Blowing the horn for longer suspensions for those caught using performance-enhancing drugs is noble

AP Melky Cabrera, of the San Francisco Giants, shows off his MVP trophy after the MLB All-Star Game in Kansas airline ticket price comparison City, Mo. Cabrera has been suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for testosterone.
Blowing the horn for longer suspensions for those caught using performance-enhancing drugs is noble and sensible, airline ticket price comparison but it isn t really necessary. Teams could impose their own tougher penalties airline ticket price comparison by hitting the cheaters where it hurts most: their bank accounts.
Yes, I know Melky Cabrera will lose out on nearly $2 million of his $6 million salary while serving his 50-game suspension. And he figures to lose untold millions when he becomes a free agent this offseason. What he will be offered, in fact, has become one of the more intriguing offseason stories for me.
Let s say Cabrera would have been in line for four years and $50 million-plus, airline ticket price comparison which isn t out of line for a 28-year-old All-Star MVP who has emerged airline ticket price comparison as one of the game s top hitters over the past two seasons. Let s not forget, though, that the Atlanta airline ticket price comparison Braves released Cabrera after the 2010 season when he was viewed as overweight and quite ordinary.
When he showed up for spring airline ticket price comparison training with the Kansas City Royals in 2011, Cabrera s new look was attributed to a winter of hard work and an improved attitude. But now that he has admitted to using testosterone, teams have to wonder how much of his transformation airline ticket price comparison was chemically aided.
airline ticket price comparison Signing him becomes a risk but, given Cabrera s .346/.390/.516 production line this season, there will be teams willing to gamble. A two-year, $10 million offer would be quite a bargain if Cabrera were able to return to his 2012 form. While $10 million is a long way from $50 million-plus, it is still $10 million a ton of guaranteed money for a player many will view as a fraud.
If teams truly wanted to impose tougher penalties for cheaters, they would offer Cabrera nothing more than an incentive-based, minor league deal with a provision for frequent drug testing. Cabrera then would have to earn his pay for what he does, not what he has done.