Interleague Weekend Recap

This past weekend we had the second set of interleague games in the 2008 battle of the AL vs. the NL.

Red Sox vs. Reds

This was the first time the Red Sox were playing in Cincinnati since the 1975 World Series. The Reds rubbed that in a little by having their World Series trophy on hand and showing highlights. But the Red Sox would take 2 of 3 this time around. Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn homered on Friday to help lead the Reds to their sole victory of the weekend, 3-1. Kevin Youkilis and Coco Crisp hit back to back home runs to take Saturday's contest 6-4 in 10 innings after Jon Papelbon allowed a game tying home run in the 9th to Edwin Encarnacion. No such trouble on Sunday as Crisp homered again, drove in 4 and Josh Beckett dominated in a 9-0 win. AL:2 NL:1

Rangers vs. Mets

The Willie Randolph death watch continued, but the Mets took 2 of 3 to help their skipper keep his job for now. The Mets won the opener on the dominant performance of Oliver Perez, who also drove in 2 runs in the 7-1 win. Saturday's game was rained out, so the two teams split a twinbill on Sunday. The Mets 8th and 9th inning rallies fell short in game 1 as the Rangers hung on 8-7. Robinson Cancel's pinch-hit 2-run single snapped a 2-2 tie in the 6th to give the Mets the nightcap, 4-2, and a series win. AL:1 NL:2

Cubs vs. Blue Jays

The Blue Jays took the opener on Friday 3-2 behind the pitching of A.J. Burnett and back to back home runs by Matt Stairs and Scott Rolen. Then Burnett told the press how he wouldn't mind playing for the Cubs and listed all of his friends on the team. We think there's a good chance J. P. Ricciardi will send him somewhere. Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly pitched the Cubs to wins in the latter two games of the series, 6-2 and 7-4. Reed Johnson got some revenge against his old team with a 3-run home run off former mate Roy Halladay in Saturday's game. AL:1 NL:2

Marlins vs. Rays

The battle of Florida went to the Rays, who took 2 of 3 at the Trop. Eric Hinske and Dionner Navarro drove in 2 runs each to win the opener 7-3, which also marked the return of closer Troy Percival. Luis Tiant threw out the first pitch on Saturday and watched Matt Garza dominate in a 4-1 Rays win. No fisticuffs with Navarro this time either. Ricky Nolasco came within one out of his first career complete game as the Marlins salvaged the finale of the series, 9-3. Nolasco struck out 12 in throwing 132 pitches. Wes Helms and Mike Jacobs hit 3-run HRs. AL:2 NL:1


Braves vs. Angels

Despite a rash of injuries to their starting rotation and freak injury to Chipper Jones, the Braves took the first 2 games of the series before the Angels salvaged the finale last night. Jo Jo Reyes beat John Garland on Friday, 5-2, with the help of that household name Gregor Blanco, who drove in 3 runs. Charlie Morton won his first major league game in defeating Ervin Santana and the Angels 9-4. Mark Texeira drove in 3 and Brandon Jones hit his first major league home run. Joe Saunders became the fifth 10-game winner when he lead the Angels to a 2-0 win. Casey Kotchman's home run accounted for all the runs. AL:1 NL:2


Dodgers vs. Tigers

Look out the Detroit Tigers are on the move. The Tigers built off their 3-game sweep of the White Sox with a 3-game sweep of the Dodgers. Armando Galarraga got things going on Friday by throwing 7 innings in the Tigers 5-0 win. Marcus Thomes and Magglio Ordonez homered. Thames and Miguel Cabrera went deep on Saturday as the Tigers outscored LA 12-7. Brad Penny was tagged for 7 runs in 3-plus innings. Nate Robertson tossed 6 shutout innings as the Tigers held on in the finale 5-4. Thames homered for the 3rd straight game and Brandon Inge went yard too. AL:3 NL:0


Pirates vs. Orioles

The O's took 2 of 3, starting with a 9-6 win on Friday after trailing 6-1. The Orioles honored members of the 1979 team, including former Yankees Scott McGregor and Grant Jackson, that beat the Pirates in the World Series after being down 3 games to 1. The Orioles trailed 7-6 in the 9th inning on Saturday after Adam Laroche hit a 2-run home run off closer George Sherrill. But Oscar Salazar hit his first major league home run since 2002 to tie it and Ramon Hernandez singled in the game winner. The O's came from behind yet again on Sunday, tying it in the 9th on Brian Roberts 2-run home run, but LaRoche's RBI single gave the Pirates a 5-4 win in 10. AL:2 NL:1


