The Oriole Sings Like a Canary

The Baltimore Sun reports that word has leaked back to Orioles management that Rafael Palmeiro told the MLB arbitration panel, in seeking to overturn his suspension, that he got his steroids from a certain Orioles teammate. His manager Sam Perlozzo suggests that, if this is the case, perhaps Raffy should not return to the team this season. Even if he told the truth, under oath.

My gut reaction is to laugh at Raffy for turning stool pigeon against a teammate in order to save himself, or at least get some leniency from the Commissioner's office. Where's the honor among thieves, Raffy? Even worse, if he's again lying under oath to slip the rope.

On the other hand, assuming he's told the truth under oath, it looks embarrassing for Orioles management to see that their first instinct at hearing this news is to close ranks and banish Raffy, indicating that protecting the sanctity of the clubhouse is their top priority. I wonder if this is the most important priority for the Baltimore players, too. Is anyone involved with the club truly serious about unmasking members of the chemistry set and rooting steroids and HGH out of the game? If Palmiero has a supplier in the O's clubhouse, why should he be the sole pariah?

UPDATE: it turns out that Palmeiro claimed that a false-positive test could have been triggered by a Vitamin B-12 injection given to him by Miguel Tejada. The club Co-GM Jim Beattie said:

"Miggy [Tejada] is cleared in any implication that he provided steroids to Palmeiro. That was investigated by HHPAC [House Health Policy Advisory Committee], and just to be sure they tested the stuff that Miggy had. It was found to be the B-12. That cleared it. End of story."

Tests on whether Rafael Palmeiro is indeed a ratfink wanker are still inconclusive.