Stadium schadenfreude

Talk about profoundly bad timing.

In a case of monumentally bad timing, this year three of the biggest names in pro sports -- the Yankees, New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys -- are opening three of the most expensive stadiums ever built, filled with premium-priced seats and luxury amenities. At a combined cost of more than $3.5 billion, the stadiums were conceived and financed in a vastly different environment, a time when corporations and municipalities were flush with cash. Now they're opening just as corporate America is going through a massive belt-tightening -- and trying to avoid the appearance of extravagance at all costs.

Sure, it's fun to mock these teams, especially the Yanks, but the truth is, when all of these architectural masterpieces, the economy wasn't a concern. The mammoth egos of the owners fueled the drive for newer, bigger, shinier... all driven by significant corporate sponsorship and participation. Now, not so much:

"Build the most expensive stadium, charge high prices and have the worst economy. It's called lack of sleep," says Lonn Trost, the Yankees chief operating officer.

At least he's being honest. But sponsorships are drying up, as is the interest in high end seats and luxury boxes:

Bank of America recently ended negotiations with the Yankees over what would reportedly have been a $20-million-a-year sponsorship deal.
[...]
With just weeks before their new $1.1 billion stadium opens, the Cowboys still have 2,000 premium seats and about 50 of their 300 luxury suites left to sell. The Yankees have hired Mr. Sroka to drum up buyers for the hundreds of premium seats still in their inventory. The Mets, who once had deals for all 49 of their luxury suites, say they've had to go back to the market after one customer, whom they declined to name, backed out.
[...]
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones held out for an even bigger naming rights deal -- some experts thought he could get as much as $1 billion, though team executives says they never expected that much -- but instead saw the naming-rights market dry up. Mr. Jones said he was a victim of bad timing, but expects the market to recover.
[...]
No team has hitched its star more closely to the corporate market than the Cowboys. The $1.1 billion Cowboys stadium will hold up to 100,000 fans, the most in the NFL. Fans will enter and exit through 120-foot-tall retractable glass doors at either end zone. The scoreboard alone -- a mammoth, 160-foot-long high-definition screen -- cost more than $35 million, as much as the entire Texas Stadium, the team's former home.

Paying for it all are the more than 15,000 premium seats, costing as much as $340 per seat, per game. When the team broke ground in April, 2006, the stadium was designed to have 200 luxury suites; Mr. Jones added another 100 during construction.

Don't forget, either, that the Yanks and Cowboys decided that paying someone else to provide high end concessions wasn't good enough; they teamed up to create their own concessions business (or as I called it, a new Axis of Evil): Legends Hospitality Management.

The bottom line is while the initial reports aren't glowing for the sales teams at these stadiums, over the long term, they will continue to be a huge cash cow. The Cowboys' stadium, for example, will seat 100,000. Can you imagine the financial disparity between their gate/concessions take as compared to the desperate times at Detroit's stadium? Times will indeed improve. Corporate suits will once again fill the best seats in each stadium. And each team will continue to spend as if this current Recession/Depression never happened.

ARod needs surgery, out until May?

Just heard on MLB on XM: ARod needs hip surgery and will miss all of April. Waiting for confirmations on MSM outlets.

• Here's the ESPN Deportes link, if you can read Spanish. I can read enough of it...Yanks haven't commented on this.
• Here's the MLB.com link. All sources from the DR.

"We're not giving any information right now," Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said Thursday.

"I do not have that information. I have not heard that yet. I have to talk to Cash," manager Joe Girardi said, referring to general manager Brian Cashman.

So who plays third for the first month? Angel Berroa?

Foundation shenanigans

I will do my best to not comment on every ARod gaff, goof, etc. this whole season. No promises, but I will try to keep it to a minimum.

