baseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Roger Clemens apologized Monday for unspecified mistakes in his personal life but denied having an affair with a 15-year-old [and his alleged drug abuse].

Much like Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens’ public and ambiguous apology for “mistakes in personal life” further suggests his steroid guilt. No one is required to apologize publicly for personal wrong doings, so perhaps Clemens is shooting for steroid amnesty without really coming clean.

From the Associated Press:

Alex Rodriguez makes more this year than his hometown Florida Marlins. Boosted by his new deal with the New York Yankees, A-Rod tops the major league baseball salary list at $28 million, according to a study of contract terms by The Associated Press. The 33 players on the Marlins’ opening-day roster and disabled list total $21.8 million.

“The Marlins? It’s amazing,” said Rodriguez. “And they still seem to find a way to be very competitive.”

It is amazing, A-Rod. It really is.

According to a recent Gallup poll, a majority of baseball fans (57%) think Roger Clemens lied last month when he told Congress he had never taken performance enhancing drugs. Despite this, 62 percent of fans surveyed believe Clemens should still be in the Hall of Fame.

What??!!

As a reminder, The Hall of Fame’s motto is “preserving history, honoring excellence, and connecting generations.” Clemens’ induction, if convicted, would preserve history alright, but what about honor and example (read: connecting generations)?

(more…)

NEW YORK (AP) — Page after page, Roger Clemens’ name was all over the Mitchell Report.Count them, 82 times.

Barry Bonds showed up more often. So did Jose Canseco. Andy Pettitte, Eric Gagne and Miguel Tejada also became part of baseball’s most infamous lineup since the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

But they didn’t get the worst of it Thursday. That infamy belonged to Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era.

The Steroids Era. continue reading…

After 10 million votes, the results are in. Designer Mark Ecko will brand Barry Bonds’s record-breaking home run ball with an asterisk and the Hall of Fame will accept it — blemishes and all. Let it serve as a reminder that it takes more than a number to earn the respect of your peers.

“This ball wouldn’t be coming to Cooperstown if Marc hadn’t bought it from the fan who caught it and then let the fans have their say,” Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey told The Associated Press. “We’re delighted to have the ball. It’s a historic piece of baseball history.”

What a *perfect* exhibit for a museum.

DISCLOSURE: After reading Game of Shadows and numerous reports, I’ve come to the conclusion that a) Barry Bonds is not a cool dude, and b) he knowingly took steroids in an effort to break records despite his being one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.

Watch the replay. Surly a sign of the times.

Here’s a nice little update on an old childhood friend of mine, Matt Holliday.

The AP reports: “Holliday, who has reached base in a franchise-best 38 straight games, finished 2-for-4 and edged ahead of Atlanta’s Edgar Renteria and Chase Utley of Philadelphia for the NL battling lead at .337.”

Matt, despite having you put the athletic thump on us in middle school, Jeff, Barry, Brian, and I would have never have thought for a second that you would one day lead the National League in batting average. Nice work, and keep it up!

The Associated Press reports: “Barry Bonds hit No. 756 to the deepest part of the ballpark Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball’s new home run king.”

Amid a swarm of expected negative press, the above image is how the nation’s largest sports magazine ushered in the news on its home page. It takes more than just a number to break a record it seems…

I used to be more critical of Bonds than I should have been, but having done my research I still think an asterisk is in order. Should be interesting to see him “break” the record in the next few days. *

According to the AP, North Dakota high schools are switching from aluminum bats to wooden ones primarily for safety reasons. Line drives pop off metal much faster than sticks, and balls go much deeper as a result limiting the reaction time of fielders.

But even though the change will likely reduce injuries, albeit by a fraction, I suspect a large motivation for the switch is due to baseball purists like myself. Balls just sound better off wooden bats than high-pitch, clanky aluminum ones.

Oh, and the game is a lot better when played by real athletes that don’t cheat using performance enhancing drugs (I’m looking at you MLB).