Out of sight, out of mind has worked well for the Blue Jays and Troy Glaus, but at some point both are going to have to deal with the allegations he received shipments of performance-enhancing drugs.
Whether the Blue Jays want to be involved in that is the big question.
Glaus’ season ended when he had foot surgery, just days after Sports Illustrated‘s website reported that it had documentation that the third baseman had ordered nandrolone and testosterone from an allegedly illegal internet drug network in 2003 and 2004.
Allegations, mind you, are only allegations and there is nothing to indicate Glaus ever took the drugs, but perception becomes the reality in today’s sports world.
Team president Paul Godfrey is no dummy when it comes to image and knows that to kill a story, you chop off its head. Or in this case, its foot. Hence the convenient timing of Glaus’ surgery.
With easy access to Glaus denied, the local media moved on.
But the story will resurface the next time Glaus steps on a baseball field and one wonders whether the Jays want to be involved in that. The allegations and Glaus’ contract make a trade difficult, so the Jays would be forced to buy out his final year just to have him go away. I think in their mind that cost is preferable to having to defend a player caught up in a drug scandal.
The Leafs might be able to get away with it, but the Jays are more vulnerable to bad publicity. It says here that Glaus goes.
