The Peavy Waiting Game

Whaddya know, this is starting to look like the scenario I have envisioned: The Padres, unable to find a suitable trade partner, will come back to the Yanks for a possible Peavy deal. Lo and behold:

A quick update on Jake Peavy. On Thursday, Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune said it was clear that neither the Braves nor Cubs would be acquiring Peavy. The Braves are moving on, looking at A.J. Burnett, despite Buster Olney's suggestion that both sides need this deal. Krasovic wondered if Kevin Towers might approach the Yankees and Angels.

Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal reports Brian Cashman and Towers have been discussing a Peavy deal since the GM meetings earlier this month. Towers apparently wanted to engage NL clubs - a "strong preference" for Peavy - before touching base again with the Yankees again but talks have now officially recommenced.

This continues to be mentioned as it makes good news, and who knows, but it remains a longshot. Peavy would need to be given financial reason to waive his no-trade clause to play for a high-profile AL club on the east coast, and the Yankees would need to trade more prospects (despite already dealing five young pitchers away for Nick Swisher, Damaso Marte, and Xavier Nady) rather than solve their rotation needs through free agent signings.

Sayonara Rasner

Shysterball sent me this last night. I know Rasner was never going to be a long term part of the Yanks rotation, but I would have liked to see him hang around a bit longer.

Right-handed pitcher Darrell Rasner, who started 20 games for the New York Yankees last season, has been sold to a team in Japan for $1 million, his agent said.

Rasner, 27, expects to sign a two-year deal with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League, agent Matt Sosnick said.

Sosnick said he and Rasner recently approached New York general manager Brian Cashman and told him that Rasner would like to pitch in Japan, and that Cashman and scout Hiroshi Abei helped facilitate the deal.

The rationale for asking for the trade: He simply has greater earning power in Japan than here. Can't say I disagree, though that's a tough call to make. But with a rare skill (pitching) that only has a (relative) few years of useful life, he's got to capitalize on it while he can. If he can go make $5-10million in Japan over 2-3 years, he will have provided a fair degree of security for his family. I wish him well.

MLBTradeRumors provided the zinger:

The cash from this deal would provide 0.7% of the money needed for the contract that has been offered to CC Sabathia.

From my interview with Rasner earlier this year:

IIATMS: What was it like stepping on the field as a major leaguer for the first time? At Yankee Stadium?
DR: Neither one was such a jolt that I forgot about my primary goal, which was to get guys out. The first game that I played as a big leaguer made all of the long, lousy bus rides in the minors worth while. Yankee Stadium has such a history that I know how amazing it is to be playing on the same field and for the same team as Ruth and Gehrig.

Because they can!

For some reason, Brewers GM Doug Melvin is "baffled" by the Yanks over-the-top bid for Sabathia. Why he's so surprised, I have no idea. It's not like this was a government classified covert operation. "Operation Doughboy"? "Operation FatCat"? "Operation Dollar Dump"?

"It sounds like they're overbidding," Melvin said. "If the speculation is true that we've offered CC $100 million, why would you offer $140 million? Why wouldn't you offer $110 million?"

Gee, ya think?!?!? Let's count the reasons, Dougie:

• Because they CAN!
• Because they have to compensate for not being located in the West
• Because they have to compensate for not being in the NL
• Because they have $88 million coming off the books
• Because they have a brand new stadium that will print oodles of cash
• Because, if you haven't noticed, the team is owned by the biggest group of at-all-costs, ego-maniacal, middle-finger-waving owners in the game

How could you NOT expect the Yanks to overbid to win his affections? Could it simply be only about the money, stupid? Why yes, it can!

Friends, I'm once again in the midst of this conundrum: My childhood team has a chance to land the biggest fish (um, mammal) in all the land. Yet, I also know Sabathia would become a mercenary instead of freedom fighter. Am I OK with this? I'd rather have a guy want to come to the team at "fair market value"* rather than a jacked up overbid, just like you would. It'd be more than noble for CC to say "I'll take less to go to LA (or MLW) and the Union will have to deal with it" but I'm not sure if he will. I know my wife would like to see him go with his heart, not his pocketbook being led by the Union. Is it embarrassing, as a fan, to have your team flaunt their wealth as overtly and conspicuously as they are looking to do? Uhhh yeah.

