Last night, news broke of an Al Jazeera TV news documentary (that aired tonight) which alleged that Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman, Taylor Teagarden and several NFL stars all received illegal PEDs. Denials have been issued by many of the parties named in the report, including Howard and Zimmerman to Al Jazeera and their mutual attorney to MLBTR. The Nationals released a statement earlier today in support of Zimmerman, and the Phillies released a statement tonight regarding Howard:
“Ryan Howard has vigorously denied the allegations contained in tonight’s airing of Al Jazeera’s report titled ‘The Dark Side.’ Ryan has spent his whole career with the Phillies and, during that entire time, has been an extremely well respected member of our team and an outstanding contributor to our community. We will fully cooperate with any investigation conducted by Major League Baseball and will refer all further questions to them concerning the Al Jazeera report.”
Dr. Dale Guyer, of the Guyer Institute, also denied the allegations made by former intern Charles Sly (that have since been recanted) that NFL legend Peyton Manning received HGH from the clinic under his wife’s name. Guyer made his statement on his website, as passed on by Nat Newell, Zak Keefer and Justin L. Mack of the Indianapolis Star:
“I have no reason to believe these allegations are based in fact or have any truth. In fact, I can say with absolute certainty they are not. I find it extremely disturbing that the source of Al Jazeera’s story, a former unpaid intern named Charles Sly, would violate the privacy of Mrs. Manning’s medical records and be so callous and destructive as to purposely fabricate and spread stories that are simply not true.
“I would emphasize that Mr. Sly was never an employee of the Guyer Institute and his brief three-month internship occurred in 2013 during which time Peyton was not even being treated or present in the office. I am proud to have treated Peyton and helped him through his rehabilitation. Mr. Manning is one of the most honorable and upstanding individuals I have had the pleasure of knowing.”
You can follow more details on the NFL side of the story on Pro Football Rumors, MLBTR’s sister site. Here’s more from around the NL East…
- While Trea Turner has a ton of upside, the Nationals weren’t going to go into the season with an unproven rookie at short and Danny Espinosa as the everyday second baseman, MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr writes. The signing of Daniel Murphy answers the Nats’ clear need for an experienced veteran at second who has a proven postseason track record, since Washington fully expects to contend. With the pennant race in mind, the Nats had no time to let Turner learn on the job in April or May.
- The Murphy signing, the Nationals’ scuttled trade for Brandon Phillips and the Mets’ trade for Neil Walker are all addressed by Fangraphs’ David Laurila, who feels New York ended up in the best shape after all these second base shuffles. The Mets benefited by adding Walker for one contract year rather than the Nats signing Murphy for three, Laurila opines, and he also feels the Nats would’ve been better off with Phillips (who has two years remaining on his contract) than Murphy. I disagree with Laurila on that point, as Murphy is both three years younger than Phillips and has been the better player over the last three seasons.
- Braves prospect Austin Riley is profiled by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the wake of the 18-year-old’s first pro season. Riley was taken 41st overall in the 2015 draft, a selection that surprised some pundits who had Riley much lower on their board. He was still drawing a lot of attention from teams, including some who saw him as a pitcher, though the Braves instead shifted him from short to third and focused on his power potential. Riley hit .304/.389/.544 with 12 homers over 252 combined plate appearances for two Rookie League teams.
One area in which the Nationals would have been better off with Phillips is defense. Murphy is not a good defensive second baseman. Phillips is
Coorect!! And idk how he rates with metrics, but from the eye test Phillips is also a sneaky good baserunner…
He rates well outside of last year where he may have been hurt.
WOW!!!!!
REALLY??????…am I Hearing Correctly….???…
“Al Jazeera TV news”….the Big Mouth for all the Arab Terrorists…they run a documentary naming some American Baseball players who they claim are using PED’s….and our news media takes them seriously????
And I suppose this comes from Al Jazeera’s soft & fuzzy Humane Side…which goes with their video’s of beheadings????
Good old ignorance, you probably know nothing about Al Jazeera but you see the name and automatically hate. Good on you sir.
“Al Jazeera, also known as Aljazeera and JSC, is a Doha-based state-funded broadcaster owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is partly funded by the House of Thani, the ruling family of Qatar”
That’s Not Quite Right my arab (or arab loving) friend…I know al jazeera for what it is a Western Bating News Service that only shows the arab point of view to our detriment…and has NO BUSINESS in AMERICAN SPORTS, or Politics or anyplace else…what the hell is
Qatar doing here???
PS: I was gonna say…. just dislike not hate…but I think you’re right….I love America and all that it stands for and that means al jazeera and I are never gonna see eye to eye…..And I’m a Liberal Democrat …….but with conservative leanings on foreign policy!!!
