Yankees schedule out soon
-
- December
- 14
Keep an eye on Yankees.com, rumor has it the schedule will be coming out today.
Early wrap for the blog today. I’m off for a few days and headed out to see my family. I’ll be blogging whenever I get a chance.
I first need to stop at Kinkos and get those copies of the Mitchell Report I’ll be giving as Christmas gifts.
The two best takes I saw on Mitchell today came from Jayson Stark on ESPN.com and Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe.
——————
Are you making a holiday playlist on your iPod? If so, download Run, Rudolph, Run by the great Keith Richards. It’s on iTunes now and well worth your 99 cents.
I mean what says Merry Christmas more than Keith Richards?
If you know any good holiday songs, post some suggestions. If you don’t already have Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love, get it right now. Silent Night by Johnny Cash is a must, too.
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on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 2:03 pm by Peter Abraham.
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I agree 100% with that Stark article. Very well researched and written.
Pogues – Fairy Tale of New York. Essential Christmas listening at my house.
The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
Run DMC – Christmas in Hollis
The Boss – Merry Christmas Baby
Great stuff.
Pete, U2 has a great version of It’s Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) as well.
Thanks for all the blogging, Pete.
Try Joan Jett’s ‘Little Drummer Boy’.
Darlene Love performing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) on Letterman each year on his last show before Christmas is always a favorite for me.
Unfortunately looks like with no end to the writers strike in sight it won’t happen this year.
Most holiday music sucks—but as suggested by several of us in response to an earlier post, get yourself a copy of Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz” for Christmas—it is probably the best concert movie ever made. It focuses on the Band but also highlights performances by many of the top performers of the 1970s.
why has it taken so long to publish the yankees schedule? hasn’t every other teams’ schedule come out? if so, i would assume that people could have backed into it by now, right?
is the delay due to trying to get the final regular season game to be played at yankee stadium instead of on the road? i thought MLB was working on it.
The classic album/cd is Christmas with the Rat Pack.
Since it’s vogue to talk about Santana again (and really anything’s better than the “report”), I’ll continue the conversation from the last thread.
As I said earlier, I think the Twins are trying to get the Sox to bite by leaking out Johan’s demands. They all know only the Yankees would be able to do that kind of deal, putting them in the lead. So the Twins are now demanding Ellsbury and/or Buchholz hoping that they’ll panic.
LOL. Maybe they came up with this plan after seeing that Theo gave up a lot to rent Gagne for 3 months even after knowing that Gagne had questions about steroids. Why’d they do that when they had the hottest set-up guy and best closer in the game? To block the Yankees. How’d that work out? Sometimes you like to see others outsmart themselves.
mark,
They delayed it because they didn’t want to upstage the Mitchell Report. Although in hindsight, it might have been a good idea.
From Dan’s article in the Globe, I thought this excerpt was extremely telling:
Mitchell again arrogantly dismissed his obvious conflict of interest by citing his good works and his efforts brokering peace in Northern Ireland. It’s astounding that a man as smart as Mitchell can so easily shrug off his compromised position. He either has a blind spot or he thinks his audience is stupid. The man is the official “director” of the Red Sox and he just issued a report that trashes some Yankee gods while leaving the championship Red Sox unscathed (Mo Vaughn played here in the pre-Mitchell era, Eric Gagné was dirty as a Dodger, and who cares about Mike Lansing?). Mitchell’s reputation is impeccable, but he had no business holding his Red Sox title while conducting this investigation.
Whats the name of the current Yankee Bat Boy?
Sunny:
This has nothing to do with Mitchell’s bias (I agree he has one). THAT BEING SAID, all of the information in this report was based upon conversations with limited sources. He got Radomski, who got him McNamee, and he got the BALCO/Conte chain. Obviously, there are many other suppliers out there, but Radomski, McNamee and Conte are who Mitchell picked up, and therefore all he’s going to have in his report are the people who were dimed out by those guys. That’s why this report was a sham and completely non-indicative of the true reach of PEDs into baseball.
Guys like David Ortiz who get their stuff in the Dominican Republic woke up today the happiest men in the world. Angel Presinal is the Caribbean Kirk Radomski.
Essential Christmas albums:
Nat King Cole-A Christmas Song
Diana Krall-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
The Vince Guaraldi Trio-Charlie Brown Christmas
Boston Jazz Ensemble-A Sentimental Christmas
Mariah Carey’s – “All I want for Christmas is You”
MC
Ella Fitzgerald’s “Ella Wishes you a Swinging Christmas” is a must in my book. Especially love her version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “What are you doing New Year’s Eve.”
The best schmaltzy Christmas song is The Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas, Darling…” It was on the big album of Christmas songs by parents had when I was growing up, so it has that nostaligia factor for me… even though it’s completely cheesy.
Chuck,
I never really listened to “The Band” until I watched “The Last Waltz” while on a submarine patrol in the 80’s… Great movie. It is in the rotation for showing on HDNET movies for those of you who get it. Also Levon Helm was in the news this week. He got his voice back after not being able to sing for several years and is thinking of touring again.
Dang the Jayson Stark article is great!
Pete-
You are man of his word. Thanks for the heads up with the schedule.
Now we just need to find out about Paulie day and we are set.
“I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus” is good stuff.
I think the Ramones have a Christmas song that is good, too.
Hey Pete – the Gary Hoey christmas collection is great if you like guitar-based tracks… really great stuff on there.
Reportedly, here is what is going to happen. Selig will hold a press conference with Kevin Costner in Innsbruck next week. There they will correct baseball history based on an Activision (ca. 1983) simulator that will cause the following results:
1. The Yankees will be stripped of the 2000 WS crown. New findings however indicate that Timo Perez and Bobby Valentine were juicing. So the World Series crown will be awarded by default to the Montreal Expos
(it’s a new rule: if both teams who played in the World Series have players who juiced the title goes to Montreal by default. It’s believed Bob Watson recommended the titles be given to the Devil Rays but that made everybody laugh so hard that Hi-C came out their noses.)
2. The Diamondbacks will be stripped of the 2001 World Series Championship because Craig Counsell was a heavy user of steroids. And because Schilling is just offensive in his being. Because the Yankees have suspected juicer Clemens on their team the title once again goes to the Montreal Expos.
3. The Angels are stripped of the WS crown because Scott Spezio is just ridiculous. And Troy Percival obviously juices. I mean, who the heck pumps their fist without juicing? Not so fast, San Francisco…we all know about Barry’s offenses, but what you didn’t know was that Dusty Baker’s kid was an abuser of Performance Enhancing Hugs.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2002 World Champion Montreal Expos! Three-peat!!!!
4. OK, Josh Beckett. No more steroid fist pumps for you or the Florida Marlins. And we all know that Roger was on that 2003 Yankee team.
Félicitations a l’equipe de baseball de Montréal!!!
5. Heh..Oh, this is going to be good. Took them 86 years. AND THEY’LL WAIT EVEN LONGER!!! Boston Red Sox? NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!! Nixon, Varitek, Manny, Poopi, Schilling, come on down!!!
So, we know that Sheffield and Giambi were known users and the Yanks cannot be awarded the crown.
Make your reservations at Schwartz’s, my friends, and have some poutine while you wait because there’s a yet a fifth ticker tape parade scheduled for Sherbrooke Avenue!!!
