The Book Blog: MGL: Today on Clubhouse Confidential

Everything we had hoped for from the MLB Network…save a cucking stool ride for Kevin Millar, of course.

Or as Ozzie Guillen tweeted about this fantastic slice…“all gm in baseball please give mitchel litchman a job or bench coach he is good hahaha wow.”

Stiglich: Lew Wolff touches on San Jose ballpark, revenue sharing and playing waiting game

I attended a Q&A session involving A’s co-owner Lew Wolff this afternoon hosted by the Rotary Club of San Jose. It’s interesting to see Wolff operate in that kind of environment. He represents the bad guy to so many A’s fans. But he was on friendly terrain Wednesday, speaking in the same downtown area where he hopes to build his new ballpark someday – and he drew laughter with a few sharp one-liners. You can’t help but wonder how he would have been greeted in Oakland for a similar function.

–If the team does indeed move to San Jose, they will be called the “San Jose A’s,” which has been assumed. Wolff pointed out how the franchise has moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City to Oakland, always keeping the “Athletics” label. There was a stuffed Stomper on hand at Wednesday’s event, with the A’s mascot wearing a “San Jose Athletics” uniform.

–Getting an answer from MLB on the stadium issue “in the next couple months would be great,” Wolff said. Someone asked how long he might wait for an answer before throwing in the towel on building a ballpark. “I’m not going to continue this much longer,” he said. “What we want is an answer. We want a ‘Yes, you can relocate and share the territory,’ or ‘You can’t.’ But not having any answer is difficult not just for me, but for the 130 people that work for us, for planning, for our baseball team every year.” So what happens if his timeframe expires and there’s still no answer? Would Wolff and his fellow owners sell? He said he’s not entertaining that option yet.

–Despite the trades of three All-Star pitchers over the winter, Wolff thinks the A’s will field a quality team this season. “We’re going to fool a lot of people with our team, I think,” he said.

Throws (in) towel.

Oil Can Boyd says he used cocaine with Red Sox

He said Oil Can!
Oil Can what?

Dennis “Oil Can’’ Boyd’s new tell-all book, “They Call Me Oil Can: My Life in Baseball,’’ which hits bookstores in June, should be a blockbuster if the stories are similar to what the former Red Sox pitcher told WBZ’s Jon Miller yesterday at JetBlue Park.

Boyd, who spent eight of his 10 major league seasons with the Red Sox, admitted he was under the influence of cocaine two-thirds of the time he was on the mound.

“Oh yeah, at every ballpark,’’ he said. “There wasn’t one ballpark that I probably didn’t stay up all night, until four or five in the morning, and the same thing is still in your system. It’s not like you have time to go do it while in the game, which I had done that.

...Boyd, who will paint a picture of support and disdain for some of his former Red Sox teammates in his book, said, “All of them didn’t rally around me. All of them knew and the ones that cared came to me. The Dwight Evanses and Bill Buckners . . . it was the veteran ballplayers. Some guys lived it; they knew what you were doing, and the only way they knew was they had to have tried it, too.’’

Boyd contends he was blackballed from baseball and his career cut short because he was different. “The reason I caught the deep end to it is because I’m black. The bottom line is the game carries a lot of bigotry, and that was an easy way for them to do it,’’ Boyd said. “If I wasn’t outspoken and a so-called ‘proud black man,’ maybe I would have gotten the empathy and sympathy like other ballplayers got that I didn’t get; like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Steve Howe. I can name 50 people that got third and fourth chances all because they weren’t outspoken black individuals.’’

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-9-2012

El Paso Herald, February 9, 1912:

After signing his contract and promising to hit nothing but pitchers, Sherwood N. Magee, the Philadelphia outfielder, chirped as follows: “We’ll cop the gonfalon this year sure. The Phils would have won last year had it not been for Titus’s and Dooin’s broken legs. I have always tried to be a modest youth, but it might be asserted that my 33-day suspension was scarcely a boon to the club. We will never have tough luck like that another year.

Yes, Sherry, it was horrible luck that you decided to punch an umpire in the face and knock him unconscious.

Red Sox Sign (Australian) Daniel McGrath

Later that year [2010], McGrath made history when at just sixteen, he was named to the Melbourne Aces roster mid-way through the inaugural Australian Baseball League.

