There’s a lot here and it’s worth reading it in full. What captured my eye:

Alderson said some of the first steps would be restructuring Major League Baseball’s office in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital. He said the office’s director had been dismissed. He intends to develop measures to exercise more oversight of scouts and executives of major league teams doing business in the country and to expand educational programs informing players about the perils of performance-enhancing drugs.

Baseball plans to create its own youth baseball program in the country, Alderson said, and will consider fingerprinting prospects to keep track of them as they work their way through the system.

“People expressed to me here, they are proud of the place the Dominican Republic holds in professional baseball and proud of what they have produced,” Alderson said. “But there is also genuine embarrassment about those who use substances or turn out to be who they did not claim.”

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If you’re sick of this running diatribe, please feel free to skip this. It’s become my “cause celebre”, if you will. Yesterday, Joe Maddon had this to say about the broken bat that injured (thankfully only minor) David Price:

Afterward, Maddon said maple bats are becoming the “Claymore mines of baseball.” A Claymore mine, just for reference, is a directional antipersonnel mine used by the U.S. military in ambushes and against enemy infantry.

Price escaped with just an abrasion on his right palm near his thumb. Maddon vented about the use of maple bats after the game, saying the next time, or sometime after that, someone else won’t be as lucky.

“Some day somebody is going to get killed or impaled,” Maddon said. “David was fortunate today.”

Studies by baseball’s Safety and Health Advisory committee in 2008 concluded that maple bats are three times as likely to shatter as traditional ash bats. The study didn’t outlaw the bats, just made suggestions about how manufacturers should create the slope of the bat.

And the maple bats still keep shattering, although it’s not clear if they are shattering less or more.

“I don’t know if [the use of maple bats] is because of a shortage of wood or what,” Maddon said. “But it’s my opinion that maple should be banned at all levels.”

What’s it gonna take, Mr. Selig? A fan getting speared? A player? What’s the impetus for change? Death? If so, that’s pretty sad.

(please “view full post” to read more)

I missed this yesterday due to a very busy day at work, but the picture is worth posting:

Within seconds, the section came out like a wisdom tooth extracted. The concrete portion of the roof tumbled forward, then down, followed by the risers where seats were once attached. The dust cloud dissipated quickly.

Sorry, I’ve gotten over the dismantling of the Stadium. It was a great place, full of history. However, we move on. Maybe because my college buddies bought me two bricks from Monument Park (framed with a DiMaggio and Maris retired number) as a birthday present, so I can reminisce that way.

A bit of a scare today as a shattered bat barrel hits Rays pitcher David Price. Luckily, it doesn’t appear to be too serious.

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price left today’s game against the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being struck on his right hand by part of Adrian Beltre broken bat.

David Price left today’s game against the Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being struck on his right hand by the barrel of Adrian Beltre’s broken bat.

It was a moment that looked worse than it actually was.

“It was more of a scare,” Price said. “I don’t know what really happened. I guess at the last second I threw my hands up.”

(click “view full post” to read more)

The latest in USA Today’s multipart series (I commented on the first segment here) is about race in baseball and Torii Hunter is in midseason form:

“People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they’re African American,” Los Angeles Angels center fielder Torii Hunter says. “They’re not us. They’re impostors.

“Even people I know come up and say, ‘Hey, what color is Vladimir Guerrero? Is he a black player?’ I say, ‘Come on, he’s Dominican. He’s not black.’ “

[...]

There also might be flaws in the scouting system. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who grew up in Gary, Ind., and Hunter, from Pine Bluff, Ark., say few scouts bothered to watch them in high school. Too much crime, they say, too much poverty.

“It’s not just the white scouts,” Hunter says. “Most black scouts aren’t going there either. I thought most guys would want to go into those areas to find the next Jackie Robinson or Hank Aaron.”

[I just found this picture above. What stunned me was the caption: "Two Dominicans who have stolen the spots of Blacks in Major League Baseball." Really? "Stolen"? C'mon.]

(click “view full post” to read more)

Nomar’s retiring as a RedSox today. Here’s to wishing him well and remembering fondly back when this stuff was all new and possible. The Big Three. A modified Springsteen album title: “The young, the wild and the innocent”:

Why people feel compelled to get behind the wheel after drinking is beyond me. I’m not going to get all preachy, but this is such a selfish act. Just call a cab, ask a friend, whatever. Just don’t turn on the car.

A top New York Yankees executive was charged with driving under the influence in Tampa.

Hillsborough County Jail reports show that Mark Newman, the Yankees’ senior vice president of baseball operations, was arrested Monday night. He reportedly refused to take a blood-alcohol test. He was released several hours later on $500 bail.

Isn’t this exactly what precipitated the sudden departure of Steve Swindal from the Yanks inner circle, not that long ago?

Sheesh.

Kids today are wicked soft. There’s quite a bit of fun buried in that comment. Here’s why:

The Lowell Spinners (short season; NY-Penn League) are bringing back the Yankees Elimination Promotion for a fifth year, as the Red Sox affiliate works to eliminate New York Yankees teams from youth baseball programs throughout New England.

[...]

“The Yankees Elimination Promotion was originally built as a fun promotion in response to parent’s stories of children losing interest in the game after facing taunts simply for playing in a Yankees uniform,” said Spinners Vice President and General Manager Tim Bawmann. “Five years later teams are still eliminating the Yankees and the joy on the faces of the newly minted Spinners players on the field at LeLacheur Park reminds us why we love this game.”

Only in New England is this an issue. Booo-hooo.

So much teaching kids that life’s not fair, people are mean and that the Yankees suck. Go Spinners.

(thanks to Pete Toms for the heads up)

Is the answer really throwing more money via revenue sharing and luxury tax at the Rays? Or does this team need to either move elsewhere (out of state) or get out of their stadium into a better location within Tampa?

Stuart Sternberg, savvy owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, in a recent interview predicted that his team’s payroll must be sliced from more than $70 million this season to the $50 million range for 2011.

[...]

Renewal of season tickets, Sternberg said, is “bad … not good.”

Usually when a team goes to the World Series, there’s an attendance jump the following season, but the 2009 Rays fell short of the Major League average of 30,351, drawing a disappointing 23,148.

The Tampa market is not supporting its team. Is it then therefore fair that MLB subsidizes this team to stay afloat (“good money after bad“)? Is it any more fair that the Yanks can out-spend their nearest high-spending competitor by $65m (in 2009)?

(click “view full post” to read more)

The story first:

Galea told The Associated Press on Monday that he treated the Yankees star for his hip, which was “inflamed.” But Galea says he has never given HGH to any athlete and Rodriguez was given anti-inflammatories.

I wish this passed the sniff test with me. But it doesn’t. Here’s why:

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