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Jake Arrieta says taking PEDs 'would be a ridiculous mistake'

Kyle Ringo

Considering how great Jake Arrieta has been for the Chicago Cubs over much of the past year, it was only a matter of time before someone began speculating that the 30-year-old right-hander was somehow cheating.

Turns out, Arrieta already has heard those accusations from some of his fellow major leaguers and others and he seems pretty comfortable in blowing them off. In fact, in an interview with USA Today, Arrieta found a way to view what is certainly an insult as a compliment by saying that anyone accusing him of cheating must think he’s pretty good.

[A's minor-leaguer Sean Murphy dead unexpectedly at age 27]

“I’ve heard players, and I’m talking about some of the best players in the league, question whether I’ve taken steroids or not. Some of the things I hear are pretty funny, and some people are idiots, frankly.

“I’ll see on Twitter, ‘My close source revealed to me he’s on steroids.’ Well, the 10 tests I take a year say otherwise. I eat plants. I eat lean meat. I work out. And I do things the right way.

“If there are guys still on it, I hope they get caught. I care about the integrity of the game. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my family, my friends, my fans. That’s a huge motivating factor in doing it the right way.

“There are so many people that are counting on you, and leaning on all of us in this clubhouse to do some special things for the city of Chicago. To jeopardize that by taking banned substances, would be a ridiculous mistake.’’

[Francisco Lindor shows off his defensive prowess]

We get it. Baseball has gone through more than a decade of denials, investigations and debate about performance enhancing drugs and just about anyone who starts playing at a level nobody else seems to be achieving is going to raise some eyebrows. It’s not fair, but the blame for that falls on the knuckleheads from years gone by who chose to break the rules and the few who continue to do so hoping they will slip through the cracks.

It’s also understandable that some folks are skeptical of Arrieta becoming the second coming of Sandy Koufax over the past 12 months after going 24-27 with a 5.23 ERA through his first four seasons in the major leagues. The fact that Arrieta looks like he was chiseled from stone by a world famous artist and he spends a lot of time in the gym adds to the speculation for some.

It’s a shame everyone can’t just sit back and appreciate the roll Arrieta has been on and chalk it up to a man’s hard work paying off and maybe a guy reaching his potential a little later than some do.

Arrieta will take the ball again Wednesday against Milwaukee in Wrigley Field. He is coming off his second no-hitter in his past 11 starts. He is 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA in his first four starts this season with 26 strikeouts. He is 26-6 since the start of last season with a 1.66 ERA.

Only one pitcher in MLB history has thrown consecutive no-hitters. Johnny Vander Meer did so in 1938 while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds. It’s very unlikely Arrieta will match Vander Meer’s feat, but imagine where the speculation might go from there if he did.

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo