STEROIDS HUNT SENDS MESSAGE.Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer The initial shockwaves from baseball's crackdown on performance- enhancing drugs have hit close to home in the JetHawks clubhouse. Among the 38 players suspended for positive drug tests believed to be anabolic steroids Anabolic steroids A group of drugs derived from the male sex hormone testosterone, most commonly prescribed to promote growth or to help the body repair tissues weakened by severe illness or aging. Some anabolic steroids are given as appetite stimulants. Monday was former JetHawks infielder Mayobanex Santana, who played in Lancaster portions of the past two seasons. He played against Lancaster in last season's California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth championship series as a member of the Modesto A's. Also testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. was infielder Kervin Jacobo, a former teammate of several current JetHawks in 2003 at Single-A South Bend South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. (Ind.). None of the suspended players came out of the JetHawks parent Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. system. There is no evidence that Santana used performance-enhancing drugs while he was in Lancaster. Santana has since been released by the parent Oakland Athletics. ``I think that this is what they wanted, to send a message - to force the message - that they're not messing around anymore,'' said JetHawks pitcher Sam Smith, a former teammate of Santana's and Jacobo's. ``There's going to be a no-tolerance policy and I think that's a good thing.'' A JetHawks fan favorite, Santana also was popular in the clubhouse, and the news of his suspension surprised former teammates. ``I've always thought (Santana) was a class act,'' Smith said. ``He's a great person to have on your team, and I just hope he realizes he made a mistake, and he gets back into baseball.'' Smith said Santana deserves the benefit of the doubt. ``We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. the details, we don't know anything right now,'' Smith said. ``It might not even be steroids.'' According to the commissioner's office, just one of the suspensions resulted from offseason testing, with the remainder coming from 925 tests issued during spring training. ``To tell you the truth, I'm just extremely glad that they are testing,'' JetHawks infielder Steve Garrabrants said. ``A lot of times guys just see other guys taking their spots who are completely juiced See Joost. See also juice. up, so then they do it, and it just keeps going.'' Said JetHawks reliever Ryan Holsten: ``Hopefully this will level the playing field.'' Gideon Rubin (818)713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com |
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