Ex-Dodgers busted in the Mitchell Report

Thanks to a Snow Day here in Binghamton, NY, I had plenty of time to watch the Mitchell Report press conference this afternoon. To begin with, the actual press conference was very boring. I was hoping he'd just name the names and give details, instead he just rambled on for 30 minutes and it was seriously about to put me to sleep. When I saw the whole report was on espn.com, I spent nearly an hour reading over it. Since we're here for the Dodgers, here's the prominent names on the list and why:

Paul Lo Duca - I guess his rise from the unknown to All-Star catcher all of a sudden isn't such a dramatic story. Lo Duca was introduced to the Kirk Radomski (the steroid/HGH man) by Todd Hundley during their time with the Dodgers. Lo Duca wrote 3 checks for $3,200 for HGH, all delivered to his house or the Dodgers clubhouse. There's even a photocopied note that he wrote to Radomski thanking him.

Unfortunately for Lo Duca, we're just getting started...

Kevin Brown - Around 2000 or 2001, Lo Duca introduced him to Radomski. After being hurt in June 2001 for a neck injury and July 2001 with a bad elbow, he received shipments from Radomski for HGH. Over the next 2-3 years, he would send as much as $10,000 CASH to Radomski for the shipments. As a former shipping employee, I can tell you that that's not the wisest thing to do! Anyway, a shipping receipt is enclosed for either HGH or Deca-Durabolin.

And the biggest one yet...

Eric Gagne - I've got to say that I don't think people can be too surprised by this. He went from an average built, average performing starting pitcher to a larger-than-life, Cy Young award winning closer. Lo Duca would place orders on his behalf, basically doing the dirty work for him. What a great guy! Again, there's a shipping receipt for HGH, sent straight to Dodger Stadium. Crazy. Then there's an interesting part about Red Sox GM Theo Epstein questioning a Sox scout about him being on roids. The scout confirmed the Dodgers' worries that he was, and went on to describe how his body is badly maintained and his effectiveness will decrease. Oh ya, he was 0-2 with 3 blown saves and a 6.75 ERA in 20 games with the Sox.

Any other name on there is minor in my view and doesn't matter anymore. What's even more interesting to note is that there are notes on discussions from top Dodger officials in October 2003 where they talk about Lo Duca and Brown. Lo Duca was said to have been off steroids at that point, and Brown was accused of being on them. Both were soon traded thereafter. Good for the Dodgers to not only know what was going on, but guess correctly that their abilities would start to go downhill.

Read The Mitchell Report.