UPDATE #1: Shysterball‘s taken a stab at Clemens’ book report. Rather than rehash his well-done work (which I don’t have time for, anyways!), I’ll just suggest you saunter to his little blog of glory to read the full shebang.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Here’s my conundrum: I was born and raised a Yankee fan. It’s my hometown team, the team that my Dad rooted for as a kid. The team that my kids root for. No different had I been born in Kansas City; we woulda been Royals fans (damn you, Larry Gura!). However, being a Yankee fan, to me, doesn’t mean I have to like or agree with everything they do.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Nothing to do with sports, steroids, scandal. Just a good 5 minutes to ease your brain as we head towards the weekend…. let this take you back to Daniel-San and the Kobra Kai. If you don’t understand the reference or the amazing video below, Dad, I will call you and explain!

Like a good tornado, this picks up speed as it goes along.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Remember when MLB drug testing results were under lock and key, and the players were promised anonymity? How quaint. Not so much any more.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Yep, this is a sports blog, but sometimes there are other things worth mentioning, especially when it’s of historic size or value.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Butch, from From The Cheap Seats, posed a question in the comments section in an earlier posting of mine about the concentration of players who tested positive for PED use since 2005. He was curious to see if the %’s of those testing positive matched the % of geographic origin.

I promised a follow-up when I could track down the info, and the good folks at Baseball-Reference.com were kind enough to show me how to find the data I needed.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

I mean, who hasn’t tried to shake down a friend, a colleague, a former co-worker?

Jose’s at it again.

Scott Boras, Ordonez’s agent, filed a complaint with the FBI after Canseco spoke with a Boras employee and said Ordonez would be “clear” if the outfielder invested in the movie project, the newspaper said.

Shyster’s on this, too.

On the heels of Goose getting elected and the requisite hue-and-cry about Jim Rice not, I present this (belatedly, sorry), from This Day in Baseball History for January 23rd, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com (emphasis mine):

1979 – Outfielder Willie Mays, considered one of the greatest players of his generation, is elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Mays garners 409 out of 432 votes and becomes the 14th man to gain election in his first year on the ballot. Mays will officially enter the HoF on August 5, along with Veterans Committee selections Warren Giles and Hack Wilson.

That Willie Mays could only muster 95% of the votes, or 23 voters thought otherwise, is a ridiculous joke. Goes to show, even back then, in the good old days that the BBWAA were so incredibly full of themselves, so self-important, so self-appointed guardians of the game. Know who else got 95%? Carl Yazstremski. That seems about right, doesn’t it? (banging skull on corner of desk)

A further look at B-R’s HOF vote tallies illustrate some other surprising, shocking (insert your adverb here) results. Rather than list them all, I have taken some of the biggest names in MLB’s history and here are their HOF voting results. Tell me, what on Earth were these voters thinking?

Name Votes Pct. Ballots

Willie Mays 409 95%
Babe Ruth 215 95% Initial HOF Class
Honus Wagner 215 95% Initial HOF Class
Bob Feller 150 94%
Jim Palmer 411 93%
Roberto Clemente 393 93%
Stan Musial 317 93%
Ted Williams 282 93%
Brooks Robinson 344 92%
Christy Mathewson 205 91% Initial HOF Class
Joe DiMaggio 223 89%
Mickey Mantle 322 88%
Sandy Koufax 344 87%
Yogi Berra 339 86%
Nap Lajoie 168 84% 2nd HOF Class
Walter Johnson 189 84% Initial HOF Class
Warren Spahn 315 83%
Joe Morgan 363 82%
Roy Campanella 270 79%
Jimmie Foxx 179 79%
Jackie Robinson 124 78%
Cy Young 153 76% 2nd HOF Class

Seriously, Big Train got “only” 84%? Mickey Mantle and Joltin’ Joe could only muster 88% and 89%, respectively?!? Cy FREAKIN’ Young, in the 2nd HOF class ever, got only 76%? Talk about a writer bias, huh? Speaking of bias, how does Jackie Robinson only get 78%? And someday, when I am long gone from this world, maybe I’ll get a chance to meet some of these writers and ask which 5% thought Babe Ruth wasn’t HOF worthy, in the INITIAL HOF CLASS EVER!

The rant is over, please resume your normal activities.

Warning: Contains high levels of sarcasm.

Hide the kids! Hide the women! Avert your eyes! Remember this? More to come!

MLB and infrastructure provider EMC have announced that they have teamed up to sponsor the Red Sox – A’s game in Tokyo March 23-25. What does this mean? It means traditionalists will freak out by seeing EMC logos and sleeve patches, along with one touting the event “Japan 2008″.

EMC, already a corporate partner and the official information infrastructure solutions provider of the defending World Series champion Red Sox, will commemorate the event with specially designed sleeve patches featuring the EMC and “Japan 2008″ logos to be worn by manager Terry Francona and all Boston players. This will be the first corporate logo on a Red Sox uniform. EMC is also expected to participate via stadium signage and other events surrounding the games.

Yet, the traditionalists conveniently forget what stadiums used to look like, back in the good old days. Like this:

Whatever. It’s for a few games in Japan so let’s not freak out too much.

Yes, I am a Buster Olney fan. He posted on his blog today, which is among my daily must reads no matter what else is going on, a snippet on every team and the questions facing them. What I have presented below are some of the more curious, obvious, silly, etc., ones that I thought he should have done more with. My comments follow each. This is not meant to be a rip on Buster, mind you, just a rebuttal.

Rather than post 2-3 points on each team, why not profile a team or two a day and get that in-depth goodness that we know Buster is good for? OK, maybe he was told to do it this way, maybe he just opted for the USA Today approach (an “economy of words”).

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

UPDATE #3: Visual proof (no pun intended, I promise) of Jacobson swilling right from the bottle! Also, seems that there will be a protest at ESPN HQ.

Looks like Ms. Belivdere, aka Dana Jacobson, has been sent to the pine for a week to dry out and rue her poor choices in words and actions at the Mike and Mike roast last week.

At the roast, Jacobson made a rambling speech that included vulgar references about Notre Dame. Jacobson is a Michigan graduate, and she and Golic, a former Irish defensive lineman, often have exchanged barbs about the rivalry between the schools. One eyewitness labeled it an “embarrassing display,” and a newspaper account said the crowd booed Jacobson.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.

Was skimming ESPN’s baseball section this morning before my day gets devoured by deadlines and such. Now, it’s become fashionable to bash ESPN at every turn (see Deadspin, as well as the post above this one as hypocrisy lives here, too!) and sometimes it’s justified. I happen to be in the camp that believes their baseball coverage, while understandably tilted Eastward, is pretty darned good. [And people, if you can't get over that "understandably" in the previous sentence, it's time to.]

Guys like Rob Neyer and Keith Law provide solid, objective analyses, while reporters like Peter Gammons and Buster Olney cover the happenings. Crasnick and Stark cover the rest, including quirky stuff. Overall, I like their content. Doesn’t mean I agree with 100% of it, but it’s broad AND deep, which is a good thing.

Select View Full Post to continue reading.