This Week in Baseball 4/23 - 4/29

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

They aparently teamed up Cal Ripken and Batman for a freebie comic book giveaway at Camden Yards next month.

 

They said Batman and the Ironman, but Im not sure they're aware theres an Ironman already in the comic universe...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Reds traded Chris Denorfia to the A's. I like Denorfia but the emergence of Josh Hamilton made him expendable. For a team short on outfield depth, he should be a nice addition.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/mlb_c...k_aaron_with_50

[CanadianChris 0]

Looks like 2006 Josh Towers is putting in an appearance for Toronto this evening. Two good innings, then BAM! Three home runs and it's 5-0 Texas.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Woo, someone drops Teixeira and he hits his 1st HR right when I pick him up.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Sawks-Yanks today. DICE~K pitching. Nobody here yapping about it? Weirdness abound.

[Bored 0]

The Reds traded Chris Denorfia to the A's. I like Denorfia but the emergence of Josh Hamilton made him expendable. For a team short on outfield depth, he should be a nice addition.

I really like Denorfia too but he's out for the year so this is purely an organizational move for next year.

[vivalaultra 0]

Steroids case nets ex-Mets employee

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

 

 

A former employee of the New York Mets has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of supplying steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to numerous Major League Baseball players and has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the sport's steroid era headed by former Sen. George Mitchell.

Kirk J. Radomski, a former bat boy, equipment manager and clubhouse attendant for the Mets from 1985-95, admitted to supplying a variety of drugs, such as HGH, deca-durabolin and testosterone, to players throughout the league and laundering the proceeds of those sales.

 

The story was first reported on Friday by the New York Daily News, the Washington Post and the San Jose Mercury News, which all obtained the search warrant affidavit detailing the crimes.

 

MLB reacted quickly to the development and asked all of its personnel to step forward and cooperate with Mitchell, who has been conducting his investigation with little player help for more than a year.

 

"We support the efforts of the U.S. Attorney's office in combating the illegal use of performance-enhancing substances, and we are encouraged that the U.S. Attorney has insisted Mr. Radomski cooperate with Senator George Mitchell's investigation as a condition of the plea agreement," said Bob DuPuy, MLB's president and chief operating officer. "We urge all personnel connected with Major League Baseball to come forward with whatever information they may have that will assist Senator Mitchell in his investigation."

 

No player names have come out in the investigation, but the warrant obtained by the newspapers, filed in December 2005, contained blacked-out information, including what appeared to be players' names, it was reported.

 

Don Fehr, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, told a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors on Friday that there has been some discussion with Mitchell's committee about a limited amount of players cooperating.

 

"I don't know what it's going to be in the end," Fehr said. "Hopefully it won't be very many more than we already have indications about."

 

Radomski could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison and fined as much as $500,000. He was considered by authorities to be the chief supplier of drugs for baseball players after federal government agents raided the offices of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) south of San Francisco in 2003, shutting down that business.

 

As part of his plea deal, Radomski agreed to testify at any grand jury proceeding requested by the government and participate in undercover activities under the supervision of law enforcement officials, The Post reported.

 

Mets general manager Omar Minaya, who wasn't in that position with the organization during the time Radomski worked for the team, wasn't available for comment prior to Friday night's game between the Mets and Nationals at RFK Stadium.

 

The team released a statement saying that it was "surprised and disappointed" upon learning about the plea arrangement.

 

"The conduct in question is diametrically opposed to the values and standards of the Mets organization and our owners," the statement read. "We are and always have been adamantly opposed to the use of performance-enhancing drugs and continue to support Major League Baseball's efforts to eradicate any such use in our game."

 

The franchise is no stranger to these problems.

 

Mets pitcher Guillermo Mota is currently serving a 50-game suspension for failing a steroid test last year under the auspices of MLB's Joint Drug and Prevention Program. Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden were key members of the Mets' 1986 World Series championship team whose careers ultimately ended early because of recreational drug use.

 

Baseball has been in the throes of steroid investigations since BALCO was raided and a tell-all book written by Jose Canseco alleged that he and numerous players had used performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.

 

Mark McGwire, who was cast under suspicion by Canseco and declined to answer questions at a Senate hearing in Washington two years ago investigating the allegations, fell far short of being elected to the Hall of Fame this year by eligible members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. It was his first time on the ballot.

 

The BALCO investigation has already claimed a number of convictions, including its founder, Victor Conte, and Greg Anderson, the former personal trainer of San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who has 741 homers right now, 14 behind Hank Aaron's MLB-leading 755.