Padres vs. Indians

The Indians outlasted the Padres and the rain in a 9-5 win on Friday. Grady Sizemore homered twice in the game, 5 hours apart. The Padres took the middle game of the series with an 8-3 win in 10 innings. Tony Clark drew a bases loaded walk to break the 3-3 tie and then Kevin Kouzmanoff put the game away with a grand slam. The Padres won their threw back uglies. The Indians took the rubber game of the series behind a dominant performance by C.C. Sabathia (8 IP 10 K). Ben Francisco hit an early 3-run HR off of Greg Maddux, who dropped to 3-5. AL:2 NL:1


Twins vs. Brewers

The Twins scored 19 runs in the first two games. Friday night was a big game for Twins starter Kevin Slowey. 8 innings of 5-hit ball for the win and 2 hits and 2 RBI at the plate in a 10-2 win. Russell Branyan homered off of Joe Nathan in the bottom of the 9th to tie Saturday's game at 4-4, but the Twins struck for 5 runs in the 9th, 4 of them coming home on Michael Cuddyer's triple. It was 4, because Cuddyer scored too on Mike Cameron's throwing error. Cameron helped make up for it with a 2-run home run in the series finale as the Brewers got a good performance from Seth McClung and the bullpen in a 4-2 win. AL:2 NL:1


A's vs. Giants

The battle of the bay wasn't much of a contest as the A's swept the 3-game series at Pac Bell Park. The A's pitching dominated the series, allowing just 4 runs. Omar Vizquel accounted for the only Giants run in the opener by stealing home. Greg Smith and three relievers allowed just 5 hits and Jack Cust drove home 2 runs in a 5-1 A's win. Rich Harden topped Smith's performance with 6 innings of 1-hit, 9 strikeout ball in a 4-0 win on Saturday. Matt Cain struck out 11 in taking a tough loss. The A's finished things off yesterday with a 5-3 win lead by a strong start from Dana Eveland and Eric Chavez's 3-hit 2 RBI day. AL:3 NL:0


Rockies vs. White Sox

The suddenly struggling White Sox, coming off a 3-game sweep by the Tigers, thought they had turned things around when they rallied for a 5-4 win on Friday. Juan Uribe delivered the game winning 2-run single in the 7th. But four Rockies pitchers limited the Chisox to 3 hits on Saturday and both runs scored on White Sox errors in a 2-0 Rockies win. The Rocks took the series with a 5-3 win on Sunday as Aaron Cook won his 10th game. The White Sox had a chance in the 9th against closer Brian Fuentes when they loaded the bases with 2 outs. Joe Crede hit a pop up to shallow left that left fielder Matt Holliday and shortstop Carlos Quintanilla converged on. The ball went in and out of Holliday's glove, but the quick thinking outfielder caught the ball with his bare hand to end the game. AL:1 NL:2


Nationals vs. Mariners

This is the series that ultimately helped end Bill Bavasi's tenure as GM of the Mariners. The Nationals swept the M's in Seattle with tennis like scores- 7-6, 5-2, 6-2. AL:0 NL:3

Royals vs. Diamondbacks

A surprise here as the Royals took 2 of 3 including a 12-3 pasting in game 2. The Diamondbacks only win came on Chad Tracy's walk off home run to break a scoreless tie in the 10th inning of game 1. David DeJesus hit a grand slam and drove in 5 to take the finale 8-3. AL:2 NL:1

Final tally - AL: 22 NL: 17

In the lone intraleague series the Cardinals took 2 of 3 from the Phillies despite losing 20-2 on Friday.

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Yankees Can't Overcome Igawa

Sorry for the late recap, we were catching up on some much needed sleep. Last night's game pretty much went as we expected. When you score 5 runs in a major league baseball game, you should win said game. But when Kei Igawa is your starting pitcher, 5 runs is just not enough. Igawa gave up 6 in 3 innings (we had predicted 5 in 3.1, not bad) and a Yankees rally fell short in the 9th as the Tigers held on for a 6-5 win.

Ivan Rodriguez doubled to lead off the 1st and scored two batters later on a sac fly by Carlos Guillen to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead just 3 batters into their lineup. Igawa managed to have a 1-2-3 2nd inning after Jason Giambi tied the game with his team leading 7th home run against Kenny Rogers, but Igawa ran smack into trouble again in the 3rd.