Nous sommes le plus mieux!!!! Montreal Expos, World Champs in 2004!!!
6. Oh, dear. Ozzie Guillen, your mood swings and anger and intense homophobia can mean only one thing: YOU’RE A MORON!!! AND MORONS TAKE STEROIDS!!!!
Hmmm…and the Astros….hello Roger! Bye Roger!!!
Six in a row for the Montreal Expos!!!! What’s that you say? They moved to Washington in 2005?
Well, they never should have left! That’s right, Montreal is now THE baseball town. In fact, they’re thinking of moving the Hall of Fame to Ile Ste. Helene, where Expo ‘67 took place.
So, this is where the Nationals cease to exist, and baseball returns to Le Stade Olympique, where greatness happens and legends are made!
7. St. Louis. Home of the best ribs in the world, great music. And steroids. Sorry, Mr. Pujols.
And looking across to the other dugout, Slim Rodriguez doesn’t stand a chance.
Montreal Expos: 2006 Champs…The dynasty continues.
8. Oh, it’s fun again! Bake those beans, Boston fans, because the gas you pass finely illustrates the stink of your team. Captain Cheater, Manny, Gag me, and the gang—-you are the weakest link…GOODBYE!
And the Colorado Rockies clearly don’t matter so once again, may I introduce a team for the ages.
Your 2007 World Champion Montreal Expos. Oh, will it ever end!
Other developments: John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are now the radio voices of the Expos. Hear him call a home run in French!
“Il est haut! Il est lointain! IL EST ALLÉ!!!!!!”
Hear Suzyn Waldman describe the scene as Celine Dion announces her presence to the Montreal fans from the owner’s box!
“Oh la la! Oh mon dieu! Oh, oh, oh! Oui! De tout l’excessif! Celine est dans le cadre d’Omar!”
All in good humor. Hope this dark period for the game ends soon. Many thanks to Peter for all his great work and giving us some perspective
“brokering peace in Northern Ireland”
If Mad Dog refers to that one more time I’m going to clobber him.
Pete- any word on when Yankees tickets will go on sale? Whatever happened to the days of tickets going on sale before year end!
Reportedly, here is what is going to happen. Selig will hold a press conference with Kevin Costner in Innsbruck next week. There they will correct baseball history based on an Activision (ca. 1983) simulator that will cause the following results:
1. The Yankees will be stripped of the 2000 WS crown. New findings however indicate that Timo Perez and Bobby Valentine were juicing. So the World Series crown will be awarded by default to the Montreal Expos
(it’s a new rule: if both teams who played in the World Series have players who juiced the title goes to Montreal by default. It’s believed Bob Watson recommended the titles be given to the Devil Rays but that made everybody laugh so hard that Hi-C came out their noses.)
2. The Diamondbacks will be stripped of the 2001 World Series Championship because Craig Counsell was a heavy user of steroids. And because Schilling is just offensive in his being. Because the Yankees have suspected juicer Clemens on their team the title once again goes to the Montreal Expos.
3. The Angels are stripped of the WS crown because Scott Spezio is just ridiculous. And Troy Percival obviously juices. I mean, who the heck pumps their fist without juicing? Not so fast, San Francisco…we all know about Barry’s offenses, but what you didn’t know was that Dusty Baker’s kid was an abuser of Performance Enhancing Hugs.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2002 World Champion Montreal Expos! Three-peat!!!!
4. OK, Josh Beckett. No more steroid fist pumps for you or the Florida Marlins. And we all know that Roger was on that 2003 Yankee team.
Félicitations a l’equipe de baseball de Montréal!!!
5. Heh..Oh, this is going to be good. Took them 86 years. AND THEY’LL WAIT EVEN LONGER!!! Boston Red Sox? NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!! Nixon, Varitek, Manny, Poopi, Schilling, come on down!!!
So, we know that Sheffield and Giambi were known users and the Yanks cannot be awarded the crown.
Make your reservations at Schwartz’s, my friends, and have some poutine while you wait because there’s a yet a fifth ticker tape parade scheduled for Sherbrooke Avenue!!!
Nous sommes le plus mieux!!!! Montreal Expos, World Champs in 2004!!!
6. Oh, dear. Ozzie Guillen, your mood swings and anger and intense homophobia can mean only one thing: YOU’RE A MORON!!! AND MORONS TAKE STEROIDS!!!!
Hmmm…and the Astros….hello Roger! Bye Roger!!!
Six in a row for the Montreal Expos!!!! What’s that you say? They moved to Washington in 2005?
Well, they never should have left! That’s right, Montreal is now THE baseball town. In fact, they’re thinking of moving the Hall of Fame to Ile Ste. Helene, where Expo ‘67 took place.
So, this is where the Nationals cease to exist, and baseball returns to Le Stade Olympique, where greatness happens and legends are made!
7. St. Louis. Home of the best ribs in the world, great music. And steroids. Sorry, Mr. Pujols.
And looking across to the other dugout, Slim Rodriguez doesn’t stand a chance.
Montreal Expos: 2006 Champs…The dynasty continues.
8. Oh, it’s fun again! Bake those beans, Boston fans, because the gas you pass finely illustrates the stink of your team. Captain Cheater, Manny, Gag me, and the gang—-you are the weakest link…GOODBYE!
And the Colorado Rockies clearly don’t matter so once again, may I introduce a team for the ages.
Your 2007 World Champion Montreal Expos. Oh, will it ever end!
Other developments: John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are now the radio voices of the Expos. Hear him call a home run in French!
“Il est haut! Il est lointain! IL EST ALLÉ!!!!!!”
Hear Suzyn Waldman describe the scene as Celine Dion announces her presence to the Montreal fans from the owner’s box!
“Oh la la! Oh mon dieu! Oh, oh, oh! Oui! De tout l’excessif! Celine est dans le cadre d’Omar!”
All in good humor. Hope this dark period for the game ends soon. Many thanks to Peter for all his great work and giving us some perspective.
Happy Holidays all!
I think no Christmas collection can be called complete with “Father Christmas” by the Kinks. It says “Noel” in a way that captures the real meaning of the season.
You can’t go wrong with Clarence Carter’s “Back Door Santa” so I’ll also toss a vote out for that one as well.
IA:
Yes, it’s called something like Merry Christmas (Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight).
Thrillington:
Tu es le plus drole! Except les Expos apparently had a bullpen catcher who was moving some serious bud out of Canada.
Thrillington,
Zut Alors! LOL
lol, good stuff Thrillington. The greatest dynasty of all time….les Expos de Montreal.
Relient K
12 Days of Christmas is pretty cool
Enjoy your holiday, you always do a great job blogging Pete. On the Mitchell Report-I could spend my energy on that, but I have finals and last minute gifts to work on.
