MLB seeks answer to increasing African-American participation in baseball - Sports - The Boston Globe

The Boston Sunday Globe Sunday Baseball Notes.

Subtract Nelson Cruz from the Rangers’ opening day lineup

If I’m Nolan Ryan, if I’m Jon Daniels, then I’m privately moving ahead by immediately subtracting Nelson Cruz from the Rangers’ 2013 opening-season plans.

Nellie is going down. Going down for 50 games.

Rangers sign RHP Kyle McClellan to minor-league deal

The Texas Rangers have signed right-handed pitcher Kyle McClellan to a minor-league deal with an invitation to major-league spring training, the team announced Tuesday.

Spencer: Marlins not shopping Stanton, and my HOF ballot

Teams contact the Marlins about Stanton all the time. The Marlins, out of professional courtesy, don’t hang up on them. They “listen,” as they do with all inquiries involving any of their players. But listening is not the same as “contemplating,” and the Marlins—at least for now—are not entertaining any thoughts of trading their slugger…

Based on the early returns, the Hall of Fame announcement on Wednesday could be extremely brief. Not a single candidate is trending above the 75 percent threshold needed to gain entrance to Cooperstown, according to Hall of Fame Collecting Gizmo.”...

I ended up voting for five players: Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling and Larry Walker.

With the lone exception of Schilling, the other four players on my ballot rank among the Top 10 players of all-time at their positions based on the JAWS scoring system, a useful advanced metrics tool that allows one to compare players from different eras. JAWS isn’t perfect. It doesn’t factor in fielding, for example, postseason performance, milestones or awards—all stuff I also considered.

But it does account “for the wide variations in offensive levels that have occurred throughout the game’s history.”

Epiphany!  Return Spencer’s gift!

the Marlins “are not moving [Giancarlo Stanton],” according to a source I spoke with. They haven’t even “discussed” it internally. The team’s plans calling for Stanton to start the season with the club and occupy the clean-up spot have “not changed at all,” according to another source with knowledge of the Marlins’ intentions.

And yet the speculation continues. The latest report indicates the Marlins have spoken to the Padres about Stanton. “Completely off base” and “totally ridiculous” was the response I received when I asked about it.

Teams contact the Marlins about Stanton all the time. The Marlins, out of professional courtesy, don’t hang up on them. They “listen,” as they do with all inquiries involving any of their players. But listening is not the same as “contemplating,” and the Marlins—at least for now—are not entertaining any thoughts of trading their slugger…

Based on the early returns, the Hall of Fame announcement on Wednesday could be extremely brief. Not a single candidate is trending above the 75 percent threshold needed to gain entrance to Cooperstown, according to Hall of Fame Collecting Gizmo.”...

I ended up voting for five players: Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Tim Raines, Curt Schilling and Larry Walker.

With the lone exception of Schilling, the other four players on my ballot rank among the Top 10 players of all-time at their positions based on the JAWS scoring system, a useful advanced metrics tool that allows one to compare players from different eras. JAWS isn’t perfect. It doesn’t factor in fielding, for example, postseason performance, milestones or awards—all stuff I also considered.

But it does account “for the wide variations in offensive levels that have occurred throughout the game’s history.”

Robothal: Source: [Justin] Upton trade talks still on

Kevin Towers’ mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives.

Justin Upton for Chase Headley?

The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres have held on-and-off discussions about a trade involving those players since July, but the talks have failed to progress, according to major-league sources.

