Mammoth Blog

J.C. Romero has long claimed that his positive drug test was the result of a tainted supplement, and Major League Baseball sees no reason to doubt that, although a top league official emphasized yesterday that the issue was what Romero ingested, not where the substance came from.

"There was no allegation or evidence supporting the use of an additional supplement," Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, told The Inquirer.

Romero tested positive Aug. 26 for androstenedione, a substance banned by Major League Baseball, and is serving a 50-game suspension.

He repeatedly has asserted that the androstenedione was present in 6-OXO Extreme, a supplement manufactured by Ergopharm Inc., which Romero bought at Vitamin Shoppe and General Nutrition Center, and that he used no other performance-enhancing drugs. The 32-year-old reliever filed a lawsuit Monday against the manufacturer and retail chains, seeking the recovery of lost wages, as well as punitive damages.

Manfred said yesterday that the league was not focused on the accuracy of that story, though it had no reason to doubt it. MLB cares only that Romero violated its substance-abuse policy.

"It doesn't matter, from our perspective, where it came from," Manfred said.

The league makes available a hotline for players who have questions about their nutritional supplements. The service is announced during spring training each year, and the number is posted in every major-league clubhouse (at Citizens Bank Park, it is on the wall next to the players' kitchen).

According to the lawsuit, Romero consulted with a GNC salesman and several "colleagues," including a Phillies strength coach, but not the hotline, which Manfred said would have advised Romero against using 6-OXO Extreme. source>>>