As for songs:
Santa Baby-Eartha Kitt
Here Comes Santa Claus-Elvis Presley
White Christams-Bing Crosby
The Chipmunk Song(Christmas Don’t Be Late)-Alvin & the Chipmunks
It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year-Andy Williams
Jingle Bell Rock-Bobbby Helms
Holly Jolly Christmas-Burl Ives
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree-Brenda Lee
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-both the Doris Day and Judy Garland versions
Up On the Housetop(Ho! Ho! Ho!)-Gene Autry
Frosty the Snowman-Gene Autry
Mele Kalikimaka-Jimmy Buffett
Feliz Navidad-Jose Feliciano
Hard Candy Christmas-Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
Let It Snow, Let It Snow-Lena Horne
O Holy Night-Luciano Pavarotti
Ave Maria-Placido Domingo
Snow-Rosemary Clooney
Pretty Paper-Roy Orbison
12 Days of Christmas-Andy Williams
Pete,
I could only find a sample clip of it, but if you can find “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Robert Kekaula on itunes it’ll be worth it.
Here’s the sample clip:
http://www.hawaiianmusicstore.com/mp3/50104.mp3
Robert Kekaula is the radio color guy for University of Hawaii football. His daughter Tiera’s voice is what makes the song great. She can really belt it.
The Doctor:
Right on!! “Mele Kalikimaka” (the Bing Crosby version, I think) was from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, when Clark was staring out the window, dreaming about his pool and then Cousin Eddie on the diving board turned into the hot girl from the lingerie counter and then oh my word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gowjvU_1ZmY
The longer I let the report sink in, the worse it seems. I’m left with a couple of questions that stand out above the rest.
1. Why name those names?
I have enough experience to know that investigators can be aggressive. Most of the time law abiding citizens want that. But I also know that some investigators take it personally when individuals do not cooperate and appear to thumb their noses at the investigator’s supposed authority. Sorry, but to me the list of names feels like a “screw you” from the investigators to the players as payback for the Wall of Silence.
2. Why didn’t Selig appoint a bi-partisan commission to look into steroids?
If Selig wanted a fair and balanced report and wanted to make sure the report was unassailable, wouldn’t it have been better to appoint a three-person Commission of Investigation to look into steroids, with one MLB commissioner, an MLBPA commissioner and a Neutral commissioner, like they do with arbitration panels? Then let the commission hire competent private investigators, like Kroll Associates or some other top tier firm, and go at it. The investigators investigate and brief the Commissioners, the investigators use feedback from the commissioners to write a final draft and the Commissioners approve and issue the final report. That way, MLBPA, MLB and a reasonable third party would have gotten together to decide what goes into the final report, bringing balance to the entire enterprise.
In light of the alternative not taken, it makes the Mitchell report look so much more clearly a pro-management, anti-player hatchet job. I have to believe that MLBPA are moving the tanks up to the front.
Don Fehr: “Go ahead, Bud. Discipline somebody based on that report. Make my day.”
murphydog,
I hope the players stick it Selig at the next CBA. He won’t risk a labor stoppage because MLB raked in $6B this year.
little drummer boy duet by david bowie and bing crosby is a good one
Pete, download the Sufjan Stevens christmas album. you’ll thank me later…
I have been a lifelong Yankeee fan since listening to the World Series of 1947 and will continue to be. But after reading all of the bloggers’ and sports writers’ comments on the Mitchel report, I am beginning to conclude that they are no different than the owners and the player’s union – apologists for the game no matter what. They all constantly claim that the Mitchel report is all based on 2 people with credibility problems and the case would not stand up in a court of law. That is definitely so, but that doesn’t mean Clemens is innocent, does it? If Clemens is totally innocent, then he will do two things: (1) take a polygraph test and (2) sue the trainer who claimed he gave Clemens the shots. Certainly it would be worth it to him, wouldn’t it? After all he can afford the law suit and unless he does this, his record will be blemished forever.
Those were by far the two most unbiased articles I have read on the Mitchell report. I am shocked that NY papers are saying the Yankees’ World Series titles are tainted now because there were so many Yankees implicated in the report. These guys are professional journalists and it never dawned on them that maybe there were so many Yankees bc Mitchell got all of his information from a dirty ex-Yankee trainer. If he had focused on one trainer from any of the other 29 teams then he probably would have found the same thing. Of course Mitchell wasn’t about to harass Red Sox trainers while he was being paid by the organization. The whole report was a waste of money and a waste of time and it’s sad that Clemens’ whole career has been flushed down the toilet because some scum bag sang like a canary in order to avoid prison time!
Whoa, someone else likes Sufjan Stevens, sweet!
For all the left-wingers out there, Phil Ochs’ No Christmas In Kentucky is a classic.
I wanna see Andy PEDitte’s first game.
Rumor has it he’s going to take the mound with microphone in hand and pull a Jim Bakker.
With his born-again Christian Bible in hand Andy exclaims, “I HAVE SINNNNNNEEEEDDDD!!!!!!!!”
Little Saint Nick!
...no talk of Christmas albums is complete without mentioning the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
They didn’t read it, plan and simple. I printed it out and plan to read some of it this weekend. I want to draw my own conclusions from it. I certainly won’t listen to what the journalists in the nypost and nydaily news have to say about this.
And I love these idiot Yankee fans who said they are ashamed to be fans. Well you are morons, I’ll still wear my Yankee hat with pride, and proudly say that my team has 26 world championships.
YankeeSince47:
1. Clemens doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. If there isn’t enough evidence to prove he did it, there is no need to take a polygraph, a method that is frowned upon nowadays anyway. The best way to reduce the legitimacy of the claims of the Mitchell Report is to pretend it doesn’t matter. And that’s what Clemens is going to do.
2. The burden of proof would be on Clemens if he were to sue the trainer: he would have to prove he DIDN’T take steroids. It’s just a bunch of hearsay at this point: Clemens’ word against the trainer’s. Not enough to make a case either way.
Is it just me? I absolutely hate Christmas music. Like it makes me want to curl up in a ball and weep, cursing the terrible fortune of being born with two good ears.
If I had to pick anything it would be the Frank Sinatra Christmas album on vinyl. We always used to listen to it while I was a kid when we would decorate the tree and bake cookies and drink hot chocolate.
“my team has 26 world championships.”
EDIT: 26*
For the record, I might be mistaken on number 2 there. I’m no law student, so don’t be quick to criticize
Hey NYPD, were you born stupid, or did you perfect idiocy through a lifetime of practice?
Levon actually has been playing for the past couple of years. A full fledged tour would be awesome.
If you can afford it, you have to make the trip to Levon’s home in Woodstock for a “Midnight Ramble”. Levon plays for a couple of hours at his barn/home studio. It’s a fantastic show. Very intimate, about two hundred people. Lots of songs by The Band, and traditional songs, blues, etc.
“Hey NYPD, were you born stupid, or did you perfect idiocy through a lifetime of practice?”
WOW!
Not sure what’s more appropriate here, “I know you are, but what am I” or a mother joke?
Everyday you prove to me why you are more of a moron NYPD113th.
NYPD, who do you root for?
Andy Pettitte was accused of using HGH without a scrip in 2002 to rehab an injury and for that he deserves personal attacks on his religious beliefs? Classy.
“Everyday you prove to me why you are more of a moron NYPD113th.”
—Terrible English there Jen.
“Everday you prove to me you are more and more of a moron.”
“and for that he deserves personal attacks on his religious beliefs? Classy.”
How was my statement an “attack”?
That and so what he’s a cop? He’s also a person too and of course he can razz on crosstown rival fans. Come on, this is what baseball is (kind of) about! Now those fairweather fans that like to jump in and pretend they know what they’re talking about…â€
Thanks RVA.
