Larry Brown Sports

Earlier this week, a rumor surfaced that Washington Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty posed for Playgirl magazine in 1984. The folks at Baseball Prospectus later confirmed the speculation by digging up this photo and introducing it to the internet. As you might expect, it has been open season on McCatty in the Nationals’ clubhouse ever since.

On Wednesday, Twitter user @JackoBeam shared a photo (via Sarah Kogod of DC Sports Bog) of Washington starter Gio Gonzalez rocking a T-shirt with McCatty’s now infamous picture on it. The Nats players had the T-shirts made in order to heckle their coach, and the team has been having a blast with it.

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Pitching in April can be a very difficult task for hurlers who play in colder climates. Going to a baseball game in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the season can be a very uncomfortable experience, and Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez got a taste of that on a chilly 45-degree Wednesday night against the Miami Marlins.

Gonzalez handled the conditions almost perfectly, tossing six innings of two-hit ball and allowing no earned runs. However, he wasn’t able to accomplish that without giving his hand plenty of TLC.

“It was definitely difficult, especially with this cold weather,” he told MASN’s Bob Carpenter after the game, via Sarah Kogod of DC Sports Bog. “It was tough to get a grip. I felt like I was making love to my hand. Just one of those things where I was constantly trying to find some grip, somehow, some way. The rosin bag, whatever, licking the fingers. But it felt good after that.”

Whatever it takes, right? Not only did the love making help Gonzalez on the mound, it also seemed to give him a boost at the plate. He cranked a home run to left in the fifth inning to give the Nationals their first run of the game.

Perhaps Gonzalez should make love to his hand on warm nights, too. His hand certainly seems to enjoy it.

H/T SI Hot Clicks

Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez recently suffered a minor injury that is not going to cause him to miss any time in spring training, so we’ll take it easier on him than we have on some of our other weird injury victims. That being said, the mark on his forehead still comes with a hilarious story.

According to Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com, reporters asked Gonzalez about the strange mark on his forehead after he made his first spring training start on Monday night. He blamed his dog Hollywood.

“She gave me a rug burn,” Gonzalez explained. “I hate her. And then I love her. And then I look in her face and then I love her again.”

Apparently Gio suffered the burn on his forehead while wrestling with Hollywood, but I’m sure she didn’t mean it. For what it’s worth, he pitched two scoreless innings in his spring training debut. The singe mark on his head clearly didn’t affect his performance, which is all that matters. At a time when other pitchers around the league are suffering some of the most bizarre injuries in history like this and this, Gonzalez should be thankful all his limbs are still intact.

H/T Nats Enquirer
Photo via Instagram/Gio Gonzalez

Miami New Times dropped a bombshell report on Tuesday in which they exposed Dr. Anthony Bosch (pictured) of running an anti-aging clinic that also doubled as a performance-enhancing drugs supplier to many athletes.

Bosch’s company, Biogenesis, sold PEDs ranging from HGH to steroids. Biogenesis’ client list reportedly included sluggers like Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and Nelson Cruz, among others. Biogenesis operated on a similar scale to BALCO, the company formerly run by Victor Conte, that supplied drugs to athletes like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Marion Jones.

Miami New Times reports that Bosch has a history of racking up bad debts and stiffing ex-wives over support payments. His company reportedly was not paying employees. They would often supply patients (non-athletes) with steroid cycles and diuretics.

Miami New Times went through several documents and Bosch’s personal records to determine which athletes were mentioned and listed as customers. They found several baseball players, a boxer, and tennis player listed, many of whom have already been caught using PEDs.

The list includes:

- New York Yankees DH/3B Alex Rodriguez, who admitted to past steroid use after being busted by Sports Illustrated in 2009.
- Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was busted for using PEDs during a breakout 2012 season. His name appeared in Bosch’s records 14 times.
- Oakland A’s pitcher Bartolo Colon, who tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2012.
- San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, who was suspended in November for elevated levels of testosterone.
- Tennis player Wayne Odesnik, who was caught transporting HGH across international borders and was suspended a year by the ITF.
- Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, who has belted 108 home runs in the last four seasons. He was mentioned in a July, 2012 customer sheet under the code name “Mohamad.”
- Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who won 21 games last season.
- Boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa, who is 22-0,

As you read, the first five names listed have either tested positive in the past year, or have been busted in the past for PED use/association.

Bosch was also the doctor who prescribed Manny Ramirez HCG when he tested positive for the female fertility drug while with the Dodgers in 2009.

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Here at LBS, we tend to be curious by nature. When it came to our attention that Angela Rypien had been bragging about attending her first ever Nationals game, and later watching another on TV with her eye on someone specific, we had to find out if it was a coincidence that Gio Gonzalez happened to be the starting pitcher in both of those games. The Baltimore Charm quarterback and daughter of former Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien seemed to confirm to us that was the case.

On Wednesday, Gonzalez gave Sarah Kogod of D.C. Sports Bog a firm denial.

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Washington D.C. may have a pretty exciting sports couple on its hands. It looks like Angela Rypien and Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez might be dating.

Angela, a quarterback for the Lingerie Football League’s Baltimore Charm and the daughter of former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien, dropped the first hint about a possible relationship when she tweeted on Aug. 31 that she was attending her first Nationals game ever.

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Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez needs a date to his team’s gala on Saturday, and he’s turning to Twitter for candidates.

Hey I need a date for the gala on Saturday night, an sexy single ladies interested…..

— Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47) June 11, 2012

Gio has a pretty simple checklist going: sexy, single, and 21-or-over. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

This has to be a plan to get some attention on Twitter, because I can’t imagine an MLB player would have that much difficulty finding a date to an event.

What’s nice is that he at least has the support of his teammates:

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