In his League debut in late December, McGrath was called on to close out the game and he proceeded to retire six of the seven hitters that he faced in an impressive outing. He still holds the record for the youngest player to have played in the newly formed ABL.

Most recently, McGrath returned just this week from representing Australia in the recent Oceania AAA Championships held in Guam where Australia won gold and secured their berth in the 2012 IBAF U18 World Championships.

McGrath was superb in his two outings, striking out nine over five innings in the gold medal game against New Zealand, while collecting eight strikouts across four innings in game one versus Guam.

But can he throw a gyroball? No? How about a Geelongball? Whatever, sign him up!

Guelph Mercury: Argos will likely be turfed out of Rogers if Jays get grass

TORONTO — Not long ago, Paul Beeston more than hinted to Blue Jays subscribers that the team was noodling the idea of installing grass at the Rogers Centre.

It sounded like an easy answer to an annual question, but they are serious about it and possibly as early as 2013. The Jays are kicking tires now on what is involved and the costs.

The Argos’ lease and the five-year deal with the Buffalo Bills are both up this year, giving the Blue Jays the freedom to do as they please with Rogers Centre.

Justice: 5 things that could make the 2012 season a successful one for the Astros

6. A special Day for William Irving “Colt .45s” Neder (and half of the 3-block radius famous Neder-Bancroft comedy team!)

5. .Getting third baseman Chris Johnson and first baseman Brett Wallace on the right track would be a pleasant surprise. Both were handed jobs when 2011 spring training opened, and both ended up being demoted to the minor leagues. At the moment, the Astros have no idea what they can expect from either of them. They’ll need to play their way onto the team in spring training.

4. Second baseman Jose Altuve, third baseman Jimmy Paredes and outfielder J.D. Martinez showed some nice spurts after being summoned to the big leagues last summer. If at least one of them could have a solid sophomore season, it would be hugely important for the future of the franchise.

3. Luhnow’s most attractive trade assets are Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers. If he can get a single prospect for each of them by the trade dealine, he will have continued strengthening the organization.

2. To get productive seasons from center fielder Jordan Schafer and shortstop Jed Lowrie.  They were once highly regarded prospects with the Braves and Red Sox. Now they’re getting a fresh start in Houston. There’s no question they have talent, but so far have been unable to stay healthy or make the necessary adjustments every player must make. If just one of them ends up being a contributor over the next few years, it would be significant.

1. To have a bunch of young players take positive steps up the ladder. If Wade’s four No. 1 picks–catcher Jason Castro (2008), shortstop Jiovanni Mier (2009), second baseman Delino DeShields (2010) and outfielder George Springer (2011)–all have good seasons, it would be a huge boost for the timetable.

NYT: Alderson Remakes Needy Mets From Bottom Line Up

Phillips, Duquette, and Sirius checking in.

Since he came aboard in October 2010, Alderson has been obligated to take a payroll that was over $140 million and cut it to about $90 million. You can make that kind of huge and swift reduction only if you repeatedly acquire players who will cost very little.

“I don’t think people really understand how constrained he really is,” Steve Phillips, a former Mets general manager, said of Alderson. “There’s no team in the last year and a half that’s been as affected by financial challenges as the Mets.”

...“They’ve been in a bottom-feeding mode when it comes to the free-agent market,” said Phillips, who is now a host on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio channel. “They are trying to catch that lightning in a bottle, that diamond in the rough.”

...Jim Duquette, who served as the Mets’ general manger in 2004 and now works as an analyst for SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, said Alderson was in a tough spot.

“I can’t see how he or even the team’s ownership could have predicted beforehand the extent of the financial issues they currently face,” he said.

Alderson and his deputies have shown some willingness to be assertive with the resources they have available to them. Breaking with the team’s previous stance, they bypassed the essentially unenforceable guidelines set forth by the commissioner’s office for signing bonuses to sign several draft picks last summer.

MLB: Hall of Fame worthy? Furthest thing from Schilling’s mind

Schilling: Fehler im System.

Schilling already knows what the theme of the 2013 ballot, results of which will be announced in January, will be.

“The guys who cheated and the guys who didn’t,” Schilling said.

...Though he vows to have never taken any type of PED, Schilling doesn’t absolve himself from blame for what happened during his years as a player.

