Fastball Fans

Hear the Prez’s dig at Manny Ramirez, ouch…

This is bizarre, very bizzare. I would if I were him lay low, but I guess it’s his decision…

Ah, Roger Clemens is now in probably a world of trouble. Well, the Justice Department was asked today to investigate whether Roger Clemens made false statements to a House committee when he denied using steroids or human growth hormone due to his performance on Capitol Hill.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said Clemens’ testimony that he “never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone warrants further investigation.”

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner gave a sworn deposition behind closed doors Feb. 5, then spoke alongside his accuser, former personal trainer Brian McNamee, at a public hearing Feb. 13.

“We are not in a position to reach a definitive judgment as to whether Mr. Clemens lied to the committee,” Waxman and Davis wrote. “Our only conclusion is that significant questions have been raised about Mr. Clemens’s truthfulness.”

The letter noted Clemens’ testimony was “directly contradicted” by the sworn statements of McNamee, who said he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH at least 16 times from 1998 to 2001. Waxman and Davis also pointed to the deposition and affidavit of Clemens’ good friend and former teammate, Andy Pettitte, who told the committee Clemens “admitted to him in 1999 or 2000 that he had taken human growth hormone.”

“The contradictions and conflicts in what Clemens had to say, as compared to what others had to say, raised the issues about him,” Waxman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t think there was an issue about Brian McNamee, but there certainly were issues about Roger Clemens.”

Obviously it will take some time to determine Roger’s guilt or innocence, but he could be in a world of trouble for a long time…

Ah, this is awesome. Apparently, since no one goes to Marlins games, they are looking for help — super sized help. The Florida Marlins are looking for hefty men to supplant the Mermaids — the Marlins’ cheerleaders.

Cheerleaders and baseball just sounds wrong — big hefty men as cheerleaders are worse by a mile.

Whether you are a Cubs fan or not, let’s hope for the best with Mark DeRosa…

Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa traveled to Chicago on Monday to see a cardiologist after being hospitalized for a rapid heartbeat during fielding drills over the weekend.

The Cubs said DeRosa’s irregular heartbeat was not life-threatening. DeRosa said he hoped he could be back on the field next week.

“I feel fine, actually,�? said DeRosa, who turns 33 on Tuesday.

DeRosa said he has experienced an irregular heartbeat, or atrial dysrhythmia, since he was a teenager.

“I’ve always been able to be able to control it with breathing exercises,�? he said. “I went through a gamut of tests when I was in high school to make sure it was nothing serious. It’s never been a problem. I’ve been able to have certain techniques over the years that have always gotten me out of the situation.�?

DeRosa said he may consider an unspecified procedure to get his heart back into rhythm.

According to the AP, The Red Sox came to terms Monday on a minor league contract with the 2005 Cy Young Award winner. The 34-year-old righty, who last pitched on Feb. 6 in the Caribbean World Series, is expected to arrive in camp Tuesday.

He’s got a lot to prove after suffering injuries the past few seasons, and his lack of conditioning as well.

I have always liked Tony Kornheiser and his varying opinions on sports and life in general, whether it be on his radio (which I can and cannot stand at times), his articles in the Washington Post and on his infamous show, PTI, or Pardon the Interruption.

Ok, so I think he’s sub-par on Monday Night Football, but that’s not important here.

Well, Dan Steinburg, one of the premier bloggers online of the great D.C. Sport Bog (online via the Washington Post) in post this afternoon takes a look a recent discussion that Tony Kornheiser had on his show.

Needless to say from the title, Tony does not look highly upon small bloggers like myself, nor bigger, established ones like Deadspin (um, Will Leitch seems to be all over the place); however, that may not matter to Mr. Kornheiser.

From Dan Steinberg’s blog (he gives a little intro): Having thought long and hard about how best to attack the advancing scourge of bloggers, Tony Kornheiser apparently settled on this novel approach: he could make a joke about how they do nothing but sit in their collective mothers’ collective basements and watch television. This dialogue comes from Friday’s show, in which Tony and Jeanne McManus were rightly discussing Simon Cowell’s increased nastiness during Idol eliminations the night before.

Jeanne: He was much meaner than usual, but what is so annoying is that then Randy and Paula undercut him and try to talk over him and he’s the only one with any honesty.

Tony: It’s a real, it’s a real mistake, and it happens. And I don’t want to single anybody out in this area, but, you know, some people sit at home and they watch TV and they watch radio and they “blog” about certain “things,” and they think they know what they’re talking about, and they think they have sources. They have no sources. They make stuff up. They’re toads. They’re little toads. Actually, they’re pimples on the behind of the greater body politic in this country and in this city (everyone in the studio cackles for no reason). And because, because they have access to airwaves and three or four people read them, they think, ‘Oh, I’m very important.’

