Baseball

[jimmy olsen]

Lol, I thought nothing could top that last story, but I was wrong. 

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29823664/

Report: A-Rod dated madam that Spitzer used

Yankee reportedly also was customer of Davis' high-priced prostitution ring

updated 10:12 a.m. ET, Mon., March. 23, 2009

Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez was more than a customer of Kristin Davis' high-priced prostitution ring — he dated the former Manhattan madam too, according to an explosive report.

In June 2006, Rodriguez allegedly became a regular of one of Davis' agencies soon after meeting her at a gym, two former call girls told the New York Daily News.

A-Rod, then-married, had asked Davis "what she was doing" the first time they met, the anonymous sources said.

Davis, who has claimed Eliot Spitzer as a client, was about to go out with a boyfriend. She gave Rodriguez a card that he later used to book a two-hour "date" with a prostitute, The News reported.

But Rodriguez really pined for Davis and would court her with flowers and jewelery, the sources said. On one email he wrote that he was "addicted" to her, they said.

Eventually, Davis relented and the two briefly dated -- free of charge, according to the sources.

Davis eventually served three months in jail for pimping and is now on probation. She has written a book about her experience leading a prostitution ring but did not name names for the most part.

When confronted with supposed copies of steamy email exchanges between her and Rodriguez, Davis did not dispute their authenticity.

"Throughout the years, there were a number of clients that I befriended and it was not uncommon for them to want the women they can't have whether it be the phone bookers or the madam," she told The News. "In regard to Alex, all I can say is our paths have crossed personally and professionally."

She added: "Other people have access to my client records as well as my personal information and I can't control what has been released."

Rodriguez's spokesman did not comment on the report.

© 2009 The Sporting News

[Syt]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4021552

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Jose Tabata said Friday his much-older wife lied to him about being pregnant with his child before she was accused of abducting a 2-month-old baby girl, who has since been returned to her parents.

Tabata, speaking publicly for the first time since his wife's arrest earlier this week, also said 43-year-old Amalia Tabata Pereira never told him she was incarcerated for more than two years in an arson case years before they met.

According to Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, Tabata's wife showed off pictures of an infant and told the player that the baby was his, only to have Tabata learn hours after seeing the baby that the girl had been taken from her parents in Plant City, about 60 miles from Bradenton, where the Pirates train.

Pereira, arrested after the baby was handed over to authorities in a Bradenton shopping center parking lot on Tuesday, was taken Wednesday to the Hillsborough County Jail and is lodged on $750,000 bond on an abduction charge.

The 20-year-old Tabata, an outfielder and one of the Pirates' top prospects, said he has since learned his wife told him "many lies" -- the worst of which the baby was his own.

"She completely falsified her pregnancy and the eventual birth of a baby girl, which would have made me a father for the first time," said Tabata, who read a prepared statement in Spanish but did not answer questions from the media before an afternoon workout. "Imagine how that made me feel."

The infant, Sandra Cruz-Francisco, was taken from her parents -- Rosa Sirilo-Francisco and Andres Cruz -- on Monday after a women who identified herself as "Janet" said she was an immigration official and demanded the baby be turned over by the mother, or the parents would face deportation.

After giving Janet her baby, the mother called police later that night to report the infant had been taken. Less than 24 hours later, an anonymous caller told Manatee County officials the baby could be picked up at the shopping center.

"The truth is that my wife told me many lies that, until this whole situation began, I did not know," Tabata said. "One that hurt me a lot was her history as a criminal -- that she had spent years in prison, that she had robbed and committed fraud."

Tabata said he cannot forgive his wife for what happened.

"When this is all over, I will never be able to forgive her for her cruel actions," Tabata said in a statement he directed toward Pirates fans. "You will also understand that I will do everything possible, with the support of God and my family here with the Pirates, to overcome this craziness. The truth is I would never wish this situation on anybody, but I know that life has its good and its bad, and I know that good times are not too far off in the future."

Tabata and Huntington said that, because the case remains under investigation, neither the club nor Tabata can address specifics about the case.

"I, like you, have questions that remain unanswered," Tabata said. "However, the sheriff's deputies have told me not to speak about the details of her criminal case, including the details of our history together, and the lies that she led me to believe about her. Therefore, I will not be able to comment further or answer any of your questions until the investigation is complete. I do give thanks to God that no harm was made to the baby girl and that she is in his safe hands with her parents. My thoughts will always be with them."

Tabata, who grew up in Venezuela, said he has long idolized the late Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and he hopes he will respond to this situation the way Clemente would.

"I asked myself, 'What would Clemente do in this situation?" Tabata said. "I know Clemente was a man known for his decency, responsibility, doing what he says, and always doing the correct thing. And I believe the only correct thing in this moment is to tell the truth."

Tabata and his wife met when he played for the Yankees' Class A Tampa farm club and were married in January 2008. Tabata was traded seven months later to the Pirates in a deal that sent outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte to the Yankees.

So ... a 20 year old aspiring athlete marries a 43 year old woman who goes on to fake a pregnancy and then steals a baby to present as their own, maybe all a plot to mooch of the athlete. Sounds like an awfully bad tv movie.