“A lot of that is on us,” Schilling said. “It’s on us as players. It absolutely falls on guys like myself and other guys who didn’t cheat to not doing anything about it. We’re a players’ union. We could have done something about it. We chose not to. That falls squarely on us.”

...While anyone would be thrilled to receive the Hall of Fame honor, Schilling says he accomplished everything he wanted to in baseball.

“I’m proud to have done what I did,” Schilling said. “In ‘92, my wife and I were talking about what I want, and for some reason we had a conversation then about aspirations in baseball. I said, ‘When I retire, I want the 24 guys who suited up with me to say, “Life or death game, who do you want to have the ball?”’ I wanted that to be me.

Fangraphs: Cameron: The 10 Worst Transactions Of The Winter

How did Ned Coletti avoid this list?

#2 – Tigers Sign Prince Fielder for 9/214M

Prince Fielder is a good player, but this is three years and about $70 million too much for what he brings to the table. Yes, the Tigers are in win-now mode, and yes, Fielder makes them better in the short term, but the reality is that if the Tigers had this kind of payroll flexibility, they should have simply been far more active earlier in the off-season, as they could have improved their roster significantly more by spreading the cash around to bring in multiple players and fill a number of holes. Instead, the team overreacted to the Victor Martinez injury and compromised the long term health of the organization for a short term gain in the standings. The fact that Mike Illitch might not be around to see the end of the contract doesn’t make the deal any less damaging to the Tigers franchise – it just means that the current owner is borrowing from the next owner’s pockets in order to achieve his own personal goal. Of all the moves made this winter, this is the one that has the potential to really cripple a franchise – they need it to pay off in 2012, because the long term costs of this deal are going to be extremely harmful to the organization.

Knobler: Stay away from steroids—but vote how you want

BASE (Be a Superior Example) (Bonds and Steroids Election).

This summer, the Hall of Fame will ask kids to pledge to stay away from steroids.

Next winter, the Hall of Fame will send out a ballot that includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

A contradiction? A message to voters?

Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson insists that it’s neither one. Idelson said Wednesday that the Hall has always been an education center, in addition to being a baseball museum and a Hall of Fame, and that the new BASE (Be a Superior Example) program fits in with that.

He also said that the Hall isn’t—and won’t—tell anyone how to vote, and that the new education program should not be read as a directive to eliminate steroid users.

“We believe in allowing voters to use their own value judgment,” he said. “We’re very comfortable with the rules for election as they stand.”

In other words, it’s my problem. Mine, and the other 500-some Hall of Fame voters.

Great.

Andrus, Rangers agree to 3-year, $14.5 million extension

A source confirmed that the Rangers and shortstop Elvis Andrus have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year contract extension worth approximately $14.5 million. The deal is pending Andrus passing a physical.

The deal wipes out all three of Andrus’ arbitration years but does not include any option years that could prevent him from becoming a free agent before 2015.

RLYW: CAIRO 2012 v0.5 and More Somewhat Useless Projected Standings

These look more realistic to me than the last set I ran with Marcel.  Probably a bit high on the Yankees, but since CAIRO was created to make the Yankees look better than they are that stands to reason.

Barry Bonds Free to Swing ‘Dangerous’ Bats ... Again

Punish me - torture me - but let me bat!

Barry Bonds has federal approval to pickup a “dangerous weapon”—namely, a baseball bat—thanks to a new court order.

Bonds is appealing his sentence for felony obstruction of justice—but for now he’s free on a few conditions ... one of which is he cannot possess any “firearm, ammunition, destructive device, or other dangerous weapon.”

Barry must want to take some batting practice—because according to docs filed yesterday ... a federal judge has approved his request to make an exception for baseball bats.

Edes: ‘Think Factory’ projects falloff for Ellsbury

Hey, I must have missed the internal primer-list on this…because I never got a say!

Jacoby Ellsbury will see and hear a lot of this in the coming weeks, questions about whether he can duplicate his MVP-worthy performance in 2011.