“And I’m a Liberal Democrat …….but with conservative leanings on foreign policy!!!”
Tiny correction there..
That would make you a rarity nowadays within the democratic party.. A good, old fashioned Blue Dog democrat. That is one who thinks with their heads, the ones Pelosi and reid tried (and mostly did) run out during the primary’s of 2008. Most liberal’s now are way far left and have wacked out policies.
Congrat’s on being one whom can talk to whom has common sense my friend!
Long John….I was raised a liberal Democrat and still retain much of those leanings towards social issues…however at my advanced age and with the condition of the world these days I can’t understand the lack of strength, particularly in foreign affairs…and where the safety of our country is concerned…if that makes me a Blue Dog Democrat…so be it!!!
I kinda subscribe to Teddy Roosevelt’s… “Speak softly and carry a big stick” policy!
I don’t understand what business al jazeera has with MY BASEBALL???…let ’em kill each other over their soccer!!!
Someone that’s far left is a Communist not a liberal
if you think this dude has common sense after reading his posts you need to sit down and have a think
Just curious … has Brooklyn watched the program?
youtube.com/watch?v=wJRPxmTuxoI
Did an impostor play MLB player Taylor Teagarden, whose PED admission is videotaped?
Harmony….Yes I’ve watched the TV & Print out of curiosity… because DISH is carrying it!
They have lost many reporters who claim al jazeera forces their Qatar Bias on them and their news stories were slanted… check it out.
My point here was simply this….
Al Jazeera is a Highly Political, if anything, and BIASED
Anti-Western News Service… They have No Business sticking their “Proverbial Noses” in American Sports!
Agree 1000% Brooklyn as do many many others
To Hamony:
RE: “Did an impostor play MLB player Taylor Teagarden, whose PED admission is videotaped?”
Frankly I don’t CARE if their story is correct or not…..My point is that they are an Arab News Source that’s in the business of making the Arabs look good at the expense of the West…therefore they can’t be trusted as being truthful!
So fine go ahead and do your news shows for Middle East Consumption…..that’s what they’re good at….BUT DON’T invade my American Airwaves with their biased/slanted News Reports….and stay the hell out of our most American of things…SPORTS…Leave my Baseball Alone!!!
ok so let’s recap here… “why are people taking this report seriously”, you want to know… but then you don’t actually care if it’s true or not… you just want to make sure it’s clear that you don’t trust people from the middle east, even if they have videotape of the thing they’re telling you about
great. good job
Aye, in my experience, Al Jazeera’s competence level is pretty much in line with most major western news outlets. Whether that’s complimentary or not is entirely in the eye of the beholder, of course. They don’t seem to come off as inherently biased in the way places like RT or Fox News are though.
Al Jazeera is as, if not more, credible than the majority of American Media outlets so of course they took the report seriously.
They are a news source, so a grain of salt, however they are more reliable than anything here in North America. Everyone gets passed because they were being delivered the terrorists videos. It would be like an American delivering them to CNN.
I shudder to think this is becoming a political forum, but this comment reflects the unfamiliarity with the journalistic ethic that pervades the work of Al Jazeera. They are as fine a journalism source as you’ll find in the world.
Al Jazeera is probably the most trust-worthy news source on the planet. Perhaps that is partially an indictment of our own media, but when it comes to reporting fact without editorializing you are best served by tuning in to Al Jazeera.
I Agree that this shouldn’t be a political forum!
….But face it when you get remarks like those below…the News Media in this country has either sunk to a new low or these people have Twisted Points of View!!!
“Al Jazeera is probably the most trust-worthy news source on the planet.”
“Al Jazeera’s competence level is pretty much in line with most major western news outlets.”
“…they are more reliable than anything here in North America.”
I REPEAT:
READ MY LIPS…..”Frankly I don’t CARE if their story is correct or not…..My point is that they are an Arab News Source that’s in the business of making the Arabs look good at the expense of the West…therefore they can’t be trusted as being truthful!….they should Stay the Hell out of my Baseball!!!”
IF THEY ARE SO DAMN CREDIBLE Why have they lost sooo many reporters due to their BIASED News Points of View???
The thing that gives the story some credibility is Teagarden was introduced by Sly and admitted on video using D2. Perhaps some of what Sly knew about Manning and others was 2nd hand from his stint at Guyers., but I wouldnt discount it entirely Also, when the guilty are confronted with accusations of wrongdoing, many resort to knee jerk denial. We all remember Rafael Palmeiro,, Braun and Arod. The smart ones issue no comment. Rarely does anyone say “my bad, sorry”.