This one, however, is not his fault, but it's worth mentioning:

Alex Rodriguez and the Taylor Hooton Foundation linked to Buysteroids.com

As you are probably aware, the nephew of former major leaguer Burt Hooton, Taylor Hooton, committed suicide as a result of fits of 'roid rage that spiraled him into depression. The Taylor Hooton Foundation was established to help make kids aware of the ills of steroid use.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation has recently announced that Alex Rodriguez would be joining their team to help educate the youth of America against the perils of steroid use. Don Hooton, president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation has stated:

"This is the first time that we have teamed up with a ballplayer who has made a mistake with steroids...he stressed he wants to turn his mistake into something positive..."

That's all great, wonderful, fantastic. ARod's taking the steps that McGwire never took.

EXCEPT...

A glance at the Taylor Hooton Foundation website reveals that they have published informational articles from the so-called Association Against Steroid-Abuse (AASA) . This company, located in Houston, TX, is owned by Brian Clapp, who, according to aboutus.org is also the owner of Steroid.com -- a site where you can learn how to use anabolic steroids and even receive a list where you can find contact information for steroid dealers:

"To subscribe to our list of International Steroid Suppliers, please fill out the form below. Your list will be confidentially MAILED to you within 24 hours."

A complete business report reveals that Mr. Clapp also owns the sites SteroidCleanse.com (a site where you can purchase a product that can be used to beat sports doping tests), AR-R.com (where you can purchase supplies for home-brewing injectable steroids, as well as liquid versions of Viagra and other drugs), and even BuySteroids.com, which promises:

"Buy Anabolic Steroids online at Buy Steroids. We ship discreetly, internationally, no prescription required, secure checkout, trusted vendor."

WHOOPS!!! This isn't ARod's fault; it's the Hooton Foundation's lack of due diligence. But it's startling nonetheless.

At this point, it is not believable that Mr. Hooton was unaware of the hypocricy behind the AASA, as he's been promoted by Steroid.com in the past, and apparently is such good friends with Millard Baker (a Steroid.com author) that he was introduced to Dr. Michael Scally by him. Dr. Scally is a doctor who has lost his license to practice medicine in Texas, because he'd been prescribing drugs illegally to steroid users. Why is Don Hooton palling around with a doctor who lost his license for working with steroid users, when he earns 100% of his income from being an anti-steroid crusader? Why is he being promoted by Steroid.com, and their authors on a site where "beat steroid testing" products are clearly advertised next to articles promoting Mr.Hooton? Why is Don Hooton not investigating people he associates with?

The good news:

After the initial publication of this article (on February 20th, 2009), it was removed and slightly altered from it's original form. The Taylor Hooton Foundation has removed any and all information gained from the Association Against Steroid Abuse from their own site, and expressed thanks to Anthony Roberts and Examiner.com for alerting them to the situation.

Big thanks to Anthony Roberts for sending me this story.


UPDATE (11:35am, 3/5/09): I traded a few emails with the author, Anthony Roberts. I was dumbfounded that Hooton would allegedly knowingly associate himself with steroid pushers. His reply, with his consent (I can neither confirm nor deny his claims here, but I have posted them since it's the first time I am hearing them):

"I'm a steroid-industry insider...Don wasn't unaware...I told him, prior to his putting the AASA information up on his site...he knew FULL WELL who they were and what they were up to. And if I hadn't, then he should still do his due diligence and research this kind of thing on his own. After having three books published on steroids, I can tell you that this kind of stuff goes on every day.

He did it because nobody is watching him. He lost his son. People are hesitant to attack his credibility because he lost his son, which is tragic, but his son was on Lexapro (side effect listed: Suicide) and not steroids (for which suicide is not listed as a side effect). He blithely claims his son killed himself because of steroid use, and few people want to wear the black hat and say that Don is wrong.

Check out the movie "Bigger Stronger Faster" - Don is asked by the director of the documentary about the lexapro vs. steroids thing, and he says that he doesn't care about logic or logical arguments, because he lost his son. That's great, and I sympathize, but then he shouldn't be testifying in front of Congress (or making ~$4.5 million per year off his foundation)."

