Despite losing Melky Cabrera for 50 games because of a failed drug test, the San Francisco Giants are winning games and back in first place in the NL West. So you would expect the river of Melky news and opinions to dry up.
Unless, of course, Melky and his associates attempted to buy a fake website in order to trick MLB into thinking that the outfielder shouldn't have failed his drug test, only to get caught by MLB investigators and then draw the attention of federal authorities.
Wait ... what?
According to the New York Daily News, Juan Nunez, a "paid consultant" of Seth and Sam Levinson, Melky's agents, allegedly purchased a website for $10,000.
"The idea, apparently, was to lay a trail of digital breadcrumbs suggesting Cabrera had ordered a supplement that ended up causing the positive test, and to rely on a clause in the collectively bargained drug program that allows a player who has tested positive to attempt to prove he ingested a banned substance through no fault of his own," the Daily News reports.
Unsurprisingly, MLB saw right through the plot (which, honestly, sounds a lot like building a fake Rock Ridge) and started asking questions about the website like "What is this?" and "Who owns this company?"
They quickly realized it was a fake site and now baseball, the MLBPA and apparently the feds are going to be sniffing around asking more questions.
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The Levinsons have quickly (and wisely) distanced themselves from Nunez, saying that he's not a paid employee of their company.
“Juan Nunez is NOT a salaried employee of ACES and does NOT receive the benefits that all ACES employees receive,” Levinson said. “Most importantly, any and all calls, texts and emails that he sends come from his own PERSONAL devices (BlackBerry).”
That's a very public way of saying that the Levinsons have no interest in a subpoena for their company correspondence, thank you very much. And you can't blame them. Plus, they have Nunez backing their claim up.
“I was the only one who had dealings with the website,” Nunez said. “Neither Seth nor Sam had any dealings with the website, nor did anyone else in the firm.”
The general point of what Nunez wanted to accomplish for Melky seems to be related to Ryan Braun's escape from a suspension this past offseason. Instead, it backfired and it appears that Melky's situation will continue to draw attention throughout the duration of his 50-game suspension, into the playoffs and then into free agency.
