Gio Gonzalez appeared on a list of players reportedly linked to performance enhancing drugs. As usual, Twitter was where the player went to express his innocence.
Gonzalez appeared on the list provided to Miami New Times by an employee of Biogenesis, which is a an anti-aging clinic hidden inside an office building not too far out of the University of Miami.
Gonzalez immediately cleared his name after finding out he was being accused of using performance enhancing drugs. The Chicago White Sox's first-round pick in 2004 played in the University of Miami which is not too far from Biogenesis.
Since entering the majors in 2008, Gonzalez has been one of the dominant lefties in the league. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics from the Philadelphia Phillies before ever throwing a first pitch in the league. Once a part of the A's, Gonzalez showed brief hints that he could be great posting a 15-9 record in 2010 with a 3.23 ERA.
He was then traded to the Washington Nationals in 2012 and immediately impacted that rotation taking the team to the playoffs and an N.L. East pennant.
Gonzalez went 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA and 207 strikeouts becoming the ace of the staff along side Stephen Strasburg.
More Trouble for Baseball
People around baseball are far from forgiving the potential dopers of the Steroid Era as many of them entered the Hall of Fame ballots. Guys like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire were great players in the 1990's and the early 2000's, but they didn't make Cooperstown.
Some believe all these guys used PEDs to better their game and don't want to risk having cheaters enter the Hall of Fame where the best of baseball's best are immortalized.
Alex Rodriguez also came up in the reports adding another allegation and more controversy to an already mercurial player.
Having a guy like Gonzalez on the list adds more doubt to who is clean and who isn't. Recently, many fans' hearts were broken all the way from New York to Kansas City to San Francisco as Melky Cabrera was caught using PEDs and ultimately suspended from the Giants for the remainder of the season and playoffs.
He left the Giants out to die after getting caught. They almost lost the N.L. West as they lacked offense. Because he cheated, the Giants singled him out and left him out of their championship attire.
When a guy like Cabrera dopes, the hope of the game ever being clean recedes. There are guys who play the game fairly, but Cabrera;s suspension proved that the game is far from 100 percent clean.
Recently, Cabrera received a two-year deal from the Toronto Blue Jays proving that some teams are willing to deal with previous dopers. He is likely to make an impact if he can play despite not having drugs in his system.
Gonzalez is a necessary component in the Nationals success. As Washington gets set to repeat as N.L. East champions, when they look at their closest competition, the Atlanta Braves, they see how much improvement they have made this offseason after acquiring both talented Upton Brothers. They will need Gonzalez to slow down a Braves team whose offense should be deadly.
The Nationals had, undoubtedly, the best pitching staff in the majors. They will look to improve on their 2012 performance and get deeper into the playoffs in 2013, but they can't make it there without the help of Gonzalez.