UPDATE #2 (1:30pm, 3/5/09): Seems I touched a nerve... I just got off the phone with The Hooton Foundation's representatives. I don't think they are sending henchmen after me but they did want to get their side of the story out. In the interest of portraying both sides of the story, I will let you decide what you want to believe.

I spoke with the attorney who represents Don's Foundation. He stated that Don "emphatically had no clue about Mr. Clapp's background." When Don initially started doing research, he was doing internet searches and came across Clapp's "Association Against Steroid-Abuse" and some articles that appeared to be legitimate. Don apparently did not know that Clapp was moonlighting as a steroid pusher. Don also vaguely remembers his chat with Anthony Roberts and fully admits that he didn't do enough due diligence.

Since then, the representative claims, they have revamped the Foundation's leadership, now chaired by famed WADA leader Dr. Gary Wadler. Also on the board is James Whitehead (CEO of the American College of Sports Medicine). Per the representative: "This little foundation outspends all federal anti-steroid programs by a factor of 10."

Lastly, the representative mentioned the movie referenced above, noting that it was more of a "videotorial". It appeared they were on a mission to cast those who disagreed in a bad light. Having not seen the movie, I can not offer an opinion. He did say, however, that the interview was taken in Taylor's bedroom, which has not changed since his death. Personally speaking, I can't imagine conducting an interview in my deceased son's bedroom and not being emotional or incoherent.


Let's just make this crystal clear: I have no interest in causing any harm to any anti-steroid efforts, particularly those who are seeking to educate in the schools. I would welcome the Foundation to come to my town to present to the kids. I have asked the representative for an invite when they come to Yankee Stadium during this season.

I originally wrote about all of this not to slam the Hooton Foundation, but rather to show how easy even the most reputable efforts can be undone by treachery. I had never heard of these connections prior to receiving an email from Anthony Roberts last evening. The connection to ARod was unfortunate but was enough to bring this all to light.

Consider this an invitation to both The Hooton Foundation and Millard Baker to contribute to the website. I will also volunteer my services, in any way I can, to assist in anti-steroids efforts.

So was it all worth it?

It's a question that's not totally fair as things changed mightily since last Fall, but my question to Manny and Boras would be: "So was it all worth it?"

Manny, you soiled your reputation. You have been labeled as a quitter, a lockerroom wedge. Even your closest friends on the Sox finally couldn't handle it any longer and had to go to your GM to ask him to deal you. And the loyal RSN was thrilled to see you finally gone. Imagine that? The MVP of the tectonic plate-changing 2004 World Series RedSox...booed out of town.

Was it it worth doing for $5 million dollars? After earning $160m on the RedSox alone, was that extra $5m that important? Was it worth the criticism? Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe it's all that matters, getting the highest dollar amount he could each year.

In Jayson Stark's article, he details the final meeting between Manny & Boras along with Colletti, McCourt and Torre. One thing was obvious:

They also talked about the shenanigans Ramirez had pulled in Boston before he ever reached L.A. They talked about the damage he had done to his image. And they needed to know, they said, that there would be no encores of that act.

Ramirez gave his promise: no more stunts. No more problems. He knew how people outside Los Angeles felt about him, he said. And this was going to be his chance to rewrite that story and fix that damaged image.

Can you take Manny at his word? Me, either. I can't wait until he opts out this Fall and we get to do this again.

Cody Ransom can jump over you

Well, if you're 5'2". Still, this is pretty amazing.

Admiring the comedic genius of MLB contracts, part I

First in a series of posts that shed some light into the nuances and comedic genius of MLB contracts, incentives and bonuses.

