Is the playing field really even - DSL league has a drug problem

This is milb.

Actually  not counting free agents, there really aren't very many (as in past years) and drug of abuse most likely is marijuana, and there is no punishment for first time offenders. 

Keep in mind that testing in minor league is year round.

As far as the latins who are the biggest offenders for PEDs, well, they have easy access to all kinds of stuff, and I know that from a very reliable source as well.

Alcohol abuse is what they should be concerned with, JMO.

This is why I feel that a player should be pretty mature before entering milb.

There are free agents, and there are free agents. The clubs get the notice of a positive test before the suspensions are announced. So what do clubs do to some of these guys who tested positive? The clubs release them, then the positive test is announced. Voila - a free agent tested positive; no club is tarnished.

 

So far this year almost the same number of milb players tested positive as in EACH of the prior two years. 

 

And yes, the U.S. players tested more often positive for pot (a drug of abuse for MILB, but not for MLB [who the heck knows why but that's the rule]) then PEDs from an earlier era. But Latin players make up about a third of pro players, and the DSL seems to have a real problem.

 

But I can't see how that justifies MLBs head in the sand policy. I was always amused by the thought that a player can show up dead drunk for his test and be fine, but a player who took a hit of pot two weeks before can be suspended.

Goosegg, you are right about the free agents,  I know of a few players on that list that were not with teams at time of testing, so that was in my mindset. Once you get tested you get tested again, team or no team, unless you declare you are retired.

 

I dont get the pot thing either, do something about  the guys who cant field the balls the next night because they were hung over from the night before.

 

You cant show up for a college game like that or you are off the team.

 

 

 

An old buddy who had a fairly long minor league career and has been out of baseball for several years told me he and others were getting high before games (in the facility) and obviously away from the park too. He said they were always tipped off before tests and were "taught" how to pass them. This wasnt too long ago, and I know a dude who got the boot for multiple positive pot tests, so are some people just getting popped because they are dumb or are they being selective with who knows when it's time to beat a test? My buddy never messed w any PHD stuff so I dont know if his way of pissing clean took care of what would trigger a PED positive.