Baseball Talk

[hawkeye]

Yikes:

Property records indicate A-Rod’s company paid $58.7 million for Tampa complexes between 2004 and early this year. Those same properties, according to the county appraiser, have a current market value of $46.3 million.

[kiya]

Barry Bonds says "Not Guilty"

[dunkin deeznuts]

OJ says "NO KILLAAAAAAAAA"

[kiya]

Barry Bonds goes to the A's?

It's starting to look like it..

I'm an A's fan, and have had season tickets for four years now, i'm not looking forward to spending an entire season with nothing to read about except "Barry Bonds" "Barry Bonds" "Barry Bonds".

While i would appreciate the run production that comes with having him on a team, the media circus that follows him is distracting and annoying as fuck.

Here's the latest article:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/07/SP2STPL2P.DTL

[Chicken]

* innocent until proven guilty

i guess.

[donkey kong thong]

barry plays baseball

barry hits homeruns

barry has fans

barry takes steroids(?)

barry hits more homeruns

barry has more fans

barry takes more steroids(?)

barry hits home run record

barry has more fans and ticket sales

barry gets busted

barry loses fans

barry still hits home runs

barry gets indicted

barry might go to prison

barry might go to the A's

barry might take new steroids

barry might take A's to World Series

barry will have new fans in green

other scenario is barry is found guilty and raped by 5 guys in low security jail every

night and beat up by security guards who hate the giants. Either way we will still be able to watch barry on TV at some point.

[eastcoastrider27]

I'm not a Bonds fan. I don't like his personality.

But I don't understand why he is so vilified.

Sure, he's probably taken steroids, but he's not the only one.

No one, including Selig, was complaining about him when he was filling seats as he set the single season HR record. Was he not taking steroids then? Of course not, but baseball looked the other way, because he was helping the game.

Now that baseball doesn't need Bonds to bring people to the ballparks they can go after him for taking steroids.

Why doesn't McGwire, or Giambi get the same kind of treatment Bonds gets?

[Chicken]

mcquire got out in time. giambi, well he technically apologized.

i think what gets bonds into trouble are the fact that he now holds a major league record, and the fact that he's completely unapologetic and arrogant about things.

but i also can't deny that it seems like the baseball organization is willing to make bonds the scapegoat at this point. as long as the fingers don't turn to them. if bonds was taking stuff, i do believe there were key people who knew what was going on like you said.

[eastcoastrider27]

BTW, that wasn't directed at Kiya.

I wouldn't want Bonds on my team, because of the baggage, as well.

[notesee]

I'm an A's fan, and have had season tickets for four years now.

Nice, the company one of my family members works for has had season tickets since '96. Reselling tickets to games that nobody can go to has been a help in funding my wardrobe.

[kwiteaboy]

I think what gets Bonds the shit treatment more than anybody is that he wasn't well-liked to begin with, so nobody's upset when hypocritical journalists (Gene Woj from ESPN.com is who I think of when I think of that.. what a dick) start slamming him, like they can get revenge on him for being a world-class asshole. If, say, Jeff Bagwell had done the same thing, there would be a much more sympathetic angle played here.

I would love to have him DH for the Mariners, for the record. A 1.000+ OPS and he doesn't have to play defense? Yes PLEASE.

[Chicken]

wow, it looks like it could be quite a day for baseball.

[kiya]

wow, it looks like it could be quite a day for baseball.

It's about to go down today.

It's not looking pretty from all sides, i think managers are going to be called out by the end of the day..

[dunkin deeznuts]

from my friends blog

http://www.deelo67.blogspot.com

Former senator George J. Mitchell will present his report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball tomorrow at 2 p.m. Eastern time. That’s when the world will begin to learn who used the Clear, how players got their hands on HGH and to what extent amphetamines were a part of the sport’s culture.

