Gibbons draws a walk from Orioles

Jay Gibbons proved to be quite an expensive mistake for the Baltimore Orioles.
The 31-year-old outfielder was released on Sunday with two years remaining on the four-year deal that he signed with Baltimore in 2006. The Orioles still owe Gibbons $11.9 million and will essentially pay him to go away. The organization made the decision after Gibbons struggled to a .189 batting average in 16 games this spring.
Orioles' club president Andy MacPhail spun the move as a decision between two players competing for one roster spot, and Baltimore elected to the retain younger and cheaper Scott Moore to be the club's utility man. MacPhail insists that the Orioles want to rebuild their roster. The truth here is that Gibbons stopped producing when he stopped cheating, and Baltimore wasn't going to look the other way for a player who didn't hit a single homer and drove in just four runs during the spring.
How good a player was Gibbons in Baltimore? There's no sure answer to that question, because there's no telling how long Gibbons was using human growth hormone. He allegedly received a shipment of the drug before spring training in 2005 and was handed a 15-game suspension by Major League Baseball to start this season, but he won't be serving his time sitting in a dugout at Camden Yards or anywhere else wearing the Orioles' orange and black.
Gibbons went on to hit 26 home runs in 2005, one year removed from a 2004 season in which he hit just 10 homers and batted a wretched .246. Gibbons was hindered by injuries all season and his career was at a crossroads as he entered the last year of his contract. His sudden downturn from solid seasons in 2002 (a career-high 28 homers) and 2003 (career bests in games played, hits, doubles, RBIs and runs scored) put him in financial jeopardy. Was his body breaking down from using PEDs, or was he just unlucky?
The shame here is that Gibbons received his big payoff before he was exposed as a fraud. It's just one more bad message to send to any player or future player who is thinking about making the decision to use PEDs. Baltimore backed up the Brinks truck to Gibbons' front door based on what it saw during that season and failed to heed the warning signs that he exhibited during his lost 2004 season.
But how much did the Orioles know? This is the slippery slope that baseball has yet to face. Baltimore doesn't exactly have the best history when it comes to its players and PEDs. Rafael Palmeiro and Albert Belle instantly spring to mind, Palmeiro having flunked a drug test and ended his career in shame and Belle being surrounded by steroid whispers for years before eventually surrendering to a debilitating hip injury.
The Orioles paid both players hefty sums for their ability to hit the long ball, but how much did they know about each player's training regimen? Did Baltimore know that Palmeiro and Belle were allegedly cheating? Did the Orioles care either way? It's a question that no one in baseball wants to answer, one that shakes the very foundation of the game. Gibbons is just the latest example of the doubt that exists surrounding organizations and their players, a shade of gray that has clouded the integrity of baseball itself.