Vegas Update - Day 3 Conclusion

C.C. Sabathia has a contract, A.J. Burnett is closer to one, and the Mets strengthened their bullpen. Those were the highlights of day 3 in Las Vegas. In addition, the Orioles have reportedly made a 7 year, $150 million offer for Mark Teixeira, who has also made progress in negotiations with the Red Sox. The Angels will certainly stay in the mix as well. Teixeira is said to want to play on the east coast, but Sabathia was said to have wanted to stay on the left coast.

The Rays dealt enigmatic starter Edwin Jackson to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. The Rays just seem to collect outfielders. Of course they have one less with Rocco Baldelli most likely leaving as a free agent.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports says the Phillies are close to signing Chan-Ho Park. Doesn't seem like that long ago that the Rangers made that huge mistake signing Park to a mega deal.

No bats have been banned from the bigs yet, but Bud Selig wants the bat manufacturers to make better quality products. Can't blame Bud for that, but is that all MLB is going to do?

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Hal Takes the Reins

We have thought it for a while, but now George Steinbrenner has made it official. His son Hal Steinbrenner, not Hank the mouth, is in charge of the ball club. George and his wife Joan met with the Mr. and Mrs. Bud Seligs back in October to discuss the transition to Hal. Selig made the official announcement earlier today.

"I appreciate the confidence that commissioner Selig and the other owners have in me," Hal Steinbrenner said. "My dad left big shoes to fill, but I'm going to do my best.

"He's been slowing down the last couple of years," Hal Steinbrenner said of his father, 78, who still reports occasionally to the Yankees' Tampa offices.

Source: Newsday

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Theater of the Absurd

When did the Yankees become the LA Dodgers? We're not in Hollywood. What are we talking about, you say?

The Yankees have signed Billy Crystal, yeah that guy, to a 1-day contract for this Thursday, March 14. It happens to be Crystal's 60th birthday, so the life long Yankees fan will wear #60 that day and play against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, play in the actual game.

We love Billy Crystal and have always loved his work. But this is ridiculous and makes a mockery of the game. How about those kids trying to break into the majors who never even get to play with the big club in an exhibition game?

Source: Yankees.com

And to top it off, Major League Baseball approved this ridiculous act. Guess the best way to deal with a steroid crisis is to laugh things off. Great job there, Bud.

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Another A-Hole Country is Heard From

We already had Jose Canseco representing the slime at the bottom of the fish tank; did we really need someone to join him? John Rocker, he of the big mouth and small brain, came out of the steroid closet yesterday and said he failed a test back in 2000 as a member of the Braves.

Rocker also stated that while a member of the Texas Rangers, he, Alex Rodriguez, Ivan Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro were pulled aside by doctors from management and the players association in 2002 to be shown the proper way to use steroids. Rocker wouldn't mention who the doctors were.

"Look guys, if you take one kind of steroid, you don't triple stack them and take them 10 months out of the year like Lyle Alzedo did," Rocker said the doctors told them. "If you do it responsibly, it's not going to hurt you."

Love a guy who throws names around and lets you just take from it what you want. Rocker also said Bud Selig knew he failed a steroid test in 2000 and did nothing about it.

"Bud Selig knew in the year 2000 John Rocker was taking the juice," the former pitcher said Monday of the baseball commissioner, on Atlanta radio station 680. "Didn't do anything about it."

Also, don't you just love a guy who refers to himself in the 3rd person ("Jimmy's gonna get you, Kramer"). All we can ask of John Rocker is that he crawls back under the rock he came out from.

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Shays Rips Bud a New One

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has January 15 marked on its calendar to hold hearings concerning steroid use and abuse. George Mitchell, Donald Fehr, and Bud Selig are expected to attend, but no ball players are expected to be present.

Committee chairman Christopher Shays (R-Conn) feels there is little is to be learned from having players testify at the hearings, but did take the opportunity to take a shot at Selig.

"Part of it is that major league baseball has been incredibly passive on this issue to the point of condoning it," he said. "And so, who do I think is mostly at fault? The commissioner, frankly, for tolerating it and for not having the guts to step up and say we need changes and if you don't agree with me, then find someone else to run this corrupt process."

Stephen Lynch (D-Mass) hopes the hearings will show just how widespread the problem is. Do we really need a house committee to tell us that?

The subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection will also meet in January (on the 23rd) to discuss the impact of performance enhancing drugs.

More waste of your tax dollars.

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The Day After

So a day has passed since the "incredible" Mitchell Report. Maybe incredulous is more like it. The 409-page snorer really didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. It just gave us a snippet of the steroid and HGH use in major league baseball. It was all based on two New York area persons who had the FBI pressuring them to talk. And when faced with prison, they sang like the proverbial canary. No Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Raffy Pameiro, etc. in the report.

