were in charge of testing, that's how I would think.

Zech: I hope this is a wake-up call for you. There are better ways to achieve your career goal -- your dreams -- than cheating your way to the top. And performance enhancing drugs are cheating.