I thought it interesting that a former MLB investigator claimed at least 20% of MLB players were using PED’s, and also the new PED (peptides)which seems impossible to detect since its cleared from your system in hours and which elevates your natural hormones (no synthetics needed).
Daniel Murphy’s last 3 seasons are not better than Brandon Phillips if you believe WAR—-Phillips has a WAR of 7.0 and Murphy 5.1 for the last 3 seasons, not to mention better SB’s, RBIs and fielding ability.
fWAR prefers Murphy, FWIW. And those other statistics are (in theory) accounted for in WAR, to the extent they have value.
Just stating that to add context. I would say they’ve been roughly equivalent performers in the last three years, personally.
Can’t the nationals shift Murphy to third and Rendon to second?
Also wonder what they’re going to do if Zimmerman has a suspension.
From what I am told, Rendon is a natural 3B, so I’m not sure why they would do that. They should have kept Escobar and signed a solid LF instead……but I guess they’re saving up for Harper’s Mega extension money……..
Based on what I read from this site, the reason why the Phillips trade fell through is that he wanted a guaranteed extension on his contract. That would have put him at 3-5 years, not 2.
A few years ago I thought Rizzo was the greatest gm in baseball, but the last few years he has just baffled me.
Escobar has problems, although he has talent, teams do not keep him very long. The Braves clubhouse were ecstatic when he was traded. He has talent, no doubt, but is a cancer
Three years of Phillips for probably more money if you’re starting at 2/27. and on the wrong side of the age curve for 2b. The big deal is losing the 1st round pick and ho much or little the Nats value that. Signing Murphy is a win now move for sure. Escobar was a smart hitter for the Nats, but pretty dumb about everything else. As poor as he was at third, I would never feel comfortable with him in the middle infield anymore. I don’t think they gained much with the swap because of the 5 million extra in salary per year involved except a bit more lineup balance, but keep in mind they were also addressing a big need in middle relief, and there’s a lot of demand out there for the good arms.. If Gott gives them a few solid, cheap years in the pen, that saves needing another Shawn Kelley type of signing which essentially makes up the difference between Murphy and Escobar.
everyone keeps saying sly, “al jazeera’s source” has “recanted his report”, which – correct me if i’m wrong, but what’s happened is, he was caught on hidden camera saying all that stuff, and now that he knows he’s speaking publicly he’s like, no, that was all an elaborate practical joke, or whatever.
that’s not “recanting” at all, that’s ass-covering. not that it couldn’t be true, i suppose, in theory, but it has literally no impact on the credibility of the report, because it’s exactly what you’d expect someone in his position to say
if he was a whistleblower who went public with a story voluntarily and then changed it later, that would be something else, but, that’s not what happened
“if you think this dude has common sense after reading his posts you need to sit down and have a think”
….and just what does that mean “MoWiley”????????
i think you know
TO: Willy Mo:
he said: “ok so let’s recap here… “why are people taking this report seriously”, you want to know… but then you don’t actually care if it’s true or not… you just want to make sure it’s clear that you don’t trust people from the middle east, even if they have videotape of the thing they’re telling you about
great. good job”
MY ANSWER>>> Why do you trust an organization like al jazeera that hates the United States and constantly issues biased reports to the world that makes us look bad???”…and YES that’s right I Don’t Trust Them, Got It???…You do…how’s that working out for you?
i didn’t ask a question there, so i’m not sure what you’re answering. i’m not going to argue with you, it doesn’t seem like a good use of time
Good, Sooo Let’s agree to disagree about politics …and get back to Baseball!
it’s not even really politics, though, is it? “media credibility evaluation” is kind of its own separate life skill
The Dude Says:
“Communication researchers traditionally measure media trust by considering source and message credibility. ”
As billionaire Warren Buffett likes to tell student visitors, trust is a matter of reputation — individual and company — built over long periods of time. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Al Jazeera Has Not Built Trust!!!
Play Ball!!!
As a person that travels internationally on regular basis, it’s rare to see a newspaper that is pro-USA.
I’m sure other countries see our media much like Brooklyn sees Al Jezeera. Media will always tell you want THEY want you to know. It doesn’t matter what country it is.
To: Corino73
I also traveled Europe & the Middle East for a number of years and You are correct Corino…It was rare to see a pro-USA Paper except maybe in Israel and Britain.
In the case of Al Jazeera (self appointed by Qatar) it represents all the Arab Countries and unlike just the petty jealousies between the E.U. Countries & us…the Arab Block exhibits outright hatred towards the West in the majority of the Arab States!
Therefore my opinion of them differs from my opinion of the London Times, Le Monde or the Berliner Zeitung.