The Phillies’ bullpen was dealt a brutal blow on Sunday, as it was revealed that Jose Alvarado has been suspended 80 games for failing a PED test, which will also make him ineligible for postseason play.
Alvarado was pitching to a 2.70 ERA in another solid season for the Phillies, but now, Philly has a gaping hole in the bullpen as it continues its charge toward the top of the NL East.
Jon Ritchie can’t help but feel disappointment towards Alvarado, who he finds it hard to believe didn’t know what he was doing when he took what came up in the PED test.
“This is devastating. But for Jose Alvarado, I have no sympathy,” Ritchie said. “I want to give him the benefit of the doubt here, but I know the way it is in the NFL. You know damn well what you put in your body, and if you don’t, you have all sorts of resources to check on anything.
“You knew what you were doing. That’s the way I look at this.”
The Phillies released a statement saying they “fully support” MLB’s process, and were “disappointed” to hear that Alvarado failed the test. Ritchie shares in that disappointment, to say the least, even as Alvarado and the Phillies try to explain it as a mistake in taking a weight loss substance that he did not know was illegal.
“In the sport I played, you know they can find you and make you test wherever you are. You know that’s what you signed up for,” Ritchie said. “You have assemblies and meetings all the time that detail the things you can and can’t take. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it is next to impossible - at least in the NFL - for guys to not know what they can and can’t put into their bodies.
“He really did us in. He really hurt the Phillies”