MLB: Owner: Clemens undecided about future

But...this was before Maddux got torched today.

Despite mounting legal troubles regarding his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens apparently hasn’t decided whether he will retire, one of his former owners told MLB.com on Thursday.

The right-hander, who will be 46 years old on Aug. 4, is an unsigned free agent, but missed the first few months of the season the past two years before returning to action. Drayton McLane, the chairman and chief executive of the Astros, said he spoke with Clemens briefly at a game in Houston as recently as three weeks ago.

“We have a personal services contract with him and it’s not activated until he tells us he’s ready to retire,” said McLane, just after this week’s quarterly owners’ meetings drew to a conclusion. “Well, he hasn’t said that. I think if he was ready to retire, and that was clear, he would have already said that to us. But that has not happened.”

...McLane wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of re-signing Clemens. He said he also wants to allow events to unfold before determining whether he might bring him back for another tour with the Astros.

The Biz of Baseball: Brown: Is Part MLB’s “Discipline” showing Magowan the Door?

There’s the mantle where
We keep our team picture
and there’s the door…

While there is no confirmation, there are reports coming into the Business of Sports Network that Magowan is gently being pushed out of the Giants.

Even if that were not the case, Selig’s comments show a fine level of hypocrisy. After all, it was perfectly acceptable to publicly mention players and suspensions as part of the follow-up to the Mitchell Report. Now, there is quiet reference to “doing a lot of community service.”

So, we ask: Who is doing “community service?” And then, what is deemed as “community service?”

It was quietly run, and now one wonders if the highest ranking executive mentioned in the Mitchell Report is “doing community service” by leaving the Giants. Given the incredible level of work that Magowan did in getting the China Basin project (Pac Bell Park) done with such an exceedingly low-level of public subsidy, it would be a shame if it were true.

Now, if only someone were to answer those questions… Who is it being disciplined? And, what is the discipline doled out?

If the league thinks I’m putting 2+2 and getting 5, great. Let’s clear up the matter. But, if the league, through Commissioner Selig is willing to try and pass all this off without more than a whisper, one can’t help but see the connection.

SF Gate: Ratto: Rumor has it, Magowan may be a goin’

A solid rumor from Ray Ratto (insert joke here):

The rumors that Peter Magowan may be looking to end his tenure as managing general big shot of the Giants have been swirling for a few weeks now, but it wasn’t until the organization confirmed that the rumors have legs that they started to run.

Wouldn’t it be cool if this woman delegated control of this team to somebody named Smithers?

Sue Burns, the widow of Harmon Burns, who owned the largest single share of the team, could take control simply by virtue of holding the most stock.

Deveney: The World Series the Cubs (maybe) gave away

Did the 1918 Cubs throw the World Series to Boston?

Alas, in the gambling scandal that never was, the ‘18 Cubs just might have laid down for that year’s A.L. champ, the Red Sox. In their defense, those Cubs could not have known that, 90 years later, North Side fans would still be pulling hair out over this team.

Now, it cannot be said for certain that gamblers got to the ‘18 Cubs. But Eddie Cicotte, pitcher and one of the eight White Sox outcasts from the ‘19 World Series, did say in a newly found affidavit he gave to the 1920 Cook County grand jury that the Cubs influenced the Black Sox. Cicotte said the notion of throwing a World Series first came up when the White Sox were on a train to New York. The team was discussing the previous year’s World Series, which had been fixed, according to players. Some members of the Sox tried to figure how many players it would take to throw a Series. From that conversation, Cicotte said, a scandal was born.

That’s some heavy-duty history, and, fittingly, the Cicotte affidavit sits in a room on the third floor of the Chicago Historical Society. Last December, the museum won an auction for the rights to a group of documents pertaining to the 1919 White Sox. The museum’s curator, Peter Alter, says the museum will eventually make the documents available to the public.

Emphasis mine. Tip of the Hat to Baseball Musings.

ESPN: Jose Canseco, uncensored, in Los Angeles

Plus a swagerific pic of Canseco...where it looks like he’s set to star in “Quex-Ul: In the Zone!”

