"IT PAYS TO CHEAT" ~ PLAYERS ANGERED BY PERALTA SIGNING

PERALTA & P.E.D.'s

The signing of Jhonny Peralta for $ 53 million has sparked a hostile response from some players and may lead to the Joint Drug Agreement (JDA) between the MLBPA and owners being changed.

Immediately after the signing was announced free agent pitcher David Aardsma tweeted,"Apparently getting suspended for PED's means you get a raise. Whats stopping anyone from doing it ?"

Joining the chorus,was Brad Ziegler the Arizona Diamondbacks player representative,who tweeted,"It pays to cheat. Thanks,owners,for encouraging PED use." He added in a separate tweet,"We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously it's not. So we are working on it again."

This is a sensitive issue with players. Many players feel the way Ziegler and Aardsma do,but most players declined to make any comments yesterday under the apparent instructions of the MLBPA.

Players are likely to ask for changes to the JDA at the union's annual meeting in early December. Any changes recommended would have to be collectively bargained for with the owners.

Many players feel it is wrong for Peralta to be signed to such a huge contract only four months after admitting he used PED's.

Under the current JDA players receive a 50 game suspension for the first offense,100 for the second and a lifetime ban for the third.

Some players would like to see this changed to a one or two year suspension for the first offense and a lifetime ban for the second.

Other ideas include ~ having a two tiered system that distinguishes between those players who cheat intentionally and those who do not. For example taking a prescribed medication that the player did not know was banned or delaying the players free agency eligibility delayed for one year.

As one player recently told Ken Rosenthal of FOX sports,"We've just got to figure out what actually makes sense. What we don't want to do is rush into something,make a rash decision based on emotion and have it down the road causing major problems. It's all stuff that has to be evaluated and looked at from both sides. It's not all about money. We're role models. We need to act on it."

Stay tuned.