Baseball Update: Raul Ibanez "I'm Clean"

Interesting story today out of the Philadelphia Inquirer, regarding Phillies slugger Raul Ibanez.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Ibanez concerning his hot start of the year. So far this year Ibanez leads the majors in RBI's(54) and is second in home runs(19). His career average for home runs and RBI's respectively is 23 and 95. Ibanez turned 37 last week. There is speculation because Ibanez is having a career year and is 37 years old. There has been rumors flying that Ibanez is having this type of year because of PED use. But don't tell Mr. Ibanez about this.

"I'll come after people who defame or slander me," he said before last night's game against the New York Mets. "It's pathetic and disgusting. There should be some accountability for people who put that out there."

Good thing I said there is only speculation. I wouldn't want Raul coming after me.

Ibanez does understand though we live in the PED era and that these rumors were created by the steroid era.

"Unfortunately, I understand the environment we're in and the events that have led us to this era of speculation," he said. "At the same time, you can't just walk down the street and accuse somebody of being a thief because they didn't have a nice car yesterday and they do today. You can't say that guy is a thief."

Ibanez continues to insist that he has never used PED's.

"You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.

"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen.

"Nobody is above the testing policy. We've seen that."

This is unfortunate because the Steroid Era has created this. Because of Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens, Raul Ibanez is questioned whether or not he is clean of drugs.

I personally believe Ibanez has seen a spike in his performance because of the ballpark he plays in. Let's be honest, the Phillies ballpark is a bandbox. Escpecially when you compare it to Safco Field in Seattle. Citizens Bank Park is a place where a guy like Aaron Rowand can hit 27 home runs. When a player like Ibanez or Rowand play in a real ballpark, they return to normal.

This isn't going away. Raul Ibanez won't be the last player questioned about PED use for a long time. It's the era we are in. If A-Rod and Manny Ramirez use PED's, then anyone can.

I'm clean, angry Ibanez says (Philly Inquirer)