“Here’s the problem. If you let Major League Baseball police their own environment, they won’t do it. To them, they have to protect their players,” he said. “I never spoke with Magglio or his agent. Meanwhile, what does he do? He runs to Major League Baseball. For what? Protection. ‘Protect me, please. He’s coming after me now.’ He needs Major League Baseball to protect him, and what they’ve been doing all along is protecting their own.

“It’s like when Rafael Palmeiro [testified before Congress] that he never used steroids. I’m like, ‘Wait, I injected this guy. Something’s going on.’ What guy in his right mind would testify before [Congress], wag his finger at [Congress] like they were little children, and all of a sudden, a month and a half later, take steroids and get caught? No. He was caught way before that. But he was very close to accomplishing 500 home runs and 3,000 base hits, so Major League Baseball basically said, ‘We’ll allow you to accomplish that and hold back the results in exchange for testifying against Jose Canseco.’ Then what happened? Very simply, MLB got smart. … They throw the evidence to a reporter—they have reporters on [their] payroll—and the reporter leaks it out.”

“The whole thing doesn’t make sense,” Canseco said, once again addressing the Ordonez allegations. “If I’m trying to extort money from you, and you involve the FBI, how do you catch me? You engage in a conversation with me and have the FBI record it. It’s very simple. Why didn’t that happen? I tell you why, because they’re liars, liars, liars, liars and liars. That’s all they are. Major League Baseball and all of the players say, ‘If we get together and tell a huge lie, it’s thousands against one guy.’ But the truth stands.”

AJC : Braves’ prospect unable to clarify HGH charge {RR}

Schafer was targeted in an investigation that began in spring training. It was conducted by baseball’s new investigative department, which was created after the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs came out in December.

There was no positive drug test — baseball doesn’t recognize any test for HGH as reliable (though the World Doping Agency says there is one).

The official would say only that there are other “non-analytical” means of establishing guilt, including possession of a drug.

“I want so bad to clear things up, and I want so bad for Jordan to clear things up,” said David Schafer, a Florida businessman. “But unfortunately the powers that be say not to say anything. I want so bad to straighten this thing out, I just can’t say. ... I don’t know what to do. He’s in a bad spot. It’s not the way it seems.

I would say why I posted this, but my attorneys told me not to reveal anything.

LA Times: Conte says Mosley took steroids knowingly

BALCO founder Victor Conte on Tuesday said former world champion boxer Shane Mosley knew “exactly and precisely what he was doing” when he engaged in a doping program before his 2003 victory over Oscar De La Hoya.

Mosley last week sued Conte for slander and libel after Conte said he was planning a new book that would “set the record straight” on Mosley’s knowledge about using the designer steroids known as “the clear” and “the cream,” and the blood-doping drug EPO.

Mosley maintains in the lawsuit that Conte told him “all of the products recommended . . . were entirely legal and appropriate.”

But Conte said Tuesday that Mosley knew he was being given steroids.

The article goes on to mention another famous athlete who denied knowingly taking steroids and fell afoul of the feds for doing so.  Quick, guess who.  (Hint: the athlete’s last name is five letters long, the second letter is “o,” the third letter is “n” and the fifth letter is “s").

Common Pain Relievers May Boost Muscle Mass

Hell, I once twacked a Spaldeen through Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski’s garage of death (seen here, just to the left of his lovely familia) window...after downing a few Zestabs!

Major league baseball players in trouble for steroid use might have avoided all that unpleasantness if they had reached for a bottle of over-the-counter pain medication instead.

A study by physiologists at the Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University shows taking daily recommended dosages of ibuprofen and acetaminophen caused a substantially greater increase over placebo in the amount of quadriceps muscle mass and muscle strength gained during three months of regular weight lifting.

Thirty-six men and women, between 60 and 78 years of age, were randomly assigned to daily dosages of either ibuprofen, such as that in Advil, acetaminophen such as that in Tylenol, or a placebo. The dosages were identical to those recommended by the manufacturers and were selected to most closely mimic what chronic users of these medicines were likely to be taking.

From the SI Vault: The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

SI opened it’s vault to the internet recently, just in time for April Fools Day. Of course, I’m guessing this was done entirely to make it so that blogs could link to the Sidd Finch story on April 1st. It is my honor to beat them all to the punch by a few days.

