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.”

Brookover: Voting for Hall of Fame too complicated these days

(crunch) HELP! HELP!! Jeff Bagwell won’t fit completely under the bus because of his “cartoonish forearms”!* (*re-recrunched from last year)

Now, thanks to the taint of the steroid era, the arrival of the ballot brings dread instead of anticipation, suspicion instead of admiration.

For the second straight year, I look at Jeff Bagwell’s name and wonder if he beat the system while he was also pounding baseballs out of ballparks all across the country. I’d love to vote for him, because he was always a class act whenever I had to interview him and his numbers scream Hall of Famer.

...I’ve listened to the argument that Bagwell should be a Hall of Famer because there is no proof he used the same performance-enhancing drugs that inflated the heads, bodies and resumes of some of his peers. I suspect, however, that there are a lot of players who cheated and never were caught. We’re going to see many of those names on the Hall of Fame ballot in the near future.

Next year, for example, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio are going to be among the first-time candidates. Based solely on their bodies of work, they all deserve to be first-ballot inductees. That fact alone says something about the steroid era because there have never been more than three first-ballot inductees in the same year, and that happened only once.

...For at least one more year I took on the task anyway.

Here are the guys who got my vote: McGriff, Barry Larkin, Lee Smith and Alan Trammell.

Deadspin: Legendary Columnist Bill Conlin Resigns Over Forthcoming Philly Inquirer Bombshell

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s top investigative reporter, Nancy Phillips, has written a story containing what we’re told are allegations of child molestation against sportswriter Bill Conlin, a longtime columnist at the rival Daily News. Conlin resigned just moments ago, according to a source at the Daily News.

Conlin, who turns 78 this May, won the Ford C. Frick Award last May. The story supposedly will drop soon (the newspapers publish under a joint-operating agreement, sharing some resources and a website but otherwise competing for the same readers). Conlin has hired an attorney to defend himself against the piece. We’ll have more details on this. For now, we can tell you that Conlin is at his condo in Largo, Fla.

And Bill Conlin’s articles on BTF...

Botte: Most voters say ‘no’ to Cooperstown for Barry Bonds

If you can save just one voter, it’s worth it!

Barry Bonds may have received a light sentence Friday for his role in the BALCO scandal. But avoiding prison time doesn’t mean that baseball’s all-time home run king should expect Hall of Fame voters to go any easier on him when he lands on the ballot next December.

“Nothing has changed. I’m a ‘no,’ and I’ve always been a ‘no,’ ” said longtime Daily News columnist Bill Madden, who is a Hall of Fame Spink Award winner, the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America. “Whether Bonds was going to get jail time or not makes no difference to me. Everybody knows what he was and what he did.”

Twelve of 21 eligible Hall voters who responded to the Daily News on Friday – including veteran News columnist John Harper — indicated they do not plan to vote for Bonds next year for enshrinement in Cooperstown.

“I would not vote for him because of his undisputed ties to BALCO and the use of performance-enhancing drugs,” said Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “In the case of Bonds, it’s pretty easy. He was convicted of obstructing justice and was fortunate to escape other charges. I wouldn’t vote for somebody who cheated to that degree.”

Tim Brown, a veteran columnist for Yahoo! Sports, added that Bonds’ sentencing Friday had nothing to do with his “no” stance. “I will not vote for Bonds, because I believe he cheated,” Brown said.

NYBD: Silva: The Real Crime is the Leak to Braun’s Test Results

This has been floating around for a few days so…..

Despite these claims, it hasn’t stopped the media from assuming he is guilty and preaching from their sanctimonious pulpit. The hot debate has been whether he should be stripped of his MVP award. Yesterday, however, gossip site Terez Owens reported that Braun could indeed be innocent because of medication he is taking for an alleged sexual transmitted disease. Since there is no cure for the alleged disease, doctors are forced to increase testosterone levels to prevent its outbreak. This is what triggered the odd result.

Later in the day, TO went on to say that sources within the Milwaukee organization told them that “Braun will be let off because he tested positive for an STD and the medication given to him by his doctor is what caused the spike. Braun and his lawyers plan to go after whoever leaked the story because of HIPAA laws.”