I like checkin out other teams’ sites and boards to get info that I wouldn’t find anywhere else.
I have many Yankee fan friends and we have a blast bustin’ balls back and forth and that’s all I’ve done here.
I’ll let others get nasty and personal. Actually, if I can get under somebody’s skin that easily, I’ll probably try it even more.
NYPD113th
Don’t you have traffic to play in?
How was my statement an “attack�
What’s the guy’s religion got to do with it?
NYPD113th
Don’t you have traffic to play in?
—Half an hour, still pretty light.
I will never understand the mindset of a troll. I just don’t see the point. You can be anonymous, so you want to go on some anonymous web site and say some anonymously inflammatory things to some anonymous people just trying to have a conversation. I get all that.
I just don’t understand why. Why is it that you choose to spend your time this way? It just seems like such an utter waste of energy and brain power. You like riling people up. I get that too. Perhaps you just genuinely have nothing better to do with your time. In that case I genuinely feel sorry for you, man.
What’s the guy’s religion got to do with it?
—Nothin at all. But whenever someone has done something wrong, I remember Jim Bakker tearful confession with Bible in hand, that’s all.
John Fahey, Christmas Guitar – acoustic guitar
“brokering peace in Northern Irelandâ€
What on earth does that have to do with baseball?
Was Nixon involved in Watergate? Yes…
BUT, he opened trade relations with China.
Was there a conflict of interest, with Mitchell’s report, on the surface if nothing else? YES
NYPD, I really want to know who you root for.
And for everyone, please stop using the term troll. It is so 2006 Season. For now on the new term is “schmeef”
Ghost,
Actually, passive-aggressiveness is a classic tactic used by the police to get citizens to make mistakes. Good cop/bad cop all rolled up into one schizophrenic personality.
for xmas songs, you’ve got to turn no further than Ben Folds – Bizarre Christmas Incident.
sample chorus lyric – “oh, Santa he’s a big fat f***,
Went down the chimney got his fat ass stuck”
The Fallen Phoenix,
Trans Siberian Orchestra is great! I saw them in Hampton Va a few years ago. Tremendous concert. Music, lasers, smoke, just a visual and musical feast.
NYPD, I really want to know who you root for.
—Which sport?
Whatever you say, 113.
Baseball, 113th
What do we know about NYPD113th
1- He was a cop.
2- He validates his hapiness through sports.
3- He conveniently mocks some comments on the board and ignores others.
4- He craves attention to the point of coming on to a Yankees blog just to be an irritant.
What can we derive from these facts?
Daddy issues? Maybe. Did daddy never tell you he loved you? Maybe you just wanted to make him proud, but no matter how hard you tried you never could? Was he always too busy watching sports to pay attention to you?
Is that it?
mel,
Very good and spot on! I got to see a lot of that P/A behavior as a jail supervisor in the Navy.
murphydog—
I’m thinking the same thing! Especially in view of Selig’s comments that he may issue punisments despite Mitchell’s plea to let go of the past and move forward. Naming names just invites someone with a little bit of, well, revenge comes to mind, on his mind to let it be known that there will be consequences!
I loved Stark’s article, Pete, and thanks for the link. I had to laugh at the part where he compared Selig’s saying he wanted to move forward rather than talk about his part in the problem to Mark McGwire’s (I’ll always get that spelling correct now) statement at the hearings about not being there to talk about the past. It was especially funny to me, because as I read Selig’s words, I said to myself – shades of McGwire – and right there in the next paragraph Stark said it himself!
(Guess I’m looking for a little levity wherever I can find it.)
Also, the further I get into the report, the more angry I am at all the parties involved. About the greed, the selfishness and the stupidity of the entire thing. And I’m really, really pissed at a system (which exists not just in baseball) where the majority, who is innocent, keeps silent about the minority, who are guilty in misplaced loyalty, I guess. I Know, I know, you don’t rat out your own.
Relative to that, while I’m pissed, I also understand that it’s harder to condemn those with whom you have a relationship. Many of the players named are good guys, good teammates, who work hard and are by all accounts stand-up citizens. Except for the little matter of cheating.
And isn’t it interesting how we can all come up with ways of justifying the cheating—oh, it was for rehab; or oh, it was before it was banned—for those players we admire, but the animosity simply oozes for those players who aren’t quite so admired. It’s also interesting, and very parochial, how one player can get both reactions.
I heard an interesting bit of an interview on the radio a short while ago. A reporter talking about how the media is accused of missing the story years ago. And what he said was that he, personally, had no frame of reference for steroids. That he saw the guys working out, he saw the nutrition programs, but he did not see the injections behind closed doors, obviously. At first blush, a person can say, well, how can you not just know? I can say first hand that a person (myself) can be around something and have no idea it’s there. If a person doesn’t look or doesn’t know to look, I guarantee, he or she won’t see it.
He probably roots for the Mets (crosstown rival reference above). Whatever. What’s important is, I’m going to go see Juno tonight.
I got my tix for the 2 Yanks/Marlins exhibition games at
Joe RobbiePro PlayerDolphin Stadium!What do we know about NYPD113th
1- He was a cop.
2- He validates his hapiness through sports.
3- He conveniently mocks some comments on the board and ignores others.
4- He craves attention to the point of coming on to a Yankees blog just to be an irritant.
What can we derive from these facts?
Daddy issues? Maybe. Did daddy never tell you he loved you? Maybe you just wanted to make him proud, but no matter how hard you tried you never could? Was he always too busy watching sports to pay attention to you?
Is that it?
——-Time for my own bakker/Pettitte moment!
I HAVE SINNeDDD!!!! lol
The next time someone I know asks me what I think about the Mitchell investigation, I’ll be sure to point them to these two quotes.
“I can’t think of any self-respecting editor I’ve ever worked for or with who would have allowed me to write a news story based on ‘evidence’ that flimsy.” – Stark (talking about Brian Roberts’ implication… but it really does apply globally)
“Why name names? Why sign on to such an obviously incomplete report (Mitchell did not have subpoena powers and almost 100 percent of the ballplayers told him to take a hike)? Why put so much weight on the testimony of a former bat boy and a onetime trainer who cooperated under the threat of prison time?” – Shaughnessy
BTW, please don’t feed the trolls… unless of course you are a NYY fan who goes to other blogs/boards and talks garbage… then I recommend you leave your email or im address at that site so those of us who barely have enough time to follow our team don’t have to be subjected to these inane posts.
a jail supervisor in the Navy.
—Well hello, sailor!
Juno looks deece. Props to Michael Cera for getting laid in the movie, it probably will be the closest he ever gets to the real thing.
–Bitter? I got 3/4’s at a young age and am lovin life. My baseball team are champs, my football team will be champs, my basketball team is the best in the game, and my hockey team………….nevermind.
NYPD –
what % of MLB players in general (across all teams) would you guess used PED’s at some point in their careers? 20%? 33%? 50%?
just curious.
Enough with the roids already. Nobody cares…..
As for the schedule, I just received an email from somebody at the ticket office who responded to an email about the schedule:
“The schedule and tickets pricing for 2008 should be announced sometime next week. Individual game tickets will likely go onsale in late February or early March. When an onsale date is selected it will be posted online at Yankees.com.”