[Valmy]

If Japan keeps winning the world championship maybe we should move all the major league clubs to Japanese cities. 

[jimmy olsen]

If Japan keeps winning the world championship maybe we should move all the major league clubs to Japanese cities. 

All of your best players did not play, nor where those who did play as prepared as the Japanese, since Spring Training had only just begun here, while their season as already begun.

[Valmy]

All of your best players did not play, nor where those who did play as prepared as the Japanese, since Spring Training had only just begun here, while their season as already begun.

*yawn* Lame excuses.  We got our asses kicked fair and square.

[jimmy olsen]

God Bless
http://www2.nesn.com/boston-red-sox/2009/05/06/jerry-remy-takes-leave-to-recover-from-cancer-surgery/

[Sophie Scholl]

Zach Greinke.  He's pretty good.

[sbr]

Manny Ramierez was suspended 50 games for taking ... a women's fertility drug. 

NEW YORK(AP)—Manny Ramirez(notes) was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile player ensnared in the sport's drug scandals.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. The commissioner's office didn't announce the specific violation by the 36-year-old outfielder, who apologized to the Dodgers and fans for "this whole situation."

"Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players' union.

"Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."
ADVERTISEMENT

The suspension began Thursday and barring any postponements Ramirez will be able to return to the Dodgers - who now have the best record in baseball - for the July 3 game at San Diego. Ramirez will lose about $7.65 million of his $25 million salary.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig couldn't comment on the suspension because of provisions of the management-union drug agreement, spokesman Rich Levin said.

While Barry Bonds(notes), Roger Clemens(notes), Alex Rodriguez(notes), Jose Canseco and a long list of stars have been implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Ramirez is the most prominent suspended under the drug policy players and owners put in place seven years ago.

Ramirez is batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBIs through the first 27 games of the season.

His suspension comes a day after the Dodgers broke the modern major league record for a home winning streak to open a season with their 13th consecutive victory. They play Washington again Thursday night.

Losing Ramirez to suspension could be a huge blow financially for the Dodgers. The slugger has been single-handedly responsible for increasing attendance, merchandise sales and interest in the team, in addition to helping them win the NL West after his late season arrival in 2008.

Los Angeles even renamed a section of seats in left field at Dodger Stadium "Mannywood" in his honor.

Ramirez's suspension came a day before Rodriguez was likely to rejoin the New York Yankees. Rodriguez has been on the disabled list since having hip surgery.

In February, Rodriguez admitted taking steroids while playing for Texas from 2001-03 and acknowledged testing positive under a 2003 survey. But testing with penalties didn't begin until 2004, and the New York Yankees third baseman doesn't appear likely to be suspended.

The players' association said Ramirez was suspended by the commissioner under the "just cause" provision of section 8.G.2 of the joint drug agreement. That allows players to be penalized for use, sale or distribution of banned substances, even where the agreement doesn't specify a particular penalty, such as for a positive test.

In his statement, Ramirez addressed Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, and manager Joe Torre.

"I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans," Ramirez said. "LA is a special place to me, and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

His suspension was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on its Web site.

Ramirez became the third player suspended this year under the major league program, following Philadelphia reliever J.C. Romero(notes) and Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre(notes).

Just two relatively low-profile players were suspended under the major league program last year, San Francisco catcher Elizier Alfonzo and Colorado catcher Humberto Coto.

In the past, the best-known player penalized was Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro, who received a 10-day suspension in 2005, the first year of penalties for first infractions.

Ramirez was acquired by Los Angeles from Boston last July 31 and became a fan favorite. His contract negotiations became a long-running drama during the offseason, and he agreed in early March - well after the start of spring training - to a $45 million, two-year contract that gives him the right to void the second season and become a free agent again.

In St. Louis, a clubhouse attendant stuck his head into manager Tony La Russa's office and said "Manny Ramirez, 50 games, steroids."

La Russa's reaction: "You're kidding me."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txdodgersramirezdrugs&prov=st&type=lgns

[Syt]

[dps]

It's just Manny being Manny, not manly.   

[Valmy]

Oh of course Manny is now suspended.  This is the worst fantasy baseball season for me ever.

[jech]

Awesome.

Bill Simmons article on ESPN.com is funny, even though its meant to be very serious http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090507&sportCat=mlb

Suck it Red Sox Nation. We'll take our very clean 17 straight losing seasons over your tainted championships......

[jimmy olsen]

Awesome.

Bill Simmons article on ESPN.com is funny, even though its meant to be very serious http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090507&sportCat=mlb

Suck it Red Sox Nation. We'll take our very clean 17 straight losing seasons over your tainted championships......

I have no remorse, everyone was cheating so it was a level playing field.

THERE ARE NO AMERICAN TANKS IN BAGHDAD!

[HVC]

Gonna go watch my first game tuesday. toronto vs yankees. yay?

[Ed Anger]

Gonna go watch my first game tuesday. toronto vs yankees. yay?

Have fun. Look for glove sniffers.