Heres the list so far:

"Brady Anderson, Manny Alexander, Rick Ankiel, Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Aaron Boone, Rafaeil Bettancourt, Bret Boone, Milton Bradley, David Bell, Dante Bichette, Albert Belle, Paul Byrd, Wil Cordero, Ken Caminiti, Mike Cameron, Ramon Castro, Jose and Ozzie Canseco, Roger Clemens, Paxton Crawford, Wilson Delgado, Lenny Dykstra, Johnny Damon, Carl Everett, Kyle Farnsoworth, Ryan Franklin, Troy Glaus, Rich Garces, Jason Grimsley, Troy Glaus, Juan Gonzalez, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Jose Guillen, Jay Gibbons, Juan Gonzalez, Clay Hensley,

Jerry Hairston, Felix Heredia, Jr., Darren Holmes, Wally Joyner, Darryl Kile, Matt Lawton, Raul Mondesi, Mark McGwire, Guillermo Mota, Robert Machado, Damian Moss,Abraham Nunez, Trot Nixon, Jose Offerman, Andy Pettitte,Mark Prior, Neifi Perez, Rafael Palmiero, Albert Pujols, Brian Roberts, Juan Rincon, John Rocker, Pudge Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Scott Schoenweiis, David Segui, Alex Sanchez, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, Julian Tavarez,Fernando Tatis, Maurice Vaughn, IJas

on Varitek, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams and Kerry Wood."

A LOT OF ANGRY GUYS ON THE LIST.... CORDERO (WIFE BEATER), OFFERMAN (PITCHER BEATER), BELLE (MULTIPLE GIRLFRIEND BEATER), CLEMENS (PIAZZA BEATER), ROCKER (RACIST/ANTI-SEMITE), SHEFFIELD (HATES EVERYBODY), PALMIERO (HATES HIMSELF), BONDS (HATES AND IS HATED BY EVERYBODY), BRADLEY (HATES EVERYBODY), TO NAME A FEW.....

most of those are pretty obvious........guys liek Gagne and Prior pretty down after really good years.......timely trade by the O's to get rid of Tejeda? probably not but not their probelm anymore but he should rake in Houston unless he has a tough time adjusting to NL pitching........

[hawkeye]

That list is false dunkin - here's the real report: http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/12/13/mitchell.report.pdf

[hawkeye]

Clemens & Pettite, thick as thieves those two.

David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Gagne (surprise, surprise). Surprising that the Astros took Tejada with this looming.

When the Boston Red Sox were considering acquiring Gagné, a Red Sox official

made specific inquiries about Gagné’s possible use of steroids. In a November 1, 2006 email to a Red Sox scout, general manager Theo Epstein asked, “Have you done any digging on Gagne? I know the Dodgers think he was a steroid guy. Maybe so. What do you hear on his medical?”

The scout, Mark Delpiano, responded,

Some digging on Gagne and steroids IS the issue. Has had a checkered medical past throughout career including minor leagues. Lacks the poise and commitment to stay healthy, maintain body and re invent self. What made him a tenacious closer was the max effort plus stuff . . . Mentality without the plus weapons and without steroid help probably creates a large risk in bounce back

durability and ability to throw average while allowing the changeup to play as it once did . . . Personally, durability (or lack of) will follow Gagne . . .

In order to provide Gagné with information about these allegations and to give him an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.

[dunkin deeznuts]

That list is false dunkin - here's the real report: http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/12/13/mitchell.report.pdf

yeah, i'm reading it now....lot of the names on that list are in the report...about a 1/3 of the way through it....Miguel tejada injecting B-12......hmmmmmmmmm should have just ate mangos.....

[eastcoastrider27]

I think it's fairly obvious that Gagne was a steroid user.

He likely stopped using steroids after MLB began cracking down, and his stats plummeted.

I can't believe this thing is 400+ pages. I wonder what kind of punishment (if any) will result.

[Chicken]

man, the yankees are getting hit real hard with this.

wonder where this is going, too.

[dunkin deeznuts]

I think its great that so many of these guys wrote check for the steroids.......

surprised these guys didnt write in the

MEMO: for steroids

[eastcoastrider27]

I think its great that so many of these guys wrote check for the steroids.......

surprised these guys didnt write in the

MEMO: for steroids

Haha, I was thinking the same thing.

[hawkeye]

I think its great that so many of these guys wrote check for the steroids.......

surprised these guys didnt write in the

MEMO: for steroids

HA, seriously.

I couldn't get over Gagne's delivery slip to Dodger Stadium.

