I was shocked to hear on the radio the other day that someone wrote in a blog that he thought Raul Ibanez of the Phillies was using some sort of performance enhancing substance.   Maybe it was a disgruntled Mets fan – I admit I haven’t read the blog nor will I give any kind of creedence to it.

I guess I need to thank Barry, Sammy, Mark, Roger and all the other guys we’ve suspected or caught using some sort of substance so that now any time a player is having a year that appears to be better than his “norm” we immediately jump to the conclusion that the player must be cheating.   Its simply wrong.

Ibanez has played his entire career in the American League playing in Kansas City and Seattle.  Although he was with the Mariners during their last few years in the offensive-friendly Kingdome he was no more than a bench player on teams that featured Griffey Jr., A-Rod, Edgar Martinez and Jay Buhner.    As a regular, he has played mainly in Royals Stadium and Safeco Field, both of which are not hitters paradises by any stretch of the imagination.  Now Raul is playing in one of the most offensive minded stadiums in Philly, so its only natural that his power numbers would jump up a bit.  He did hit 33 homers three years ago in Seattle while driving in 123 runs.

I think that before we jump to unfounded conclusions we need to first examine the entire picture and leave a guy like Raul alone and just enjoy his performance.