* I cringed, too, when the Yanks had to overpay to keep Posada and Mo; that was entirely unnecessary.

Between now and Opening Day, there's going to be reams written about how bad the Yanks are for the game. The chest thumping will be magnificent. There will will be screaming from the mountaintops. There will be banners flown begging for a salary cap. The crying over the "Yanks are buying titles" without much mention that they haven't won bupkis since 2000. Nearly a decade, kids! And the Yanks will write a massive revenue sharing check that will feed many teams.

And remember, if there's a cap, the has to be a floor, too. Ask the Marlins, Rays, Padres, etc. to get their salary totals up to $60 million and watch their ownership squirm like mad and cry poverty. Watch the Union fight against a cap since that would theoretically cap spending (read: earning power for the players).

Folks, it ain't happening. Get over it.

Go ahead and hate the Yanks. I'm OK with it. I would, too, if I weren't a fan since birth and currently live a long stone's throw from their new cathedral to excess. But I will still root for the laundry. And hope that Hank, the Augustus Gloop of the Owners, can keep his yap shut and not get sucked into the chocolate filtering system.

Now, all they have to do is hope the big man accepts their offer so they can continue their pillaging. Up next: Teix, Burnett, Lowe, Sheets!



UPDATE (11/15/08, 12:07PM): Just ran across this at Shysterball, who, as usual, captures it quite well:

CC is a great pickup for whoever gets him, but this sounds like a an overbid. It's their money, though, so I don't care. Personally, I can't wait for the series of indignant columnists complaining about how the Yankees are evil and all of that while simultaneously failing to mention that New York hasn't won anything since they really started going apesh*t on the free agent market six or seven years ago.

Varitek's a proxy for Jeter

If nothing else about this blog, I try like heck to deliver a fair point of view on the Yanks. The blind homer isn't here. And, if you have been with me for any tiny stretch of time, you know that while I remain a Jeter fan, I am bluntly honest about him (and the Yanks).

Fact: Jeter's 10 year, $180 million contract expires after the 2010 season. Next year is 2009, believe it or not. Two years. That's it. Then what? Anyone can see that he's no longer a very good defender and some may think I am too kind when I call him "capable" right now. But that's not going to improve as Jeter enters his late 30's. Will Jeter move to 1B? What if Teix (or other more adept/powerful player) is entrenched there? Will he slide to 2B? Outfield? Willingly or will it be kicking and screaming?

What if Jeter (and agent Casey Close) pull what Varitek/Boras are trying to do to the Sox: Sell the intangibles and disregard the facts? What if Jeter, at age 37 (during 2011), decides that playing SS is more important than any other factor? How will the Yanks react?

In many ways, he is our Derek Jeter, though the Yankees’ calm-eyed, fist-pumping captain is obviously superior in talent and production. They both have extremely recognizable profiles as central figures in baseball’s marquee rivalry. They both are greatly respected by their peers. They both loathe A-Rod. And one more commonality: When it became clear that the tangible measures were now suggesting that the player had significant flaws, they both had a well-stocked army of vocal and oblivious supporters who began clinging to the flimsy concept of “intangibles” as a vague means of denying the erosion of their idol’s talent. The emperor has no clothes — and in Jeter’s case, the emperor can’t go to his left, either.

Here's the thing: I think Jeter is self-aware enough that he won't want to play if he can't play at the levels he's already set as his "norm". I can't see Jeter doing what other HOF'ers have done, hang on just to play another year. It sure won't be for the money, that's for sure.

And you can bet your bobblehead that punching holes in that particular argument carries a tremendous amount of satisfaction. For all of Varitek’s alleged intangibles — handling pitchers, hustling, grit, guts, toughness, chewing glass, spitting nails, squatting, scowling, etc. — recent events suggest he’s teetering on becoming one of the most vile subspecies of professional athletes: an aging, subpar performer who demands the salary and security of a prime-of-career star.

You can virtually swap Jeter's name for Varitek's in the passage above and recycle this in two years. But I am hopeful, optimistic, homer-iffic in thinking that Jeter/Close won't be looking for a 6 year deal at age 37. But there is a part of me that fears they will and fears more that Hank & Hal will be too scared not to relent. If Jeter wants to retire a Yankee and only play for this team his entire career, he's going to have to adapt to the changing needs of the team and the changing level of his performance.

