Raul Ibanez caught using performance-enhancing Nationals
Phillies outfielder Raul Ibanez admitted Friday to using “a number of different” performance-enhancing Nationals over the past three days in an effort to snap out of his recent 0-35 slump.
Ibanez went 8-for-12 in this past series with two home runs and five RBI and the rumors started to fly about whether the 38-year-old’s sudden boost in production was related to PEN use.
“I just want to apologize to my teammates and my family for foolishly trying to use performance-enhancing Nats just to inflate my stats,” said Ibanez, who attributes his recent power surge to a PEN called Lannan and another named Marquis. “I wanted to prove that I could still play at a high level and instead of doing it the right way, I started using Nats. It was a dumb thing to do.”
Some reports estimate that as many as 90% of current major leaguers use PENs to help with on-field performance. Though Major League Baseball has done very little to combat this issue, Congress may soon get involved to stop PEN use by contracting the embarrassment of a franchise from the league.
Ruiz walking around all smug after extending hot streak to two games
Carlos Ruiz raised his batting average by nearly 100 points in two days after turning in back-to-back 2-for-2 performances.
Ruiz entered Wednesday’s contest with a .161 average and left Thursday’s game with a robust .257 mark. ‘Chooch’ also walked twice in each game, which raised his OBP from .278 to .409.
Teammates have noted that the seemingly insignificant streak has started to affect Ruiz’s clubhouse behavior.
“He’s going around asking everybody what their batting averages are over the past two games,” said Ryan Howard, who happens to be batting .000 in that period. “And before you can get it out, he’s like ‘No one cares ’cause it’s definitely not 1.000 like mine is’.”
Jimmy Rollins, who responded with a 1-for-5 night after being placed back in the leadoff spot, also felt the sting of Ruiz’s braggadocio after Thursday’s game.
“I was really about to go upside Chooch’s head a minute ago,” Rollins said. “He said something like ‘Dawg . . . can you remember the last time one of these raggedy-ass pitchers actually got me out? ‘Cause I just can’t seem to recall.’”
In the latest World Series-related distraction that the Phils really don’t need, the team visited President Obama at the White House today and will take on the Nationals tonight at 7:05. Joe Blanton will try and get the Phils back in the win column as he faces off against John Lannan.
