CBS Sports' Jon Heyman is reporting that Oakland Athletics pitcher (and former Red Sox hurler) Bartolo Colon has tested positive for testosterone in a failed drug test. Colon will be suspended 50 games, cutting him out of the rest of the 2012 season, lest the Athletics get very deep into the playoffs.
Colon has thrown 152 innings this year after returning to the game in 2011 with the Yankees. He had been striking out four times as many batters has he walked, thanks to an absurd 70 percent strikes on the season. Whether testosterone has anything to do with this is beyond the likes of both author and reader, unless you happen to have a degree in that sort of thing. (And if you do, by all means, speak up.)
That won't stop the noise about drug testing and a PED problem in baseball, though. For some reason, catching those who break the rules suggests there's a problem, rather than a working solution, in the game. It's a bit more concerning to me, for instance, that the NFL has so few suspensions, despite the size and speed of the players involved. The fact that the NFL is somehow more trustworthy than MLB on this particular note is... curious, at best.
Back on topic, though, the Athletics will be fine with their starting pitching, even if Colon had been productive for them on a one-year deal. Brett Anderson returned from the disabled list on Tuesday night after recovering from Tommy John surgery, while A.J. Griffin is expected to begin his own rehab assignment soon. Dan Straily was just sent down in place of Anderson, and the rookie -- who is leading the minors in strikeouts in an eye-popping breakout campaign -- can be recalled when needed.
Let's hope Rick Sutcliffe doesn't think the answer to Colon's testosterone usage is deportation. We've had quite enough of that insanity this week, Rick, and likely forever, too.