The Diamondbacks, however, continue to discuss Upton with other clubs, including the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners…

The Rangers want to acquire Upton without giving up either shortstop Elvis Andrus or infielder Jurickson Profar. Their preference is to build a package around third baseman Mike Olt, and the team is willing to add a top pitching prospect and third quality piece to the package, sources say…

The problem for the D-Backs in trading with the Mariners is that the M’s are on Upton’s four-team no-trade list, and sources say that he is not inclined to approve a deal to Seattle…

The Atlanta Braves also have made “strong overtures” for Upton, sources say, and other teams also might be involved in the discussions…

Headley, 28, broke out in 2012, finishing fifth in the voting for National League MVP after batting .286 with an .875 OPS, 31 home runs and a NL-high 115 RBI, all while playing his home games at pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

The Padres likely would need to add to Headley to complete a trade for Upton, who was fourth in the NL MVP voting in 2011. Upton, 25, is younger than Headley, has a longer track record, and is under club control for one more year…

The Rangers have been persistent — and relentless — in their pursuit of Upton. Team officials thought a deal was close at the end of the winter meetings last month, but the talks collapsed, only to recently revive…

Olt, one of the game’s top hitting prospects and a strong defender, is described by one rival executive as, “Joe Crede at worst, Matt Williams light at best.” ...

Left-hander Martin Perez and right-hander Justin Grimm and Cody Buckel are the Rangers’ most highly regarded pitching prospects.

Olt played third base, first base and right field during his brief callup with the Rangers last season. He would not fill an obvious need for the D-Backs, who are waiting on another third-base prospect, Matt Davidson, and are set at first base and the corner-outfield positions. But Olt’s ability to play multiple spots would give the team options.

Source: Red Sox Work Out Bobby Abreu

Take this as a sign that the Red Sox are trying to unload Kevin Stocker, and are looking to tear down public opinion of Stocker so they’ll look good when they dump him.

According to a major league source, the Red Sox have worked out veteran Bobby Abreu in Venzezuela. As part of the workout, the team put the 38-year-old through drills at first base. It is believed the workout is part of both parties doing their due diligence, with it unclear if Abreu would even be open to playing first base, a position he hasn’t manned during a 17-season major league career.

Abreu played in 92 games for the Dodgers in 2012 after being waived by the Angels after just eight games. With the Dodgers, the outfielder hit .246 with a .704 OPS. He was a year removed from serving as the Angels’ everyday designated hitter, having hit .253 with a .717 OPS.

Deadspin: Why Is An ESPN Vice President Spreading Rumors That I’m Straight?

Walsh was a guest at a University of Maryland class taught by former ESPN ombudsman George Solomon. According to Maryland senior Mark Sanchez, who was in the class, the students were permitted to ask two questions apiece: one related to something they liked about ESPN, and another related to something they didn’t like.

“I was very annoyed,” Sanchez told me, “because a lot of it was, like, ‘I love 30 for 30,’ or, ‘I love X about ESPN.’”

So, Sanchez decided to take a different tack: He asked about Lynn Hoppes. Hoppes, in case you’re unfamiliar, is the ESPN.com senior writer who plagiarized from Wikipedia at least a dozen times. Months after our initial posts about the plagiarism, his stories remained unchanged. So we asked three respected media critics—Jack Shafer, Dan Okrent, and David Carr—to weigh in as well. “If I were them,” Okrent told us, “I would be embarrassed.”

Back to Sanchez: “I was actually the last person to ask a question, so there wasn’t much time left,” he told me. “And I brought you up and Deadspin and said, ‘What response do you have to this?’ He cut me off in the middle and said the whole Hoppes-and-you situation revolved around a girlfriend dispute—that Hoppes had apparently stolen your girlfriend a while back. And all the Hoppes information you guys posted about was months and months old and it only resurfaced because of that controversy.”

My … girlfriend? Well, about that. I’ve never had a girlfriend. I am gay, gay, gay. So gay. Don’t believe me? Ask my real-life human-being boyfriend!

But obviously Walsh was joking, right? “There was a zero percent chance he was joking about it,” Sanchez said. The room had gone silent, according to the student, and Walsh seemed “physically annoyed” by the line of questioning.

ESPN is that one constant in our lives as sports watchers, but the men and women who run it are some weird people…

Winter Meetings Day 4 CHATTER

Last call in Nashville!

WINTER MEETINGS DAY 3 CHATTER

Will the Mystery Team be revealed?
Will Greinke finally sign?
Will there be a trade that busts a block?
Will the Opryland be revealed to actually be a TARDIS?

