What steroid problem?

Last December, baseball was rocked by the Mitchell Report which documented use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in the big leagues. The 204-page report named 90 former and current ballplayers as either acquiring or using performance enhancers.

Some named on the report confirmed the allegations, as was the case with Andy Pettitte. Others denied it, most notably Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Despite an aggressive legal defense, the news keeps getting worse for Clemens. Clemens’ defamation lawsuit against accuser Brian McNamee hit a snag with the latest salacious scandal. McNamee’s lawyers are playing hardball and say that Clemens’ extra-marital affairs are fair game for legal discovery.

The active players named on the Mitchell Report are on the whole doing poorly this year — maybe not as bad as Clemens, but pretty bad. Are they feeling the pressure? Feeling stained by the Mitchell Report? Or are they just getting old? Most are older players, whose skills seem to be eroding, though at a more rapid pace than before. The list of Mitchell players with some fantasy upside (for better) is much shorter than those losing their fantasy value (for worse).

For Better

1. Andy Pettitte, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees: Yankees fans are still in denial about Pettitte. Unlike Jason Giambi, they forgave Pettitte early and without reservation. This took a lot of the pressure off him and Pettitte has started the season strong with a 3-2 record and a 3.23 ERA. Can he stay healthy without his meds? On the Yankees he should be good for another 15-win season.


2. Miguel Tejada, Shortstop, Houston Astros: Off-the-field trouble has prematurely aged Tejada. He was 31-years-old on his last birthday, and will turn 34 on his next birthday. (He lied about his age.) The FBI is also looking into whether Tejada lied to them in 2005 during an investigation. Plus Tejada was featured in last winter’s bestseller, the Mitchell Report. With all that baggage it’s amazing that Tejada is having such a strong start. The clean Tejada is batting .337 with four home runs and is among the league leaders with 21 RBI. Tejada is hitting .455 at home, at Minute Maid Park. Tejada is still considered a hero in his native Dominican Republic. This probably shelters him to a degree – Does he even read the American newspapers?


3. Brian Roberts, Second Base, Baltimore Orioles: Roberts’ power numbers jumped from four home runs in 2004 to 18 in 2005. Last year, he hit 12 home runs, which is a more normal number for someone of his size. Roberts would be an elite fantasy second baseman even if he never hit a home run. He stole 50 bases last year and already has ten in 2008. Roberts is hitting .267, which is below his career average of .281, but nothing to be alarmed about. There seems to be no lingering effect from being mentioned in the Mitchell Report.


4. Ryan Franklin, Relief Pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals: Franklin is a valuable pitcher in leagues that count holds. He is tied with Chad Qualls for the major league lead with eight holds. Franklin (2.02 ERA) has a history of losing steam in August and September. If you have him, think about selling high at around the All Star break.


5. Rick Ankiel, Outfield, St. Louis Cardinals: The pitcher-turned-outfielder continues to hit for power. In his career Ankiel has hit 16 home runs in only 264 at bats as an outfielder. Weird stat: Ankiel, a lefty, hits left-handed pitching better than right-handers. Eventually teams will stop challenging him with fastballs. The free-swinging Ankiel has a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio. In the crowded St. Louis outfield, he is a sell-high stock.


6. Scott Schoeneweis, Relief Pitcher, New York Mets: The 34-year-old southpaw is thriving in a limited role this season. Manager Willie Randolph brings him in to face one or two left-handed batters and then gets him out before he gets into trouble. Lefties are batting .125 against Schoeneweis; righties are hitting .308. In 5x5 Roto leagues that use holds, Schoeneweis is worth a look. (He is available in just about every league.) He has three holds so far, and he could compile a decent total in that category.

For Worse

1. Jason Giambi, First Base/Designated Hitter, New York Yankees: It was no surprise that Giambi was named in the Mitchell Report. Giambi had essentially spilled the beans long ago so he has not been under the microscope like some others have been. You can’t blame pressure for his performance. Giambi, 37, is losing his skills just like aging ball players typically did years ago before performance enhancing drugs extended careers. Often injured, Giambi will hit the occasional homer between walks and strikeouts. Giambi is hitting only .167, with as many strikeouts as hits. He has no fantasy value, since there are so many first basemen to choose from.


2. Jack Cust, OF, Athletics: Clang. Clang. Clang. That’s the sound of fantasy owners dropping Cust from their rosters. Cust, 29, was a nice story last season. Here was a long-time minor-leaguer finally getting a chance. Cust hit 26 home runs in only 395 at-bats and had an outstanding .912 OPS. Given what we have seen so far this season, a .169 average, a .625 OPS and one home run, last season seems… synthetic. The addition of Frank Thomas means he will lose some at bats, and platoon with Emil Brown.


3. Jose Guillen, Outfield, Kansas City Royals: Guillen, 31, has been dropped more often than Bear Stearns stock. Now owned in only about ¼ of fantasy leagues, Guillen is hitting just .177 with a .525 OPS. Kansas City opened up the wallet for Guillen last winter, to add some punch to their lineup. Blunders like that kill small market teams.


4. Gary Sheffield, Designated Hitter/Outfield, Detroit Tigers: He is off to a brutal start, hitting only .159 with one home run and three RBI. He did the same thing last season, hitting only .200 in the month of April and then .279 the rest of the way. Sheffield is owned in about 60% of leagues. Last season he was strong in the middle of the season, but had a tired bat again in August and September. At 39 Sheffield has lost too much.


5. Éric Gagné, Relief Pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers: Gagné has converted only seven of 11 save opportunities. Four blown saves is a lot for anybody – top closers can have fewer than that in an entire season. The Gagné of 2003-2004 had a total of 100 saves in 102 opportunities. Losing the closer’s job is not out of the question since Gagné is coming off a second-half meltdown last season in Boston. Gagné’s job security is that $10 million contract he signed. Milwaukee will look awfully stupid if they demote him.


6. Derrick Turnbow, Relief Pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers: Last year, Turnbow was valuable in 5x5 Roto leagues which counted holds. His 33 led the majors. This season he has been as bad as Gagné. Too bad for him, since he could have had an opportunity to compete for the closer’s job. It’s as if the 30-yea- old Turnbow lost his mojo. Hmm.


7. Gary Matthews Jr., Outfield, Los Angeles Angels: Matthews is owned in most leagues for his speed and power. He is off to a good start as far as homeruns go, but not in average (.234.) The allegations around Matthews actually first came out well before the Mitchell Report. So last year was his season to “play under a cloud.” In 2007 he was two steals and two homers from a 20-20 season. That’s the maximum you can expect from the 33-year-old Angel. Matthews is an adequate for AL-only or very deep leagues.


8. Paul Lo Duca, Catcher, Washington Nationals: Lo Duca was dumped by the Mets for off-the-field issues, apart from the Mitchell allegations. He was struggling in Washington before going on the DL with a hand injury. With modest power and run production, Lo Duca had little fantasy value with the Mets. In Washington he has none.


9. Gregg Zaun, Catcher, Toronto Blue Jays: Zaun, now 37, peaked two years ago when he hit .272 with 12 HR. He is a bottom-tier starting catcher that was never that good when he was at his best.


10. Paul Byrd, Starting Pitcher, Cleveland Indians: Too few strikeouts, too high an ERA and WHIP to ever be useful in fantasy.