Hmm, just thought of something
If Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton are so notorious for doctoring balls, then how did those two manage to get into the Hall of Fame anyway?
what did I say about the usage of troll…
its “schmeef” now, as in:
“Dude look at thos kids over there”
“yea bro, what a couple of schmeefs”
also can be used in conjuction with Mcnuggets Mcgee as in “Schmeefy Schmeef Nuggets McGee”
Jon – nobody cares?? maybe you don’t care but many people do.
I’d say 20-25%
I cant even listen to wfan anymore – I hope mitchell was wrong about one or more names on that list and player(s) sue the pants off him and destroy his credibility. That would be the only way this whole thing can just go away.
Rockin’ Rich,
How did you get the strikethough in your last post?
Blargh,
Heard a Buster Olney soundbite today. All doom & gloom about Roger’s HOF chances. He said that he talked to writers and many would never vote anyone in who was implicated in steroids. He said, “Clemens will not get in.”
For anyone who cares/wants to take target practice, Mitchell is gonna be on Your World with Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel
Yeah Dave, I can’t listen to the FAN either—I live in Philly but still kinda get it down here…I’ve been tuning in a bit recently but now with the whole Mitchell thing I realized what turned me off in the first place: A lot of blowhards who have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about, but feel the need to shout it at full volume anyway.
Off to a Christmas party all!
Thank you very much again, it’s been fun as usual. Have a great day!\
And remember, stay away from drugs, they’re bad for the body and could get ya in trouble.
I’d like to know who would invite NYPD 113th to a Christmas party?
Maybe he means it’s time for Santa to visit the inmates at Bellevue (isn’t that where they house the crazies in NYC?).
No one cares you are going to your Christmas party.
This morning Buster was saying, that he was talking with another writer about who he would put into the hall. Buster rattled off some names he thought were roid users, (which the other writer didn’t think of) and said OH you think they did roids, I won’t vote them in than. This is who is voting for the hall?? He won’t vote someone in because another writer thinks they did roids. Wow. I don’t even know how to react to that one.
NYPD knows there are just as many “cheaters” on every other teams as there are/were on the yankees.
we just keep feeding him so he’ll keep eating it up.
jennifer – that doesnt surprise me.
sports awards are the biggest crock of poo…. just ask bartolo colon and his shiny cy young award.
I hope mlb gets sued because of this joke of a report. All we need is one player to step up to the plate and sue for slander, that will cast doubt on the entire report.
I know a phony cop when I hear one. This 113th precinct fluke got his shield at Toys R us. Part time job as a school crossing guard in Queens. Full time job swabbing out subway toilets.
He probably a “toy cop”. You know the ones that run, I mean walk very slowly around Times Square.
WTH does using steroids have to do with tax evasion?
Oh and I forgot to mention Last Christmas-WHAM
Makes me wonder if future voters will remember the people who did get into the hall before.
Again with the Gaylord Perry example; he’s famous for using a pitch that was banned over 40 years before the start of his career (1962-1983 career; spitball ban was after the 1920 season). He still got voted into the hall in 1991.
Don Sutton was known for doctoring the ball, although I don’t know when that practice was banned.
If I looked any further into it, I wouldn’t be surprised to find more cheaters in the Hall
It’s not that I condone cheating or anything like that, but rather, it is amusing to glance over baseball history and compare with the trends and thoughts of today.
In short, I’d probably ask a writer this:
“Ok, so you won’t vote for Clemens because of the steroids thing. Would you have voted for Gaylord Perry/Don Sutton/some other Hall of Famer? Why/why not?”
Shaugnessy and Stark as the “two best takes”? It’s pretty clear that what you really mean is “most similar to your own view.” Check out verducci on si.com, he’s at least better than that hack shaughnessy
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/12/13/mitchell.report/index.html
You people need to stop responding to NYPDboy. If you ignore him/her/it, it’ll go away. The only reason he keeps posting is because you’re giving him something to respond to.
Hey Pete- How come there is no big noise that Bud should resign??? This happened on his watch. He screwed up as much as anybody. Why should anyone believe he’s now the guy to clean up the mess and move on? Bud should do “what’s best for the game” and resign. But we all know he won’t.
Happy Holidays!
ETC-
Just now, Mitchell said that he “sees no reason” why Selig should resign since he took a stance and has been the one to push for steroids out of baseball. This is the funniest bunch of lies strung together since Bill Clinton asked what the meaning of is is
He took the stance only after it was thrown in his face.
WELL OF ALL THE DRAMATIC!!!!! I AM REPORTING FROM INSIDE RAWJAH’S BODY!!!! OF ALL THE, OH MY, NASA SHRANK ME AND KOBY INJECTED ME INTO RAWJAH’S RUMP AND I WILL CLEAR HIS NAME!!!! DENNIS QUAID CAME WITH ME AND IS, OF ALL THE DRAMATIC, PILOTING OUR MICROSHIP!!! I LOVE THE INTERNETS!! I BROUGHT, OF ALL THE DRAMATIC, JOHN STERLING’S LAPTOP WITH ME!!! OH BOY, RAWJAH’S GOING INSIDE OF GEORGE’S BOX!!!! RAWJAH CLEMENS, WITH ME INSIDE RIDING AROUND IN A MICROSHIP, HAS JUST ANNOUNCED, OF ALL THE DRAMATIC, THAT HE INTENDS TO FIGHT THESE ALLEGATIONS!!!! OF ALL THE…. I HAVE TO RUN, BUT I’LL GIVE YOU AN UPDATE LATER, OF ALL THE DRAMATIC!!!! TOODLES – RAWJAHLUVAH420
“It’s pretty clear that what you really mean is “most similar to your own view.†Check out verducci on si.com, he’s at least better than that hack shaughnessy”
And what do you mean when you call verducci’s article good? That it’s similar to what you think, no?
Until recently, I have been a firm supporter of MLB owners (as a group). I always felt that the players strike of 94 was the fault of the players and it ruined the one of the best Yankee seasons I remember.
Over the past ten years or so, I’ve become more of a player supporter because of Bud Selig and his handling of things.
That said, I would support a work action against MLB if Selig tried to suspend/fine anyone over this nonsense. No player should be forced to admit to anything related to this bogus report. I would even support a walkout demanding a change in the Commish’s office too.
Bud has got to go and this debacle is proof.
I just hope all of this mess doesn’t end up making Andy Pettite change is mind about returning for next season, he might not want to deal with answering questions everyday about the issue…
P.S. never marry a Red Sox fan..She’ll be the reason, that the first words to come out of your child’s mouth are “Yankees suck” lol not good for business esp. when your trying to groom the little guy into a yankees fan.
We all seek the news outlets that most closely resemble our own beliefs. That’s just how it is. It is good, however, at least every once in a while to get a whiff of the other side of the argument. Usually somewhere in the middle is closest to the actual truth.
I’ve just read more of the report, and I’m done, I think, for the day with it—or at least until after dinner.
It’s very draining.
I never read Game of Shadows, so a lot of this is, well, not exactly news, but more details than I’d known before.
Mel;
basic html
I suggest Pearl Jam “Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time).”
OK, skimmer. Just went through the Verducci article/column. Not his best work and not very insightful. Others are far better.
