Another loss for the Devil Rays

Former uber-prospect Josh Hamilton was suspended by Major League Baseball today for the duration of the 2004 season. Based on baseball's collective bargaining agreement, this likely means that Hamilton failed his fourth drug test. This is another sad twist on the path to baseball super-stardom for Mr. Hamilton and the Devil Rays. It will be interesting to see if Hamilton is ever able to make an impact on the majors. His road back was already going to be difficult enough this year, after missing the entirety of last year's regular season (at the minor and major league level) as he dealt with personal issues. Coming off of two years away from the game it's doubtful that anyone - even someone as talented as Josh Hamilton - could establish himself as a major leaguer.

What I found most interesting about this story is that the article I read states that a major leaguer can be suspended for testing positive for the date-rape drug GHB. Of all the ridiculous things I've heard recently about Major League Baseball and drug/steroid policies, this is possibly the most absurd. Should a baseball player test positive for GHB it's more likely that the police should be contacted because the because that baseball player has been the victim of a horrible crime of another sort. I don't profess to know much about drugs, but I doubt that major leaguers (anyone really) are using date-rape drugs on themselves. But I guess this just goes to show how powerful the players union has become. (Not that this is what happened with Josh Hamilton, as such matters are kept confidential but...) It's apparently easier to be suspended from Major League Baseball for abusing date-rape drugs than it is for using illegal steroids. Simply bizzare.