04/18/24
March 17, 2010
Rangers Manager Tested Positive for Cocaine: "Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season," SI.com has learned.
I'm surprised Mr. Ryan tolerates this shit. At all. Has any other manager failed a frickin' drug test?
posted by mjkredliner at 02:06 PM on March 17, 2010
Has any other manager failed a frickin' drug test?
posted by rocketman at 02:26 PM on March 17, 2010
Sorta.
I guess I was reading 'drug' to be the key word, not 'failed' or 'test'.
posted by BoKnows at 02:36 PM on March 17, 2010
I'm surprised Mr. Ryan tolerates this shit.
When Washington got his extension last year and the drug test was failed a month later, Ryan wasn't in ownership but was team president.
The team was winning under Washington at the time the news broke, so accepting his offered resignation would have thrown a monkey wrench into that. By the time the off-season rolled around, the team was severely hamstrung moneywise because of owner Tom Hinks' financial woes and the league-mandated sale. So it was an extremely tough time to make a change.
At this point, I think the right play is probably to keep Washington. They accepted his admitted coke use last summer and he's completed the league's program. Firing him now, when the team is predicted to be an AL West contender, would suck.
posted by rcade at 02:39 PM on March 17, 2010
Josh Hamilton also fell off the wagon last year
You saying that Washington was the reason why Hamilton fell off the wagon last year? Hmmmm, interesting.
Hey son, try some of this here cocaine...it'll make you feel GOOD good good.....
/I kid
posted by BornIcon at 03:14 PM on March 17, 2010
As opposed to a frickin' drug ?
posted by tommybiden at 03:47 PM on March 17, 2010
As opposed to a frickin' class II controlled substance.
posted by mjkredliner at 03:52 PM on March 17, 2010
I would call getting a DUI failing an intellegence test, not a drug test.
posted by tahoemoj at 04:04 PM on March 17, 2010
I would call getting a DUI failing an intellegence test, not a drug test.
No, it's a drug test. They test to see if you have too much (legal) drug in your system to do what you are doing. You have too much? You fail.
posted by grum@work at 05:02 PM on March 17, 2010
Josh Hamilton: Of all the teams in the league, I have to play on the one where the freaking manager is doing cocaine. Thanks Universe.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:34 PM on March 17, 2010
No no, both alcohol and cocaine are recreational drugs, says so right in the article...recreation is good us, keeps us happy and in shape...so why the issues?
On a serious note, i think rcade's timeline does explain the reasoning behind why Washington wasn't disciplined beyond what he was. I just wonder if this puts more pressure on him this year. Last year of contract, and now Ryan has more control. I think the Rangers need to be a serious contender throughout the season for him to keep his job. If they repeat their performance of last year where they played well early and then faded by mid-summer, I think he's gone.
posted by dviking at 06:12 PM on March 17, 2010
I'm surprised that managers are tested for Cocaine. What's the point? PED?
posted by tron7 at 06:22 PM on March 17, 2010
grum, by an intelligence test, I just meant that getting a DUI makes one a bit of a dumbass.
I know of what I speak, having gotten one fifteen years ago. And I was a dumbass for doing so
posted by tahoemoj at 07:17 PM on March 17, 2010
The original question was:
Has any other manager failed a frickin' drug test?
So, the answer is no then?
Or is an alcohol related test = to cocaine now.
posted by BoKnows at 08:13 PM on March 17, 2010
Or is an alcohol related test = to cocaine now.
Relax.
posted by tommybiden at 09:44 PM on March 17, 2010
The technicality being discussed here is my fault, I know that. I made the notion in my first comment that cocaine and alcohol were not the same. Grum asserted that, in fact, they were both 'drugs'. That I can't argue with and I won't. What I am suggesting is that equating the two, in this case, doesn't answer the original question.