In honor of Freddy Garcia's latest craptastic outing, I present his 2009 contract details, including bonuses and incentives:

• National Association contract for $15,000/mo.
• Letter Agreement for Major League contract for $1,500,000.
• Plus: $250,000 for 120ip; $250,000 for 130ip; $250,000 for 140ip; $250,000 for 150ip; $250,000 for 160ip; $500,000 for 170ip; $500,000 for 180ip; $500,000 for 190ip; $500,000 for 200ip;
• $250,000 for 10gs; $250,000 for 15gs; $250,000 for 20gs; $500,000 for 25gs; $500,000 for 30gs.
• Plus: $100,000 for Comeback Player of the Year;
• $50,000 for All Star;
• $100,000 for Cy Young ($25,000-2nd; $10,000-3rd);
• $25,000 for Gold Glove;
• $25,000 for LCS/MVP;
• $100,000 for WS/MVP.
• Plus for each on the active 25-man roster: $250,000 for 30 days; $250,000 for 60 days; $250,000 for 90 days; $250,000 for 120 days; $250,000 for 150 days; $250,000 for 180 days.

I know that some of those "award" bonuses are standard in most contracts, but it sure is fun to read it with respect to Freddy Garcia (especially for 2009). All of this might be moot if he continues to pitch like he did yesterday.

Garcia, who is trying to come back from reconstructive shoulder surgery, lasted just two innings in his second spring appearance. That was an improvement, considering he lasted just two-thirds of an inning last Friday, but apparently it was not enough to impress manager Jerry Manuel.

"With the numbers we have in that spot and his situation of not being active for a while, [that] will probably make it very, very difficult for him to leapfrog some of those other guys that are in that spot and have pitched recently," Manuel said of Garcia's chances at the No. 5 role.

How the steroids mess was missed

Via Buster's blog, a very good article from NY Times' Harry Araton shedding some thoughts and insight into how and why the steroids mess was missed for so long: laziness, fear of being ostracized, fear of alienating your contacts, etc. (emphasis mine)

“A good amount of sports journalism is talking to players, getting them to say things that stir up controversy,” said Tom Rosenstiel, the director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. “To some extent, that’s why the steroid story went on so long, because reporters were relying on what people said rather than going out, finding sources and what was going on for themselves.”
[...]
Selena Roberts, who broke the story, is not only a former colleague, she is a good friend. That said, she is not the first reporter to be attacked by those she wrote about, by people in power well positioned to co-opt the public. The Associated Press reporter Steve Wilstein’s professionalism was questioned when he reported on Mark McGwire’s andro use in 1998. ...

But the real crux of this discussion lies at the feet of the reporters covering the teams. As with anything, what did they know and when did they know it...and why didn't they say anything as soon as they learned of something? Questions we'll never really know the answers to. Some writers, Buster particularly, have been self-critical. Others less so. What started out as a search for some of Buster's notable admissions and self-admonishments, brought me to an article that's two and a half years old, but as relevant as ever.

Witness some self-admitted mistakes from some of the names you know (and some you don't) as it pertains to missing the steroids boat cruise early on (from an article dated 10/1/06):

• "The bottom line is, we were nowhere on it," says Howard Bryant, who covered baseball during the late 1990s and the first part of this decade for the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News and the Boston Herald, and now tracks football for The Washington Post. "It was too easy to ignore what was happening -- and we did ignore it."
  
  Adds Jeff Pearlman, a former baseball writer for Sports Illustrated, "I think we just blew it."
  
  
• "I think all of us wish now that we had pushed harder," says Tom Jolly, sports editor at The New York Times. "I suspect we weren't as well-informed about the whole thing as we are now."
  
  
• Ken Rosenthal, an analyst for FoxSports. com and a former baseball writer for The Sun in Baltimore, agrees. "In hindsight, I screwed up," he says about his failure to get at the steroid issue, especially during the 1998 home run chase. "That is our greatest sin, extolling these guys as something more than they were. Some of us had a feeling that something was amiss. We are more guilty of making McGwire and Sosa into heroes when they weren't."
  