Fehr says union will investigate why Barry Bonds received no offers

Is it illusion, delusion or collusion?

Less than two weeks before opening day, the 43-year-old home run king remains unsigned.

“He’s in playing shape right now. He just hasn’t hit off live pitching,” Bonds’ agent, Jeff Borris, said Tuesday. “I’ve had conversations with Barry. It would probably take him about two weeks to get ready.”

Bonds was indicted in November on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, charges stemming from 2003 grand jury testimony in which he denied knowingly using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The seven-time NL MVP pleaded not guilty.

Tampa Bay acknowledged last month that it had internal discussions about the prospect of pursuing Bonds. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa had interest in Bonds but Cardinals management decided against opening talks.

Borris said Bonds was working out in the Los Angeles area. He wouldn’t comment on the status of any negotiations.

“He wants to play,” Borris said.

After speaking with the Los Angeles Angels during his annual tour of spring-training camps, union head Donald Fehr said his staff will examine possible collusion against Bonds and others.

Best Regards

John

Vote A Team For Barry Bonds

Guess I’ll never give up on my favorite player.  Real fans I don’t believe do that. Dispite what some people want you to believe about Barry Bonds, deep down inside we all wish he wouldn’t have pissed off the press so many years ago.  But he did.  Then of course he held his position.  I think he couldn’t find a way to turn it around with them, don’t think they wanted that.  And that other stuff, it’s all about nonsense anyway.  I believe Barry probablly didn’t, he didn’t need to.  Get the chance to hit 30 or more this year and why would that upset anybody?  Not real baseball fans I’d say.  I’m pleased to see fans voting the team they’d like to see him play in perhaps his final season.  If you have voted yet here is the link.  Even Yankee fans want him!

Fans Can Vote A Team for Barry Bonds

Editor’s Note...Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

ESPN.com: New-and-improved SportsCenter throws Ombudsman curveball

The most impressive showing by an ombusdman since Ombuds Wellington sentenced Mueller to personality death ... by forcing him to watch 10 days’ worth of Who’s Now.

I recently noticed something I am hesitant to write about for fear of jinxing it. SportsCenter has changed.

While on vacation last month, I recorded 10 day’s worth of 9 a.m. SportsCenters, beginning Feb. 15, so I could catch up on the sports news upon my return. I approached the task of review reluctantly, regarding it as punishment for taking time off. Once I plunged in, though, I was amazed to find myself enjoying hour after hour of SportsCenter.

They were not crisp, clean half-hours, but far more often than not, they were crisp, clean hours dominated by highlights and news, with remarkably few gimmicks, sponsored segments, cross-promotions or padding of any kind.

Plus, bonus baseball content! Steve Phillips admits to pushing amphetamines; gets telepathically scanned and brainwiped. 

Selig: “Baseball will be big in China”

“Soccer is the sport of the future."-US Soccer Organizers, Forever

“Computers in the future will weigh only 1.5 tons."-Popular Mechanics, 1949

“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"-Harry Warner, 1927

“Taking the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and converting him into a right fielder is one of the dumbest things I ever heard."-Tris Speaker on Babe Ruth, 1919

Houston Chronicle: Trainer denies he supplied Pettittes

Kelly Blair doesn’t pretend as though he has avoided performance-enhancing drugs. He admits taking steroids and even acknowledges a belief in the benefits of human growth hormone, but he denies giving HGH to anyone associated with former Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte.

Almost a month after a New York tabloid claimed he was the trainer who provided Andy Pettitte’s father, Tommy, with human growth hormone, Blair denied giving the elder Pettitte HGH. In his first published interview on the subject, Blair told the Chronicle he never provided Tommy Pettitte with the HGH that Andy Pettitte admitted taking in 2004 after receiving it from his father. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have helped if Tommy Pettitte had asked him about acquiring HGH.

“If Tommy Pettitte would have come to me back in (2004) and asked for assistance in getting growth hormone, I wouldn’t have hesitated,” Blair told the Chronicle on Friday. “I absolutely would have done it. Why wouldn’t I? I wouldn’t have thought he was getting it for Andy, so I would have done it in a heartbeat. But that didn’t happen.”

