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Blood testing for HGH meets with approval from Dragons

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By B.J. Bethel, Staff Writer 11:01 PM Thursday, July 22, 2010

DAYTON — Major League Baseball announced Thursday, July 22, it will begin random blood testing for HGH in the minor leagues, making it the first professional sports organization in the United States to do so.

To members of the Dayton Dragons, this is good news.

“We’re all trying to get to the big leagues here, but you have to do it clean,” first baseman Tommy Nurre said. “You have to keep the game intact like it’s supposed to be.”

Nurre acknowledged drawing blood could be an issue for players who don’t like needles. For others, it’s a fact of life. Third baseman Frank Pfister has had blood drawn since he was diagnosed with a thyroid condition in eighth grade.

“If a little bit of privacy has to be taken away, that’s the way it has to be,” Pfister said.

Dragons outfielder Andrew Means was a college football standout at Indiana University as a wide receiver, and received an invite to the NFL Combine. To him, testing is a necessary evil because cleaning up the minor leagues will lead to cleaner players in the majors.

“It will clear up problems down here before they start testing in the majors,” Means said. “It will make players think twice before they put something in their bodies.”

Unlike major leaguers, players in the minors don’t have a union and drug testing isn’t subject to collective bargaining. Minor leaguers are already tested for steroids, and so are the coaches.

“I think it’s hilarious having some guy from the medical office making sure Ken Griffey Sr. is peeing in a cup to check him for steroids,” Dragons manager Todd Benzinger said. “But for the players — absolutely.”

Benzinger played in the majors in the 1990s, when muscles grew and baseballs flew.

“It was the Wild West out there,” Benzinger said. “It was a game. It will keep going on, and people will keep getting caught.”

MEANS RESTS: Means will get a couple games off to rest after taking a pitch to the ribs Wednesday. Means played defense in the top of the next inning but became dizzy, had difficulty breathing and had to be removed.

“Possible fracture, but at this point it’s nothing you can treat differently,” Means said. “I’ll deal with the pain, and hopefully it’s just a couple days.”

Kernels 8, Dragons 1

HIGHLIGHTS: Recent addition Jonathan Kaskow singled in his first at-bat with the Dragons in the second inning. Frank Pfister doubled in the eighth and was driven in by a Chase Weems single for the Dragons’ only run.

TURNING POINT: In the third, Cedar Rapids first baseman Casey Haerther parked a 0-2 pitch next to the Bob Evans Party Deck in deep left-center. It was the fifth run of a five-run inning, and more than the Kernels needed.

PITCHING STORY: Cedar Rapids lefty Garrett Richards pitched six scoreless innings and allowed two hits. Dayton starter Justin Walker opened the game with two perfect innings but was shelled in the third for five runs on five hits. Tzu-Kai Chu, a recent call-up from Billings, debuted in the ninth for Dayton. He struck out the first batter he faced, allowed a triple, then got out of the inning.

ON DECK: Dayton turns to Tim Crabbe tonight in hopes of stopping a 10-game home losing streak. Crabbe is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

— B.J. Bethel, staff writer

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