[eastcoastrider27]

THE FULL LIST:

The following players were connected to steroids, either use or possession, in the report:

Lenny Dykstra

David Segui

Larry Bigbie

Brian Roberts

Jack Cust

Tim Laker

Josias Manzanillo

Todd Hundley

Mark Carreon

Hal Morris

Matt Franco

Rondell White

Andy Pettitte

Roger Clemens

Chuck Knoblauch

Jason Grimsley

Gregg Zaun

David Justice

F.P. Santangelo

Glenallen Hill

Mo Vaughn

Denny Neagle

Ron Villone

Ryan Franklin

Chris Donnels

Todd Williams

Phil Hiatt

Todd Pratt

Kevin Young

Mike Lansing

Cody McKay

Kent Mercker

Adam Piatt

Miguel Tejada

Jason Christiansen

Mike Stanton

Stephen Randolph

Jerry Hairston

Paul Lo Duca

Adam Riggs

Bart Miadich

Fernando Vina

Kevin Brown

Eric Gagne

Mike Bell

Matt Herges

Gary Bennett

Jim Parque

Brendan Donnelly

Chad Allen

Jeff Williams

Exavier "Nook" Logan

Howie Clark

Paxton Crawford

Ken Caminiti

Rafael Palmeiro

Luis Perez

Derrick Turnbow

Ricky Bones

Ricky Stone

The following players were cited under "Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball."

Rick Ankiel

David Bell

Paul Byrd

Jose Canseco

Jay Gibbons

Troy Glaus

Jason Grimsley

Jose Guillen

Darren Holmes

Gary Matthews Jr.

John Rocker

Scott Schoeneweis

Ismael Valdez

Matt Williams

Steve Woodard

The following players were linked through BALCO:

Benito Santiago

Gary Sheffield

Randy Velarde

Jason Giambi

Jeremy Giambi

Bobby Estalella

Barry Bonds

Marvin Benard

[notesee]

Most of the names on this list don't surprise me, except for Pettite.

Would've never guessed.

[kiya]

This should be entertaining..

It'll give us something to read between now and April..

[dunkin deeznuts]

cant believe the # of Yankees from the "Dynasty" ...even Chuck-EEEEEEEEEEEE

I consider the 2000 world series therefore won by the New York Mets

I'm glad Piazza's not on there...I thought he might be.....but that just goes further to show how strong he was........

Pettite surprises me as well and I think him and Clemens flew under the radar because they have more of the "classic" baseball players build....little fatter and dumpier with not as much obvious muscle.... but it doesnt seem like pitchers are ever that muscular..probably doesnt favor a pitcher to be too muscley.....

[hawkeye]

Dan Haren to the D-Backs for 6 prospects! Yikes, I wonder if the Twins are going to up their demands?

[Larry Bird]

lenny dykstra...now theres a man with class.

welcome to houston tejada...haha

[eastcoastrider27]

Dan Haren to the D-Backs for 6 prospects! Yikes, I wonder if the Twins are going to up their demands?

Not sure why the A's made that trade, unless Beane thinks these prospects could be amazing.

Dan Haren is one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball, and doesn't cost a lot of money (~$5m a year).

I know it's Beane's M.O. to trade for younger players when his star player has reached maximum trade value or is scheduled for a big contract, but I think they might have gotten rid of Haren too soon.

Beane's a great GM who gets a lot out of a mediocre payroll, and consistently makes the playoffs, but the team can't seem to make it to the world series.

I think it kind of hamstrings you when the team is constantly bringing in new players while shipping off their best.

[hawkeye]

I think it kind of hamstrings you when the team is constantly bringing in new players while shipping off their best.

e.g. The Marlins.

I like Haren and kindof wish that the Sox had kicked the tires on him a little bit, but I guess Beane knew that all the good prospects were tied up in a possible Santana trade. Looks like Beane is going to trade Joe Blanton too.

A's are going to have a rebuilding year in 08:

Of the six players the A's received, only Eveland, 24, has logged big league time, with 41 career appearances (six starts). Beane said Eveland "probably is ready to get his full-time chance in the rotation, and we're certainly going to need that."

Gonzalez, 22, who finished 2007 at Triple-A, is the gem of the group. Ranked as Arizona's top prospect by Baseball America, he is projected as a right fielder who will hit for power. They're the only two considered close to being major-league ready, but Anderson, Cunningham and Carter also were ranked among Arizona's top eight prospects.

"All six guys we liked quite a bit," Beane said.