This, I believe, is the real story. The results of drug tests are not supposed to be public under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program established by MLB and the Players Association in 2006. The Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC) notifies the Player and the Club of the positive drug test result. In theory, there are only a handful of privileged people in on the process.

So where is the leak? It can be coming from one of five places: the commissioner’s office, the Brewers, Nez Balelo and CAA Sports, the HPAC, or CDT, the company that administers the drug tests for MLB. Since the process informs the player and team about the results, logic states the leak is coming from some corners of the Brewers organization, or worse yet, the commissioner’s office. Again, we can only speculate, but logic makes this a fair assumption.

Heyman: Rangers might grab Fielder with kick at the finish

And let’s all welcome Jon Heyman to CBSSports! Thrills!

But where might Fielder get that kind of coin? Here are the contenders (with odds):

1. Rangers: They aren’t even completely in the game yet, but if the Rangers get in, look out. They have a superb team, ridiculous lineup and a great hitters park, all attributes that could lure Fielder. But will they play for Prince? Rangers people have been suggesting all along that their focus is pitching and trades, but that may just be because they haven’t yet gotten approval from upper management to offer what it would take. Club president Nolan Ryan, who never wanted to go beyond five years for Cliff Lee, hasn’t seemed the type to consider deals of eight years or longer. But he did go big last year with a late-in-the-winter five-year, $80 million deal for third baseman Adrian Beltre, so there is precedent for a surprise. The lineup is already arguably the best in baseball, but first baseman Mitch Moreland didn’t exactly distinguish himself in the playoffs and has a wrist injury to boot. There is word the Rangers have talked about trades for Moreland, giving rise to more rumors. While this team is excellent as is, the Rangers might want to counter the Angels, who stole ex-Texas ace C.J. Wilson and now have four starters who are more accomplished and arguably better than any of the Rangers’ starters. The way to combat that is with bats. Well, here’s one. Odds: 3-1

2. Cubs: Fielder is exactly the kind of free agent new execs Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer would want in that he is only 27 and carries the potential to be a cleanup man and foundation player for years to come. Fielder loves hitting in Wrigley Field, which can’t hurt, and of course, everyone loves Chicago. The Cubs aren’t exactly poor, either. They just paid $18.5 million for Epstein. Odds: 4-1

Source says Braun’s test not for PED

A source close to Braun, however, said Sunday that although the player tested positive for a prohibited substance, that substance was not a performance-enhancing drug.

The source described the test result as highly unusual, “never seen in the history of (baseball’s) drug-prevention program.”

“When it happened,” the source said, “everyone was just scratching their head.”

Another source, however, said the substance in question triggered a violation of baseball’s steroid-testing policy, even if it is not technically listed as a PED.

ESPN quoted sources who said Braun’s positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in his system. The testosterone was synthetic, not produced by Braun’s body, according to a later test. If a player exceeds a certain testosterone ratio during testing, he is deemed to have tested positive.

Thanks to Ed.

Source: Dodgers interested in Mets’ Murphy

Presumably, neither team will be throwing cash into this deal.

Daniel Murphy of the Mets is the player the Dodgers tried to trade for at the Winter Meetings, according to a baseball source, and they might make another run at him.

Murphy was the unnamed player general manager Ned Colletti referred to when he said he might be able to upgrade the roster at the Winter Meetings… But Colletti said the trade he thought might happen instead unraveled when the other club satisfied its need elsewhere without trading the player he wanted. That apparently was a reference to the Mets’ acquisition of Giants outfielder Andres Torres. It’s not clear who the Dodgers would have sent to the Mets, although Tony Gwynn Jr. is also an outfield defensive specialist.

Murphy, 26, is a left-handed hitter who played 155 games in 2009, missed the entire 2010 season with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee and hit .320 in 109 games in 2011—when he played first, second and third base—only for his season to be cut short by another torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Interest in Murphy is in keeping with Dodgers strategy this winter to obtain affordable, versatile position players that will provide manager Don Mattingly with flexible lineup options in lieu of a set lineup of everyday players.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 12-9-2011

Pittsburgh Press, December 9, 1911:

President Thomas J. Lynch of the National league will be re-elected at the annual meeting in the Waldorf-Astoria next week.  Murphy of Chicago, who was supposed to be against him, has hoisted the white flag and is crying “Lynch forever!”  Ebbets of Brooklyn, another insurgent, now declares that Lynch…hasn’t made such a bad president after all.
...

