Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who cleared waivers last week, gave a provocative interview to Bob Nightengale at USA Today.He said he was aware that he was taking a risk of testing positive for PEDs by taking products not MLB-approved, but he doesn't seem to care.
"I do what I want to do and say what I want to say."
"I have a lot of guys in (the locker room) who think I'm out of (my) mind because I'm taking a lot of things not on the (MLB-approved) list," Arroyo says. "I take 10 to 12 different things a day, and on the days I pitch, there's four more things. There's a caffeine drink I take from a company that (former teammate) Curt Schilling introduced me to in '05. I take some Korean ginseng and a few other proteins out there that are not certified. But I haven't failed any tests, so I figured I'm good."
According to Arroyo's father, Gus, he has been taking supplements since the age of 5. That certainly makes his mindset easier to understand. It's no excuse for his freewheeling attitude but you could argue that his stance on the taking of supplements was formulated by the mind of a child, encouraged by a parent.
For someone with a big contract ( $9.5 million this season as part of a contract scheduled to pay him more than $38 million from 2006 to 2011) who has cleared waivers and may or may not generate trade interest, this is a funny time to stir the steroid pot.