Roberts, Gibbons address Mitchell Report

Feb 19, 2008 - 11:36 PM FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Ticker) -- Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons addressed the media at Baltimore Orioles camp Tuesday, just over two months after being named in the Mitchell Report.

Both Roberts and Gibbons admitted to using poor judgment, hoping to put their involvement with performance-enhancing drugs behind them.

Roberts, 30, was named by former Orioles teammate Larry Bigbie in the Mitchell Report, which was released December 13. Five days later, the second baseman admitted to taking "one shot of steroids" in 2003.

A two-time All-Star who has become one of the faces of the Baltimore franchise, Roberts was among 19 current or former Orioles named in the Mitchell Report.

"It's life. You make bad decisions, you pay whatever price there is and you move on," Roberts said Tuesday just hours before the Orioles held their first full-team practice of spring training. "It's not the end of the world. It's not the biggest thing in the world to me - it's really not.

"I've sincerely apologized and I know I made a mistake, but it won't change the rest of my life. I won't let it change the rest of my life."

Gibbons will serve a 15-game suspension at the beginning of the upcoming season for receiving a shipment of human growth hormone after January 2005. The veteran outfielder acknowledged that he "took a shortcut" and claims that he deserves to be punished.

"I have no excuses," Gibbons said. "It's something I have to live with the rest of my life and it's something I think about a lot.

"It's out of character for me. I wish I could take it back, but I can't."

The recent subject of numerous trade rumors, Roberts batted .290 with 12 home runs, 57 RBI and a career-high 50 stolen bases last season.

Just 5-9 and 175 pounds, Roberts hit a career-high 18 homers in 2005. He hit just 12 homers in his first four seasons in the majors.

Gibbons, who turns 31 on March 2, hopes to rebound from an awful 2007 campaign in which he batted .230 with six homers and 28 RBI - all career lows - before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in August.