Baseball. Blogging. Whenever.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Cut it Out, Bud


Bud Selig is a fine steward of the game when things go well, but he's dangerous when he tries to, you know, do anything. Here's a good example of that:

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig reportedly is considering restoring the crown to Aaron, who lost it in 2007 to Barry Bonds . . . "This is breaking my heart, I don't mind telling you that," Selig told USA Today in an interview published Thursday, disclosing that he is considering removing Bonds from the top of the home run list.

Hank Aaron used amphetamines, does that make Babe Ruth the champ? Babe Ruth corked his bat. Does that mean Roger Connor is the home run champ? Roger Connor played at a time when the game was outrageously dirty and gambling and throwing games was commonplace. Does that make Harry Stovey the champ? Many of Stovey's homers came in the old American Association, and who knows whether that league was as competitive as the NL. Does that mean Dan Brouthers, Charley Jones or Jim O'Rourke is the champ? If so, I'm guessing Lip Pike's descendants have something to say about that.

Baseball history is a patchwork of different eras, different rules, and yes, multiple flavors of cheating and nastiness. Heck, that's one of the things I like about it so much. Not the cheating as such, mind you, but the fact that the game has a rich and varied history that lends itself to argument, analysis and, occasionally, uncertainty. I like all three of those things!

Any attempt by Selig or anyone else to pretend that which has happened to records and standards in "The Steroid Era" is utterly unprecedented in baseball history proves his ignorance of that history. Even worse, he takes a step towards whitewashing the pre-steroid eras in ways that I don't believe they could hope to appreciate with those pea brains of theirs.

Cut it out, Bud, before you hurt someone.

(thanks to Sara K for the link and, more importantly, for acting as the sounding board for the rant that preceded this post)
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 3:02pm (20) Comments

Maryland to officially honor the Negro Leagues


The State of Maryland is poised to enact an official day in honor of the Negro Leagues:

The bill, received favorably by the committees in which they were introduced, is expected to breeze through, and Jones is confident it will be signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley in time for Negro Baseball League Day to be celebrated next year, and on the second Saturday in May thereafter. It is believed that Maryland would become the first state to officially commemorate the Negro leagues.

Ideally, the annual commemoration will illuminate the depth of the history black baseball shares with Maryland. It is home to some of its most famous teams (the Baltimore Elite Giants), most extensive leagues (the Tri-State League, which was still active in segregated ball's final days in the late 1950s), oldest ballpark still standing (in Oakville in St. Mary's County) -- and, of course, greatest players, such as Hall of Famers Judy Johnson and [Leon] Day. Geraldine Day, who still lives in Baltimore, received an ovation from the House of Delegates committee members and attendees when she was introduced.

Pretty sweet.

Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:45pm (3) Comments

Target Plaza


The Twins unveiled the plans for the space surrounding their new ballpark yesterday, and it sounds pretty spiffy:

Other plans for the space include nine 40-foot tall topiary frames, lit with LED lights and twisted with annual vines. (To the beer snobs among us: Plaza designer Tom Oslund said hops will be one of those vines.) Twins execs said a light demonstration will be part of the show when a Twins player — and only a Twins player — hits a home run.

Raised lawn panels with trees, shrubs and perennials will be built on each side of the plaza. An oversized cast bronze glove, plus a tribute wall to honor fans and players, are also planned.

There are some renderings if you click through.

One less-spiffy moment came when a reporter for the Star-Tribune asked Twins' President Jerry Bell how Target and/or local government -- both of which have been cagey about costs and allocations and everything, and both of which are experiencing tough times -- could justify the expense:

When Furst asked a follow-up later, Bell rebuked him for continuing to ask about costs and added, "Not every company is bankrupt," a shot at the Star Tribune's well-publicized financial woes. Many people cringed.

Leave it baseball owners. They want to be treated like some sort of public trust when they're asking for handouts, but they get profoundly pissy when you inquire as to what they're doing with those handouts.

Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 2:00pm (1) Comments

Nathans v. Offerman


Remember a couple of years ago when Jose Offerman went nuts? No, not that time. No, the other time. No, the time he hit those dudes with the bats. Yes. Anyway, he's getting sued for it now:

Former all-star Jose Offerman is facing a federal lawsuit for a bat-wielding attack at a minor league game that injured two opposing players.