In fact, in fact, if a huge dumpster landed on their mother’s house (cackling), and got all the way into the basement and crushed them (more cackling), nobody would care. Nobody would miss them. They provide nothing good, no service that’s any good at all. They, they are, they are, they are sucking mole rats (more cackling), and that’s the nicest I can be to them. But because, because they have a name, or, you know, because they get feedback from others, you know, they think they’re very important. Randy and Paula think the show can’t go on without them.

Jeanne: I was wondering how you’d get back to that.

Tony: Here’s how long the show would go on without them: for the rest of time. Because as long as Simon is there, there’s a show, right Jeanne?

Well, for anyone who does not know, Kornheiser is nothing but highly successful in his various media ventures, and I dare say part of the old guard.

However, I think he’s extremely off-base, arrogant and asinine with his comments on bloggers in general.

Whether someone hosts their blog on a free network on Blogger, Wordpress or is part of a blog conglomerate, they have changed the face of reporting and method that news is now disseminated.

Mr. Kornheiser, an obviously smart man realizes this, but when he admits it, we in the world will be better for it.

Well, I presumed that Barry Bonds might have a new home based on his 2007 season; however, as it is right now, he’s without a baseball home and seemingly unemployable due to his drug issues and federal indictment.

However, there’s one team that may have interest in the beleaguered slugger — yes, the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays have recently done what the St. Louis Cardinals did a while back: have internal discussions about the prospect of pursuing Barry Bonds.

Manager Joe Maddon said Monday he knew “little” about what was going on, but acknowledged some thought has been given to the career home run leader.

“A minor discussion was thrown out there a little bit, and it’s really not gone any further than that,” Maddon said after Monday’s workout at the team’s spring training facility. “That’s all it is right now.”

The St. Petersburg Times reported in Monday’s editions that team officials have conferred among themselves about Bonds and other veteran unsigned free agents, such as Kenny Lofton and Mike Piazza. Andrew Friedman, Rays vice president of baseball operations, called the report a “non-story.”

Furthermore, it looks like the Cardinals were interested, but that idea got vetoed…

(more…)

Roger Clemens’ oldest son, Koby, says his father will work with minor leaguers at Houston Astros spring training, but didn’t say when he would arrive. Lest we forget, Mr. Clemens does have a personal services contract with the Astros.

Oh joy, here comes more media attention. Roger, it may be best to lay low for a while…

According to Boston.com, the Red Sox and Terry Francona this morning finalized terms of a three-year extension that will take the Sox manager through the 2011 season.

The deal is a guaranteed $12 million, 3-year deal & have the option to add two more years, bringing the potential total value of the package to $20 million, or an average of $4 million a year.

Congrats Terry.

Young Elijah Dukes has been in continual cloud of controversy since he’s started in professional baseball due to his off-the-field activities; however, SBF and the African Queen from the NATS320 had the opportunity to chat with him while he was finishing his workout during spring training.

An interesting read and it gives you a new perspective of a young man who’s been in the press for seemingly all the wrong reasons.

Link: The Nats 320 Blog

According to the AP, Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa was released from a hospital Saturday evening after being taken there by ambulance for an irregular heartbeat he experienced during spring training drills. When he was taken out, he was alert and sitting upright on the stretcher.

Get well soon, Mark. Let’s hope he’s out of the worst…

Well, the newest member of the Phillies could be hurt before he’s even really started to get comfortable. During a drill, he caught a spike in the mound on his first pitch of batting practice Saturday and hurt the same knee he had surgery on in October.

“It was my push off leg,” Lidge said. “I caught my spike in the mound. I threw the pitch but it felt like I pulled something in the knee. … It swelled up a little, but I’m optimistic that I just pulled some scar tissue loose.”

Doctors removed torn cartilage from his right knee in the fall.

The Phillies acquired Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett in a November trade that sent speedy outfielder Michael Bourn, infield prospect Mike Costanzo and reliever Geoff Geary to the Astros.

The 31-year-old Lidge, who has 123 career saves, finished 2007 with 19 saves in 27 chances and a 3.36 ERA for Houston. When the Phillies acquired him, it allowed them to strengthen their rotation by making Brett Myers a starter again.

“We’ll find out more tomorrow,” manager Charlie Manuel said of Lidge’s injury. “We’ll go from there and we’re waiting to see how it feels [Sunday]. He was in the stretch and threw one pitch and did it. He threw another and it still hurt him.”