Mota suspended

by Eric Simon on Nov 1, 2006 2:52 PM EST

ESPN via the AP reveals that Guillermo Mota has been suspended for 50 games for a violation of the MLB drug policy. One might surmise that he starting doping in between his stints in Cleveland and New York. Mota was a free agent but considering the way he pitched for the Mets last season (minus the one pitch to Scott Spiezio) there was every reason to think that he would be back in orange-and-blue.

I'm still not sure this explains what is going on in the drawing to the left here. The suspension apparently doesn't apply to winter league or spring training games, so Mota will be out of action until the end of May. Depending on your feeling about players who have tested positive for performance enhancers, Mota still might be a reasonably-cheap pickup for four months of the season.

The Mets still have Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez under contract for next season, and will probably look to bring Chad Bradford back as well. I'm not entirely sure what the status of Pedro Feliciano is, but he shouldn't be eligible for free agency for a few years so the Mets can likely keep him if they want to.

UPDATE [11/2 @ 9:35am]: Mota has now apologized (Daily News via Baseball Musings):

"I have no one to blame but myself," Mota said in a statement that did not explain how he ran afoul of baseball's drug rules. "I take full responsibility for my actions and accept MLB's suspension. I used extremely poor judgment and deserve to be held accountable."
"To my teammates and the entire Mets organization, I am sorry. I truly regret what I did and hope that you can forgive me. To baseball fans everywhere, I understand that you are disappointed in me, and I don't blame you. I feel terrible and I promise this is the first and last time that this will happen. I am determined to prove to you that this was one mistake."

The steroid issue is a polarizing one. Mota is a cheater, at least as far as MLB is concerned. As a once-convicted cheater he is suspended for fifty games and is then is allowed to ply his trade some more. Whether that will be with the Mets or another team is yet to be determined. For those of you who take a hard stance against the use of PEDs, is there a point at which you forgive? Is everyone entitled to a reprieve from a single foolish transgression? When Mota completes his suspension, let's assume for a moment that he has taken his last performance enhancing drug. If he admits he has made a mistake (which he has) and he vows that it will not be repeated (that, too), will he forever be adorned with the scarlet "S" in the eyes of the fans? Or, having paid his debt to the society of baseball, is he free to resume life as it existed before? Let's say management forgives him long enough to re-sign him and he continues pitching like a bullpen ace when he returns, will we more easily forget (or forgive) what he did?

Tweet Comment 19 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I agree...

Bring Mota back. When his suspension is up he will bring much needed 'relief' to the bullpen.

It's pointless to get too high and mighty about the steroid issue because it is such a wide spread issue. I'm not saying it makes it right, but let's be honest with ourselves... it's everywhere.

by SQUAD on Nov 1, 2006 3:05 PM EST reply actions

D'oh!

Well...any predictions if this might prevent the Mets from dealing Heilman (at least temporarily) or any other Mets reliever for that matter? Or would this not have any effect on the possibility of a deal involving a member of the Mets bullpen (of which Heilman is the most talked about trading chip, I wasn't trying to single him out). Oh well, I'm sure Omar has a few tricks up his sleeve.

by The Irresistable Force on Nov 1, 2006 3:06 PM EST reply actions

ya gotta wonder

if this puts a stop to any possible Heilman trades like the one mentioned at mlbtraderumors for Patterson, which would have been nice in my opinion

nice blog by the way, metsblogs downtime has forced me over

by JScott on Nov 1, 2006 3:07 PM EST reply actions

I thought Mota was a dick before this.

And I think he's more of a dick now. But the team should absolutely bring him back -- I'd even think about a multi-year deal. If Lo Duca and Willie can keep him settled down and motivated, he's capable of anchoring the bullpen as a setup guy and spot closer for the foreseeable future. It's all about keeping his head straight.

