The baseball world was sent into a frenzy when Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that it was suspending San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera for 50 games after the All-Star tested positive for testosterone.
Cabrera will be missed by the Giants, who are in the midst of a pennant race with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Even more interesting than the suspension itself is the buzz it's creating on Twitter. Fans and players alike have not been shy about voicing their opinions on the social network.
As of 5 p.m. PST Monday evening, baseball had a stranglehold on Twitter, as "Melky Cabrera" and "PEDs" were among the top trending topics.
CSN Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly, the network's Giants beat reporter, got into the middle of (or, if you'd like, ahead of) the story in July when he wrote on Twitter that he'd asked Cabrera about rumors of a forthcoming suspension for a failed drug test. Cabrera flatly denied the rumor at the time, leading Baggarly to pen a public apology for prematurely putting out information about a potential suspension.
"I stand by the apology column I wrote last month. Didn't have story nailed down, shouldn't have put it out there," Baggarly tweeted on Wednesday. "Now, if Melky Cabrera wants to apologize to me for lying when I asked him about it, that's another matter."
Even more intriguing is the fact that the official statement from Cabrera himself made no attempt to pass blame or deny any wrongdoing:
"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."
Rare is the instance where a player accepts punishment without putting up a fight when it comes to PEDs, but it appears as if Cabrera will take his lumps and move on.
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