The Baseball Thread

Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, has persuaded his owners and the players to add an extra wild-card team to the playoffs, so now five teams per league will qualify.

Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games

San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended 50 games after violating
Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Cabrera, the MVP of the 2012 All-Star Game, tested positive for testosterone. His suspension
is effective immediately.

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. ... I am deeply
sorry for my mistake," Cabrera said in a release from MLB.

Cabrera has the second-best batting average in the National League at .346, behind Andrew
McCutchen's .359. The Giants (64-53) are tied for the NL West lead with the Dodgers.

The Giants have 45 games remaining this season. Cabrera's suspension will carry over into the
playoffs if the Giants advance to the postseason. If not, Cabrera will be suspended for the first
five games of the 2013 season.

Bartolo Colon gets 50-game ban

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics was suspended
for 50 games Wednesday after testing positive for testosterone.

Major League Baseball made the announcement one week after All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera of the
San Francisco Giants received a 50-game suspension following a positive test for the same substance.

"I apologize to the fans, to my teammates and to the Oakland A's," Colon said in a statement released by
the players' association. "I accept responsibility for my actions and I will serve my suspension as required
by the joint drug program."

He will miss the final 40 games of the regular season and the first 10 games of the postseason if Oakland
advances that far. Any remainder of the suspension would be served in a future season, if Colon signs
another major league contract.

"It's a shock," Oakland reliever Grant Balfour said. "He's a guy that we're definitely relying on right now.
I guess you could say it's bad timing any time, but especially now."

Oakland, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2006, began Wednesday a half-game out in the AL wild-card
race. The A's were preparing for an afternoon series finale against Minnesota when they got the news from
clubhouse televisions. A closed-door team meeting was called.

"The Oakland Athletics are disappointed to learn of today's suspension," the team said in a statement.

General manager Billy Beane received word from MLB earlier Wednesday and began searching for a starter to
take Colon's turn in the rotation Thursday at Tampa Bay. Tyson Ross will be called up from Triple-A Sacramento.
Beane addressed the A's in the clubhouse before the team took the field for pregame warmups.

"Listen, it's disappointing. From a baseball standpoint, we're scrambling," Beane said. "We're all disappointed,
not just for the Giants and the A's, but for baseball."

The 39-year-old Colon is 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts this season, his first with the A's, and has a 171-122
record in 15 big league seasons.