When Alberto Contador tested positive for Clenbuterol after his Tour de France victory in 2010, he claimed that he ate food that was contaminated with the banned substance. Now in 2012 San Francisco Giants reliever Guillermo Mota has tested positive for the same substance, and is blaming it on children's cough syrup, though that may not have much affect on his appeal.
Mota is now seen as a two-time offender, meaning he can not play during his appeal. But if his appeal process does indeed prove that his positive test was for trace amounts of Clenbuterol in a child's medicine, 100 games seems incredibly acute.
"Players are responsible for what they put in their bodies. Guillermo understands that," agent Adam Katz said. "A 100-game suspension for taking a children's cough medicine that contains trace amounts of a prohibited substance, which is what happened here, is severe and unfair and does not reflect the intention of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. We will appeal it."
Mota brings the latest bad news to befall the team this season, and after the Giants 9-1 shellacking at the hands of the Dodgers Monday night, it only added insult to injury:
"We're pretty beat up right now as a team," said left-hander Barry Zito, who couldn't preserve a tie in the sixth. "We're sustaining blow after blow. Losing (Guillermo) Mota was the latest blow. It just keeps coming."
Hopefully this appeal will shine some more light on the situation, as the Giants could certainly use some good news.
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