  
• Instead of being praised for discovering a questionable act by a baseball star in the middle of a record-breaking season, Wilstein was vilified. Other sportswriters didn't pick up the story or dig into what McGwire or Sosa were using as they pursued the historic home run mark. "After I reported it, people still didn't want to believe it, and it was so important," Wilstein, recently retired, tells E&P. "It may be that 'andro' was not the only thing he was doing. It probably put a little pressure on other baseball writers because it threatened the sport they loved and required them to write about something that they probably did not want to write about."
  
  
• "I guess we were all caught up in the excitement of the home run chase," says Heyman, who was a Newsday columnist in 1998, "rather than spend all of the time and energy [on steroids] when the only guarantee was that we would annoy everyone around us, we took an easier route."
  
  
• Peter Schmuck, a baseball writer for The Sun in Baltimore and president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, agrees, observing that in 1998, "Everyone knew that normal people don't have arms that big."
  
  
• During the next decade, however, [Glenn Schwarz, sports editor of the San Francisco Chronicle since 2000, and prior to that at the former San Francisco Examiner] says the story was not on the paper's radar. Even after 1998, he admits, reporters missed a chance to dig into the issue with McGwire as the perfect target. "The 'andro' thing was forgotten about," he says. "You didn't read anything about it in 1999. It was a missed opportunity at the time to inform the public."
  
  
• Add to this the rumors and off-the-record comments recalled by some former beat writers. Buster Olney, now with ESPN The Magazine, was a baseball beat writer from 1990 to 2003, the last six years at the New York Times covering the Mets and Yankees. He says he first heard whispers of steroids and other boosters while covering the minor league Nashville Sounds for the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner in 1988. "I never saw anything, never had a player admit it to me, but you'd hear things," he says. "Players saying, 'I think this guy might be on something.'"
  
  Later on, as a baseball writer for the San Diego Union, Olney recalls covering the 1993 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays and the rumor mill running rampant about some beefed-up players. "People just looked at the bodies," Olney recalls. He cites suddenly musclebound Phillies outfielder Len Dykstra, who hit 19 home runs that year -- twice the number he had during any other season -- as among those suspected but never proven. "That generated a lot of conversation," he says.
  
  But Olney also notes the difficulty in proving those accusations. If a reporter hears whispers and rumors, he can't prove it unless he gets a confession or witnesses something. "The problem is, how do you get at it?" he asks. "In 1996, I went up to a player and said, 'People think you're on steroids.' He said, 'Absolutely not.' I didn't write it because I didn't have proof."
  
  
• Sports Editor Bill Adee of the Chicago Tribune, who previously ran the Chicago Sun-Times sports desk, had reporters looking into Sammy Sosa's conduct years ago -- but they didn't turn up enough evidence for a story. "It is safe to say that we didn't find enough where we felt comfortable to publish," he says, declining to be more specific. "People are assuming that just because we didn't publish anything means we didn't try to report something."
  
  
• There is also the issue of angering players on the team they have to cover every day. "Somebody on a beat has to worry about getting their job done," says Gary Jacobson, a reporter with The Dallas Morning News who co-wrote a series last year on high school steroid use. "A beat writer has to continue covering a team or a sport. If you piss people off, they shut you out."
  
  
• Still, Olney and others say sports reporters and columnists could have written about the rumors and skepticism the way Nightengale did, and might have sparked some people to come forward sooner if they had. "That is the story we all could have done," Olney says about Nightengale's 1995 piece. "We could have written general stories about what people were saying."
  
  Jolly, the New York Times sports editor, says the question has nagged at him for years: "I've wrestled with it and wondered if there were other approaches -- if there were other avenues outside the locker room we could have taken."

You get the point. The writers and reporters could have done more. Should we have EXPECTED more? Maybe. But honestly, how many of us are strong enough to risk our careers to be a whistleblower? You need to feed your family, a professional identity to cultivate or protect. I can see how and why some chose to cover their eyes and rejoice over McGwire, Sosa and the rest.

None of the famed writers "back in the day" would have ever shared the back page salicious gossip that followed Mickey, Whitey, Billy and Hank (Bauer). The players images were protected, cultivated, fostered, and built up by the writers. Babe's womanizing wasn't discussed like it would be today. Then again, we're just in a different age. Or "era". Every idiot with a phone, blackberry, and/or computer can break news or, like here, rant on the latest news du jour.