Only time will tell…

Winter Meetings DAY 2 chatter

Will a Mystery Team emerge?
Will Greinke sign?
Will Dickey get traded?
Will anybody get lost in the Opryland Resort?

These questions may be answered….

Phillies have “some interest” in Young

This trade proposal sponsored by Bad Idea Jeans.

WINTER MEETINGS CHATTER DAY ONE

Rumors, rumblings, stumblings…

Heyman: Royals have talked about Shields, Lester, Dickey in effort to trade for top starter

Fried Zack Greinke?  Is he going to the Red Sox??

The Royals, who are searching for a top-of-the-rotation starter and have checked in on Jon Lester and James Shields, talked to the Mets about R.A. Dickey as well…

The Mets’ goal is to keep Dickey on a two-year extension, but if they did trade him would most prefer a catcher and outfield help. (As Mets GM Sandy Alderson said a few weeks ago regarding their roster, “What outfield?”)...

The Rays are willing to talk about just about anyone (except the recently extended Evan Longoria), but they love Shields’ durability, and seem willing to live with his $10-million salary, which is high for them. Jeremy Hellickson is a pitcher who might fit for the Royals, but they are at the moment looking for an ace…

The Royals have a terrific stash of prospects to dangle, and apparently would consider dealing even [Wil] Myers in the right deal, but aren’t looking to trade from their young nucleus that includes [Salvador] Perez, third baseman Mike Moustakas and first baseman Eric Hosmer.

They see Alex Gordon and Billy Butler as close to untouchable as they don’t want to break up a strong homegrown positional group. They’ve also gotten a lot of calls of inquiry about shortstop Alcides Escobar, but they aren’t inclined to trade him, either.

The Royals are believed to have up to $6 million to spend so they are not in the market for a top free-agent pitcher (that includes their old fried Zack Greinke), though they could increase their spending power slightly if they could trade Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen or Jeff Francoeur.

Source: A’s interested in Manny Ramirez

Just BillybeingBilly.

The Oakland Athletics are “very interested” in making Manny Ramirez their designated hitter next season, a source told ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.

Ramirez, 39, has been working out in Miami since December and has plans to have open workout sessions for clubs interested in his services at the end of January.

Last week, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reported that the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays had a look at Ramirez batting in an indoor cage.

“The Orioles and Blue Jays saw Manny work and Baltimore liked what it saw, but Oakland has been the team that has expressed the most interest, even before having him work out,” the source said.

Ramirez, a .312 lifetime hitter with 555 home runs and 1,831 career RBIs over 19 seasons, was reinstated by Major League Baseball from the “voluntarily retired” list after the Dominican player opted to leave the game instead of serving a second suspension for violating the league’s banned substances policy in 2011 while playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ryan Braun pleads case to special panel Thursday trying to avoid 50-game suspension

I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to play this game, and I am appalled that you would begin a three-member panel inquiry with a topic like that!

Ryan Braun, the National League’s Most Valuable Player, pleaded his case Thursday before a three-member panel that will decide whether he faces a 50-game suspension for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.

The appeal came just two days before Braun will accept his MVP award at the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s dinner Saturday night at the New York Hilton, sources familiar with Braun told the Daily News.

A decision by the panel, which includes MLB Players Association executive director Michael Weiner, MLB executive vice president for labor relations Rob Manfred and independent arbitrator Shyam Das, is not expected to come before Braun accepts his award. It was unclear if the hearing would continue into Friday.

...The Milwaukee outfielder, however, is playing a game that no major leaguer has won; despite conflicting reports, no player has ever seen a suspension overturned by the arbitration panel, according to people familiar with the process.

It is possible for a player to test positive for a banned substance and see his case dismissed in advance of arbitration because of chain of custody or other issues, without the public ever learning of his positive test. But Braun is past that point, and is looking to the arbitration panel as his final chance to avoid suspension.

MVP Ryan Braun to speak at dinner

BBWAAH, must we?

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who faces a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, is expected to speak at a banquet where he will accept his award for being voted National League MVP.