Dan Szymborski of Baseball Think Factory weighed in on the subject on ESPN Insider. Here are his thoughts:

2011 Projected OPS: .733
Actual OPS: .928

...Historically, when players have had these kinds of home run breakouts, their follow-up seasons have been a mixed bag. However, players have generally kept quite a bit of improvement from even the flukiest-looking home run totals. While Ellsbury might not hit 30 again, it’s extremely likely he’ll continue to hit more than the 10 he was hitting just a few years ago. ZiPS projects a decline to 16 home runs, but that’s with only 560 projected plate appearances—if Ellsbury gets 732 plate appearances, he should hit 20 again.

BPro: Wyers: Reintroducing PECOTA

Much like John Wathan…juggling PECOTA around.

PECOTA has arrived.

BP’s projection system, at its core, follows the same basic principles as it has before. We begin with our baseline projections, which start with a weighted average of past performance, with decreasing emphasis placed on seasons further removed from the season being projected. Then that performance is regressed to the mean. After that, we use the baseline forecast to find comparable players (while also taking into account things like position and body type) and use those to account for the effects of aging on performance.

Every season we put PECOTA under the knife, looking for things we can improve to make sure we’re coming up with the best forecasts possible. Sometimes what we come up with is a minor tweak. At other times, though, what we unearth is not only more significant, but an interesting baseball insight in its own right, even aside from its inclusion in PECOTA.

This season, we’ve made some rather radical changes to how we handle the weighted averages for the PECOTA baselines—we still deemphasize past seasons, but nowhere near as much as we used to. With such a dramatic and counterintuitive change, we thought it best to give our users an explanation of what was changed and why so that they could correctly use and interpret the PECOTA forecasts.

Olbermann: 40 Years Of Steve Carlton

Countup with Keith Olbermann ~ win #28…win #29…win #30.

It remains, in short, the most amazing season a pitcher has put together since at least Sandy Koufax, and very probably since long before him. And now, Steve Carlton’s 1972 campaign, when he won 27 of his rotten team’s 59 games, dates to 40 years ago.

So much has been written about Lefty’s work that it is amazing to consider that an extraordinarily relevant detail is usually omitted from the recounting – one that makes winning 46 percent of one team’s entire supply of victories all the more remarkable.

Steve Carlton did it in a strike-shortened season.

The first sport-wide in-season strike in American history would in later contexts seem so brief as to be almost quaint. But when Opening Day was pushed back by a week forty years ago, and each team lost between six and nine games, it was traumatic – and it contributed to the distinct possibility that Carlton missed an opportunity to win 30 games.

DuPaul: How much money has AJ Burnett cost the Yankees?

AJ cooked: Final destination - 2 years.

Burnett has played three seasons for New York, since they signed him to a monster 5-year/$82.5 million contract.  This deal is similar to some other contracts starting pitchers have received recently:

-Justin Verlander 5 years/$80 million

-Felix Hernandez 5 years/$78 million

-Jered Weaver 5 years/$85 million

-CJ Wilson 5 years/$77.5 million

...The Yankees have paid out $49.5 million thus far to Burnett for three seasons of service. Based on Linear dollars per fWAR, Burnett has been worth $28.2 million.  Thus, New York has incurred a net loss of the $21.3 million by having AJ on their payroll. They owe Burnett $16.5 million next season and in 2013; so they’ll continue losing money by having Burnett pitch in the Bronx.  Burnett would need to be worth a total of $54.3 million combined over the next two seasons, for the Yankees to break even on the signing.  In order to do this, AJ would only have to duplicate his ’08 season (18-10, 4.07 ERA, 231 K’s 5.5 fWAR) in 2012, and then duplicate his ’05 season (12-12, 3.44 ERA, 198 K’s, 5.1 fWAR) in 2013.  Shouldn’t be too hard, especially because the Yankees’ website currently lists Burnett outside their starting rotation.

Tigers’ Dombrowski confident in Fielder’s longevity

Just take Bill James’ findings, throw them down a steep ravine into a shallow grave covered with leaves…that won’t be found until a man walking his dog stumbles upon them.

The Tigers’ general manager spoke Tuesday as part of a Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association luncheon, expressing confidence new first baseman Prince Fielder can stay productive through most if not all of his expensive nine-year contract.

Detroit signed the hefty slugger to a $214 million deal last month. Dombrowski acknowledges the risk but points out that the hefty slugger is only 27.

“The prime of your career is what, through 32, 33?” Dombrowski said. “That’s seven of the nine years already, and my gut reaction is that this guy will continue to swing the bat. How his body will look in nine years or seven years, I really don’t know. He is a heavy-set guy but he’s also become more aware of trying to keep himself in the best shape he possibly can.”