Since the two were from the area, and were employed at one time by the locals, most teams weren't affected. You can bet there are many players on teams outside of the Bronx and Flushing who are breathing a little easier today. Especially since baseball wants to move forward (wasn't it a little eerie when Mitchell and Selig both paraphrased Mark McGwire?) and put all this behind them.

The bottom line is that fans' reaction will be minimal. There will be some scorn, some booing, but it will be forgotten pretty quickly. Just look at how Yankees fans still embrace Jason Giambi. The type of person you are seems to be the indicator of how fans react to you (see Barry Bonds outside of San Fran).

For me personally, seeing Andy Pettitte's name was a disappointment, though not a total surprise. We've always wondered about Roger Clemens and since Pettitte has practically become his twin brother, we thought it was possible he too could be in some trouble. We wait with anticipation to his reaction to the allegation. For someone who talks about his faith so much, we hope he does the right thing and admits his usage.

As for Clemens, we wonder if it will affect his hall of fame status. We doubt it since, like Bonds, most voters feel he was a hall of famer before taking steroids. But that remains to be seen. It does create a quandary, however, as you look at Pete Rose. Rose was, and is, an idiot. He handled everything poorly from the day Bart Giamatti kicked him to the curb. But as far as we know, all his misdeeds came as a manager, not as a player, as is the case with Bonds and Clemens. Should they all get in? Should they all be kept out? Should it still be on a case by case basis? The voters will decide.

Amazingly, well maybe not, Jose Canseco showed up at the Mitchell press conference yesterday, but was not allowed entry. Mr. Sleaze is apparently working to get another book deal done, and took another shot at A-Rod in the process.

"All I can say is the Mitchell Report is incomplete," Canseco said. "I could not believe that (Rodriguez's) name was not in the report." Source

Now slink away, ya slimy greaseball.

It's time for the player's union to grow a set. You want to show the public something? Then put in mandatory blood testing. Players talk about a level playing field, but unless an accurate (the definition of accuracy remains to be determined) HGH test is put into place, it's a waste to even talk about it.

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I'm Tore Down

Well not really. There's nothing earth shattering from yesterday's much ballyhooed Mitchell Report. It's a mere slice of life, and doesn't come close to the number of teams or players involved. Baseball had to do something, but they didn't do much. Maybe Bud will slap a few wrists, but until the player association concedes to blood tests to check for HGH, it's all pretty meaningless.

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It's About to Hit the Fan

Today's the day the findings of the Mitchell Report are to be released to the public. George Mitchell will hold a news conference at 2:00 pm EST to discuss the 300+ page symposium on illegal steroid and HGH use in major league baseball. He's expected to rip a new one for players, owners, the union, and yes, even the commissioner's office. Bud Selig will follow up Mitchell's conference with one of his own at approximately 4:30 pm EST.

50-80 names are expected to be exposed, including some big names. Of course, the majority of the players named will probably induce a "ho-hum" reaction. But it will be interesting to see how the effected players react going forward. Do they admit it? Deny it? Give some vague response in between. Most will probably ignore it until spring training when they will have to move on with things. But the next few days of talk radio, TV, newspapers, and the Internet will be bursting with information.

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MLB was Warned About 'roids

Major League Baseball, and Bud Selig in particular, would have you think that the powers that be knew nothing about performance enhancing steroids until 1999 or 2000. Larry Starr, a former trainer for the Marlins and Reds, says otherwise.

"Here's the thing that really bothers me," Starr said in a recent interview with Florida Today. "They sit there, meaning the commissioner's office, Bud Selig and that group, and the players' association, Don Fehr and that group . . . they sit there and say, 'Well, now that we know that this happened we're going to do something about it."

"I have notes from the Winter Meetings where the owners group and the players' association sat in meetings with the team physicians and team trainers. I was there. And team physicians stood up and said, 'Look, we need to do something about this. We've got a problem here if we don't do something about it.' That was in 1988."

Starr was interviewed on 4 separate occasions by George Mitchell's panel investigating steroid use. Starr has said that members of that 1997 Marlins team used steroids. And in case you are wondering, yes, Gary Sheffield was on that squad.

Starr did not name names, but feels steroid use has been rampant.

"By high percentage, meaning 30 to 40 percent of the team might have been using," Starr said. "(But) some teams had maybe only one or two."

Starr remembers one player who ended the season in 1989 weighing 171 pounds. In the spring, the same player reported to camp weighing 205, and his body fat had actually dropped from eight percent to 5.8. That was one of the moments that frightened him the most -- a player who was obviously loaded with performance enhancers to a dangerous point.

Now we'll see where Mitchell's investigation and MLB goes from here. It's time to admit this is much bigger than Barry Bonds or at least Barry Bonds' head.

