Things that make you go "Hmmm"

Just a quicky post to pass along this interesting snippet regarding baseball's steroid testing program, courtesy of Buster Olney's worth-the-price-of-a-subscription ESPN.com Insider blog:

"... Which brings us to Human Growth Hormone, which, in 2005, comprises the most enormous loophole -- the Grand Canyon of loopholes -- in baseball's current system of testing. HGH is on the list of banned substances, but there is no test for it, and everybody knows it.

"Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds, the players most directly connected to the steroid scandal, have presumably tested clean, along with virtually every player in the majors. To date, just six players have tested positive and been suspended. But it would be naïve to assume that the problem of performance-enhancing drugs has been cleaned up in baseball because human growth hormone is a clear alternative.

Two years ago, dozens upon dozens of players tested positive for steroids as they sought to gain a competitive advantage. You can reasonably assume that many players would now recognize and exploit the HGH loophole."

And in completely unrelated news, the rejuvenated Giambino has 11 homers in his last 17 games, this after looking like a sausage casing of his former self for the past year. He recently credited his turnaround to a "tip" from a certain buddy and former big shot.

Not that we're suggesting anything, for we here at TATB aren't the conspiracy-theory types . . . but we do find Olney's timing at least a little interesting.