...The Tigers acquired Fielder to help them try to defend their AL Central title after designated hitter Victor Martinez went down with a severe left knee injury. Fielder and Miguel Cabrera should form a potent middle of the batting order, but the move did create some complications. Detroit is set to shift Cabrera from first base to third to make room for Fielder.

“There’s very few guys that are Gold Glovers and are batting champions and All-Stars from an offensive perspective. They’re called Hall of Famers - and even some Hall of Famers have had some shortcomings of one area or another,” Dombrowski said. “We think Miguel will be adequate at third base from a defensive perspective. I don’t mean to say he’s going to be a Gold Glover. ... He’s got good hands, he’s got a strong arm, he wants to play there and he’ll work very hard at it.”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-8-2012

Toledo News-Bee, February 8, 1912:

Vean Gregg of the Naps says that Eugene Krapp is also a holdout. He said that he hoped his former teammate would make a go of it. “Without Krapp and myself, the Senators will finish higher than the Naps. With us, there will be a new world’s champion baseball team next year,” said Gregg.

Gregg may have been boasting, but he was right. He and Krapp both signed, Cleveland finished 16.5 games behind Washington, and the Red Sox won it all.

Fangraphs: Dave Cameron’s Top 10 Transactions

#6signing

#6 -Yankees Sign Hiroki Kuroda for 1/$10M

Remember how acquiring Pineda left the Yankees room to upgrade elsewhere? Meet elsewhere. Kuroda isn’t a spring chicken anymore, but his combination of strikes and ground balls have made him one of the game’s better starting pitchers since arriving in the U.S. With the rotation depth that they have, they don’t need to get 35 starts from Kuorda, so they can afford to deal with some nagging injuries or missed starts from time to time. Having another quality starter who can pound the zone and get hitters out from both sides of the plate will greatly increase their odds of going deep in the playoffs, and on a one year commitment, it’s hard to go wrong with a pitcher of this quality.

WHALEN: Erstad talks big game, but let’s see if Huskers deliver

Husker do! A diamond hidden in the mouth of a corpse?

One thing’s for certain: Nebraska’s new baseball coach talks a good game.

At his press conference Monday, Darin Erstad sounded every bit like a man ready to turn around NU’s baseball program. He spoke of his recruiting pitch, saying Nebraska “sells itself”; downplayed his lack of coaching experience by referencing great baseball minds he’d learned from (including his father and Mike Scioscia) and called NU’s facilities amongst the best in the nation. All is well in Lincoln.

Except for one thing: Erstad’s predecessor, Mike Anderson, talked a pretty good game too. He also coached a pretty good game, earning Big 12 Coach of the Year honors twice. And, let’s not forget, Erstad was on the staff last season, when Anderson’s fate was sealed, as a volunteer hitting coach. The Huskers finished dead last in the Big 12 in runs under his tutelage.

...As Feb. 17 approaches, there’s really no way to tell how well Nebraska will adjust to its new era. It could be like the women’s basketball team and show huge improvement because of new blood and a softer schedule. Or the team could struggle to adjust to its new opponents and fight to finish .500 for the fourth year in a row.

Either way, it seems that Husker fans will be treated to some nice sound bites from their first-year coach.

BaseballBoyfriend.com

I understand the first-prize gift basket is lovely.

Choose Your Stud.
In your little black book is a list of possible Baseball Boyfriends. Pick a boyfriend from your current team’s roster.

This is also where you dump your ex and pick up a new player. As your team roster changes, your selection of potential boyfriends changes as well.

Now That You’ve Picked Your Boyfriend.
If he stays past noon, he’s your BBBF for the night.

How Do You Know If He’s Worth It?
On the first day of league play, you’ll immediately be able to compete with the other friends in your league that have a Baseball Boyfriend. Also, you can compete on a global level against everyone. Even if your fantasy team isn’t doing well, you can still get bragging rights for having the bestest BBBF ever…

Is One Man Not Enough?
You can have one Baseball Boyfriend in each of your fantasy leagues. The more leagues you play in, the more boys you can have.

BTF Chicago Softball Team?