Ryan Rayburn reached on an infield single and came home all the way from 1st on Rodriguez's second double of the game. Placido Polanco's bunt single put runners on the corners and 1 out later, Magglio Ordonez singled through the left side for a 3-1 Tigers lead. Igawa retired Miguel Cabrera, but Gary Sheffield doubled down the left field line (the left field line got more action than any Yankees infielder) for a 4-1 advantage.

Joe Girardi was hoping to save some wear and tear on his pen, but after Igawa gave up four straight singles, including RBI hits by Rodriguez and Polanco, to open the 4th, he had no choice but to go to Jonathan Albaladejo.

The Yankees bullpen kept the team in the game, though Albaladejo had to leave the game in the 6th inning with an elbow injury and is headed for the disabled list. A double by Robinson Cano ended Rogers night in the 7th, and he came around on Chad Moeller's RBI single to cut the lead to 6-2.

In the 9th the Yankees rallied against Tigers closer Todd Jones, who was came on for a non-save situation. Wilson Betemit doubled, moved to 3rd on a wild pitch, and came home on Cano's ground out. Johnny Damon pinch-hit and beat out a slow grounder for an infield single. He moved to 3rd on another wild pitch and a Melky Cabrera ground out and scored on Derek Jeter's single. Jeter moved to 2nd on fielder's indifference and scored on Bobby Abreu's RBI double. Suddenly a blow out was a 6-5 game and the Yankees had the tying run on 2nd Base.

Jim Leyland elected to intentionally walk Hideki Matsui, whose 17-game hitting streak came to an end, to face Shelley Duncan. The big 1st Baseman got wood on the ball, but skied to Curtis Granderson in center field to end the game.

News and Notes

Jonathan Albaladejo said he felt like a needle was in his elbow and a burning sensation accompanied it. Maybe instead of Chris Britton making his umpteenth trip up, we'll finally see Scott Patterson. Nah.

Derek Jeter has started the season with a home run in 128 at-bats, the longest such streak of his career.

Kei Igawa is still slated for a start against the Rays next Wednesday. Why not just forfeit the game now and send everyone to the movies?

May 9, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3		5	14	3
Detroit	1	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	X		6	13	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Cabrera, CF	5	0	2	0	0	0	2	.277
Jeter, SS	4	1	2	1	1	0	3	.305
Abreu, RF	4	0	1	1	1	2	3	.297
Matsui, LF	4	0	0	0	1	0	4	.333
Duncan, S, 1B	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	.194
Giambi, DH	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.178
Betemit, 3B	4	1	2	0	0	0	2	.250
Cano, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.182
Moeller, C	3	0	1	1	0	1	1	.290
a-Damon, PH	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.286
Totals	38	5	14	5	3	3	17
a-Singled for Moeller in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Cabrera (5, Rogers), Giambi (5, Rogers), Cano (5, Rogers), Betemit (1, Jones, T), Abreu (6, Jones, T). HR: Giambi (7, 2nd inning off Rogers, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Cabrera 3; Jeter 2; Abreu 2; Duncan, S; Giambi 6; Betemit 3; Cano 3; Moeller; Damon. RBI: Giambi (19), Moeller (4), Cano (11), Jeter (17), Abreu (22). 2-out RBI: Jeter; Abreu. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui; Betemit 2; Duncan, S. GIDP: Matsui; Jeter. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING PO: Betemit (1st base by Rogers). FIELDING E: Matsui (1, fielding), Moeller (2, throw), Betemit (1, fielding). Outfield assists: Abreu (Rodriguez at 3rd base). DP: 2 (Abreu-Cano-Betemit, Betemit-Cano-Duncan, S).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Igawa (L, 0-1)	3.0	11	6	6	0	0	0	18.00
Albaladejo	2.1	2	0	0	1	2	0	3.95
Hawkins	1.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	6.38
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

Detroit	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Rodriguez, C	4	2	3	2	1	0	1	.269
Polanco, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	3	.280
Guillen, 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	6	.305
Ordonez, RF	4	0	2	1	0	1	1	.309
Cabrera, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.252
Sheffield, LF	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.204
Joyce, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.182
Renteria, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.272
Thames, DH	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.260
Raburn, CF	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	.304
Granderson, CF	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	.262
Totals	35	6	13	6	1	4	19
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez 2 (12, Igawa, Igawa), Ordonez (9, Igawa), Sheffield (5, Igawa). TB: Rodriguez 5; Polanco 2; Ordonez 3; Cabrera; Sheffield 2; Thames; Raburn 2; Granderson. RBI: Guillen (15), Rodriguez 2 (16), Ordonez (25), Sheffield (7), Polanco (13). 2-out RBI: Sheffield. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cabrera; Renteria 2; Ordonez; Guillen; Rodriguez. SF: Guillen. GIDP: Sheffield. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Granderson (2, 2nd base off Albaladejo/Moeller), Polanco (2, 2nd base off Albaladejo/Moeller). FIELDING DP: 2 (Rogers-Renteria-Cabrera, Polanco-Renteria-Cabrera). Pickoffs: Rogers (Betemit at 1st base).

