Adrian Nieto, a minor league catcher in the Washington Nationals organization, was suspended today after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, according to multiple sources citing a Major League Baseball release.

According to MASN.com's Ben Goessling: 

The release said Nieto tested positive for Oxandrolone, a drug primarily used to stimulate weight gain, and metabolite, which is a performance-enhancing substance. His suspension will start at the beginning of the 2011 season.

Nieto, 21, hit .195/.291/.253 last season for Single-A Hagerstown of the South Atlantic League.  The Cuban native was a fifth round pick in the 2008 Amateur Draft.

This marks the third year in a row the Nats farm system has lost a prospect due to a positive PED test.  In 2009, infielder Stephen King tested positive for Ritalinic Acid, and last season infielder Seth Bynum tested positive for amphetamines.  Both players received the automatic 50-game suspension.

(ed., 5:46 pm) Nats Prospects reminds me that this the fourth consecutive year the Nats have lost a minor leaguer to a PED suspension.  In fact, the Nats have had several minor league players suspended under their more rigorous testing program.  For a complete list of all players suspended for PEDs, click this link.

Nationals Minor League Suspension for PEDs

2011:  Adrian Nieto (Oxandrolone and Metabolite).
2010:  J.R. Higley (Methylphenidate and Ritalininc Acid), Steven Souza (Methylphenidate and Ritalininc Acid), Juan Diaz (nandrolone), Jorge Hernandez (Boldenone), Pedro Lopez (Formestane).
2009:  Edgardo Baez (amphetamines), Ofilio Castro (amphetamines), Stephen Englund (amphetamines), Stephen King (Ritalinic Acid).
2008:  Weesley Hernandez (Boldenone).
2006:  Greg Thissen (Drug of Abuse)
2005:  Ramon Castro (PEDs-105 games), Josh Labandeira (PEDs)

Adam Dunn congratulates Ryan Zimmerman on his fifth inning home run.

Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

"Winning five in a row -- it feels good." -- Ronnie Belliard, August 6, 2009.

THE RESULTS: Down 6-0 to the Florida Marlins after two innings, the Washington Nationals kept chipping away until they could deliver a knockout punch -- a four run eighth inning -- and beat the Fish 12-8, taking a three-game series sweep from the wild-card contenders.

The loss prompted a 15-minute closed door meeting by Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez. Getting swept by the team with the worst record in baseball will do that to you.

The Nats have won five in a row, nine of 13 and are 11-11 under "interim" manager Jim Riggleman since the all-star break.

Red-hot Ryan Zimmerman was again the story Thursday. He went 4-for-4 with a homer, triple, walk, three RBIs and three runs scored. He was just a double from hitting for the cycle.

Since reaching his season low in batting average of .280 on July 23, the all-star third baseman is on the rampage. In 60 plate appearances, Zimmerman is hitting .449/.533/1.020 with eight home runs and 18 RBIs. He's homered in eight of 13 games.

Elijah Dukes snapped out of the funk that has plagued him since his recall as well. He went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and four RBIs.

Washington got down quickly, as starter Craig Stammen was very hittable for his third straight start. He lasted only one and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs -- five earned -- on six hits and one walk.

Reliever Logan Kensing followed and his first offering was a wild pitch that plated a run. He was not much more effective than Stammen, giving up two earned on three hits in three and one-third innings.

After the pair of runs the Marlins got in the fifth -- to take an 8-3 lead -- they put their bats away and watched the Nats continue to hammer Marlins pitchers.

The Nats got three in the fourth, courtesy of Dukes' RBI single, and Alberto Gonzalez' two-out, two-run double, on a catchable ball that left fielder Chris Coghlan took a circuitous route to before trying to catch with the back of his glove turned to the ball.

Washington scored four more in the fourth inning off Marlins starter Chris Volstad (4.1 IP, seven runs, four earned, on nine hits and two walks). Zim hit his two-run shot, Dukes had a sacrifice, and Josh Bard's single brought the Nats within one.