What makes Verducci’s take better in your estimation?
and here
WHAM WHAM WHAM
suzy waldman continues to beat this dead horse…
What interesting about 113th is, he thinks he is being original and funny.
Here is a guy in law enforcement and you blindly skips over something in the report nobody wants to talk about..
It seems his boy Theo Espstein knowingly acquired two steroid users AFTER doing his due diligence about both guys (Gagne and Donnelly) usage of PED’s.
That’s ok in his world.
Andy Pettitte? The subject of attacks on his religion.
Anybody else beside me see the irony in this.
For a guy so into law and order, its amazing how hiring a cheater, after having the information he cheats in your profession is ok. But an excused (not proven, ACCUSED) user? A bad guy.
Amazing.
Damn Steroids.. Who woulda thought huh guys?
Thanks for cheering for me
even though im a cheater! Good ole yankee fans!
It is pretty amazing to me that Mitchell, and not a single person in the media, are calling for Selig’s resignation.
Here is a guy who was the Commissioner during this ENTIRE sorry chapter in baseball history and yet, takes ZERO responsibility for it.
All we hear from the talking heads re: the players is, “Take responsibility”.
Well, how about the Commissioner taking some responsibility?
Even yesterday, when questioned, he took none of it.
The guy is amazing. Commissioner of Steroid Central and gets to keep his job.
You know what else is funny/ironic? The same people who won’t vote for Roger Clemens for the Hall of Fame now will vote for Bud Selig.
Mark my words, Bud Selig will be in the Hall of Fame five years after he retires.
How ‘bout the irony in that? Running the game during this dark time and he gets in. The players? They are the “bad guys” and don’t get in.
If anybody believes Selig had no idea what was going on, you live in a complete bubble.
He knew EVERYTHING and didn’t do a damn thing about it because stopping it (at the time) would be bad for business. Particularly, after the lockout of 1994.
Some thoughts –
1. Jayson Stark was right on target. This whole Mitchell report smacks of McCarthyism. His information comes from guys who provide no hard evidence, just innuendo, and who have something to gain from naming as many people as possible.
I have no doubt that steroids and HGH were and are being used, but to go public with names demands that there be hard evidence. Anything less is insulting to both the players involved and to the fans who care about all this.
I would not fault, and I partly expect, a lawsuit over this, on charges of slander. I would not be surprised if it came from Clemens, or the Players Association.
Unless you can come up with evidence that would stand up in a court of LAW, Selig and Mitchell have no business destroying players’ reputations.
Why does Selig think fans come to the ballpark? Why destroy the reputations of the players who make the game what it is? Who help fill the pockets with record-breaking dollars? What good does Selig think will come of this? ’
Saving HIS reputation? PULLEASE!
2. My favorite Christmas songs –
The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
Christmas Don’t be late – The Chipmunks
White Christmas – Bing
Little Saint Nick – The Beach Boys
Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses
Keith Richards snorted Rudolph’s ashes!!!
For christmas music the best is Twisted Sister’s cover albumn of classic christmas songs. Really great stuff.
SJ44, you’re just envious that Boston runs a clean program.
SJ44—
I don’t think it’s so much the actual “stopping it,” but risking another job action by the players if he pushed was more the rationale for not doing anything at that time to stop it.
Heck, if O`Malley got in anyone get in.
Selig made a lot of owners and players rich but really screwed the fans during his time
SJ44 – I couldn’t agree with you more.
The more I think of this, the angrier I get – and I’m not even named!
As a fan, I would welcome a lawsuit from the Players Association. Let Bud deal with that. Let him cough up a few million.
People have rights. Just because you are commissioner of a major professional sport doesn’t mean you don’t have to answer for right and wrong.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall..
Keep this in Mind all you Yankee Fans, We are the Big boys,
we have the highest payroll, we have won the most championships. so along with that. of course we have cheated the most and of course the mitchell report is going to look bad for us.
hold on….......... ahh, just got another needle in the a$$
im not stopping until i win 500 games!
Seriously, the only good thing for the fans that has happened during Selig’s time as commisioner is the adoption of the Wild Card.
What did Selig do to McGwire when they found Andro in his locker? Why did it take until 2003 to get any testing policy. Yeah, he`s against a very powerful player`s union but he`s not that weak. If the commisioner’
s office is really that worthless than should we elect any commisioners at all.
THe only people that would vote for him are the owners
Boston is running a clean program? Geez, troll, did you read the report?
It couldn’t have been too clean when the GM of the team brought in two guys in the last year he KNEW were users.
That makes it a clean team?
We really should have an IQ test for Red Sox fans that troll on this blog. You pass it, you can troll on the blog. If not, you go back to SOSH.
Only seems fair after reading something so original as, I am jealous Boston runs a clean program.
So I was reading through the report and the whole Clemens/McNamee thing is very confusing. McNamee worked with Clemens from 1998 through at least May of this year—there is a NY Daily News story in May that says Clemens cut ties with McNamee but McNamee claims that he continued to work with Clemens until… well until apparently yesterday when he stuck a knife in Clemens back.
Anyway, McNamee says that he has sporatic knowledge of Clemens use of performance enhancing substances from 1998 through 2001 but nothing after that. That is somewhat puzzling in that Clemens (upon information and belief) continued to get older and would likely have continued to use steroids/HGH in the subsequent years. Did he just decide in 2001 to hide his use from McNamee after McNamee had been integral in his obtaining and using the stuff in the past? AND McNamee’s statements that he gave stuff to other players after that?
Last December, after it was leaked that Grimsley’s affidavit mentioned McNamee and Clemens, McNamee said “I never, ever gave Clemens or Pettitte steroids. They never asked me for steroids. The only thing they asked me for were vitamins.”
Assuming that Clemens did boot McNamee in mid-May and then started to talk to Mitchell in July—when did he make his deal with the U.S. Attorney?
Very confusing.
Give me the IQ test! I bet I ace it!
whats one syringe + one syringe?
TWO syringes! can’t stop, won’t stop
Verducci from SI: “Save the violins for another time. The union didn’t like this investigation from Jump Street, stonewalling Mitchell at every possible turn, and then they expect to get a review copy to suggest edits and changes? Please.”
Verducci is not being fair. The players were between the devil and the deep blue sea because of the way the Mitchell investigation was set up. Mitchell couldn’t confer immunity to players who spoke to him and wouldn’t promise not to turn over to Federal Prosecutors what they said to him. On top of that, the players were aware that Mitchell planed to name names based on possibly unsworn statements by people facing criminal jeopardy. That’s why they wanted to see the report ahead of time.
I guess Tom would like a couple of constitutional amendments to cover baseball players, one to do away with the 5th amendment right against self-incrimination and one to do away with the 6th amendment right to confront those who accuse you.
Murph,
Exactly. If Mitchell had the power to grant immunity, he would have gotten more cooperation from the players.
However, with two, ongoing criminal investigations taking place (one in NY and the other in CA), there is no way any lawyer for a player is going to allow that player to speak to anybody on this issue.
I really wish some of these columnists would actually think and do a little research before getting on their moral soapbox and writing their column. It would help educate their readers a great deal in how the system works.
Mike NYY—
It seems like ALL about power, and one side not wanting to appear weaker than the other. It’s not all about the health of the players or the integrity of the game. It’s about who’s calling the shots and who’s in charge and who has the upper hand.
