Former Pirate Ronny Paulino, of all people, has received a 50-game suspension for PEDs, the Miami Herald reports:
↵↵↵Paulino says he used a dietary pill to control his weight this season and recently learned it contained a banned substance. He says he is "ashamed and saddened" for disappointing his family, teammates and the Marlins organization.
↵"I accept full responsibility and all consequences for this mistake, and therefore choose not to challenge my suspension," Paulino said in a statement released by the team. "I was irresponsible for failing to take all precautionary steps in confirming the approval of the dietary pill. Without a doubt, I have learned from my mistake."
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Paulino, you'll recall, last played for the Pirates in 2008 and left the organization after a terrible stretch of play that earned him the nickname "Joggin' Ronny." He had a reasonably good comeback season with the Marlins last year.
↵In other former-Pirates news, Jason Bay is probably out for the season after suffering a concussion against the Dodgers. Nearly all the main position players GM Neal Huntington inherited in late 2007 are gone, and none of them have much of a career anymore. Former GM Dave Littlefield really left a time bomb. It's not Littlefield's fault Bay ran into an outfield wall, but he was having an awful season even before that. Freddy Sanchez has a horrible .648 OPS for the year. Jack Wilson's is .598. Nate McLouth is in the minors. Xavier Nady is a bench player. And now Paulino, Littlefield's catcher of choice, will miss 50 games with a drug suspension. The only hitters from that era who are playing well are the much-maligned Adam LaRoche, and Jose Bautista, who's doing his best Brady Anderson impression with the Blue Jays.