Angry about the players union's lack of cooperation, commissioner Bud Selig is strongly considering using his "best interests of baseball" powers to mandate a stronger testing program for illegal use of steroids, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The Tribune reported that Selig is seeking to have major-leaguers tested randomly year-round with stronger sanctions for those who test positive. He would like players to be suspended for 15 days without pay on the first offense, 30 days on the second and one season on the third.
Selig prefers this be the result of a joint initiative with the Major League Baseball Players Association but is weighing unilateral action, which the union certainly would challenge, the Tribune reported.
Major League Baseball instituted a testing program in 2003, but critics say it is much softer than those used by other professional sports and those for bodies governing international competition. Selig is seeking a joint initiative with the MLBPA on testing, but the union maintains its traditional opposition based around legal rights to privacy.
Selig declined comment about steroids Tuesday. The Tribune reported he has ordered chief operating officer Bob DuPuy and lawyers Tom Ostertag and Rob Manfred to advise him about the use of "best interests" powers.
Meanwhile, documents filed in a San Francisco courthouse suggest that some athletes believed to have received performance-enhancing drugs will be called to appear in open court if the case against an alleged steroid distribution ring goes to trial, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Federal prosecutors have shielded the identities of dozens of athletes they believe took the drugs.
"I don't think they are going to be allowed to testify with a cloak over their heads," said Douglas Schwartz, an attorney for several athletes he said might be subpoenaed.
In a motion filed late last month, the U.S. attorney's office said it intends to call one of Schwartz's clients, an unnamed track and field athlete who allegedly told investigators about using steroids and human growth hormone.
The case revolves around a Northern California company called Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Company president Victor Conte and vice president James Valente are accused of conspiring to distribute performance-enhancing drugs with help from personal trainer Greg Anderson and track coach Remi Korchemny.
BREWERS: Former Devil Rays pitcher Travis Phelps, vying for one of three open spots in rotation, was roughed up by the Giants, allowing five hits and five runs, three earned, in four innings. ... Top prospect Rickie Weeks, taken second in the 2003 amateur draft behind the Rays' Delmon Young, was optioned to Double-A Huntsville. Prince Fielder, son of former slugger Cecil Fielder and one of baseball's best hitting prospects, was reassigned to minor-league camp.
CARDINALS: Right-hander Jason Marquis has a sore elbow and didn't make his scheduled start. Marquis has been penciled in as the No. 4 starter for pitching-thin St. Louis. ... Former Rays first baseman Steve Cox elected free agency a day after being designated for assignment.
CUBS: Right-hander Mark Prior, sidelined by an inflamed right Achilles' tendon, threw from a mound for the first time in two weeks. General manager Jim Hendry said Prior had no discomfort.
DODGERS: The team should be playing in the postseason every season and showing a profit instead of losing money, the wife of new owner Frank McCourt said. "We're going to try to change the culture of the Dodgers, because this is a team that should be in the playoffs every year," Jamie McCourt told the Los Angeles Times. "To not be in the playoffs is crazy."
MARINERS: Right-handed reliever Rafael Soriano threw 25 pitches in the bullpen and reported no pain. It was the first time he has thrown off a mound since straining his left oblique muscle Feb. 23.
MARLINS: Third baseman Mike Lowell reported no pain after hitting in the cage and throwing for about 10 minutes in the outfield. He is expected to play today for the first time since March 8, when an MRI exam revealed elbow inflammation.
METS: Second baseman Jose Reyes is questionable for opening day after tests revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, the least severe.
REDS: Barry Larkin might reconsider his decision to retire after this season. Larkin, who turns 40 next month, has played since 1986 and talked with the team about joining its front office in 2005. ... Leftfielder Adam Dunn was back in the starting lineup after missing six games with an infected left ring finger. ... Rightfielder Austin Kearns, whose 2003 season was cut short by an injury to his right throwing shoulder, is tentatively scheduled to play rightfield tonight against the Yankees. Kearns has been limited to DH.
TWINS: Right-hander and former Gibbs standout Boof Bonser was among the team's first cuts and is headed to Triple-A Rochester.