Steve S. asks..."Did the N.Y. Daily News get something wrong? I’m shocked.”

SSNN: Ian Kennedy named Governor of New York to replace Spitzer

Kennedys and sex scandals go together like .... uh, Dewar’s and ice?

ALBANY, NY — Leveraging a little-known clause called the “Best Kennedy available” clause, New York democrats have decided to install Ian Kennedy as their new governor, to replace the deposed and disgraced Elliot Spitzer.

[snip]

A committee quickly narrowed the choices to Ian Kennedy, Jaime Kennedy, and former MTV VJ Kennedy, before making their final determination.

“I think he’s going to be a great governor,” said Derek Jeter, a big Kennedy supporter. “He has demonstrated poise that belies his years and a wisdom that portends great things for this state.

Alex Rodriguez agreed.

“Ian Kennedy may someday go down as the greatest Kennedy ever to be an elected official in the state of New York and a pitcher for the Yankees at the same time,” he said. “But he’s got to keep his nose clean, keep his focus. As his off-the-books personal consultant, I think I’ll be able to help him do that.”

Giants, White Sox differ on Crede’s value (RR)

The difference in opinion over the value of Joe Crede is about as wide as the gap between the White Sox third baseman’s 2006 Silver Slugger Award season and his .080 spring average.

San Francisco, the most likely suitor for Crede, and the Sox have disparate evaluations that carry ramifications for both sides.

A talent evaluator familiar with both teams said the Sox were miffed the Giants’ offers for Crede included since-released pitcher Scott Williamson; pitcher Randy Messenger, who was optioned to Triple-A Fresno last week; and veteran outfielder Dave Roberts.

More players rumored to have used steroids.

Ready!
Set!
Rehash!

===========Translation Matrix===========

Yawn.

N.Y. Sun: Marchman: Bonds’s Bat Isn’t Worth the Headache for Mets

Yea...but that headache would probably be as memorable as Rosser Reeves’ thing of clanging beauty!

The far better answer is that the Mets don’t really need him, which is a simple thing to show. According to most projections, the Mets’ best lineup, including Alou, should score about 5.1 runs a game. Pencil in someone like Marlon Anderson or Detroit reserve Marcus Thames, in whom Omar Minaya is rumored to be interested, and that number drops all the way to 5.0. Pencil in Bonds for a line of .250 BA/.450 OBA/.550 SLG, and it might rise to 5.3, depending on where he bats in the lineup.

That sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. Imagine three alternate timelines, in each of which the Mets played 162 games with their best lineup. In one, Alou plays every day and the team scores around 820 runs. In the second, Anderson or Thames play every day, and they score 800. In the third, Bonds plays every day and they score 860.

As this shows, if he played every day and if the alternative was 162 games of Marlon Anderson, Bonds would be worth 60 or so runs, which is an enormous amount, representing six games in the standings. In reality, of course, it would be more like 30 runs. Bonds himself will be only good for 100 or so games in the National League, and the alternative is not 162 games of a backup, but 80 of Alou and 80 of Anderson, Endy Chavez, and others.

NBC: Celizic: A mystery: Why won’t anyone sign Bonds?

When it comes to being Capsized...Celizic is no Richmond Fontaine.

Another reason to avoid him would be the negative image he brings with him. But let’s be brutally honest about this. If he’s helping to win games, the home fans won’t care what he did or didn’t do four years ago and more. They can tell themselves he’s clean now – or at least that he tests clean – and enjoy the victories. Certainly, few people are going to cancel their season tickets because the team hired him, and if he helps you win, you’ll sell more tickets.

You can’t argue he’s a bad influence in the clubhouse because that was never an issue in San Francisco, where most of his teammates either tolerated him or actually enjoyed playing with him. He’d actually probably be a positive force, especially with a young team. Regardless of what he may have taken, he knows an awful lot about the game, and he’s willing to share it with his teammates.

I won’t even bring up his relations with the media because that has no effect on ticket sales or team play.

