Dan Meyer, like many former and current baseball players, took to Twitter to voice his opinions and frustrations regarding the suspensions stemming from the Biogenesis PED scandal. While many players went for the somber and cynical approach, Meyer decided to take this time of reflection and penance to get in bitter jab at one former teammate, Antonio Bastardo.
Bastardo, one of the 12 athletes suspended today by Major League Baseball, was quietly having a very productive year for the Phillies, posting a 2.32 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 42.2 innings pitched in a bullpen that ranks dead last in the National League.
The two relievers were ostensibly competing for a spot in the Phillies ‘pen for the 2011 season, a role that quite clearly went to Bastardo. Largely taken for bitterness at his own lack of playing ability by followers and detractors alike, Meyer acknowledged in a later tweet that though he may not have been good enough, others could have had chances taken away by players using PEDs.
Meyer himself did not exude excellence in his six seasons in the big leagues, posting a 5.46 ERA while pitching for three teams. His last year in the major leagues was especially impressive from a point of futility. He allowed 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings pitched while posting a staggering 2.89 WHIP in 2010. For those of you unfamiliar with WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched), it’s a sabermetric statistic used to determine how many baserunners a pitcher allows each inning. In Meyer’s case, he was allowing nearly three baserunners per inning before he was released. And he’s bitter that the job went to Bastardo?
Sure he may have been a first round draft pick (34th overall by Atlanta in 2002) and the centerpiece for the trade that brought Tim Hudson to the Braves, but his biggest accomplishment to date is being an all around honest guy. Meyer took care to go out of his way and make sure that proverbial owner Chipper Jones was aware that he wasn’t using any PEDs when Chipper was smashing line drives off of him.
All of those sleepless nights are over now, Dan. The truth is out, and we couldn’t be more relieved.
[Xcess Trading, Baseball Reference, ESPN]