Bridgeport Bluefish catcher John Nathans filed the lawsuit Thursday against Offerman seeking $4.8 million in damages, saying the attack left him with permanent injuries that ended his career.

Offerman was batting for the Long Island Ducks against the Bluefish in Bridgeport in August 2007, when Beech hit him with a fastball. Offerman charged the mound with his bat and swung at least twice, striking Beech and pitcher Matt Nathans.

Offerman was granted probation in 2007, ordered to get anger management treatment and pay the medical expenses of Nathans and Beech.

Offerman was one of the worst glove men around and he hadn't been a league average batter since 1999. As such, I'm surprised he (a) was able to catch the guy in the first place; and (b) managed to hit him once he caught him.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 1:00pm (3) Comments

Anonymous vs. Confidential


While the whole Orza/MLBA/sample destruction drama seems to have receded into the background since Monday, there is one big question about all of this that bothers me, and that's why it was ever possible -- destruction or not -- for names to be linked up with the 2003 samples. I had only been thinking vaguely about this, but reader/fellow shyster Ken Schultz articulated the problem quite nicely in a recent email:

Everyone is focusing on Fehr's failure to shred the document the day he got it. If it was just a list of random numbers and a column with a "1" (for yes) and "0" (for no), there would have barely been a reason to shred the document.

People conflate "confidential" and "anonymous." They don't mean the same thing. Not even close. Confidentiality is always, whether explicitly or not, subject to judicial order requiring disclosure. Anonymity is not. The DOJ could have subpoenaed names/results of anybody, BALCO or otherwise, but if the league/union never had that information in the first place, there would not be any issue.

Fehr/Orza holding the doc for 5 days MAY have been wrong. Allowing names to attach to particular samples was CERTAINLY wrong, violating the spirit and (I assume) the letter of the agreement between the union and MLB.

Is anyone privy to the 2003 testing agreement? Does anyone know why there ever was a way to link names and samples? I'm no testing expert, but given the limited purpose of those tests, it strikes me that a purely anonymous system, as opposed to a merely confidential one, would have been preferable.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 12:02pm (15) Comments

It’s complicated


In the American Spectator, Mark Corallo tries to get inside the mind of the steroid using ballplayer:

Or imagine you're a rookie. You just arrived with the big club. And looking around the locker room, you can't help but notice that 80% of the veterans are looking like something out of a superhero comic book. You heard the whispers when you were down on the farm. It was almost a joke. But now it's just there in front of you. As you look at some of your new teammates, still pinching yourself to make sure it's not a dream, you think, "If those three guys who are legitimate all-stars without the juice are juicing, then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Suddenly, it's not so cut and dried. Suddenly, the "cheaters" have a face, a real life and real responsibilities. They're not all Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, but we the fans demanded that they try to be. That doesn't excuse them one bit, but it does make us complicit.

Corallo runs us through the thought process of the hypothetical veteran and minor league user too. Maybe the examples are a bit too cliched -- The 32 year-old veteran he sketches would likely have already made millions and thus the multiple appeals to his three year-old daughter ring a bit hollow -- but his overarching point is a good one: these guys aren't villains. They are the products of a complex system that is flawed on many levels, and though we'd like to think that they would have transcended that system and made better choices, it's asking way too much to expect that most let alone all of them would have done so.

(thanks to B. Jones for the link)
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 10:30am (10) Comments

Baseball will repair those losses and be a blessing to us


Newsday's John Jeansonne, via quotes from some other contributors, observes that, for all of the sturm und drang, nothing that has happened this week is going to turn people off of baseball:

I have no doubt that if Alex has a good year, he will not be jogging around the bases, celebrating a game-winning home run, in a silent Yankee Stadium . . .

. . . The idea that baseball loyalists are appalled to see the record book profaned by steroid-powered statistics, even as attendance records continue to fall, is counterintuitive. "A mystery to me," [Tom] Callahan said. "I really don't understand it. They always say this kind of thing will alienate the public but it doesn't. It's a great lie.

"I can't believe anybody's heart was touched, listening to Peter Gammons and A-Rod during that TV interview [in which Rodriguez admitted his steroid use]. But, having seen Rodriguez play ... he's a hell of a player."