I would say that when the Players Association was first formed, it was necessary to right the (un)balance of power. If money is a measure of whether that’s been accomplished, I would put out there that both sides are making more money than they ever, ever dreamed. This should be the perfect setting for the sides to amicably come together to get the PED mess straightened up. As much as I do not like the way the report was done on the whole, I agree with Mitchell that for the report to have done any good whatsoever, it is extremely important to move on, to divorce oneself from the history a bit, and deal with the issue freshly. That means Selig cannot and should not feel the need to punish here.
If he does choose a player or two or three to punish, he is going to have hell to pay, I believe. He can’t punish retired players. So of the active players, which in the report had any real evidence associated with them? Not too many.
“I really wish some of these columnists would actually think and do a little research before getting on their moral soapbox and writing their column. It would help educate their readers a great deal in how the system works.”
Radio hosts too. They’re really contributing to knee-jerk fan reaction here. But, I guess that’s what happens when readers cease to be interested in journalism and are more interested in reading emotionally-charged pap that agrees with what they already believe.
Whozat,
Great point. Radio talk show hosts are the worst. Its an absolute sewer listening to the drivel these guys produce on a daily basis.
Its all about, “getting those phones cookin’” and it has nothing to do with fairness, accuracy or, God help us, journalistic integrity.
Its all about yelling and screaming and trying to reduce complex issues into nonsensical babble.
Doreen,
The reality is, EVERYBODY is to blame. I am as Pro-PA as you can get. However, in this instance, they dropped the ball.
Not with the Mitchell Report. They were right to stonewall it because it was nothing more than a setup toward their membership. They dropped the ball when they didn’t listen to their membership when many of the guys expressed outrage over this issue years ago. In hindsight, as Don Fehr said yesterday, that was a mistake.
At least Fehr has admitted to his mistake. I’m still waiting for Bud Selig to take some responsibility on his end. So far, he hasn’t taken any.
The owners? Fact is, when your industry’s gross revenues increase nearly 600% in a ten year period, you aren’t saying anything. The money is too big to talk. That’s where the greed kicks in.
The Commissioner? Equally culpable. Instead of trying to actually break new ground and create an pro-active partnership with the Union on this issue, he decided this was his best chance to stick it to the Union.
The result? He can forget about labor peace and good union relationships for the rest of his tenure. Nobody in the PA Office today will ever trust Bud Selig again.
If folks think the Labor Wars were bad in the Mid-90’s, wait. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
This is going to get very, very ugly between Selig and the players. You can’t just blame the players for the PED issue in the sport. Selig decided, through the Mitchell Report, to do just that.
IMO, it will end up being the biggest mistake he has made as Commissioner.
Beam me up Scotty
whozat –
Unfortunately, I think a majority of the public gets their news from headlines and sound-bytes without ever delving into the meat of the matter. That’s unfortunate, because we all know that headlines and sound-bytes are alarmist in nature, designed to basically sell a product, not inform the public.
But people have so little time, that unless it’s a subject that really strikes their interest, they’re not going to be bothered to learn more. I am guilty of this myself on topics that I don’t generally care about. I can’t blame all of us individuals, but I will blame those outlets that pander to that superficiality.
i have to say that the judge, jury and executioner role that this report has been given is unfair. i think the political motivation of this report is unsettling. face it, when congress stuck it’s nose in baseball’s business, they responded with taking one of their own (george mitchell) and putting together a report that ruins the lives of people who are beloved in the game. the report’s naming names aspect was mean spirited and simply is counter productive to the issue in a whole. baseball enjoys it’s legal monopoly and wants to retain it with no pressure from the government. shame on the players who have used PEDs and made millions doing so, but shame on you bud selig for allowing the dirty laundry of individuals to be aired out in this manner.
For those of you trying to pin Clemens’ behavior during his incident in the 2000 World Series as evidence of ‘roid rage. check your facts.
He is the victim of “Blatant Acts.” See this video for proof.
http://tinyurl.com/yqghsl
Hope this clears things up.
SJ44 – What did Bud have on his mind? Stick it to the PA? For what earthly purpose? To derail the most profitable period in Major League history? Because that is what he’s done. When the Agreement with the PA comes up for renewal, Fehr’s going to be looking for blood in the water – Bud Selig’s blood.
What possible benefit did Bud think would accrue after this report? Save his legacy? This will deep-six it. If there is “labor unrest” (aka, “strike”), he will have no one to blame but himself.
It is always better to work collaboratively, than as adversaries.
SJ44—
Selig won’t take responsibility, because he thinks by commissioning this report he has done his job. He forgets about all the years that have gone by without doing a thing. And it seems everyone knows except for Bud Selig that even this report would not have been commissioned if there wasn’t a real fear that the federal government was going to do something themselves. I think he (Selig) thinks he’s fulfilled his part of “taking responsibilit” simply by getting this report done.
He needs to read the report. It is clear, (and I’m only at page 187), that everyone missed the bus on this, and as the man in charge, he needs to establish leadership by taking a share of the blame EVEN IF HE DOESN’T REALLY THINK HE NEEDS TO. It’s what someone who is interested in progress would do. However, it is becoming clear that he is more interested in one-upsmanship here.
SJ44 for Commissioner! Impeach Selig! Lol
“God With Us” by Todd Agnew. Definitely one of my fav new Christmas songs
Hypocrisy in it’s sincerest form :
– John W. Henry, Principal Owner
– Thomas C. Werner, Chairman
– David Ginsberg, Vice-Chairman
– Philip H. Morse, Vice-Chairman
– Larry Lucchino, President and C.E.O.
– George J. Mitchell, Director
Joe and Doreen,
Great points. Real leaders take responsibility. Bud Selig is not a real leader. He is simply a puppet for ownership.
The Union and players know it and that’s why they don’t trust him.
After the Union digests this report, they need to go on the offensive.
FWIW, I completely agree with Mitchell the sport needs an independent body to administer its testing program. Frankly, both the players and owners are unfit to handle this themselves.
However, if I was head of the Union, I would make the owners pay dearly about throwing the players under the bus in this report.
How? Its pretty well known certain owners and club executives knew what was going on in the game. Time for the Union to call their sources in the media and give them up.
You want a scorched earth policy? It can’t be just the players that take the hit.
Its amazing to me why Theo Epstein and Brian Sabean aren’t under greater scrutiny today, given what was written about both men in the Report.
To employ KNOWN drug abusers, and do nothing about it, is as culpable as any action by a player in the Report.
If Bud is thinking about suspending any player mentioned in the Report, he sure as hell better suspend Epstein and Sabean.
If he doesn’t, he just continues his sham as leader of this sport.
“I’m out of order? You’re out of order! This whole court’s out of order!
“You can’t handle the truth!”
They oughta make a movie out of this steroid era in baseball.
Nice selections, Peter, but i can’t beleive that you’d
foresake “The Boss” and his great version of
“Run, Run Rudolph: – Springstein
If your driving to visit friends/relatives try:
“Driving Home for Christmas” – Chris Rea
And to put the Holiday Season in perspective:
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” – Josh Groban
I’ve got a question about all of this, maybe SJ you can answer this. I’m not sure what the actual number is but it rangers from 20-60 million depending on the report but what the hell did they spend that money on? Why was this thing so expensive? There was two people who talked and gave up information. Couldn’t they do this over the phone?
think about that much money. what honestly costs that much?
the todd –
dont forget haliburton needed to get their cut too
If anybody is intrested Dan Haren to the Dbacks
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071214&content_id=2326595&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp
AC/DC – Mistress for Christmas
Keep up the great work Pete!
