Glaus' admitted PED use

Is he among the infamous 103? Not sure, but Troy Glaus has made an admission:

[Glaus] has never addressed the steroids issue except to confirm meeting with MLB investigators following a 2007 report that he received nandrolene and testosterone between September 2003 and May 2004. MLB found no cause to discipline him; Glaus since has had no comment.

The twist to this story, to me, is that his agent was the one referring Glaus to an anti-aging doctor (emphasis mine).

Quoting the investigator's report, the Times article said Glaus "was willing to take the risk" in order to get back on the field. The investigation centers on California anti-aging doctor Ramon Scruggs, who allegedly wrote prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone for clients, including athletes, businessmen and policemen. Scruggs wrote the prescription for Glaus without examining him, according to documents cited by the Times.

The report cites Glaus as saying that his agent, Mike Nicotera, referred him to Scruggs.

What I found, um, amusing, were some of the reader's comments. Apparently, Cardinals' fans are a forgiving sort when it's one of their own:

• "I love Troy as a player, and hopefully this blows over quickly"
• "He needed these drugs to speed his rehab. He is apparently a very, very slow healer."

Well, not ALL of the fans, that is:

• "This is so typical of the LaRussa regime. It is steriod heaven wherever he manages. Typical of the Cardinal organization....nothing but cheaters and losers."
• "I guess I'm just slow on the up-take... I assumed Glaus' steroid use was a requirement before LaRussa would even consider adding him to the team."
• "Tony LaJuica. Say no more."

The NY Times article referred to within the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article can be found here. According to that article:

Even after Major League Baseball and its players union bowed to pressure and started a testing program in 2003, the All-Star third baseman — Troy Glaus of the Anaheim Angels — and the worn-down pitcher — his teammate Scott Schoeneweis — said they continued using steroids. (Steroids had been banned in baseball since 1991, but there was no way to enforce the ban until 2003.)

Glaus said he was “willing to take the risk” because he needed to play, according to a report written by the federal agent who interviewed him.

Sounds like Pettitte's admission. Also sounds like the admission most likely to garner sympathy.

The details are a bit ugly, though:

It was also through phone calls that Scruggs taught Glaus how to inject himself, according to the investigators’ report.

Starting in November 2003 and for the next three months, Glaus injected himself once every four days with the steroids nandrolone and testosterone, the investigators say he told them.

“It worked, and I was getting better,” Glaus is quoted saying.

I wonder if Marvin Miller would ever change his "there's no proof that steroids help" stance. Doubtful.

“Schoeneweis stated that he only used steroids one time during the season, and because he was a player representative, he knew when players got tested,” their report says.

“Player reps know the information to tell the rest of the players union, the rest of the body and the league,” Schoeneweis said. “We were knowledgeable ahead of time about what the testing program was going to be because we were negotiating it, O.K.? That’s it.”

As for the Glaus post-script:

Glaus said he stopped using steroids at the end of August 2004. He returned to the lineup for the final 29 games and hit seven home runs, then he hit two more in the Angels’ three-game loss to the Boston Red Sox in the A.L. division series.

That December, he signed the largest contract of his career, a four-year, $45 million deal with the Diamondbacks.

Remember kiddies, it's only bad if you get caught BEFORE you sign a contract that will make you richer than you could have ever imagined. If you get caught after, just admit it was done to get back on the field to help your team and that you are remorseful and regretful.