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Rogers (W, 3-3) 6.0 9 2 2 2 3 1 5.82 Miner 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.41 Jones, T 1.0 4 3 3 1 0 0 4.50

Igawa pitched to 4 batters in the 4th. Rogers pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP: Ramirez, Miner, Jones, T 2. IBB: Matsui (by Jones, T). Pitches-strikes: Igawa 64-41, Albaladejo 36-17, Hawkins 12-10, Ramirez 13-8, Rogers 97-57, Miner 28-16, Jones, T 25-15. Ground outs-fly outs: Igawa 2-7, Albaladejo 3-1, Hawkins 3-1, Ramirez 1-1, Rogers 8-6, Miner 4-2, Jones, T 2-1. Batters faced: Igawa 20, Albaladejo 8, Hawkins 5, Ramirez 4, Rogers 26, Miner 7, Jones, T 8. Inherited runners-scored: Albaladejo 2-0, Hawkins 2-0, Miner 1-1. Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Gary Darling. Weather: 60 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, L to R. T: 3:03. Att: 44,062.

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Around the Horn - 4/25

Two of the most promising young pitchers hooked up at Petco Park last night. The Giants sent second year man Tim Lincecum to the hill against the Padres big man, 6'10", Chris Young. Young allowed 1 run on 2 hits, and struck out 10 in his 7 innings...and lost the game.

Rich Aurilia, who seems like he's 400 years old, hit his first home run of the season for the game's line run. Lincecum's line - 6.1 IP 4 H 5 BB 9 K- earned him the win.

Chipper Jones, "Wally" to those out at Shea, celebrated his 36th birthday with his 393rd career home run and went 3-3. The Braves beat the Marlins 7-4 as the chipper feeling Jones raised his average to .442.

Troy Tulowitzki's fielder's choice and Ryan Spilborghs singled plated a pair of runs in the 8th to give the Rockies a 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Lance Berkman went 3-3 with a home run and 3 RBI in the Astros 5-3 win over the Reds. Rookie phenom Johnny Cueto gave up all 5 runs in 7 innings.

The Mets lead the Nationals 3-0, but starter Oliver Perez and the bullpen faltered, and the Nats pulled out a 10-5 win. Aaron Heilmann continued his horrid pitching, serving up a grand slam to Felipe Lopez who drove in 6 on the day.

Conor Jackson and Jeff Salazar drove in 2 runs each to pace the Diamondbacks past the Dodgers 6-4.

Pat Burrell's 2-run double in the 8th snapped a 1-1 tie and the Phillies held on against the Brewers, 3-1. Jamie Moyer and Jeff Suppan both pitched well in gaining no-decisions.

Brian Barton drove in 2 runs and Joel Pineiro picked up his first win in the Cardinals 6-2 win against the Pirates.

Eric Hinske drove in 2 runs to back a strong outing from Andy Sonnanstine in the Rays 5-3 win over the Blue Jays. Toronto starter Dustin McGowan walked 7 hitters in just 4 innings.

The Orioles rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Mariners 8-7. Former 'M', Adam Jones drove in 3 runs including the game winner. George Sherrill picked up the save, his 5th against his former team this season (out of 8 total).

The Indians swept the Royals in a doubleheader, 9-6 and 2-0. Grady Sizemore had 4 hits including a home run and Fausto Carmona was shaky but earned his 3rd win. In the nightcap, Cliff Lee threw a complete game shutout to raise his record to 4-0 and lower his ERA to a mind boggling 0.28.

The Angels came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Rex Sox 7-5. The Angels couldn't solve rookie emergency starter Justin Masterson, but they had the number of the Sox pen. Gary Matthews Jr. enjoyed a 3-hit, 3 RBI afternoon.

The Tigers rolled over the Rangers again, this time by an 8-2 margin. Magglio Ordonez hit two of the five Tigers home runs on the day. Detroit outscored the Rangers in the three game series, 37-10. Jim Leyland has to be concerned about Jeremy Bonderman, who was removed one out shy of being eligible for the win. He'd already thrown 110 pitches and walked 7.

