Melky is ballin'... Gardner fighting for some playing time... love to see our kids coming through when it counts.

an interesting bit of news from isles:

Merloni tells of PED advice from doctor
Former player recalls meeting detailing benefits of using

By Doug Miller / MLB.com

05/11/09 1:45 AM ET

Former Red Sox utility man Lou Merloni said Saturday on Comcast's "The Baseball Show" that he remembered a Spring Training meeting in which a doctor explained to players how to use steroids intelligently and without abuse, according to multiple reports.

Merloni's exact quotes, according to The Boston Globe, were: "I'm in Spring Training, and I got an 8:30-9:00 meeting in the morning. I walk into that office, and this happened while I was with the Boston Red Sox before this last regime, I'm sitting in the meeting. There's a doctor up there and he's talking about steroids, and everyone was like, 'Here we go, we're going to sit here and get the whole thing -- they're bad for you.'

"No. He spins it and says, 'You know what? If you take steroids and sit on the couch all winter long, you can actually get stronger than someone who works out clean. If you're going to take steroids, one cycle won't hurt you; abusing steroids it will.'

"He sat there for one hour and told us how to properly use steroids while I'm with the Boston Red Sox, sitting there with the rest of the organization, and after this I said, 'What the heck was that?' And everybody on the team was like, 'What was that?' And the response we got was, 'Well, we know guys are taking it, so we want to make sure they're taking it the right way.' ... Where did that come from? That didn't come from the Players Association."

On Sunday, Merloni slightly clarified his statements in an interview with The Globe, saying that neither the doctor nor anyone associated with the Red Sox encouraged steroid use, but he did say the team probably was aware that some of its players were using steroids.

"It was like teaching your teenage daughter about sex education," Merloni told the newspaper. "The organization acknowledged that there were likely players using steroids, and basically, 'If you're going to use them, this is how you use them so you don't abuse them.'"

Merloni, who was in the Red Sox's Minor League system in 1996 and '97 and played for the big league team from 1998-2002, said he couldn't remember the doctor's name or when the meeting took place, but he did say that a former athletic trainer told him that the Red Sox were aware that players were using.

Boston's general manager during Merloni's Red Sox tenure, Dan Duquette, responded angrily to Merloni's claims, according to The Globe.

"It's ridiculous -- it's totally unfounded," Duquette said. "Who was the doctor? Tell me who the doctor is. If there was such a doctor, he wasn't in the employ of the Red Sox. We brought in doctors to educate the players on the Major League drug policy at the time at the recommendation of Major League Baseball. This is so ridiculous, I hate to even respond to it."

______________________________________

This has been out there for almost a week and there hasn't been a whiff of it on ESPN. The latest baseball column on ESPN is from Peter Gammons, about how Manny really only started using steroids when he became a LA Dodger. Pathetic.

now tell me, why wasn't this a major headline on ESPN? if any of this came out from a Yankees source this would be plastered all over the airwaves, u wouldn't hear the end of it... the Red Sox sycophants at ESPN are a joke.

Duquette is so pissed lol. Sounds like a guilty conscience.

Veras is terrible, but great job by Coke to get out of the jam.

Crap, this bullpen just can't get it done.

TEX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Break out game!

I couldn't find this game on MLB extra innings. I followed it online. Looks like I missed a great game!

Posted by TMS:

ARod's 5th walkoff HR as a Yankee... he may struggle in the clutch at times but you'd be hard pressed to find another guy on this team w/as many walkoffs as he's had for this team.

Great win today. We've had some problems to work through but when you think of this team's identity so far, you got start with their ability to comeback late in games. Very happy for A-Rod and Tex (4-4). We're gonna be very dangerous once we get some key pieces back. Won the series against 1st place Toronto and we just came back and took the first 2 from a good team that's been red hot 2 days in a row here. Let's keep it going man...

completely overlooked but Gardner's catch of the blooping flyball that he got a great jump on & caught for an out in the top of the 10th w/men on 1st & 2nd & 1 out saved the game... he got a great jump on that ball... if that's Damon out there it's game over & ARod never gets a chance to hit the HR in the 11th.

Posted by GKFv2:

We need to fire Kevin Long and hire Tino Martinez as hitting coach.

i'd actually like to see Paullie become the hitting coach at some point... dude was as obsessed about his swing mechanics as anyone i've ever watched... plus would love to have some fiery passion in the dugout like Zim used to bring to the table... too bad he's enjoying retired life so much.

Tino would make a nice 1st base coach