I posted some stuff on Heilman in the Kennedy trade rumor discussion, but the short version of my thoughts is: Corey Patterson? Hell no. Matt Murton? Sure.

by anonymous on Nov 1, 2006 3:11 PM EST reply actions

Can they get him to throw his damn changeup?

by Mr. Met on Nov 1, 2006 6:13 PM EST up reply actions

jesus, that was a brainlock.

Corey Patterson? Nice of you all to let that go by unnoticed. Eric, the Cubs' hot 2B prospect, certainly might make a Heilman deal work. I still think Murton is a better fit, as an outfielder (and a major-league-tested hitter in exchange for Heilman, a major-league-tested pitcher), but I would probably count either deal a success. The Mets can afford to deal from a strong bullpen that can be retained for nothing more than free-agent dollars.

by anonymous on Nov 1, 2006 10:43 PM EST up reply actions

Dumb, dumb, dumb

its a ground ball...trickling... its a fair ball, its by Buckner, rounding third Knight, the Mets will win the ballgame, the Mets win

by DoctorK16 on Nov 1, 2006 3:18 PM EST reply actions

meh

I'm all for bringing him back, if he's smart enough to stay in playing shape while off the juice.

(Gee, who'd think a guy named "Mota" would have a drug problem?)

I did it like this / I did it like that / I did it with a Wiffle Ball bat

by Doc Manhattan on Nov 1, 2006 4:52 PM EST reply actions

Which Mota would we get?

If we re-sign him, will we be getting the lame one from Cleveland, or the one who finished the season strong with the Mets?

Now that we know his performance was unfairly enhanced, I'm not sure we could sign him to a multi-year deal without some longer-term indication that he can perform well without cheating.

I would suggest a one-year deal if any. The Mets brand is a clean one.

by peeder on Nov 1, 2006 6:25 PM EST reply actions

I have to agree.

Common sense would point to his better performance being enhanced. We don't need that.

by Mr. Met on Nov 1, 2006 7:29 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

Why have him back if he's no good w/o the juice?

It's better to let him find somebody else to take a chance on him.

We might as well hire one of these guys...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6110164.stm

by hotspur on Nov 2, 2006 10:39 AM EST up reply actions

can't believe

that anybody wants this cheater back on the team. I don't give a crap if he is a cheap alternative. How do you know how good he will be without the juice. Don't need him. Screw him and he was overrated in the very short time he was with the team. Won't forget how he shook off LoDuca on that shitty fastball to Speizio.

Just thought I would also add that John Kerry is a dope.

end the madness.stop the war

by elifriedman on Nov 1, 2006 10:22 PM EST reply actions

You might be right on Mota

but you're wrong on Kerry. This is much ado about nothing, the man is speaking the truth even if it was what he was accused of saying, which it wasn't. He was talking about Bush.

its a ground ball...trickling... its a fair ball, its by Buckner, rounding third Knight, the Mets will win the ballgame, the Mets win

by DoctorK16 on Nov 1, 2006 10:36 PM EST up reply actions

speaking properly

is to a politician as a good swing is to a ballplayer. Kerry should have realized that he mis-spoke and issued his quick apology yesterday. Also, he meant to call Bush stupid, uneducated and intellectually lazy. This is all true, but not coming for Kerry who exhibited the same traits in voting for the war in the first place and being so slow to change his mind. Ok no more politics.

end the madness.stop the war

by elifriedman on Nov 1, 2006 11:14 PM EST up reply actions

Guess We Know Why He Regained His Fastball

So much for fixing his mechanics or maybe it was his method of shooting up that was fixed!!!

Anyway, I don't think I want him back now that I know the extra 6-8 MPH on his fastball is most likely due to the 'roids. He will most likely be the pitcher he was in Cleveland and he pretty much sucked there.

Re Kerry - Who cares? I think he was right but the guy was the losing candidate for Prez in 2004. Since when did anyone care what they said (harsh but true). I think it is a sign of desparation with the Repubs that they are forced to latch onto this nothing issue.

by millsy on Nov 1, 2006 10:47 PM EST reply actions