The game itself is the most powerful antidote to all of this business. We can work to outdo each other with our outrage all winter, but I defy anyone who truly enjoys baseball to not forget all of this off-the-field business and enjoy themselves when the actual games begin.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 9:40am (5) Comments

Manny and the Dodgers


I've generally been praising the Dodgers for not bidding against themselves in the Manny Ramirez derby, but as Ken Davidoff notes, they're pretty much out of maneuvering room:

This has not quite been Scott Boras' finest week, but give the man credit. He can run a free agency like no other agent out there.

Remember when the Dodgers were going to reallocate their Manny resources by spending it on other top free agents? Well, suddenly, there are pretty much no other top free agents left. Bobby Abreu is an Angel, Adam Dunn is a National and Ben Sheets is a no-go. Orlando Hudson? Nice, but more of a complementary player.

The Dodgers have lost Ramirez, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Takashi Saito from the club that qualified for the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1988. They have imported Randy Wolf, a decent, back-end-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. They need Manny, for baseball reasons and for attendance/fan good will reasons. How quickly can they get it done? And will the Giants put up a bona fide threat?

On my live chat Tuesday, I told Dennis that Manny would re-sign with the Dodgers on Feb. 27. Let's stick with that. And let's say it's a two-year, $48-million deal with a vesting option for a third year and another $25 million.

On one level such a deal could be spun as a fair one in that it would allow the Dodgers to say that they didn't go back up in terms of annual salary and allows Manny to say that he improved on both his Red Sox options and the quality of the overall offers he's been getting from L.A. But make no mistake: such a deal would be a win for Manny and an admission by L.A. that they maybe waited a bit too long.
As for the timing? I think it's done before February 27th. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't done by next weekend.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 9:01am (6) Comments

Amnesty


Joe Maddon has proposed an amnesty program for PED users:

Maddon suggested Wednesday that MLB implement an amnesty program for the reported 103 other players who tested positive then take strong measures to make sure there are no future violations.

"I'm just looking forward to the day that we move beyond it," Maddon said upon arrival at the new spring training complex. "For me, it really needs to come to the point where I'd like to see like an amnesty, basically, and move forward, and then create a situation where the penalties are so severe, nobody would ever even consider doing it again.

"But to continually drag it in the muck, I don't know what positive, useful purpose it serves. … It's been exposed, the boil's been lanced; let it heal. And then move forward and understand that a lot of people screwed up, not just a couple."

Only problem -- and it's, you know, a pretty huge one -- is that under the terms of the 2003 testing program, no one could have been punished for it anyway. And it's not like MLB discipline is even a problem. The problem is that anyone caught using steroids is made an utter pariah by the professionally outraged baseball media, and there is no amnesty program short of the suspension of the First Amendment that can do anything about that.

If there was ever to be anything approaching a workable amnesty setup, it would have been a law enforcement/baseball deal associated with the Mitchell Report and the BALCO/Radomski/McNamee/Novitsky business. That would have had at least some media buy-in and could very well have prompted something at least approaching a thorough clearing of the air. Never happened though, because (a) the feds are far more interested in prosecuting the War on Drugs than they are in actually stopping drug use; and (b) baseball has never really wanted a clearing of the air. They wanted a nice phony End Point. And they got it for about a year, but now it's gone.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 8:20am (5) Comments

Take it or leave it, Tom


Tom Glavine seems to misunderstand his value and leverage at this point in his career:

Tom Glavine still hasn't received the financial offer that he's seeking. But he remains hopeful that the Braves will eventually make the concessions that will allow him the opportunity to fulfill his desire to pitch in Atlanta this year.

While meeting with Glavine on Wednesday afternoon, Braves general manager Frank Wren didn't increase the offer he made to the southpaw last week. But he did provide indication that he'll continue to attempt to be creative while trying to satisfy the veteran pitcher's financial request.

Look, I love Tom Glavine like nearly no other player, but if this "negotiation" constitutes anything other than the Braves giving his agent a lowish number that reflects the unlikelihood that he will be a durable and effective pitcher in 2009 and Glavine saying "done," someone with the team isn't doing their job.
Posted by Craig Calcaterra at 7:30am (1) Comments

Older Posts >>