Nearly all of the great SS's, particularly the bigger ones, eventually moved from SS to yield to a younger, more athletic body. Ripken, Yount, Ernie Banks to name just three. Yount moved from SS at age 29, when he was still young enough to make the all star team as a CF. Ripken waited until age 36. Banks moved to 1B at age 31. Hell, ARod moved from SS to 3B, yielding to Jeter, in 2004 at age 28.

Despite his declining ability to get down on a ball to his left, I do believe Jeter is still a tremendously gifted athlete who could probably adapt to another position rather quickly. He has the natural instinct to play the game and it would not surprise me at all to see him make a Yount-like jump to the OF and do well out there. He can still run with those long legs. And his arm strength has never been an issue. Could he also move to 2B? Sure, I guess, but then where does Cano go?

I can see Jeter recognizing, after 2010, that it's time for someone younger, more skilled to take over the SS position. I think he will not have to be forced to another position; I think he will sooner come to management with the suggestion than they will bring it to him. Frankly, I am guessing management is scared as hell to do anything that might rub the Cap'n the wrong way.

There's no shame in admitting you can't do things the way you used to. Happens to everyone, except maybe Nolan Ryan. I am reluctant to call it "noble" for Jeter to recognize this and initiate the move, but it would be the right thing to do by the end of his contract. For a guy who has spent his entire career trying to do the right thing the right way, this seems the path that Jeter should take after 2010.

Of course, unless Jeter is set on playing until he approaches 4,000 hits (he's at 2,535 right now), he could very well decide to hang up the spikes in 2010, with enough money, accolades, accomplishments to last a lifetime. Would it be shocking for him to take the stance that some others have taken: When I can no longer play at the levels for which I am accustomed, it's time for me to hang it up. Perhaps Jeter won't want to hang around until they rip the jersey off his back. It's more common in football, I think, with Tiki Barber and Barry Sanders most obviously and recently, to see guys simply pack it in before the precipitious decline that's inevitable.

For Jeter to approach 4k hits, using an easy average of 200 hits per year (career average: 206), he'd need to play at least another seven years. That's five years after his contract expires. And, uh oh, using that average hits/year, Jeter will be thisclose to the immortalizing 3,000 by the time 2010 concludes. Can you see Jeter/Close walking into Hank & Hal and saying: "Jeter needs 85 hits to reach 3,000. Want him to do it in some other uniform in some other city?" Talk about pressure.

At the end of all this, I'm a Jeter fan. My boys love Jeter. Overrated? Perhaps. But the other fact is that he is wearing 4 rings as an integral part of the 90's Yankee dynasty. Immortal. And I am OK with the idea of Jeter finishing his career at some position other than SS; this won't diminish anything he's done. And if he takes the path that Varitek/Boras are taking, I'll (sadly, reluctantly, wistfully) be OK with watching Jeter get his 3,000th in some other uniform.



Thanks to loyal reader tadthebad who passed this along

BREAKING NEWS: Swisher a Yank

Just got an email from an insider alerting me of the following: Jeff Marquez traded to the White Sox for Nick Swisher.

Looks like I beat Jerry Crasnick beat me to the scoop by a mere few minutes. Just a few minutes. Bummer.

I can't get over how much I like this deal for the Yanks. Swisher can play 1B or CF, two positions the Yanks are looking for. Switch hitter, too. It doesn't preclude them from still going after Teix, either. And, the contract is reasonable (both in dollars and years). I can't help but think that the White Sox got fleeced in this one.

Last year, Marquez was the #7 ranked Yankee prospect according to Baseball America but slipped out of the top 10 in this year's ranking. Here's a report from last Spring about Marquez.

Featuring a sinking two-seam fastball, a power changeup and a developing curveball, Marquez said he is ready to tackle Triple-A lineups for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year. From there, it may be just a short jump to New York, whether the Yankees need a spot starter to fill in or a long reliever to soak up innings out of the bullpen.

From MLBTradeRumors, some data on Swisher:

Swisher, 28 this month, hit .219/.332/.410 in 588 plate appearances this year. He's set to earn $5.3MM in '09, $6.75MM in '10, $9MM in '11, and has a $10.25MM club option for '12 with a $1MM buyout. So, about $22MM over the next three years.

