The Phillies just held a teleconference with reporters. Here is some of what GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and assistant GM Scott Proefrock had to say:
On if J.C. Romero was given the OK to take the supplement from Phillies strength and conditioning coordinator Dong Lien: "I will just say this about Dong Lien," Amaro said. "He comported himself in exactly the matter he should have. I'm completely supportive of what he did and how he handled the situation. It's just an unfortunate situation where a mistake was made and we have to deal with it accordingly."
Fairness in Romero's contention he was told after he took the supplement that it was a supplement he couldn't use: "We cannot comment on the specific facts of the case," Amaro said. "What we can tell you is that we're very supportive of what Major League Baseball has done and the policies it has implemented. That's as much as I can tell you about that situation."
On the perceived communication breakdown amongst Romero and what supplements he could and could not use: "Again, we can't really comment on the specifics of it," Amaro said. "I support how Major League Baseball has handled the drug policy issue all along and we continue to support it. Again, we cannot comment on the specifics of the issue. I'll sound like a broken record here, but the fact of the matter is we're supportive of J.C. It's an unfortunate event. We'll deal with it, and we'll move forward from it."
Possibility for Romero to appeal the suspension: "Not that I'm aware of," Proefrock said. "That process has played itself out. That's why the announcement was made. That's my understanding."
Romero's ability to train with team during spring training: Romero can train with the team in Clearwater, and Amaro said he expects to pitch Romero in Grapefruit League games. Romero likely will stay in Clearwater to pitch in extended spring training once the regular season begins. Once the 50-game suspension is up, Romero has a maxium of 16 days for a "rehab assignment" in the minor leagues. I'm not sure how much time Romero would need to pitch in the minors, if any, before the Phillies recall him to the majors. It might be no games. It might be a few games. In essence, Romero could miss more than 50 games if he needs a rehab assignment.
Amaro said they expect to fill Romero's vacancy internally, although he added the Phillies have looked at some of the remaining free agent pitchers. That might be true, but don't expect them to go after somebody of the caliber of Joe Beimel. It probably would be a shorter term solution.
wow. way to get behind your player Ruben. i understand he can't comment on it but a little support wouldnt hurt would it?? FREE JC!!— davemarsh- Yeah, I'm a bit underwhelmed by his statements too. I guess he's limited in what he can responsibly say but I expected more compassion for JC's situation.— dmeloche1
- Any word on exactly what supplements Romero took? Does MLB make that information public?— ballzy101
- This is a weak response by Ruben. He can be politically correct and still strongly support JC at the same time. I lost a lot of respect for him on this one.— philsfan in the atx
- When Romero and MLB are in direct conflict, how can one logically claim to fully support both? "...we're very supportive of what Major League Baseball has done and the policies it has implemented..." followed by "...the fact of the matter is we're supportive of J.C..." That's a paradox if ever I heard one. Cop out. I have half a mind to take my World Series and go home. I am really getting sick of the way MLB is run.— RollinsWasRight
- I'm pretty disappointed in Ruben's comments, too. I agree with RWR. How can the organization be supportive of both MLB and J.C.? Ruben could easily have declared it an "internal" matter and made no comment at all. I'm really glad that J.C. decided to accept his 50 game suspension, and not go for the "deal" of 25 games if he admitted wrong doing. That could have been the easy way out. He, AND the team, should definitely appeal. Totally bogus charges.— Norma
- I join the group who is so disappointed in Rubie. By not supporting his statement, and endorsing the position of the Commish, Rubie's response will no play well in the clubhouse when word gets around. Is ther anything wrong with supporting a player's appeal ?? We need ZO to weigh in on this.— mick314
- The problem is, there are two sides in baseball - Ownership and the Players. Ruben is on the side of ownership (which includes not only those that own the Phillies, but the group of owners of all teams that makes up MLB). So he "supports" their decision. Just like in a strike situation, the front office will side with MLB, while making half hearted support statements in favor of the players. The other potential side to this is that JC is more guilty then we've been led to believe and it is what it is. I would like to believe the former however - because I am a fan and I like Romero.— Gary Varsho
- The appeal process is over. Litigation would be the only way to proceed and it would be JC against MLB...who do you think wins? And even if JC wins, he loses, MLB will see to that. Maybe the Union can do the suing for him and get an injunction allowing him to continue playing. Someone at each turn screwed this up, so that this supplement shows up as a banned substance. Maybe he needs to sue the supplement maker to recover his good name and the $1.5 mil he's gonna lose? But really JC, shouldn't a Flintstone vitamin be enough? Why do any of you guys need ANY kind of supplement?— Mark1npt
- Amaro was caught between a rock and a hard place. He could bash MLB, but then MLB could "random" test all the Phillies...The only person who can rectify this is Selig...— palmyra21
If the facts are as represented in the story by Phil Sheridan, then I am really disgusted by what Ruben Amaro, Jr had to say. We have no way of knowing if there's more to the story (other than the media, of course), but it certainly appears that Romero is being punished for the past actions of those who knowingly did much worse. Sad as it is, let's hope it's as simple as that.— bobby- To Mark's point, even if the players are going to take a supplement, shouldn't they be more careful? It looks like he did his due dilligence, but he could have safely taken something else that he already knew was safe. MLB should provide a list of approved supplements, and as a player, if the product isn't on the approved list, stay away from it.— Gary Varsho
- Amaro sounds like Paul Holmgren when backing his players. Always taking the league's side & throwing their respective players under the bus. Just once I'd love to hear a Philly GM publicly say "I back my player 100%."— america
- We should just bring Ugueth Urbina back as a short-term replacement. Hopefully he is up for parole? I liked him....he could really cut through the opposition.— UncleEddie
- It's just starting to hit me how this is going to play nationally. A line from the Reuters story that's now posted online: "His ban casts a shadow over Philadelphia's World Series win." Regardless of who's at fault here, this sucks.— bobby
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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