(BTW, I have a fresh sample of blueberry mist, I am very relaxed. And I will not be driving.)
posted by BoKnows at 10:05 PM on March 17, 2010
Can we clear something up here? You all seem to be assuming that Washington 1: used cocaine on a regular basis and 2: continues to do so. To every assertion, he did so once and once only, and he came clean about doing so straight afterwards. So personally, I wouldn't call him a druggie, or say that he currently has a coke problem, or say that he's doing cocaine, as the evidence that's out right now says that's total bullshit.
posted by boredom_08 at 01:14 AM on March 18, 2010
You all seem to be assuming that Washington 1: used cocaine on a regular basis and 2: continues to do so.
You all who? I think the phrase "coke problem" was used once in passing. Other than that, what are you referring to?
And to give it a broader meaning, I think that getting caught doing coke is a problem.
posted by tahoemoj at 02:28 AM on March 18, 2010
I guess Washington will use the old saying for his team ( Do as I say not as I do)
posted by Doehead at 08:29 AM on March 18, 2010
Can we clear something up here? You all seem to be assuming that Washington 1: used cocaine on a regular basis and 2: continues to do so. To every assertion, he did so once and once only, and he came clean about doing so straight afterwards.
Well, it does sound suspicious.
He played during the hey-days of cocaine use (mid-eighties), he's in his 50's, and he's trying to say that he used cocaine for the very first time only time.
Also, it would be incredibly bad luck to try cocaine for the first time and then get picked to have a drug test less than three days after.
posted by grum@work at 09:05 AM on March 18, 2010
When I said Washington had a coke problem, I assumed that he must have been a prior coke user who fell off the wagon. The story he's telling -- that he was using it for the first time when he got caught -- is hard to believe. He's 57 years old and played 10 years in the majors. He turned it down for almost four decades of adulthood then finally said what the hell?
posted by rcade at 10:23 AM on March 18, 2010
The story he's telling -- that he was using it for the first time when he got caught -- is hard to believe. He's 57 years old and played 10 years in the majors. He turned it down for almost four decades of adulthood then finally said what the hell?
Yea, I would have to agree with that. A 57 year old former ballplayer who played in the 80's when coke was very relevant in the game during that era and in 2009 used coke for the first time ever? Sorry but that's a little far fetched.
Maybe he's telling the truth but it's too hard for me to fathom that he never used coke before and out of the blue, decided to try it this one time and got caught.
posted by BornIcon at 10:41 AM on March 18, 2010
Or is an alcohol related test = to cocaine now.
Not hardly, judging by sentencing guidlines for offenders.
I'm surprised that managers are tested for Cocaine. What's the point?
Uh, because some are one, apparently, is dumb enough to use the stuff. Or perhaps it was for cause or reasonable suspicion. Or maybe the Rangers want a (illegal) drug free workplace. And yeah, what the 3 comments above say.
posted by mjkredliner at 03:41 PM on March 18, 2010
Associated Press just reported he said he also did marijuana and amphetamines. Should this be a surprise?
posted by jjzucal at 08:03 PM on March 18, 2010
So, he used those "recreational" drugs during his playing days, and waits until he's 57 to give cocaine a try. Not buying it.
posted by dviking at 10:06 PM on March 18, 2010
Associated Press just reported he said he also did marijuana and amphetamines.
Only once (each).
Also, it would be incredibly bad luck to try cocaine for the first time and then get picked to have a drug test less than three days after.
I know....talk about bad luck!
Actually, I don't think anyone, the Rangers brass included, truly believe this is Washington's first time he ever touched the stuff. A fairly-successful 57 year old just gets the urge to give coke a try for the first time? Never gave in to the urges in his younger days, but partakes now, and coincidentally gets drug tested a couple days later? Wow.
posted by dyams at 10:34 PM on March 18, 2010
Crud. The Rangers are in nice position to do well this year, but having a manager with a coke problem won't help matters. Josh Hamilton also fell off the wagon last year, so at least they'll have something to talk about.