UPDATE (11/13/08, 4:01pm): Yanks also acquiring pitcher Kanekoa Texeira. The White Sox will receive infielder Wilson Betemit and minor leaguers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. (We got Teix too! Wait, not THAT Teix! Nevermind.)

The Age Epidemic

A very good article by Howard Megdal from The New York Observer about the Yanks NEED to sign Sabathia, not their desire. The NEED is dire. Megdal lays out how while Burnett isn't a bad Plan B, he's not without plenty of risk and plays right into the Yanks current epidemic:

In this case, Sabathia is a far better bet to be as good or better moving forward than Burnett, whose best bet is a regression. Sabathia is 28, and doesn’t turn 29 until next July, meaning he is right in his prime; Burnett will be 32 in January, likely exiting his prime.

This is truly an epidemic problem for the Yankee roster, with nearly every key player likely pre- or post-prime heading into 2009. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu (should they return) will all be 35 or older during the 2009 season. Even Alex Rodriguez will be 33. Meanwhile, Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy will all be 24 or younger. Only Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang are Yankees entering what should be their primes. But Wang missed most of 2008 with injury, and following a hugely disappointing 2008, Cano is prominently mentioned in trade talks.

Hard to argue any of that. And seeing it in writing certainly is scary and a huge concern. So what's the cost, practically, you ask?

He’ll cost the Yankees no players, just a pair of draft picks and a boatload of money. But the chances either draft pick will become the player Sabathia is in his prime are virtually nil, and there is no better way for New York to spend that money, whatever it takes.

Babe changes address

Well, some good pictures of The Babe moving across the street:

Wait, he's still playing?

When I saw this rumor, my first thought: "Darren Oliver's still playing? Isn't he older than Moyer?" Except he's not. I'm older than Darren Oliver by a few months. I will now slam my fingers in my desk drawer.

Hey you kids, get off my damn lawn.

Jack Morris' case for HOF

Tom Tango (tangotiger) from THT puts Jack Morris "the Pitcher of the 1980's" under the microscope. If you're into the banality that accompanies the HOF voting looniness (not a knock on Tango!), this is for you.

Tango does a good job in separating truth from perception, namely the arbitrary selection of a decade as bordered by a year that ends in "0" and the out year ending with a "9". Some tidbits from the piece:

If you want to give Morris credit for most wins for the decade, fine, go ahead. But, don’t call him the best pitcher for the decade. Stieb is definitely ahead of him. And with Welch, Nolan Ryan, Bert Blyleven, Charlie Hough and Fernando Valenzuela around, Morris is lucky to even be considered better than any of those guys for “best” pitcher of the 80s.
......
If you go by total Cy Young points (five for first place, three for second place, one for third place), the leader is Steve Carlton (280), followed closely by Roger Clemens, and Bret Saberhagen. Quisenberry is fourth. Jack Morris is in 22nd place.

As a child of the 1980's, there are guys I remember and guys that are less memorable. I remember Quis from his battles with the Yanks. Welch, too, on those West Coast trips the Yanks would inevitably get tripped up on. Fernando, from a distance. Clemens in his "natural" prime. Nolan, period. Sure Morris' 1991 post-season was incredible, but I have a hard time considering him HOF-worthy. But a sure-fire first-ballot election to the Hall of Very Good.

Straight cash, homey

Back up the dumptrucks! Start the wire transfers. Check your account balance, baby!

This is about cash, and just how much of it the Yankees will offer their No. 1 offseason target. Well, really it is about how much more of it they will offer than any West Coast team or NL team, or in Sabathia's ideal world, a West Coast NL team.

There is nothing coy about this. Everyone's intentions are known. ... All things being equal, Sabathia wants to go home to California and play in the NL, where he can hit. But as a friend of Sabathia's said yesterday, "he is mature enough and realistic enough to know that the Yankees might not make it close. And if it is not close - no matter how much he likes the West Coast and likes hitting - he is not going to walk away from $25 million. This is not rocket science. It is about how much more the New York Yankees will spend than anybody else."

What scares me is Joel Sherman's estimate about what big ole CC's gonna cost:

My gut says six years at $150 million sounds about right to force league-wide surrender before the bidding really even gets started.

$25 million per?!?!?! Straight cash, homey.

Get serious!