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MLB's Big Payoff

Bud Selig announced today that major league baseball earned $6.075 million in profits.

"As I told the clubs today, we're on a great high here," Selig said Thursday following the conclusion of a two-day meeting in which owners discussed, among other things, ways to speed up games.

"When you look at the final numbers and you see what's happened, it's remarkable. There are times, honestly, when I have to pinch myself to make sure all of this is happening. ... Growth and revenue, growth and profitability; it's just been really, really good."

"I'm putting myself on the spot here, but I'm very hopeful to draw 80 million-plus, and I think our revenues will continue to go up," Selig said of 2008, later adding that he's "very proud" of the growth.

"We started at $1.2 billion, and I can remember waking up in '93 and '94 and '95 and thinking how are we ever going to get to $2 billion? So here we are at $6 billion, 75 million. And if we just keep doing our work, stay out of controversies, keep the focus on the field, we'll get to numbers someday that will be stunning. And these are stunning."

Hopefully this does not lead to talks of further expansion. If anything, some teams such as Florida, should be eliminated.

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Selig Not to Punish Giambi

AP News Wire-

Giambi escapes punishment from baseball

August 16, 2007

TORONTO (AP) -- Jason Giambi won't be disciplined by commissioner Bud Selig after the New York Yankees slugger had a "frank and candid" meeting with baseball's steroids investigator.

Selig said Wednesday that Giambi's cooperation with former Sen. George Mitchell and the player's charitable work persuaded him not to take further action.

"He's doing a lot of public-service work, and I think that's terribly important," Selig said on the second and final day of an owners meeting. "He was, I thought, very frank and candid with Sen. Mitchell, at least that was the senator's conclusion. Given everything, this is an appropriate decision."

Giambi has acknowledged a "personal history regarding steroids." He agreed to speak with Mitchell last month after Selig threatened to discipline him if he refused to cooperate.

A former American League MVP, Giambi missed more than two months this season with torn tissue in his left foot. He's batting .270 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs in 51 games.

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Jason Giambi's Official Statement

Here's what the Giambino had to say after agreeing to meet with George Mitchell. Giambi finally utters the word, steroid.

Today, I have agreed to Commissioner Selig's request that I meet with Sen. George Mitchell. In a direct conversation the commissioner impressed upon me the idea that the game of baseball would be best served by such a meeting. I will continue to do what I think is right and be candid about my past history regarding steroids. I have never blamed anyone nor intended to deflect blame for my conduct. I alone am responsible for my actions and I apologize to the commissioner, the owners and the players for any suggestion that they were responsible for my behavior.

I've come to this decision for a number of reasons. I did not want to put my family through a lengthy legal challenge in support of my position. In addition, the uncertainty of my playing status could detract from the efforts of our team to win the American League East. My focus at this time needs to be on rehabbing my injury, getting back on the field and contributing to the goals of my team. To be embroiled in a legal battle could undermine all of this and I would never put my family, my teammates or the Yankees in that position.

Accordingly, I have agreed to this meeting. As I have always done, I will address my own personal history regarding steroids. I will not discuss in any fashion any other individual. My hope is that this meeting will serve as a positive step, as all parties involved seek the best approach in dealing with the issue of "drugs in sport." That has always been the intent behind all of the comments I have made on the subject and it remains so to this day.

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Giambi Agrees to Testify

Jon Heyman of SI is reporting that Jason Giambi and MLB have agreed to a deal for Giambi to testify in front of George Mitchell's committee.

Jason Giambi has an agreement to become the first active Major Leaguer to testify before George Mitchell, baseball's steroids investigator, SI.com has learned. Giambi will meet "promptly'' with Mitchell.

The agreement, which was hammered out after two weeks of negotiating sessions between MLB and Giambi's representatives, will be announced by MLB this afternoon.

By agreeing to testify, Giambi is avoiding suspension, at least for now. Baseball investigators will want Giambi to cooperate honestly and fully, however, and the decision not to suspend Giambi could be reversed if they determine he has not done so. As part of the agreement, the Yankees will not try to void Giambi's contract and leave his fate in MLB's hands.

Giambi is expected to testify about his own usage and the "landscape'' of steroid use in baseball. However, he is not expected to tell what he knows about other players, as part of the agreement that was hammered out between MLB and lawyers for Giambi and the union. MLB still is hoping to learn some things regarding Barry Bonds since Giambi knew Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson and Giambi will not be precluded from testifying about him.

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Giambi Ready to Talk

According to the NY Daily News, Jason Giambi is set to meet with MLB investigator George Mitchell in attempt to put the whole thing behind him. Bud Selig has given Giambi until Thursday to pass or play on speaking with Mitchell. Giambi's agent Arn Tellem has been waiting for assurances from MLB that Giambi won't have to name names.

Click for the complete story.

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