They got that one in the bottom of the seventh, when Dukes pulled a fastball into the left field bleachers for his seventh home run of the season, his first since his Aug. 1 recall.

The eighth inning brought more fireworks, four runs in all, against former Nationals reliever Luis Ayala (L, 1-4, 4.99), making a winner out of Jorge Sosa (W, 1-0, 1.69), who went one and two-thirds scoreless. Ron Villone, Jason Bergmann, Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett all did their jobs, getting through the sixth, seventh and eighth unscathed.

THE TAKEAWAY: How 'bout them comeback Nats? Thursday's six-run deficit was the biggest come-from-behind win for this franchise since Jun 17, 2005 against the New York Yankees, one of the infamous Father's Day weekend wins.

When this offense is on, it's a treat to watch and no lead is safe. The team that was in the top third of the N.L. in every category in April/May has shown up again the last two weeks, and is making Riggleman's job a lot easier.

THE GOOD: Z-Man. I was pretty hard on him a couple weeks ago, and he's done nothing since but pound the living hell out of the ball.

THE BAD: Craig Stammen. Flat clobbered again. Stammen's fastball is pretty straight when it isn't sinking, and his last three starts he's gotten no action on the ball whatsoever.

He or Garrett Mock better rediscover pretty quickly what it was that got them up here before Jordan Zimmermann returns and sends one of them back down to whence they came.

THE UGLY: Riggleman would be better off letting his offense do the job for him, instead of calling for the out-making hit-and-runs. Another one was botched yesterday, with Josh Bard, of all people, thrown out on a steal attempt when Alberto Gonzalez failed to even swing on the play.

NEXT GAME: Washington looks for a six-pack of wins tonight against the Justin Upton-less Arizona Diamondbacks. Callin Balester (1-1, 3.68) takes on Jon Garland (6-10, 4.26) at 7:05 pm from Nationals Park.

NOTES: Outfielder Edgardo Baez and shortstop Ofilio Castro of the Washington Nationals Double-A team at Harrisburg have been suspended for 50 games each under baseball's minor league drug program after testing positive for an amphetamine.

The 24-year-old Baez is hitting .254 with nine homers and 28 RBI. Castro who turns 26 on Aug. 18, is batting .296 with four homers and 36 RBI.

As I type these words, Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada is appearing before a federal judge just blocks from my office to plead guilty of lying to Congress about his knowledge of and involvment with Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in Major League baseball.

According to court documents, Tejada has entered a plea agreement with prosecutors allowing his to testify today. He is charged with lying to investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2005 about conversations he had with and about former Oakland A's teammate Adam Piatt and Piatt's PED use.

It's important to note that at this point, Tejada isn't being charged about lying about his own PED use, though terms of his plea agreement may include further information.

Tejada faces as much as a year in jail if convicted on the misdemeanor charge of making misrepresentations to Congress. Under federal guidelines, he would probably receive a lighter sentence.

Tejada has also lied about his age, as ESPN confronted him about discrepancies in his birth certificate.

Tejada was called upon by the investigators after former teammate Rafael Palmeiro indicated that a tainted B-12 injection may have caused him to test positive for steroids. Palmeiro earlier that year testified before Congress that he had never used steroids.

During Palmeiro's appeal process, Congress also investigated the former first baseman on perjury charges, but after their investigation, no charges were filed against Palmeiro.

So let's go through the list: Barry Bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury--he was charged with perjury. Roger Clemens is accused of lying to Congress, he could very likely be charged with perjury. Miguel Tejada lied to Congress and is pleading guilty to the charges.

But Rafael Palmeiro was accused of lying to Congress, was investigated, and Congress found no evidence to charge him of perjury.

"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said when he released a 44-page report. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."

"We have a responsibility, an obligation, to investigate it, and that's what we've done."