In short, there’s a lot more reasons to give Bonds a look for a few teams than there is to write him off. The Mariners and the Orioles should be at the top of that short list. Both are willing to spend money, both want to win, both need another dangerous bat.

K.C. Star: GM Moore denies report linking Royals to Sammy Sosa

ESPNdeportes.com is wrong again?  I should have learned my lesson when they said Yo-Yo Davalillo’s brother Wham-O was getting a call-up.

The rumor mill is churning again with an ESPNdeportes.com report suggesting the Royals are showing renewed interest in free-agent slugger Sammy Sosa.

Not true, according to general manager Dayton Moore.

“We’re very comfortable with the current group of players we have in camp competing for spots on our 25-man roster,” Moore said Friday before the Royals beat San Diego 13-9 in Peoria, Ariz.

“There is no immediate desire to acquire other players through free agency.”

Dodgers appear interested in Tigers’ Inge

Yea...but what about whole Andy Garciaparra act?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have contacted the Tigers about Inge, and while talks do not seem to have progressed far, a baseball official familiar with the situation said the Dodgers remain interested in making a deal.

Inge would play third base for the Dodgers, who did not have a full-time third baseman last season and have been trying to decide between veteran Nomar Garciaparra and rookie Andy LaRoche this spring.

New Dodger manager Joe Torre is familiar with Inge from his time in the American League, and Torre and new Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa are said to be Inge backers.

Arizona State Baseball in NCAA trouble?

Mikel Moreno, a graduate manager with the Sun Devil baseball team last year and a player on ASU’s 1998 College World Series team, said he made the allegations to ASU compliance officer Bill Kennedy last month shortly after his mother, Roberta Cole, called school officials to allege cheating within the program.

Earlier this year top freshman pitcher Devin Fuller and walk-on OF Hayden Moss were suspended for the year for academic reasons.  Star sophomore closer Jason Jarvis was also temporarily suspended, but then abruptly unsuspended pending a possible later suspension(!?).  This could be related but I do not know.

Other coverage:
Baseball America
East Valley (AZ) Tribune

STLtoday: Burwell: La Russa on McGwire, others in Mitchell Report

This is more fun than another can of botchulistic alphabet worm soup!

“Well, that’s what you believe and you’re probably right according to testimony, but that’s not what I believe,” La Russa said. “I watched Mark McGwire work.”

I interrupted him.

“Wait a minute, Tony. You still don’t believe McGwire used performance-enhancing drugs?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on.”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “If you see Mark today, he still looks like he did then.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I said.

“Yes, he does,” La Russa said.

“No, he doesn’t,” I repeated.

La Russa tossed his hands in the air and looked at me in frustration. “Are you asking for my opinion or yours?” he said.

“I’m asking your opinion,” I said. “But we’re having a conversation, and I’m disagreeing with you.”

Raissman: Al Leiter gives Roger Clemens the benefit of the doubt

Maybe I better take the garbage out?
(Well, why not?)
What time is it, anyway?
It’s Yankee air time!

If someone opens the on-air Pettitte door, raising moral or legal issues, Leiter will walk through. “No question, if (YES play-by-play voice) Michael (Kay) brings it up, it’s totally appropriate for me to discuss it,” Leiter said.

Of course Pettitte could quickly become a major on-field issue. What happens if he loses his first five starts and looks like garbage? You think maybe Hankenstein (the dude is a Johan Santana groupie) might start moaning? You think the talkies and baseball scribes will wonder - loudly - if Pettitte’s admission of HGH use and his relationship with Clemens have detracted from his focus?

Leiter said if that scenario ever becomes reality, he would go directly to Pettitte.

“I have to seek him out. I have to ask: ‘Andy, what’s up man? What’s going on here? Where’s your head at. Is this really playing on you?’ I need this information to fortify my opinion on the air,” Leiter said. “Then I can talk about how I might feel pitching with something weighing on your mind.”

38 Pitches: Update 2: The situation warranted addressing…

The Red Sox were never in the dark and knew the first day there were problems. There have been many lengthy discussions and a lot of dialog. I wish to God I wasn’t where I am, but that’s not going to change anything, to call this unfortunate or unlucky is a stretch I think, there are millions of people with true problems in life a lot worse off than I am, or we are. The club will certainly survive, I just hope I can get back and help at some point.