 

Bonds remains under investigation for possible perjury regarding his 2003 grand jury testimony about his steroid use. Anderson is in a Bay Area prison for declining to testify in that extended case.

 

Commissioner Bud Selig convened the Mitchell committee in March 2006, charging the former majority leader to "leave no rock unturned" in his investigation of baseball's steroid era.

 

There is no timetable for Mitchell issuing his report.

 

By virute of this report, I am starting a petition to transfer ownership of the 1986 WS Title from the New York Mets to the Houston Astros. With everything else the 80s' Mets were involved with, I think PEDs are the least offensive.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Yanks make DICE-K~!!!! (HoF) their whipping boy for the second time this week.

[vivalaultra 0]

And here come the Sawx with bases loaded on Pettitte right back in the 5th.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

I don't want to go all Marvin on you and give pitch-by-pitch updates on this game that you don't care about, but there's the 5th home run for Aramis Ramirez, which I'm pretty sure leads the team. Good start to the year for Aramis.

 

EDIT: First homer for my guy, Pie.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Aramis almost stretched a ten-pitch AB out of Reyes earlier in the game, so I'd say that he's reading him pretty well tonight. Outside of getting blown up in the third, though, Reyes has actually looked pretty good.

 

Marquis, once again, is infuriating - if he had ditched the BP curveball and thrown nothing but sinkers and changeups (like Dave Duncan and the Cardinals had told him to do, repeatedly), as he's doing tonight, he probably would have won 20 for the Cardinals a year or two ago.

[Boon 0]

Sawks-Yanks today. DICE~K pitching. Nobody here yapping about it? Weirdness abound.

It's pretty nice not getting into pissing wars every other week.

[CanadianChris 0]

A rather obscure streak will come to an end tonight, barring a miracle comeback. This (soon-to-be) 7-game Yankee losing streak is the first since September 25-October 1, 2000. The Yankees had the longest active stretch without a 7-game losing streak in the majors.

 

They haven't had an eight-gamer since 1995, and they're two games (and three outs) away from their first nine-game losing streak in twenty-five years.

[Boon 0]

Count me among the skeptics at the beginning of the season who wondered why Cashman wouldn't pay Rivera.

 

Now I know why.

[snuffbox 0]

My apologies to vivalaultra.

[vivalaultra 0]

Unless you're JJ Hardy, you don't need to apologize. Condolences, however, will be accepted.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Yanks make DICE-K~!!!! (HoF) their whipping boy for the second time this week.

But, he still got the win with 4 ER in 6 innings. So, he knows how to win, and the Sawks rally around him. Ugh.

[Boon 0]

The difference in bullpens is amazing.

[CanadianChris 0]

The difference in bullpens is amazing.

Yes, one team actually has one.

[bob_barron 0]

It's always fun going to Yankee Stadium and seeing the Yanks getting killed 11-4

[Vern Gagne 0]

Nice win for the Twins. Came back and won 5-3 against the Tigers. Morneau homered, Mauer came off the bench with a two-run single in the 8th. Ortiz with another quality start.

[Guest]

Mike Cameron dropped a flyball that led to our win. It wasn't an easy ball to catch, but it wasn't a tough one either. I'll take what I can get.

[Failed Bridge 0]

It's always fun going to Yankee Stadium and seeing the Yanks getting killed 11-4

I DVRed the game so what area were you sitting in? I might have to go through and see if there's a bob barron sighting.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Nice win for the Brewers last night. Always a plus when you beat an ace like Oswalt. To celebrate, here are the NL Central standings:

 

Team W L PCT GB

Milwaukee 14 8 .636 -

Pittsburgh 11 10 .524 2.5

St. Louis 10 12 .455 4.0

Cincinnati 10 13 .435 4.5

Chi Cubs 9 13 .409 5.0

Houston 9 13 .409 5.0

 

[bob_barron 0]

It's always fun going to Yankee Stadium and seeing the Yanks getting killed 11-4

I DVRed the game so what area were you sitting in? I might have to go through and see if there's a bob barron sighting.

 

 

I was sitting behind Boston's dugout- Section 12 Box 240 Row H

[vivalaultra 0]

Well, the Astros are back on Joe Morgan's bad side, as they designated black/Japanese Stephen Randolph for assignment, stuck Chris Burke on the bench and have called up uber-prosepct Hunter Pence. Pence is now the starting CF and will be batting 2nd tonite. Hot shit!

[Vern Gagne 0]

Twins win 11-3. Hopefully the bats are waking up.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Alex has struck out twice today, with 5 men LOB. A couple bad games now, start up the death threats.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Red Sox still need to score, last I checked. What gives, guys?