Blaming the media for this mess isn't fair; it's just the way it is. There is ample blame to lay at the feet of many. I don't think there is one constituency that would emerge with clean hands:

• Dirty players: Obviously. They enjoyed (and to a degree, still enjoy) the cloak of secrecy that the Union provided.
• Clean players: For not tipping off writers. For not yelling louder to their Union leaders. For not demanding more stringent testing.
• Union leadership: For being so shortsighted to protect the guilty rather than the innocent. For allowing its membership to engage in potentially deadly drugs in the name of higher pay, anonymity, solidarity.
• Selig & Co.: For not being more proactive. For not holding firm on demands for testing when the CBA was being re-written, post-strike. For having the nerve to act surprised by all of this. For not being more forceful.
• Media: For not digging deeper. For allowing the rumors and scuttle to go unmentioned for fear of one's job and reputation. For ignoring the truths that they witnessed daily, whether obvious or hidden.
• Fans: For donning the rose colored glasses and voting with our wallets. Unless, at the end of the day, in our quietest moments of honesty and solitude, we really don't care that much at all. Do we just want to be wildly entertained and if these guys will risk their lives for our amazement and amusement, so be it? Judging by the ever growing attendance and MLB revenues, maybe that's just it.

We and the media bang our chests in fits of rage, outrage and heightened morality about the PED users because we don't like cheating and we don't want to see our fathers' heroes trashed and passed in the record books. But we sure did love the show when we watched it. We can wear our revisionist glasses now and make a pariah out of McGwire, a clown out of Sosa and a mockery of ARod. But ARod has nine more years left to go and as we have already seen, once he hits one out for his hometown team, the fans will continue to cheer. After all, we do love a good show.

Finally: Manny a Dodger

Like it was ending any other way?

After multiple failed attempts, Ramirez and the Dodgers agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal on Tuesday.

Can we now move on?

Just say "no comment" and we'll all be better off for it

Seriously, can he just "no comment" the rest of the 2009 season?

"I wish he was leading off on our team, playing on our team," Rodriguez said of Reyes, who hustled to take an extra base in the fifth inning and then stole third and scored in the Dominican team's 10-1 win over the Marlins. "That's fun to watch. Anytime you have that type of speed... I mean, we have a guy in (Brett) Gardner that'll be fun. That's probably the most you can have, watching those guys run."

No, of course it wasn't a dig at Jeter, but he looks yet again like a dumbass. Said Pete Abe:

He then sent word through a team PR man that his comments shouldn’t be taken as a shot at Derek Jeter. No, of course not. Reyes plays shortstop. That’s the same position Jeter plays. How could anybody take that as a shot?

It’s truly amazing. It really is.

Remember way back when I called ARod a Seinfeld-esque "Inappropriate Comment Guy" out of the Crazy Joe Davola mold? That ICG guy is back, with a vengence. Said me, just over a year ago:

ICG, why do you so often stumble on things that are so easy to step over or around? Just avoid the traps and you'll be OK. We, the fans, really want to embrace you, but you make it tough sometimes with these proclamations. We "get it" that you're not Jeter. Few are that media savvy (or vanilla). But for a guy who is protrayed as intelligent, you sure do step on your own tongue too often.

New pictures of an almost complete Yankee Stadium

In honor of "superflush", which, I am guessing, is testing to see what would happen if all of the toilets were flushed simultaneously.

Tito "young and stupid"?

Again, I kid (emphasis mine):

"Yeah, you know it was really encouraging," [Francona] said on NESN. "Usually after you get an injection like that, because of the numbing medicine, if you feel relief right away then they've kind of got it in the right area. Felt really good getting up off the table, so I was very encouraged by that, and think hopefully this could be kind of a long-term benefit."

