No current Cubs, Sox players in report
The results of the 409-page Mitchell Report released on Thursday did not include any current members of the White Sox or Cubs.
"I honestly haven't had time to get into the report in any extensive length or digest any of it,'' said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. "I was grateful with the knowledge none of the present Cubs were listed or involved. I'm the general manager of the team presently, and with no players listed, I feel good about that.''
Neither White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf nor general manager Kenny Williams was available for comment. A club spokesman said no comment would be coming until they had read the report.
As for former White Sox and Cubs players, several names were linked to using performance-enhancing drugs, according to the report.
The names of five ex-Sox players appear in the report, headed by pitcher Scott Schoeneweis. As has been previously reported, Schoeneweis allegedly received shipments of steroids at Comiskey Park in 2003-04.
Schoeneweis has denied the allegations.
"The commissioner's office met with Schoeneweis to discuss these allegations,'' Mitchell wrote in the report. "On Dec. 6, 2007, the commissioner's office announced that there was insufficient evidence of a violation of the joint program in effect at the time of the conduct in question to warrant discipline of Schoeneweis.''
Former Cubs relief pitcher Matt Karchner, who was acquired from the White Sox in a July 29, 1998 trade for starter Jon Garland, said he witnessed two Cubs teammates injecting steroids in an apartment the three shared during spring training prior to the 1999 season.
"Karchner declined to identify the players,'' Mitchell wrote. "He said that one of the players brought the steroids to the apartment but was afraid of needles and therefore asked the second player to administer the shot. The second player injected the first player with steroids in the buttocks and then injected himself.
"Later that season, Karchner was offered steroids by certain of his Cubs teammates. Karchner would not disclose the names of players who offered him steroids, but he said that the conversations he had with them involved the general cost of steroids and discussions of 'stacking' to build lean muscle necessary for pitchers.''
Other former Cubs players mentioned in the Mitchell Report are Glenallen Hill (1993-94, 1998-2000), Rondell White (2000-01), Todd Hundley (2001-02), Kent Mercker (2004-05), Jerry Hairston Jr. (2005), Benito Santiago (1999), Gary Matthews Jr. (2001-01), Ismael Valdez (2000) and Matt Franco (1995). Huntley is a graduate of Fremd High School and Hairston is a graduate of Naperville North.
As for the White Sox, other former players mentioned include Jim Parque (1998-2002), who denied using illegal substances, Jose Canseco (2001) and Armando Rios (2003).
Another name that surfaced in the Mitchell Report is Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, rumored to be a target of the Cubs in a trade.
According to the report, Orioles teammate Larry Bigbie testified Roberts "injected himself once or twice with steroids in 2003.''
Bruce Miles contributed to this report.