During the investigation, two other Orioles, identified in the report as Player A and Player B, were also given B-12 by Tejada. "The committee did find substantial inconsistencies between Mr. Tejada's account and the accounts of Players A and B," Davis said. "While these inconsistencies were curious to us, we did not pursue them."

With the evidence mounting that if you lie to Congress or a grand jury about steroids usage you will be charged and prosecuted for perjury, Congress failed to charge Rafael Palmeiro. Congress had his drug tests. They had inconsistancies in Tejada's testimony. They interviewed a dozen other people involved. Why, then, didn't they prosecute Palmeiro, like they are with Bonds, Tejada and Clemens? They believed him.

Why doesn't anyone else? Why is it so hard to believe that in April of 2005, Tejada gave Palmeiro a syringe of what Tejada claimed was vitamin B-12, and it turns out there were mere traces of stanozolol in the mix?

On May 19, 2005 MLB informed Palmeiro that he failed a PED test he took on May 4. On May 27, Palmeiro took a second test and was clean. In the span of three weeks, there was so little banned substance in his system that he tested clean.

So why is it so hard to believe Palmeiro? Congress did.

Photo by Getty Images

Two days. That's the length of time Paul Lo Duca was able to enjoy as a Washington National before finding out his name was plastered all over former U.S. Senator George Mitchell's Report to the Commissioner of Baseball Into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances.

Lo Duca, introduced to the media with much fanfare this past Tuesday, was among more than 80 current or former players alleged as having used PEDs. According to the Report, Lo Duca made "six or more transactions" totaling over $9000, paid for with personal checks that were attached to the Report, from former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. Radomski provided information for the report as part of his arrangement with federal prosecutors in conjunction with his case involving widespread sales and distribution of PEDs in the 90's. Lo Duca's name, address, and telephone number were in Radomski's address book, seized by federal agents during a search of Radomski's residence in that investigation. Also seized or produced in that matter were the cancelled checks and notes from Lo Duca to Radomski, including a handwritten note on Dodgers stationary that read: "Thanks, call me if you need anything! Paul".

The Report detailed how Lo Duca also funneled more business to Radomski, referring at least four Los Angeles Dodger teammates -- Matt Herges, Adam Riggs, Kevin Brown, and Eric Gagne -- to Radomski for the purchase of PEDs. The report also mentions internal notes from the Dodgers evaluating Lo Duca's performance and trade value, citing "steroids aren't being used anymore on him. Big part of this. Might have some value to trade...Got off the steroids" and implied Lo Duca would "get back on the stuff and try to show you he can have a good year". One of the checks written to Radomski coincided with Lo Duca's trade from Los Angeles to Florida in the summer of 2004.

Lo Duca was offered the opportunity to respond to the allegations in the report by Sen. Mitchell. Like almost all current players named in the Report he declined to speak with Mitchell for his investigation.

Lo Duca is the only current National to be named in the report. Former Nationals named were Nook Logan, Jose Guillen, Mike Stanton and Gary Bennett; none were alleged to have purchased PEDs while with the team.

The Nationals issued this release yesterday afternoon, and have had no further comment on the matter to this point:

"We have just received the Mitchell Report and have not yet had an opportunity to fully review it. It is clear though that, like all Major League clubs, the report includes names of players that have had or currently have an association with the Nats. We will let all comments on this matter come from the Commissioner's office, and we will have no further comment at this time."

BOTTOM LINE: Not good. Lo Duca seems to have been a link between Radomski and many players on the west coast. In his remarks following the issuance of the Report, Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig stated that MLB would look into disciplining players named in the report "on a case-by-case basis", indicating matters of the "integrity of the game" would be his priority. Lo Duca is on a one-year contract and it would be shocking if Selig were able to investigate and mete out any discipline to Lo Duca while Lo Duca was under contract to the Nationals. Nats fans, like everyone else in America, are left to play jury with the evidence they have before them in the Mitchell Report. And with the players -- and Players Association -- remaining silent, fans have only one interpretation of the facts and evidence presented only by one source.