Francona said he didn't know what the injection was, but added Drew was scheduled to take batting practice on Thursday and be in the lineup on Friday, the Globe reported.

Francona was just using the ARod "young and stupid" defense, not knowing what drugs Drew was taking. Probably tryptophan.


thanks to themarksmith for the tip!

For the love of the lame

Massachussetts state Rep. William Brownsberger wants to have "Fever Pitch" declared as the "official movie" of the state. You sir, are officially LAME. Why not write a bill to change the Sox team colors to pink hats and green jerseys?

Fever Pitch features the most important season in modern Red Sox history: 2004, when the curse was reversed and the Bosox won the World Series. Some of that season's favorite players and actors did a wicked awesome job getting the Boston accent right.

Just this year, state Rep. William Brownsberger filed a bill to name Fever Pitch the official movie of the Massachusetts Commonwealth. By filing this bill, he's not only helping teach some eighth-graders a civics lesson (showing them how a bill becomes a law), he's also showing respect for a film that makes New York Yankees fans cringe. Don't judge the movie by the box office, but by the DVD sales to those as obsessed with the Red Sox as Jimmy Fallon's character was.

Thanks to Chris L. for the tip.

Seriously, can we do SOMETHING about these bats already?

When is it going to be enough? Nearly piercing a coach's eye not enough? Do we have to wait until someone is permanently maimed (or worse) before doing something? Outlaw the maple bats until you can figure something out, something to make them safer for other players, coaches, umpires and the fans. Once you figure out a way to prevent the bats from splintering and helicoptering into the seats or the field, bring 'em back. Until then, no more maple bats.

This is ridiculous:

[Indians' Triple-A manager Torey] Lovullo was standing with Shelton in the dugout during the fourth inning of the Indians' game against the Rockies on Sunday, watching Crowe at the plate, when Crowe's bat shattered on contact with the ball. The broken bat flew over the heads of Lovullo and Shelton, hit the netting directly above the Indians' dugout and ricocheted back. When Lovullo turned to see where it went, the bat immediately struck him above the eye.
[...]
Back at work Monday morning, Lovullo had a nasty shiner under his sunglasses, his left eye essentially sealed shut.

He was lucky he was wearing sunglasses at the time of the incident. Had he not been wearing them, the bat might have pierced his eye.

Bud, this one will be on you and you can't act surprised. Time to be PROACTIVE!!!!

Gonna be a good afternoon

Why I love having a TV in my office: Starting around 1:15pm or so, the Yanks play Team USA on YES.

[Hacker alert: He's scheduled to pitch in the 6th or so.]

Hold my calls (no one calls me), cancel my meetings (I had none scheduled).

I've got a day of Excel jockeying to do so having the game on is a nice diversion.

That's Jeter vs. the Yanks (to the right). Haven't seen that before.


UPDATE: Hacker's in. It's not good, either. A slow infield chopper for a single to Jeter. Team USA has it's studs still playing. A pair of walks. Then a tailor-made double-play that Berroa tried to hatch into a baby penguin. Passed ball, 2nd run in. Defense failing him bigtime but he got behind a few batters. Youkilis and his funky grip fist a ball into right, two more runs in. I hate to see this. Not fun. They are letting him pitch through all of this. Braun drilled. Hacker's done for the day. Shake it off, Big E, shake it off.

Pedro feet firmly planted in the clouds

Headline: Pedro Martinez wants big contract or he'll retire and 'go fishing'.

"No chip on my shoulder," [Pedro] said. "I understand business, and I understand the ugly face of baseball, which is the business of baseball. Whether you like it or not, the last few years I'll be the first one to tell you I haven't been the Pedro Martinez that I'm used to being. If nobody takes a chance, well, I'll go fishing. If I'm healthy and I'm able to do the things that I used to do, I think a lot of people are going to probably regret not taking a chance."

Does he even realize that he was hurt a LOT the last few years? That he wasn't terribly effective even when he pitched the last two years?

