Teammates, manager glad Gonzalez can officially put Biogenesis queries behind him

Nationals teammates and manager Davey Johnson all are glad that left-hander Gio Gonzalez finally gets the recognition from Major League Baseball that he was not a part of the Biogenesis scandal. Today's announcement by Commissioner Bud Selig suspended thirteen more players, including Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, for their admitted use of performance enhancing drugs. The last paragraph of the statement released by Major League Baseball today read: "Major League Baseball's investigation found no violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by either Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez or Baltimore Orioles infielder Danny Valencia." Pitcher Tyler Clippard had wished Gonzalez's name was never on an alleged ledger of Biogenesis clinic founder Tony Bosch in the first place. "I think that it's unfortunate he was on the list to begin with," Clippard said. "He's obviously been doing the right things. Gio's a good guy and he wasn't cheating. For him to be on the list in the first place is kind of unfortunate, but I guess this is good for him to get a clean slate. He really shouldn't have been mentioned anyway, but that's neither here nor there. It's good that he's clean." Manager Davey Johnson believed Gonzalez from the outset and wished Major League Baseball could have moved more swiftly in clearing Gonzalez's name from all of the confusion associated with the Biogenesis scandal. "I think (Gonzalez) has handled it great," Johnson said. "He doesn't need to explain anything. As far as I am concerned, it has been over from the get go. In his case I wish they could have cleared it up earlier and made an announcement earlier. "The only thing I disagree with MLB on is they could have cleared those guys earlier. I know Gio, I believed him from the get-go. I understood the whole thing. It would have been easier on him (if they had cleared his name earlier). He has handled it very well." First baseman Adam LaRoche said the Nationals believed Gonzalez when he told them that he never had any association with Bosch. "Enough of us talked to him early on, we knew he was free and clear on that," LaRoche said. "It is good peace of mind for him and for any skeptics out there to have it confirmed. I am sure is a big weight off of his shoulders."