ESPN – Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright was suspended 80 games on Wednesday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Major League Baseball said Wright tested positive for growth-hormone-releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2)..

The suspension will begin at the start of the 2019 season. It also means Wright is ineligible to play in any postseason games this year.

I can deeply relate to Steven Wright taking PEDs. He’s 34, the golden days of his careless youth are long gone, his career is stagnant, and he’s just trying to move the needle a bit in his life.

Just a doughy dude with a dad bod desperately trying whatever he can to pump his fastball up over 60 mph. So do I judge Steven Wright for taking some Jack3d over the offseason? No, not really. After I read Juiced in high school I realized that everyone was on something. I think if you still care about steroids you’re either a holier than thou baseball writer or you’re 8-years-old.

The silver lining here is it takes the decision of potentially making Wright the closer out of Cora and Dombrowski’s hands. Thank god. We joked on The 300s Podcast recently how hilariously bad of a decision that would be. Just chucking wiffleballs up there with 2 men on in the bottom of the 9th inning and praying the knuckleball was floating on any any given night. Pass.

At least he’ll have a lot of time to reflect on things again as he’s starting his second straight season with a sweet suspension.

PS – Never forget John Farrell wrecked this guys career because he thought it’d be funny to pinch run for someone with a fucking knuckleball pitcher.