Any Chicago Primates interested in cobbling together a softball team for one of the city summer leagues? My preference is 16” rec, but I would of course submit to the will of the people. Discuss!

Yankees sign utility player Bill Hall

The Yankees have signed 32-year-old Bill Hall as a potential utility player, news that Hall himself broke on his Twitter account by writing: “It’s official, I’m a Yankee!” He later tweeted a photo of himself wearing a Yankee cap.

Hall, who will get a minor-league deal and be invited to spring training, batted .211 with a .261 on-base percentage and a .314 slugging percentage in 199 plate appearances over 62 games for the Astros and Giants. He also had two home runs.

At the end of his tweet regarding the move, Hall wrote: “#IwannaRing!!!!

Geez, I haven’t seen anyone pander for a ring so badly since “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

L.A. Times: Dodgers sign Clayton Kershaw to two-year, $19-million deal

That may not have been the truly long-term contract some of the faithful were hoping for, but the Dodgers did avoid arbitration with Clayton Kershaw this year and the next by signing him Tuesday to a two-year, $19-million contract.

The Times’ Dylan Hernandez reports Kershaw will earn a $500,000 signing bonus, $7.5 million this season and $11 million in 2013.

The club had previously exchanged arbitration figures with National League’s Cy Young winner, submitting $6.5 million to Kershaw’s $10-million bid.

NYBD: Silva: Yankees Fragrance and 1996?

So stenchingly good…Francesspool odored a velvet case of Borsari di Parmesan!

These aren’t your father’s Yankees. They aren’t your 1996 Yankees, either.

Only the Yankees could be self-important enough to launch a non-baseball related product with a cocktail party.

According to Wallace Matthew of ESPN NY, the Yankees will launch two official fragrances called ”New York Yankees” and “New York Yankees for Her” at a cocktail reception in Manhattan on Tuesday, February 21.

Yes, every team has non-baseball related products. You have checkers, chess, teddy bears, etc. with the team logo. None of the 29 other teams believe they are bigger than the game where they create a fragrance and have a bourgeois party to announce it. This is the same organization that puts out press releases to let everyone know what Hal Steinbrenner thinks regarding world events. What’s next? Randy Levine on the catwalk modeling underwear? Don’t discount it, since the modern Yankees brand caters to the Wall Street crowd with the new Stadium, luxury advertisements, and the moat near the luxury seats to keep the lower class of fans away.

Beane To Sign Extension Through 2019

General Manager Billy Beane and President Michael Crowley will remain with the Oakland Athletics through the 2019 season, club owner Lew Wolff said today in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.”

“I view them as partners as well as executives,” Wolff said. “So if they are here another 30 years, that is fine with me. I may not be here to see it, but that will be fine.”

DJF: Decipher the Mind of Brett Lawrie with Translawrieate

Or as Dustin Parkes sez about Lawrie…“just in case Toronto Blue Jays fans didn’t already know that if Brett Lawrie played for the Boston Red Sox, they’d hate his guts with an unforeseen fury.”

Blue Jays like Brett Lawrie, who through his @blawrie13 account tweets uninteligible things like:

“Runnin through these H*** like I got that devilish flow rock’n'roll no halo we party rockkkkk #Sorry4PRockin

I don’t know either.

Fortunately for those of us who can’t quite grasp young Brett’s dialect, some genius has come up with the Brett Lawrie Babel Fish—@translawrieate—which deciphers such garbled nonsense into common English. Fed through this handy system this we see the above tweet come out like this:

“I’m not a man of pure actions. My unyielding sexual conquests with women of speculative morals resemble the efficiency of Drano” (1/2)

Apologies for expressing the lyrics of Party Rock Anthem. (2/2)

Lawsuit: Ex-slugger George Brett falsely advertises health benefits of necklaces, bracelets

But can they cure diarrhea at the Bellagio?

Lawyers are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit that claims Hall of Fame slugger George Brett has been falsely advertising necklaces and bracelets as being able to help improve health and sports performance.

A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Des Moines claims Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Brett Bros. Sports International, Inc. has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus. The company has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain, the lawsuit said.

Brett, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1999 after a 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals, has been president of the company since 2001 and appears in its advertisements.

The claims appeared on the company’s website from 2008 to 2010, and still appear on the packaging of the products and on the websites of its distributors, according to the lawsuit.