Why do people insist on calling Bud Selig – baseball’s commissioner? The role of a true commissioner was vanquished long ago.
Ex-owner Selig was appointed by the owners. If he upsets the team owners – they can get rid of him. (ala Fay Vincent) His true title should be Owner Spokesperson.
Of course Selig isn’t going to rock the boat when people are flocking to see Sosa and McGwire hit homers. Baseball had just had a rough patch. Fans were turned off by the strike and greediness on both sides. The World Series was even cancelled. But now, the cash registers were ringing!
And really… that’s all that counts. It’s a business first, a sport second.
The Mitchell report was great for PR. Hand a few players to the lions and proclaim the great game is back on track. As a sidenote tell everyone how unhelpful the players association was.
This would be as proposterous as the players announcing that an ex-player has been named the Grand Baseball Poobah.
The GBP would oversee the great sport of baseball.
For the good of the sport the GBP announces he is scheduling a 20 month investigation into collusion on the part of the owners. Any owner would be welcome to talk to the independant person running the investigation. (who just happens to be a pal of the GBP)
For some strange reason the owners didn’t want to discuss collusion with the person running the investigation. No matter. The report will just list what they want based on conversations with people who have talked to the owners. At the end of each snippet, it will say the owner was asked to participate in the investigation and they declined.
Twins are signing Lamb for 3B, according to mlbtraderumors. He’s lefty, so I figure he’ll be at minimum the heavy side of a platoon over there.
The more MLB-ready pieces they sign, the more I think they’ll accept prospects who are a bit further from the majors. I still think they need a CFer, but their IF needs seem to have settled down a bit for the next year or two.
sd yankee fan-
Thanks for the heads up. Anyone know about the players the A’s are getting? I have heard good things about Carlos Gonzalez.
sd yankee –
wow… i dont know too much about the AZ propsects except Gonzalez…. but knowing Billy Beane, the A’s just pulled a fast one on AZ.
whozat – lamb is 32 and an atrocious fielder. it wouldnt surprise me to see him DHing at some point.
6 for 1 trades don’t happen that often.
trading Valverde is a little surprising though. I never understood why some teams were goo-goo over Chris Burke.
SJ 44 :
Not soon forgotten is the No. 1 cheerleader in the Great American Home Run Chase of 1998, featuring Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and a host of others. That cheerleader being none other than Bud Selig thinking he singlehandedly saved the game with power shows galore and feeling relief that fans were back in seats like never before from the aftermath of the strike torn season of 1994. Did he look the other way ? Most certainly and with enough nerve leftover to toot his horn about how financially sound the game had become.
It’s enough to make one wonder how he would have handled the Pete Rose problem while under fire.
I just read the part of the report that deals with Brian Roberts. My jaw almost fell off my face! In my opinion the inclusion of Brian Roberts on the basis of what one teammate said Brian Roberts said impugns the entire report. I am flabbergasted. Flabbergasted.
Officials from Major League Baseball on Friday asked Congress to postpone the hearings scheduled for next week to discuss former Sen. George Mitchell’s steroid report.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and minority leader Tom Davis (R-Va.) called for commissioner Bud Selig, MLB players association executive director Donald Fehr and Mitchell to testify Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
”(Waxman and Davis) are trying to finagle it around and see what happens,” said Brian McNicoll, a spokesman for Davis. “Don’t tell anyone it’s going to be Tuesday, because it might not be. But it’s not definitely off. I’ll tell you that.”
link:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AuhNFX7i4Aa5P6tF_ypsjVs5nYcB?slug=jp-washingtonpostpone121407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Doreen – we need Roberts to say something. If he keeps quiet, it doesnt help. Some of these players need to SUE or they’re viewed as guilty.
SJ44—
Just read your entry about Sabean. I couldn’t agree more! He was more concerned with keeping Barry Bonds happy than anything else in the world, for crying out loud. He chose to ignore/support Bonds rather than Conte, who wanted to do something about the situation. It is unfathomable to me that this guy is taken seriously by anyone in the baseball community.
From yahoo….. here’s a small snippet
Selig asks congress to delay hearings
Officials from Major League Baseball on Friday asked Congress to postpone the hearings scheduled for next week to discuss former Sen. George Mitchell’s steroid report.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and minority leader Tom Davis (R-Va.) called for commissioner Bud Selig, MLB players association executive director Donald Fehr and Mitchell to testify Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
”(Waxman and Davis) are trying to finagle it around and see what happens,” said Brian McNicoll, a spokesman for Davis. “Don’t tell anyone it’s going to be Tuesday, because it might not be. But it’s not definitely off. I’ll tell you that.”
Doesn’t Congress have something better to do – like get us out of Iraq, re-build New Orleans, fix the healthcare affordability crisis, educate our children…
Boston Dave – EXACTLY! There needs to be some repercussions for Bud and his buddy George. And the only thing that talks to them is $$$.
If Roberts doesn’t say something, I don’t know who will. Well, Roger did, but, well, Roger would. He’s bombastic anyway. (Not a comment on his supposed guilt or innocence, just a blanket statement on his personality
)
Jack Cust, too. Put in the report based on what Bigbie said he said. That’s not evidence.
It seems so far he (Cust) and Roberts were “punished” for not meeting with Mitchell to discuss the allegations.
Doreen-
You are on fire! Maybe you write a letter to Selig, calling for his head on a platter.
*should
Christmas Music
Handel “Messiah”
Tom Lehrer “A Christmas Carol” Christmas gives us a chance to reflect upon what we most deeply believe in. I refer, of course, to money.
Congress SHOULD get involved with this because it keeps them out of mucking up (as they inevitably do) important stuff like Iraq, healthcare, New Orleans (why do we need a city 10 feet below sea level) and making sure our kids don’t grow up as stupid as we are. “Everytime Congress goes into recess, I sleep easier. The republic is safe”-James J Kirkpatrick
Dan Haren just got traded.
Oakland dealt him and Connor Robertson to Arizona for 6 players: Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, and Aaron Cunningham.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071214&content_id=2326595&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp
Matt Franco actually called Mitchell and had a telephone interview where he denied Radomski’s allegations. He’s still included in the report. Interestingly, it is not noted in the Franco section that his phone number and address were procured from Radomski’s collection of numbers. So, apparently, even if you denied the allegations, you were going into the report if Radomski fingered you.
A very good point on HOF made by Jerry Crasnikc on ESPN.com:
“I know that Cap Anson is in the Hall of Fame, and he was instrumental in the creation of the color line, which is way worse than PEDs. So this discussion ends up being an excuse for people with no institutional memory or understanding to claim a moral superiority they’re not really equipped to display.”
To elaborate in very general terms … as a result of several players before/around the turn of the century telling ownership that they wouldn’t play with black players, racism became the rule in baseball. And some of these guys are in the hall of fame.
I agree with the widespread sentiment in the blog concerning the mitchell report and the media’s reactions to the publicatio