Donnie Murphy hit his first two home runs of the year and knocked in 4 as the A's steamrolled the Twins 11-2. Twins starter Francisco Liriano only retired 2 hitters, allowing 6 runs, 5 hits, and 3 walks. He's probably ticketed for a return to the minors.

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Around the Horn - 4/23

The Mets have to be glad to be their series with the Cubs was only 2 games. The North siders thumped the Flushing crew for the second straight game, this time 8-1. Ronny Cedeno belted a grand slam and drove in 5 to help Ted Lilly earn his first win of the year.

Eric Gagne blew his 4th save already, but the Brewers pulled the game out, 9-8, in 12 innings on Gabe Kapler's RBI single.

Xavier Nady drove in 2 runs to give the Pirates a 3-2 win over the Marlins and Paul Maholm his first win of the season.

The Diamondbacks overcame a 3-0 deficit to make Brandon Webb the first 5-game winner in the majors. Webb helped his own cause, delivering a 2-run double in the Dbacks 5-4 win over the Giants. Barry Zito dropped to 0-5 for the Giants.

John Smoltz (3-1, 0.78) picked up his 3,000 career strikeout, but despite allowing just 1 run in 7 innings, also picked up his first loss in the Nationals 6-0 win over the Braves. John Lannan went 7 innings for his first win of the year.
Jerry Hairston Jr. celebrated his recall from the minors with a 4-hit, 3 RBI day as the Reds thumped the Dodgers, 8-1. Edinson Volquez improved to 3-0, 1.21 with the win.

Pat Burrell drove in 3 runs, giving him 22 RBI for the month of April, and Jayson Werth homered in the Phillies 8-6 win over the Rockies.

Jose Valverde blew his 3rd save this month, but the Astros scored 4 times in the bottom of the 8th for an 11-7 win over the Padres. Miguel Tejada remained red hot, going 4-5 to raise his average to .370. Jake Peavy allowed 4 run in his 6 inning start for the Padres.

C.C. Sabathia finally got his first win with 6 innings of shutout ball. The big left-hander struck out 11 and the Indians pounded the Royals 15-1. Casey Blake was 4-4 with a grand slam and 6 RBI.

Justin Verlander picked up his first win too in the Tigers 10-2 drubbing of the slumping Rangers. Verlander allowed 1 run in 6 innings to send the Rangers to their 5th straight loss. Ramon Santiago hit his first home run in 4 years and Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez also went deep. Ordonez picked up his 1,000th career RBI in the process.

The Red Sox won their 6th straight, and has become custom lately, won it late. Dustin Pedroia doubled in the go-ahead run in the 8th to give the Sox a 7-6 win over the Angels. David Pauley was the emergency starter for Josh Beckett who was scratched with a stiff neck.

Craig Monroe hit a game tying home run in the 8th and Jason Kubel singled in the game winner in the 9th in the Twins 5-4 win over the A's. Monroe was hitting just .231 entering the game, but capped off his 3-hit day with his first home run of the year.

Arthur Rhodes won his first game in two years in the Mariners 4-2 win over the Orioles. Jose Vidro's 2-run single in the 8th snapped a 2-2 tie. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez was effective (7 IP 2 ER 7 K), but got no decision.

Dionner Navarro made a triumphant return from the DL with a 3-hit, 2 RBI night, and Eric Hinske matched him in the Rays 6-4 win over the Jays. Hinske also homered and James Shields picked up his 2nd win.

News and Notes

Wednesday's Pitching Match up of the Day - Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers. Dan Haren (3-0, 1.80) vs. Derek Lowe (1-1, 2.59)

The San Fran Chronicle reports that the A's are considering bringing back Frank Thomas, who had big year for them in 2006.

Blue Jays 3rd Baseman Scott Rolen has started his rehab assignment, going 0-6 in two games. He returned to the infield after DH'ing the first game.

The Tigers defense wasn't helping their cause any, so they decided a defensive switch was in order. Shaky 3rd Baseman Miguel Cabrera was moved across the diamond to 1st Base, and 1st Baseman, and former shortstop, Carlos Guillen was shifted to 3rd.

Gabe Gross scored the Brewers winning run in the 12th inning yesterday- and then was traded. With a glut of outfielders, the Brewers sent Gross to the Rays for minor league pitcher Josh Butler.

Braves oft-injured pitcher Mike Hampton says he's ready to start a rehab assignment. Good luck with that.

