The last time the Giants played in the Fall Classic was 2002, when Barry Bonds was at the height of his game and his name couldn’t be brought up without it being synonymous to steroids.

Now the G-Men are back in the World Series and things wouldn’t feel right if one of their players weren’t being accused of juicing. That’s where outfielder Jose Guillen (who isn’t even on their postseason roster) steps in.

From ESPN.com:

San Francisco Giants outfielder Jose Guillen, left off the team’s postseason roster, is linked to a federal investigation into shipments of performance-enhancing drugs, The New York Times reported on its website Thursday night.

The story, citing several unidentified lawyers, said federal authorities told Major League Baseball they were looking into shipments of human growth hormone, allegedly sent to Guillen’s wife in the Bay Area.

That was just before the postseason began, The Times said. Guillen was left off the Giants’ roster for all three rounds because of a nagging neck injury, according to manager Bruce Bochy. According to The Times, the Giants were told to leave Guillen off the roster by Major League Baseball.

The conspiracy theorist will be quick to say that the Giants left Guillen off their postseason roster because they knew he would eventually be caught with steroids. But Guillen was also dealing with a neck injury weeks before the playoffs began and the Giants were deep in the outfield so they went with healthier options (i.e. Cody Ross, who was the NLCS MVP).

Or maybe they did know and if that’s the case, they were smart to tell him to go home. They obviously don’t need the distraction and it’s not like he was hitting before the playoffs started anyway. If he’s going to be busted for HGH, then it’s better that he’s caught when he’s not affiliated with the team.

Nevertheless, this isn’t good for Guillen’s career. The Giants picked him up off waivers from the Royals and even before this news broke, the emergence of Ross has made Guillen expendable next season. He won’t be in a Giants uniform next season and if he’s suspended, he may not be in any uniform in 2011. It’s not like the guy has a good track record of being a team player and at his age, he’s not an attractive option right now. It says something when the Royals don’t even want you.