Garry Herrmann of Cincinnati has insured Lynch’s reelection by the use of methods typical of baseball magnates.  He has a copy of a letter in his inside pocket which if made public would cause an explosion in the ranks of organized baseball.

Anyone know what was in the letter?  OTOH, Herrmann seems to have said a lot of things that weren’t true, so I’m taking this with about a zillion grains of salt.

Marlins Were High Bidders For Pujols, [C.J.] Wilson

Mr. Lazear, for the good of the universe, please return Gray’s Sports Almanac to Dr. Brown.  Thank you.

With $191MM committed to Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell, Marlins fans can’t complain about their offseason so far.  Only one of the 5,020 entrants in MLBTR’s free agent prediction contest, Matthew Lazear, correctly guessed in November that the Marlins would sign all three.  However, it’s interesting to note that the Marlins also made the highest bids on top free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, who ultimately went to the Angels today.

Pujols received ten years and $254MM from the Angels, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Marlins offered ten years and $275MM…

Said Wilson: “But if it were just about money I’d be a Marlin, straight up, because they offered more money, they have a great situation.”

Rangers step up pursuit of left-hander C.J. Wilson

DALLAS—These winter meetings aren’t all about C.J. Wilson for the Texas Rangers. Seriously.

Club brass has hardly left the Hilton Anatole, much less their war-room suite, over the first two days as they hunt down team needs such as a utility infielder and another bullpen piece.

But while a rotation addition isn’t seen as a necessity, the pursuit of a starter, led by Wilson, remains the dominant Rangers storyline.

To that end, general manager Jon Daniels finally met with Wilson’s agent late Tuesday night as the Rangers began to put their best foot forward in their attempt to re-sign Wilson.

...

“He might get an offer he can’t refuse tonight, and vice versa we might get an opportunity we can’t refuse,” Daniels said before the meeting.

NY Post: Yankees trying to trade Burnett

The Yankees have inserted A.J. Burnett into the trade market at the Winter Meetings, The Post has learned.

According to multiple teams, the Yankees have let it be known they will listen to offers for Burnett and are willing to pay $8 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed over the next two seasons.

“We will listen on anybody,’’ GM Brian Cashman said without getting specific.

Even with the Yankees swallowing about a quarter of Burnett’s contract, they haven’t gotten a nibble. First, Burnett, who will be 35 in January, would still be owed $12.5 million this coming season and next. Secondly, Burnett hasn’t pitched well (21-26) the past two seasons and has suffered a dip in velocity.

However, the fact that the Yankees have progressed to the point they are listening and willing to eat cash could be an indication they believe there is a [trade] they can make to add a starter good enough to fall in behind ace CC Sabathia.

Albert Pujols mulls 3 offers: Cardinals, Marlins, and 1 more

DALLAS—Marquee free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols, fueling the most lucrative bidding war in baseball history, obtained three 10-year contract proposals Tuesday that would pay him in excess of $200 million, an official close to the negotiations told USA TODAY.

The official could not comment on the negotiations because they are ongoing.

Pujols, who could announce his decision as early as Wednesday, has offers from the St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins and a third team that has publicly declined to be identified. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak confirmed his club increased its offer to Pujols late Tuesday, his first offer in nine months.

WE HAVE MYSTERY TEAM!

Baseball Nation: How Old is Albert Pujols?

Jason: Let’s debate.

Resolved: Albert Pujols is not 31 years old.

Rob: I’m not sure who you would debate with!

Jason: Well, let’s kick it around, anyway. I’ll argue the affirmative, and you play Devil’s Advocate. (Literally, Satan’s lawyer!) Okay?

Rob: Sure.

Before the trees were trees and the rocks were rocks, Albert was Albert.