I wouldn't mind someone offering me $60 million over three years only have my peeps tell that person to "get serious". Or, in the real world according to Scott Boras to the Dodgers:

But Scott Boras, who represents Ramirez, made it clear that the Dodgers would need to sweeten their deal when he said, "On behalf of Manny Ramirez, we will, for the first time, begin accepting serious financial offers on Friday."

If any team goes four guaranteed years at an average of $22.5 million (or more) per year, prepare for the inevitable "Operation Shutdown", to borrow from Derek Bell.

(h/t to MLBTradeRumors.com)

DePodesta on Hoffman (and Giles)

First of all, congrats to Paul DePodesta on being promoted to EVP. Pretty nice title if you ask me, and seemingly the heir apparent to sitting GM Kevin Towers. Yeah, I'm happy for him.

Onto his frank discussion about Hoffman:

This is an intensely personal situation for Trevor, the Padres, and the fans. I haven't been here that long, but even I have a connection - my oldest son's favorite player is Trevor Hoffman. Trevor is the all-time saves leader, an organizational icon, and a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. This isn't easy.
......
{Facts and stuff}
......
Again I'll say that I don't think the above facts are all that important. The reason is that there is simply no graceful way to handle this situation. Trevor has meant too much to this franchise for any kind of separation to be seamless. No matter how the situation is handled, if Trevor pitches elsewhere in 2009, it will be deemed to have been handled poorly. We know that.

Talk about a tough spot to be in. DePo does a nice job in laying out what he sees as the facts in this situation. I italicized "he sees" as this is only his side of the story; maybe Hoffman and his agent have a different view on the events and facts.

I think that a well below market value offer for a legend is insulting --just ask Joe Torre-- and should not be used as a negotiation kick-off point. Rather than lobbing an offer you know won't be accepted, just come out and tell everyone you are rebuilding and as much as you'd like to have Hoffman return, it doesn't make sense for the organization at this time, ("we're going a different direction"). Sure the fans can hate it, but at least that's the truth talking. We, the fans, have to accept that sometimes the business of baseball gets in the way of the fandom in baseball. I've mentioned this many times before in recognizing the way the RedSox have dealt with these situations the best recently as they have let their own legends walk away (Pedro, Damon, maybe Varitek this year, etc.) for the good of the current and future team*. Players know this is a business and if you discussed the move as a "business decision", these hurt feelings could be muted or avoided altogether.

*I can see this coming to the Yanks when Jeter's contract is up in 2010, which, ain't that far away. Don't say you weren't warned.

As for the Giles stuff, that's less relevant to me as I don't find too much fault in the move and DePo's explanations are fine by me and very well crafted. To summarize his three reasons:

Reason #1: We're always trying to win.
Reason #2: Brian is precisely the type of player we want our younger guys to emulate.
Reason #3: This is the raw business end of the deal.

I don't have a problem with this at all. Do you?

Economy 1, Yanks 0

Score another one for the Economy.

"There's no getting away from the fact that the world is different than it was, so traffic slows," chief operating officer Lonn Trost said Tuesday. "So you don't have 10 people banging on the door. You may only have two people."

It appears that the best/priciest luxury boxes have indeed sold, though seven suites priced in the neighborhood of $600K remain unsold. This number of unsold suites has not changed since August.

Ruh-roh.

[Trost] said in August that 3,500 of the 4,300 premium seats had been sold, including the $500-$2,500 per-game tickets near home plate in the first nine rows of 25 sections ringing home plate.
......
"We can see that the economy is affecting the traffic that is coming around," he said. "Listen, nobody can avoid it. We recognize it. You wake up in the morning and you see it. So we're trying to work with our fan base and understand what their needs are."

And for those of you waiting to buy a piece of the "old" Yankee Stadium, don't hold your breath. There are attorneys involved, namely high priced buggers from the Yanks side, it will take some time.

The ballpark's owner, New York City, still hasn't reached an agreement with the team on selling off memorabilia from the stadium.

"We're negotiating," Trost said. "They have views and we have views. And they have attorneys and we have attorneys. We'll get it done."

Tidbits du jour

The remarkably underrated LoHud beat writer/blogger Pete Abraham has some goodness coming from directly from his chat with Hal Steinbrenner, covering a wide range of topics in a short amount of space:

On the start of the free agent period:

Hal said the organization will be ready for the start of free agency on Friday. He would not reveal any details about payroll. “We’re going to do what we’ve always done and that’s field a team that can compete for the championship,” he said. … I asked him about getting personally involved with free agents and he said that he planned to, after stressing that Brian Cashman’s job is to negotiate the deal. But Steinbrenner expressed an interest in getting to know the key agents. Steinbrenner that as far as incorporating young players from the farm system goes, “the goal is balance.”

