You're A Tool, Jenrry Mejia

When I first read that Jenrry Mejia was accusing Major League Baseball of a witch hunt, that resulted in him being banned from the league due to failing a third drug test, I laughed. The guy failed the test three times, and the league's policy is clear that a third failed test would result in being banned from the league.

Even if he wasn't in a Mets uniform, I'd still say he looks like a tool.

It turns out that Mejia claimed that the second failed test was inaccurate, which I again found laughable. Whenever you see something that people fail at, you'll hear any and all excuses as to why they failed. It's not because that person simply isn't good at that particular test.

My kid didn't fail his math test because he didn't study. No, my kid failed that math test because the teacher is a Red Sox fan, and my son and I are Yankees fans*.*This is not a true story. I do not have a son, and Red Sox fans are not smart enough to be teachers.

Then I came to the part of the story that I found plausible, and for a second made me feel bad for Jenrry. Allegedly, somebody in MLB told him that if he appealed the second failed test they would find a third failed test and kick him out of the league. So, naturally, Mejia didn't appeal the test for fear of being banned.

But don't worry, that feeling of empathy faded very quickly. For three reasons...

First of all, Jenrry Mejia went on to fail a third test. It didn't go down like Mejia said, where somebody in MLB dug up a third failed test out of nowhere. At least, Jenrry didn't accuse them of doing that, which... to me... is basically an admission that he failed that third test.

Secondly. Mejia never said the first failed test was either inaccurate or dug up out of nowhere by MLB. Why else would he say the second test was shady, but not say the same thing about the first and third?

And finally there were these quotes...

“I felt there was a conspiracy against me. I feel that they were trying to find something to bring me down in my career,” Mejia told Ben Berkon of the New York Times.

“The association should have done more,” Mejia went on to say to Berkon. “[The union] should have been there to defend me—because that’s what they’re there for. They should have found something to appeal for.”

A conspiracy against Jenrry Mejia? Really? We're not talking about a guy like Barry Bonds, who spent many years tearing up Major League Baseball and its record book, and was one of the biggest faces in the battle between Major League Baseball and PEDs. Not even close. Mejia only threw 183.1 innings in MLB, and was only above average in the 27.1 innings he tossed in 2013. His saves total of 28 in 2014 was nice, but a 3.65 ERA and 1.484 WHIP are not.

If MLB was going to conspire against somebody, I imagine it would be against somebody a little more high profile than Jenrry Mejia.

And then there's that second quote, where Jenrry doesn't say the Union failed to stick up for him due to his accusations of a conspiracy. Apparently, worker unions aren't there to fight for workers' rights. No. Worker unions, like the MLB Player's Association, are there to find a way to get guilty men off the hook.

Well that's too bad, Jenrry. The MLBPA has more important things to do, and for innocent players in the league, than spend their time trying to figure out a way to get you and your dumbass off the hook for failing not one drug test, not two drug tests, but three drug tests.

Good riddance to idiots like Jenrry.

MLB Expands Drug Agreement

A few changes were made to the Major League Baseball Joint Drug Agreement. I've given those below, along with my thoughts of each...

• Instead of there being 1,400 random urine tests a season, there will now be 3,200... more than double. And those tests are in addition to the ones players receive during Spring Training and the postseason.

The more testing the better.

• In addition to the 1,200 mandatory collections conducted during Spring Training, the number of times blood will be collected for HGH detection will go up to 400. 

It was already the best blood testing program for HGH in professional sports, and it's now even better.

• The penalties for violating the Joint Drug Program have been raise as well. A first time violation will go from a 50-game ban to 80 games, a second violation will go from 100 games up to 162 (as well as a loss of 183 days of pay), and a third violation will result in a player being permanently banned from baseball.

I never really understood the 50 and 100 game suspensions. They just seemed like they were numbers chosen because they are nice, round, numbers. A half-season, then full-season, ban seemed to make more sense. Then again, 80 games isn't technically half a season, so it's still a bit strange.

• If a player is suspended for a JDA violation he will be ineligible to play in the postseason, nor will he be eligible to receive an automatic share of the Player's Pool for participating in the postseason. 

While others have said this doesn't make sense, as it not only hurts a player but also the team, I like it. A team may not be aware of a player's usage of PEDs, and therefore should not be punished for it, but why not? Shouldn't a team that's paying a player millions of dollars know if they are breaking such an important rule? Major League Baseball can't monitor the situation themselves... getting help from teams in order to avoid such a suspension can only help. 

• Every player that is suspended for PED use will be subject to an additional 6 unannounced urine tests, and 3 more blood tests, every remaining year for the rest of his career.

Again... why wouldn't a player that failed a test be subject to more tests in the future? It only makes sense. Especially when you may have a player try to trick the system in the future, as his PED usage was a big reason he has a career in MLB.

• A program will be implemented in which players will have year-round access to supplements that will not cause a positive test result.

This is big in my opinion, because it gives players a legal alternative. It's the same reason why after-school programs are important in keeping kids off the street or simply out of trouble. Don't just tell them not to do something, give them something else to do that is of benefit to them and/or the community.

There are a couple more additions to the Joint Drug Agreement that I didn't go over, but you can check out for yourself if you want to here.