The Star-Ledger's Jeremy Cothran has a feature today on how Carlos Delgado's struggles are dragging down the Mets and his career.

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Jose Can you Extort?

Desperate for money and because he's a piece of scum, José Canseco has allegedly tried to extort money from the Tigers' Magglio Ordóñez. Mags doesn't want to press charges though, so the FBI will not be opening an investigation.

According to a New York Times report Canseco told Ordóñez he would keep him out of his new book, the sequel to "Juiced", if the Tigers' outfielder would invest in a movie project promoted by Canseco. Ordóñez said a friend of Canseco's kept calling him, so he informed Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski of the matter.

“One of José’s friends was leaving me messages,” Ordóñez said. “I told Dombrowski because I didn’t know why he was calling me.”

“I didn’t want to press charges against him,” Ordóñez said. “I don’t want any problems. He is probably desperate for money. I don’t understand why he is trying to put people down.”

Dombrowski wouldn't comment on the matter, preferring to keep it an internal matter. Canseco denied any involvement in the alleged matter as well as any knowledge of possible FBI involvement. He did admit to calling Ordonez several months back to talk about the book.

Canseco responded to a query as to whether Ordonez, his 2001 White Sox teammate, would be in the book, by pushing the tome. “You are going to have to buy the book to see that,” Canseco told the Times.

It would seem doubtful that any other players would step forward to claim Canseco tried to extort them as well, since most don't want to deal with the steroid issue.

Canseco, meanwhile, is having difficulty getting his new book, "Vindicated", into stores. Last week, Berkley Books, (part of the Penguin Group), dropped the project after feeling it would not be ready by the time the major league baseball season opened. But Simon Spotlight, part of Simon & Schuster, picked up the book and will release it on March 31.

Canseco also lost his ghost-writer Don Yaeger at the end of December, after Yaeger had doubts about Canseco's "facts".

“What he sent me was stuff like, ‘Look at the difference in their bodies;’ there were not a lot of specifics,” Yaeger said.

But now Canseco's kicking it up a notch by hiring Pablo F. Fenjves. Fenjves is the former National Enquirer staffer who ghost-wrote O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It". Maybe José will be able to tie the two books together into some 'roid rage killing spree.

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The Voters Speak

The two pro-Magglio Ordonez MVP voters - both members of the Detroit press, gave their reasons for voting for Mags instead of A-Rod.

First Tom Gage:

That voter was Jim Hawkins of the Oakland Press, who clearly saw the same season I did, and the same reasons to vote for Ordonez as I did. His vote was as much validation for mine as my vote was for his, because it meant Ordonez made the identical impression on us both.

It was such a strong impression that I couldn't dismiss it by simply saying, "Gee, I better vote for A-Rod because everyone else is."

I don't blame anybody else for not voting for Magglio, though. They didn't see him play every day. They went by the stat sheet -- as I've had to do with most MVP votes.

But I believed in the vote for Ordonez when I cast it. And now, several wondering-why phone calls later, I still believe in it.

I did it because I thought Ordonez was more valuable to his team than A-Rod was to his, but also for specific statistical reasons: such as the wide disparity between Ordonez's batting average (.363-.314) and more so because Ordonez hit .429 with runners in scoring position compared to .333 by A-Rod.

To me, that was the separating proof of value right there. The Tigers were able to depend on Ordonez with runners in scoring position far more than the Yankees were able to depend on A-Rod. Yes, Rodriguez had all those home runs, the glamour stat. Plus he had 17 more RBIs than Ordonez, but only 17.

Read the rest here.

Then there is Jim Hawkins of the Oakland Press, which is in Pontiac, Michigan, not norther California.

I certainly don't apologize for my vote. I saw all but a handful of Ordonez's 157 games this season. And, night after night after night, I witnessed a player having an MVP season.

I didn't have to depend on what I read in the paper or saw on the TV highlight shows. I saw Ordonez put on an MVP performance with my own two eyes.

Don't get me wrong: Rodriguez had a great year, too. I have no quarrel with those writers who placed A-Rod at the top of their 10-man ballots. He deserved it every bit as much as Ordonez.

What I do find disturbing, however, is the fact that four of my baseball writing colleagues didn't even see fit to place Ordonez second, voting for either Vladimir Guerrero (3) or David Ortiz (1) ahead of Magglio. What league were they watching? (the same could be said for you Jim)

But for me, the clincher - and this is huge - was the fact that Ordonez batted .429 with runners in scoring position, while Rodriguez hit .333 in such potentially game-winning situations.

Read the rest here.

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