On Hal's position within the organization:

You sort of get the impression with Hal that he would rather he someplace else. He clearly doesn’t enjoy the media give-and-take or being the public face of ownership. But he understands his duty to his father and he’s doing his best to carry it out. He met with Cashman yesterday and will again today. Hal is clearly the guy shouldering the responsibilities.

On TNYS' status:

Lonn Trost said that the Stadium is 12.5 days ahead of schedule and is now now built beyond the point of bad weather being a factor. ... The Metro North Station is expected to be done by the third homestand. ... The Yankees have seven suites they haven’t sold yet, which is a result of the slumping economy.

On the bounty of Cisco gear:

The 1,100 flat screen, HD monitor around the Stadium can be individually programmed with real-time stats, traffic information, weather, etc. The entire Stadium will have high-speed wireless. The long-range plan is that once we’re all toting around smart phones, you can use that to access concessions stands, merchandise, get highlights, stats, chat, etc.
.....
The Cisco people stressed that the Yankees are way ahead of the curve with this stuff. No stadium in North America will be more advanced in terms of delivering video to fans. It’ll start in the suites and spread to the seats in time. There is $17 million worth of wiring and other hardware in the Stadium.

Pos likes bread. Good bread. Really good bread.

What this has to do with baseball or sports in general, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I was somehow completely mesmerized by the typical meanderings that only come with a Joe Pos-hosted blog that I felt compelled to push you his way. If you've ever been uncomfortable in a meeting or party, you know from where Joe's speaking.

Just read it.

And remember, “Get yourself a private plane”

Score one for analysis

Rather than blindly picking the guy with the most wins (Webb, 22), the voters actually looked at the underlying numbers and made the right choice: Lincecum was the NL Cy Young winner.

Awesome.

Neyer dug in before the vote was announced and was content with either Santana or Lincecum getting the hardware.

You might prefer Santana because he faced tougher competition and because he pitched that massive three-hitter near the end of the season. You might prefer Lincecum because he carried a great burden of the run prevention with all those strikeouts. Either way, I wouldn't say you're wrong. But I would say you're wrong if you vote for Webb, because he simply wasn't as good as the other two.

When the absence of a positive is a negative

Quite the little conundrum MLB's testing policy is in, eh? Yesterday was that HGH Summit that we were waiting for.

Three hours into a conference held Monday by Major League Baseball on human growth hormone, the real question of the day emerged when officials from the commissioner’s office and the players union wondered aloud about how effective the current blood test for human growth hormone was if no one had tested positive.
......
Osquel Barroso, the senior manager of science for the World Anti-Doping Agency, was one such expert invited to the conference. WADA, which oversees the testing of Olympic athletes, has tested 8,500 athletes for human growth hormone since 2000 and has never had a test come back positive.

What I've been pushing for, as have others including Olney & Gammons, is the storing of blood until a reliable HgH test is available. The costs, while much greater than urine testing, should be totally absorbed by the $6B in revenues raked in by MLB. It's a small price to pay for integrity and a show of foresight.

Under baseball’s drug-testing program, only a player’s urine is collected. Taking blood from players is a more complicated and expensive procedure, and the commissioner’s office and the players union have said they do not want to take such a step unless there is a reliable test.

So if sporting organizations (amateur, pro, Olympic) are waiting until there's a reliable urine test for HGH, keep waiting:

“We have to wait a few years, we are not there in our world,” said Don Catlin, the head of Anti-Doping Research, a nonprofit organization that is researching a urine test for H.G.H. “We are trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

Then there is this juicy tidbit from the WADA president, back in January 2008:

[World Anti-Doping Agency's new president John] Fahey challenged baseball's policy on human growth hormone. Baseball has pledged to adopt any validated urine test but does not test blood. Baseball said there is no commercially available validated test for HGH.

"Equally reprehensible is their blatant disregard for the truth," Fahey said. "Contrary to what they have told Congress this week, there is a reliable test for HGH; the storing of blood is practical, in fact has been effectively in practice for some time in World Anti-Doping Code-compliant testing."