Martinez, who was 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA last year in 20 starts for the Mets, in his first full season since returning from shoulder surgery...

If he understands business, even a little bit, he should know that teams are not placing anything more than a nominal bet on older, oft-injured pitchers, regardless of their histories (good or bad). Mike Hampton, Brad Penny, Tom Glavine, Carl Pavano, etc. Even John Smoltz got a contract below his stature. But Pedro thinks he's worth more.

In the sister-story on Newsday:

Q: Would you do what Tom Glavine did -- sign a low base contract with incentives?
PM: If I wanted to pitch that bad, I probably would. But I don’t think I’m in that stage. I believe I’m very comfortable. I’m not going to let anybody disrespect my abilities the way I am. I’d say no, that’s it. I wouldn’t say I want to pitch that bad.

Time to grab the bait bucket, Pedro.

I'd take Lou in the 2nd

Don't know about you, but if he was crazy enough to tussle with Dibble back in the day (right), he's crazy enough to try it with the Silver Fox, Steve Phillips. And I think he'd smoke 'em:

"I don't have much respect for Steve Phillips," Piniella said after hearing the comment Monday. "Let him be around a little more and see what transpires before he makes assumptions. I've lost total respect for this guy. If he had something to say, let him say it to me."

The comment in question:

"My view is Lou doesn't have a great deal of patience for assimilation into culture, assimilation into the team," Phillips said. "He is just not the most patient guy around, and he tends to verbalize his frustrations in an angry way. I think that may have affected Fukudome a little bit."

Let's get it on!

Of course, I think Phillips might actually be right in this case. If memory serves, Piniella wasn't exactly publicly supportive of his player.

Teix & Mattingly, take 4,587

Look, I loved Donnie Baseball growing up. I get the reasons for being a huge fan of his. The picture to the right was just taken of the space above my home office door. (Those pictures are ones my dad and I --okay, HE-- took back in the day when we had access to some sweet tix during the dark years.)

But, can we please have these "Teix idolized Mattingly" stories come to a halt already? I mean, I know it's a slow news cycle but this ain't new.

R.I.P. Tom Sturdivant

Rest in peace, Tom. The picture below is Sturdivant's autograph from a ball in my collection. While Sturdivant only played two years for the Yanks (part of the '55 and '56 championship teams), my dad got to hang with him while at Mantle & Ford's fantasy camp some 24 (Nov. '85)years ago. His autograph is on a ball signed by other lesser-known Yanks like Tom Tresh (below Sturdivant's sig in the pic), Jake Gibbs, Mike Ferraro (a coach) and the late-Hank Bauer.

Tom Sturdivant, a control artist and stalwart starting pitcher who won a combined 32 games for the 1955 and 1956 Yankee championship teams, has died.

Dad, sorry you lost a friend yesterday.

Anyone wanna play? (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Seeking 1-2 alternates for the league. Alternates found. Thanks.

We have 10 signed up and ready to draft 3/15 with two that have committed but yet to sign in. I will give them both a few days and if they can't commit, they are getting the boot. THIS MEANS YOU: Marc, Rory_theGreat. I am not kidding. Sign in or let me know that you are not planning to play.

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Was thinking about doing this for some time and never got around to posting it.

Fantasy baseball league for IIATMS regulars (and irregulars) and fellow bloggers

• 10-12 teams, mixed league
• Standard 5x5 format, possibly substituting AVG for OBP if possible
• Draft would be online, probably 2 weeks or so before the season starts, to be determined
• ESPN-hosted
• Post-draft recap with mocking of the bad picks
• Weekly updates here with full bragging rights
• For entertainment purposes only; any wagering purely theoretical, unless I win

Let me know via the comments (or email me) if you want to play and your email address so I can invite you once I create the league.

UPDATE: THE LEAGUE IS FULL.

Weather, IT issues abound

Due to the snow, I am home today. I am in the midst of some IT issues (new security s/w that I am installing and have to configure), so I will get to some of the latest news this afternoon.