I-Rod a Shell of His Former Self; Fills Catching Hole After Posada Injury

A day before the Major League Baseball trading deadline, the Bronx Bombers made a bold move, which shored up their catching situation following a season-ending injury to Jorge Posada. Middle reliever Kyle Farnsworth was sent to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 14-time All Star Ivan Rodriguez, who has went from being the elite at his position to very average amidst numerous allegations of him using performance-enhancing drugs.

Rodriguez, 36, has been in the big leagues since the young age of 19 and is still looked at as one of the better defensive catchers around. The problem has been his hitting, which was a superstar-status .332 with 35 home runs and 113 RBI in 1999, when he won the American League MVP. His production has fallen off considerably since then, with his long ball totals being 27, 25, 19, 16, 19, 14, 13, and 11.

Although Rodriguez is batting .295 in 82 games, his power numbers being a dreadful 5 home runs and 32 RBI. He has also struck out 52 times with only 19 walks. A far cry from the height of his career, which just so happens to be when the suspicions of his steroid use began. Continue Reading »

Agent Calls it Like it is; Home Run King Offering to Play for Minimum

As the second half of the baseball season is upon us, teams that are making playoff pushes start to separate themselves from the second-division clubs. The trading deadline is still two weeks away, and general managers across the league will be adding to their cell phone bills two-fold.

There is one number that hasn’t received any calls all year, even though what waits on the other end has some attributes that fit most teams’ needs: veteran player with playoff and World Series experience; averaged 128 games the last two seasons; is a free agent and will not cost any players or prospects to acquire; will play for peanuts and…is the all-time major league baseball home run king.

With the good come the bad, and with Barry Bonds, that is no exception. Yes, anyone who signs him would be also bringing along a circus created, caused and pumped up by the media. The BALCO steroids scandal will never go away and will be magnified if Bonds ever plays again. But it is hard to argue that his bat wouldn’t be able to help at least one team out there, and since when did sports organizations put anything ahead of winning? Continue Reading »

Despite Decent Power Numbers in 2007, Suspected Steroid Sluggers Remain on the Sidelines

One is waiting for his day in court, the other for the next World Baseball Classic. Both have Hall of Fame Credentials and are young enough to still be playing. If chicks still dig the long ball, then this pair could still attract a harem full. But Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa haven’t received a sniff since they both became free agents following the 2007 season. And they shouldn’t expect anything to change in the near or far future.

Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record last summer and then was run out of San Francisco, while Sosa made a nice comeback in Texas, hitting 21 home runs and driving in 92 runs in 114 games. But the Dominican slugger was not asked to return and now has said that he intends on retiring after the next WBC, which is scheduled for March of 2009. How the 39 year-old intends on staying in game shape between now and then remains to be seen, but speculation will be running rampart on Sosa going back to his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. Continue Reading »

Mitchell Report Sampling Can Go Either Way

Perusing the telephone book commonly known as ‘The Mitchell Report,’ it is hard to say if the baseball players that allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs benefited or not. Going by the raw numbers, some did and some didn’t.

Now keep in mind that the report included only the time frame that there was some type of allegation and/or documentation when these players began using. They could have been on the juice long before that, as well. Take Jason Giambi, for instance. He is one of the BALCO boys and has already publicly apologized (still not exactly sure what he was trying to say that day, but at least he appeared as if his conscious was bothering him). His section in the report has 2001 as when he was first reportedly taking the stuff, a year in which he hit .342 for the Oakland A’s, with 38 home runs and 120 RBI. But if you are believing that this was Giambi’s first dabble into steroids, the prior year should have been lighter, huh? Well…not exactly. In 2000, he went .333/43/137. Continue Reading »