Yankees Reliever Suspended 50 Games For Fun Drugs

Yankees reliever Alfredo Aceves has been hit with a 50-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy, but not for doing the kinds of drugs that usually get guys punished. Aceves wasn't trying to cheat, he was just trying to party.

Aceves was suspended after testing positive for a "drug of abuse," which is how MLB classifies drugs like weed and cocaine. The real bitch of it, from Aceves's point of view, is that major-league players don't have to worry about catching a suspension for smoking weed or blowing lines, because MLB only punishes big leaguers for performance enhancing drug use.

Things are different in the minors, though, which is where Aceves has been since June and where his positive test occurred. If anything, this should highlight how stupid it is for baseball to subject its minor-league and major-league players to incongruous drug policies. If the Yankees had known Aceves was using drugs and were hoping to use him in the majors again at some point this season, they could have just kept him on the 40-man roster instead of designating him for assignment in June, and he'd still be available.

[ CBS]