Braun will appear at the annual awards dinner of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Saturday in New York, a spokesman for the player told The New York Times.

“He will be there and he will accept his award,” Matthew Hiltzik told The Times.

...He has not made a public appearance since news of the positive test broke on Dec. 10. Hiltzik told The Times that Braun does not intend to do interviews Saturday. Braun was named MVP on Nov. 22.

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 1-10-2012

Pittsburgh Press, January 10, 1912:

Chicago, Jan. 10.—A rumor is going the rounds here that Harry Lord, captain of the White Sox, and peerless third baseman of the American league, is to return to his old love this year and once more cavort around the third cushion for the Boston Red Sox. The consideration is said to be Tris Speaker, the great Boston center fielder.

In related baseball news, I hear the Cardinals are rumored to be trading David Freese and Yadier Molina for Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, and I hear the Giants may trade Ryan Vogelsong and Aubrey Huff for Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera.

Working out well! Alex Rodriguez and WWE girlfriend Torrie Wilson

Baseball star Alex Rodriguez may well be stacked.

But he has some hot competition in the form of his new girlfriend Torrie Wilson.

As a former WWE champ, 36-year-old Torrie may well be able to give Yankees slugger A-Rod a run for his money in the fitness stakes.

Last night Rodriguez - who recently split from Hollywood star Cameron Diaz - escorted his lady to watch the LA Lakers.

The sports star, also 36, shared courtside kisses with Torrie at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Both A-Rod and Torrie looked like they were enjoying each others company as they laughed and giggled like love struck teenagers alongside Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber.

On Lynn Henning’s Hall of Fame ballot, Alan Trammell gets nod but not Jack Morris

1. Barry Larkin (best bet to win)
2. Tim Raines
3. Alan Trammell
4. Edgar Martinez
That’s a tight group made tighter by the fact one guy who deserved to be there has been, perhaps wrongly, suspected of having had some help. Jeff Bagwell played most of his career during a period when steroids and human-growth helpers weren’t, in fact, a violation of baseball’s rules…

But I’m open to new arguments and evidence. Bagwell’s case is particularly troubling, because of timing and lack of evidence, and a year from now he very likely will get a vote. It’s a matter of discussing, researching, thinking.

So in other words, even though there’s no evidence Bagwell used PEDs, he’s waiting for more evidence….that he didn’t do PEDs.

On the other hand, at least he didn’t vote for Morris.

hardball talk: Dodgers’ Ethier high on Theo’s wish list

The Cubs are looking for another outfielder long-term and a guy like Andre Ethier could be a good fit.

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune says Ethier is high on Theo Epstein’s wish list and the Dodgers may not have enough funds to keep him around when his contract expires after 2012 now that they gave Matt Kemp a huge payday and have a contract extension for Clayton Kershaw looming.

But, the former second round pick is still superb at getting on base, with a career .364 OBP, thanks in part to a .291 career AVG. He won’t turn 30 until the 2012 season’s second week, so there are still several years left of his prime.

If Epstoyer can make a deal for Ethier in 2012, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made that move. But that might be hard to do. What do the Cubs have that the Dodgers want? Not much in the way of young talent to trade.

But if Ethier hits free agency this fall (man, feels weird to say that now that it’s 2012), expect Epstoyer to go hard after him.

The Cubs already have David DeJesus for the next two seasons (with an option for a third year) and Brett Jackson quickly ascending through the system, but if Theo and Jed Hoyer are somehow able to deal Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd, Ethier could be a great fit. He could play right and push DeJesus to left.

A starting outfield of DeJesus, Jackson and Ethier in 2013 would be mighty nice.

Report: Braun’s suspension likely to be upheld

Future Saint Tainters, get in line!

Ryan Braun may be itching to tell his side of the story, but having his appeal upheld is very unlikely, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The details:

  An MLB official told me there are only two ways for Braun to win his appeal: Prove there was a lab error with the testing or say the Brewers signed off on the treatment.

  I was told to forget proving a lab error because the system is designed to prevent such an occurrence. Each player’s urine sample is divided into two samples. The first is tested and if it’s positive for any banned substance, the second sample is put through a more rigorous, comprehensive testing regimen to assure the result is valid.

