Twins reliever Juan Rincon has been suspended for 10 days for a violation of Major League Baseball’s tough-but-not–tough-enough performance enhancing drug policy.


(Juan eagerly listens as his agent dishonestly takes credit for shortening the ban from 50 games to 10.)

Rincon has the dubious distinction of being the first major leaguer suspended to have made substantial contributions to his club ; note that Rincon struck out 106 hitters in 82 innings of work in ’04 (compared with just 63 K’s in 85 innings during 2003). So either he’s on the juice, he suddenly improved….or both. Or neither. I’m confused. And they’ve not specified which substance Rincon abused, either (presumably not Pepto Bismol)