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Major League Baseball says it has launched an investigation into allegations that a Miami clinic dubbed "the East Coast version of BALCO," supplied performance enhancing drugs to several MLB players including Alex Rodriguez and Melky Cabrera.

According to the Miami New Times report, the names of Rodriguez and Cabrera, as well as those of Gio Gonzalez, Bartolo Colon, Yasmani Grandal and Nelson Cruz were included on a batch of records obtained by the newspaper from anti-aging clinic Biogenesis.

The clinic closed over a month ago and its owner, 49-year-old Anthony Bosch, has disappeared.

Buster Olney ✔ @Buster_ESPN
As with Manny: There will be a time with Alex Rodriguez when the side stuff will outweigh the production, and NYY will want him to go away

joshgc wrote:What does this mean for Melky? Could he be facing more game time suspensions if the allegations against all these players are accurate?

Although A-Rod is the biggest name in Tony Bosch's records, he's far from alone. Melky Cabrera is mentioned 14 times throughout. A switch-hitting outfielder from the Dominican Republic, Cabrera had enjoyed a steady but fairly middle-of-the-road career until signing with the San Francisco Giants last year. Suddenly, he began pounding the baseball, whacking a team record 51 hits in May alone. Three months later, he nabbed more votes than any outfielder for the All-Star Game and won the game MVP after going two for three at the dish.

Cabrera's dream season screeched to a halt in August, though, when MLB announced a 50-game suspension after his blood tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Cabrera quickly admitted he'd used a banned substance and didn't fight the suspension. But what substance did he take?

It might be what's listed in a 2012 notebook from Bosch's office. Under a heading labeled "Melkys/Mostro," Bosch writes, "April 4th drop off, has enough meds until May 4... next visit deliver and infuse $9,000 to RPO and $900 exp. and charges. Call him for expense. Missing this mo. troches and pink cream."

Another document in the files, labeled simply "Mostro" — his nickname for Cabrera — and dated December 21, 2011, lists his regimen: a cocktail of drugs including IGF-1.

(There's also an odd, handwritten letter by Bosch in his notebook that seems to refer to Cabrera's suspension for elevated testosterone. Addressed to a "Juan," Bosch rails against Cabrera, writing that "in helping him, I put my business and all my doctors at risk by fabricating patient charts and phony prescriptions." He adds that the slugger should "man-up" and pay $9,000 he owes, adding, "I am on the 'line' here!!")

Indeed, there are two patterns to the names of athletes in Bosch's records: (1) Most have direct ties to Miami and often to the UM Hurricanes baseball program, and (2) a number have already been caught doping — which suggests that either Bosch isn't particularly gifted at crafting drugs that can beat performance tests or his clients aren't careful.

joshgc wrote:What does this mean for Melky? Could he be facing more game time suspensions if the allegations against all these players are accurate?

spykelee wrote:This stuff will never go away. There is literally not a single scenario wherein I can see a player not trying to get an advantage in his career. Straight up from the minors right through to super stardom in the MLB. The rewards are just too enticing. Nothing short of a lifetime suspension will get rid of this stuff. And not just in baseball, but in all sports.

Randle McMurphy wrote:

spykelee wrote:This stuff will never go away. There is literally not a single scenario wherein I can see a player not trying to get an advantage in his career. Straight up from the minors right through to super stardom in the MLB. The rewards are just too enticing. Nothing short of a lifetime suspension will get rid of this stuff. And not just in baseball, but in all sports.

Or they could just legalize PEDs in sports already, but that would anger the ignorant, self-righteous moralizers.

SharoneWright wrote:

Randle McMurphy wrote:

spykelee wrote:This stuff will never go away. There is literally not a single scenario wherein I can see a player not trying to get an advantage in his career. Straight up from the minors right through to super stardom in the MLB. The rewards are just too enticing. Nothing short of a lifetime suspension will get rid of this stuff. And not just in baseball, but in all sports.

Or they could just legalize PEDs in sports already, but that would anger the ignorant, self-righteous moralizers.

Word. Moralizing is just soo offensively ostentatious....

Redeemer wrote:Up Next

Randle McMurphy wrote:There are few things more exasperating to me than sanctimonious people who don't have a clue what they're talking about telling others how to live their lives.

Avenger wrote:ofcourse, there's absolutely no difference between stealing and taking safe and scientifically tested supplements to recover from injuries and get back to your job ? What exactly is the distinction between what these guys did and a blue collar worker taking a cortisone shot to get back on the assembly line and earn money for his family?

SharoneWright wrote:
It's code. Baseball happens as a competition between men between the lines. ARod and his ilk have "stolen" the trust of the fans, results and real money from their fellow players, and authenticity/honour from the game. All for personal gain.

Churning out 100 cogs with a cortisone shot steals from no one. Plus, it's not cheating. It's sacrifice. You think Arod "sacrificed' by taking steroids??? For his family???

Randle McMurphy wrote:It's always amazing to me how many people believe this hypocritical nonsense.