At the end of the day this really is and was a business decision on their behalf, and regardless of what you think that’s the way it is, and has been. At the moment they are out 8 million dollars for a guy that cannot pitch, that can’t be a good thing. I’d bet that I’ll figure out some way to validate this entire thing when it’s all said and done. If you don’t like that, or believe that, then feel free to bet against me, it won’t be the first time.

How could he best repay the team for giving him 8 million dollars in exchange for zero pitching?  I’m sure he’d appreciate your suggestions.

Health News Digest: Interlandi: Myth Meets Science

HGH, as potent as Doschers French Chew ...or something else?

Nor is it possible to take the findings from studies done on the elderly and the sick and apply them to elite athletes. The research that showed an increase in muscle mass and reduction of body fat in older men, for example, failed to show a corresponding increase in strength, endurance or exercise capability. In other words, bigger does not always mean stronger or faster. That has not dissuaded professional athletes from injecting the drug, however. By some estimates, more than 7 percent of major-league baseball players have used HGH. Its popularity is no doubt fueled in part by the fact that there are currently no effective tests for the substance.

Even if there were, some wonder whether it makes sense to forbid the use of HGH by professional athletes in the first place. Since there is no scientific evidence that it enhances performance (there’s no evidence that it aids recovery, either), they ask, what’s the point of banning it? “Elite athletes know their own bodies,” says Charles Yesalis, a sports-doping expert at Penn State. “Maybe we should let them do what they want.” Perhaps. Or at least until the science catches up with the myths.

RotoAuthority.com: Spring Training Cliches

After almost falling asleep during a couple of World Series games last season, I decided to pack on a few extra pounds to build up my endurance for this year.

Albert Pujols Contemplating Tommy John Surgery?

Maniac Esso sends in this gasser from occasimate “Wheels” Wheeler.

The hushed voice of KMOX sports reporter Kevin Wheeler has joined the whispers in St. Louis that Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols may be headed for a fall, not merely because Pujols has been playing with foot, leg and various other aches and pains in recent years but because far more serious trouble awaits him.

“Albert is the perfect hitter,” says Wheeler, who hosts the weekly program “Rating the Cards” on the 50,000-watt voice of the midwest. “...The only concern about Albert’s ability to put up big offensive numbers is his health.

“He was already voicing concern about his right elbow, which probably needs Tommy John surgery, and if that elbow (or the back or the hammies) give him significant trouble...he might not be able to battle through the pain again.”

Speculation is growing that Dominican slugger may miss significant portions or perhaps even all of the season, though it doesn’t seem to make sense that Pujols would have waited this late to make the decision to undergo invasive medical procedures had he not already committed to try to play in 2008.

MLB: Astros have veteran Chacon on radar

Well...this should bump the Stros up from their 60-1 WS shot.

The Houston Astros have made an offer to right-hander Shawn Chacon, one of a handful of free-agent pitchers still looking for work in the final stages of the 2007-08 offseason.

As of Tuesday afternoon, general manager Ed Wade had not heard back from Chacon’s agent, Dan Horwits.

“I’m talking to his agent but we haven’t reached any agreement yet,” Wade said.

It is unclear how close the two sides are to finalizing a deal, but it appears there is interest on both sides. Any final agreement would be contingent on Chacon passing a physical, and the two sides could be that close to putting a deal in place.

Rosenthal: Lofton could reunite with Baker in Cincy

Robothal: Blogging the cases...as usual.

Kenny Lofton played for Dusty Baker with the Giants in 2002 and the Cubs in ‘03, both times joining Baker’s teams in July and then helping them advance deep into the postseason.

The Reds are considering Lofton, sources say, but the extent of their interest might hinge on which players — if any — they trade for a starting pitcher.

...Lofton, a free agent who bats left-handed, could fit in a platoon role with the Reds. The team’s returning center fielders, Ryan Freel and Norris Hopper, are both right-handed hitters.

Top prospect Jay Bruce, a left-handed hitter, has only 187 at-bats at Class AAA. The signing of Lofton would give Bruce more time to develop.