  The MLB official also told me that the Brewers did not sign off on whatever substance Braun took. So, it’s unlikely that excuse would be used during the appeal process.

The biggest problem with hoping to have the 50-game suspension overturned, according to the report, is that it doesn’t matter why Braun took a banned substance. Even if it was accidental or he didn’t know a certain substance was against the rules, the only thing that matters is that he took a substance and violated the MLB rule. He has proclaimed his innocence due to not believing what he took was “performance-enhancing” and that he has a prescription for a personal medical condition. Again, though, it’s reportedly unlikely that either of those reasons will matter in the appeal.

Rogers: Baseball writers need guidance from Hall of Fame

As ace turned not such an ace, Whammy Douglas Bader, once said…“Baseball rules are for the obedience of wise men and the guidance of fools.”

The whole thing is beyond a slippery slope. It’s an icy crevasse.

The one thing that is clear is that players with any link to performance-enhancing drugs aren’t currently welcome in Cooperstown. McGwire, the test case, has been on the ballot five years, never has received more than 23.7 percent of the vote and received 13 fewer votes in 2011 than in 2010.

While Jeff Bagwell never was linked to steroid use, he improved his body taking androstenedione when it was sold off the shelves at GNC and told ESPN in 2010 that he had “no problem” with a player juicing up. He received 41.7 percent as a first-timer and returns for his second year on the ballot in the voting that ends Sunday and will be released Jan. 9.

It’s impossible to know if that 42 percent rating is a reflection on his play - he’s a Hall of Famer in my book - or if he’s considered a steroid user, even if his only real tie is to androstenedione when it was sold over the counter.

My interpretation says guys who took advantage of baseball’s lack of testing to do as they pleased - Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Clemens, Rodriguez and Palmeiro, among others - disqualified themselves for the Hall because integrity is among the listed factors for voting. But I need some evidence. I don’t believe I can eliminate every brawny player on suspicion alone.

Rosenthal: Steroid Era complicates Hall balloting

(beep) The Robothal ballot…

Of course, it’s impossible to sort out who did what, and to what extent. Many of my colleagues, rather than try to calculate the incalculable, dismiss the steroid question entirely and simply vote on players’ numbers. I get their point. I’m tempted to adopt their approach. But to me, it’s a cop-out.

That’s not to say that I know what the answer is; the candidacies of Bonds and Clemens, both of whom become eligible for the Hall next year, will be the most difficult yet. If voters reject most confirmed or suspected users, they will risk eliminating an entire generation of players — a notion that bothers me almost as much as embracing the entire generation without pause.

For now, all I know is one thing: I’m not withholding votes based on hearsay and innuendo.

I voted for Bagwell. Easiest decision in a while.

Jeff Bagwell
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Fred McGriff
Tim Raines
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell

Doctor who treated A-Rod: I can cure arthritis

This better have nothing to do with me waiting on my “Phlegm-scented Invisible Cement” patent!

The doctor that New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez traveled to Germany to see for his aching knee and shoulder is a former physician for Pope John Paul II who claims to be a miracle worker when it comes to reversing arthritis.

A long list of Hollywood stars and pro athletes have travelled to Dusseldorf to seek treatment from Peter Wehling, a brash molecular scientist with a taste for celebrity. His website shows him arm and arm with patient Nick Nolte. Golfer Fred Couples wrote an introduction to Wehling’s recent book, The End of Pain. But it took the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who sought help for his ailing right knee this summer, to get A-Rod interested in Wehling’s pioneering treatments.

...In an interview with ESPN The Magazine, Wehling claimed to have a 90 percent success rate by genetically screening his patients to personalize their serums.

“I am the only one to have found a way to cure arthritis,” he said.

...But MLB’s medical director, Gary Green, told ESPN New York that the league did not give the Yankees any green light.

“We don’t have a mechanism for a medical approval process,” he said. “We just tell the teams to make sure their players follow state and local laws.”