The WADA statement said commercial kits for HGH blood testing are in development and that it offered to host a meeting between MLB and WADA experts. WADA also said baseball should store blood and serum, which might contain HGH that is more stable, for future testing.

Just store the blood already, MLB. If nothing else, it provides a MAJOR deterrent for those contemplating using HGH.

For whom the (Hells) bell tolls

So it looks like the wonderful, incredible, high leg kick/pointed toe Trevor Hoffman Era in San Diego is coming to an end. But this isn't his retirement. This is a team dialing back their spending as they retool. Spending what would seem to be more than 10% of their payroll on a pitcher (yes, a closer) who will only pitch in 70 or so innings seems folly.

But, I said this was strange a month ago.

Curious in all this San Diego chatter is the fact that they will seek to re-sign Hoffman for (in the neighborhood of) $8M next year. I know they want to be loyal and whatnot, but if they are dumping Peavy, why don't they tell Hoffman that they can't afford him as a luxury closer and let him go anywhere he wishes, including retirement?

Seems like a strange expense to incur at a time when rebuilding and slashing salary appears to be Priority #1.

And if you go read that posting, I traded some emails with Tim at MLBTradeRumors.com and his reply is below:

I think they do the last thing you said. That gets them a draft pick or else a one-year deal with their fan-favorite closer. If he leaves for that multiyear deal he talked about, maybe the Padres can say they tried. I agree that the Hoffman/Peavy things are at odds with each other though.

Now, it doesn't even look like they are trying to appease the long-time fans. They are simply signalling that "the time to rebuild is really upon us".

I'm sad about it. I really am. I am a big Trevor Hoffman fan. Like so many of our favorite players who are forced to finish their careers away from the only team they've known, Hoffman will don the uniform of someone else if he wants to pitch again.

Hey Trev, care to earn $6M as Mo's set-up guy?

BA's Top 10 Yanks Prospects

Baseball America's Top 10 Yanks prospects are ranked, in all their glowing splendor, hype and platitudes.

1. Austin Jackson, of
2. Jesus Montero, c
3. Andrew Brackman, rhp
4. Austin Romine, c
5. Dellin Betances, rhp
6. Zach McAllister, rhp
7. Alfredo Aceves, rhp
8. Phil Coke, lhp
9. Mark Melancon, rhp
10. Bradley Suttle, 3b

Immediate thoughts, without reading the whole article:

• Two catchers? That's bodes well.
• There are some tall dudes with Brackman (6'10"), Betances (6'8")
• Six pitchers. We can only hope.

If you're tool-sy, here's their list of "Best Tools":

BEST TOOLS

• Best Hitter for Average Bradley Suttle
• Best Power Hitter Jesus Montero
• Best Strike-Zone Discipline Chris Malec
• Fastest Baserunner Brett Gardner
• Best Athlete Austin Jackson
• Best Fastball Andrew Brackman
• Best Curveball Christian Garcia
• Best Slider Anthony Claggett
• Best Changeup Alfredo Aceves
• Best Control Zach McAllister
• Best Defensive Catcher Francisco Cervelli
• Best Defensive Infielder Ramiro Pena
• Best Infield Arm Marcos Vechionacci
• Best Defensive Outfielder Austin Jackson
• Best Outfield Arm Seth Fortenberry

thanks to Pete Toms for the heads up!

Teix already doesn't like the Sox

I had no idea Teix hasn't been a fan of the Sox for some time. I knew he wore #23 in honor of his hero, Donnie Baseball, but the dislike of the Red Sox is new to me. (emphasis mine)

As a senior, Teixeira was one of the best high school players in the country but went to Georgia Tech instead of signing a pro contract. The Red Sox had talked about choosing him in the first round, but wanted him to commit to a pre-draft contract. Teixeira refused a reported $1.6 million deal and fell to the ninth round, when Boston selected him.

After the '98 draft, Teixeira held hard feelings against Boston, telling the Baltimore Sun in 1999: "The Red Sox then spread the word I wasn't interested in signing. That was unfair. I don't think after what happened that I want any future involvement with the Red Sox."

It's unclear whether that will affect his first shot at free agency, but [Dave Norton, who was Teixeira's coach at Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore] says, "I can't say he'll never be a Red Sox, but they would have to go pretty hard at him. It didn't sit well with him."