Baseball Season 2011

[CountDeMoney]

I love the fact that Bobby V is back in the game, as he's one of my all-time faves...but Boston?

[Eddie Teach]

Agree on both parts.  Overall, I'd rather have Cox.

Not in the post-season.

[Razgovory]

Looks like Pujols is leaving for Cali.  Aw well, I figured something like that would happen.  Cards wouldn't have won the series (or even got there in the first place), without him.

[alfred russel]

Looks like Pujols is leaving for Cali.  Aw well, I figured something like that would happen.  Cards wouldn't have won the series (or even got there in the first place), without him.

For 10 years, $250 million, they are probably better off without him. He listed as 31 years old, and there are rumors that he is older than that. He looks older.

[Syt]

Now that he's in the AL, the question is, how soon will he be a DH?



Meanwhile, a feelgood story from Pittsburgh. Nate McLouth returns!

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7328029/pittsburgh-pirates-sign-lefty-erik-bedard-outfielder-nate-mclouth

The veteran outfielder agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, returning to the team he spent his most productive seasons with from 2005-09 before being traded to the Atlanta Braves.

"It was the easiest decision I've ever made in my life," said McLouth who will be guaranteed $1.75 million, with another $450,000 possible in performance bonuses. "It's a no-brainer."

The Pirates also agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard on a one-year, $4.5 million contract and signed free agent catcher Jose Morales to a minor league deal. Bedard has the chance to earn another $500,000 in performance bonuses.

Later Wednesday, the Pirates acquired infielder Yamaico Navarro from the Kansas City Royals for minor league pitcher Brooks Pounders and infielder Diego Goris.

McLouth led the National League with 46 doubles in 2008, making the All-Star team and becoming a fan favorite. He was shipped to Atlanta in June 2009 in exchange three minor leaguers, including pitcher and new teammate Charlie Morton.

McLouth led the National League with 46 doubles in 2008, making the All-Star team and becoming a fan favorite. He was shipped to Atlanta in June 2009 in exchange three minor leaguers, including pitcher and new teammate Charlie Morton.

Leaving the Pirates was difficult, and he struggled in Atlanta to regain the form he showed while becoming one of baseball's top young outfielders. McLouth hit .198 in 2010 and .228 in 2011 with a career-low four homers in 81 games with the Braves.

"To struggle performance-wise as much as I did and to have the injuries that I did, it was tough," McLouth said. "I'm not going to lie. The past couple years were very, very difficult personally."

The 30-year-old McLouth will likely be a utility outfielder. The Pirates are set in center field with All-Star Andrew McCutchen and have invested serious money in Jose Tabata, who switched between left and right field late in the season.

Alex Presley provided a spark after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis and the team still has veteran Garrett Jones on the roster, though Jones spent time at first base toward the end of the season.

"We are pleased to sign Nate and bring him back to Pittsburgh," general manager Neal Huntington said. "He will add a positive veteran presence to our outfield and club."

McLouth isn't picky after two frustrating years in Atlanta.

"I'm comfortable playing all three positions," McLouth said. "Whatever way I find myself into the lineup is going to be good with me."

The Pirates went 70-92 last summer, fading over the final two months after briefly rising to first place in late July. McLouth found himself involved in what's considered the season's turning point, a 19-inning loss to Atlanta in which the Braves took advantage of an umpiring gaffe to win.

McLouth was thrown out in the ninth inning of the game after getting picked off but remains stunned by the outcome.

"We talked about that game for the rest of the year," he said. "None of us have ever seen anything like that."

Bedard watched the Pirates rise from afar while splitting 2011 between Seattle and Boston. He went 5-9 with a 3.62 ERA in 24 starts between the clubs after missing the 2010 season with a shoulder injury.

"They had a great year last year, they just need a couple more pieces to help them get over the hump," Bedard said. "I'm going to try and do that this year."

Bedard helps fill the void left by the departure of veteran left-hander Paul Maholm. When healthy, he's been among the most effective southpaws in baseball and is eager to get a crack at the NL after spending the first eight seasons of his career in the American League.

"I'm just there to help and give them some innings and have a solid year," he said. "I'm not there to take anybody's spot. I'm just there to help."

So is McLouth. He felt the Pirates were on the verge of becoming competitive before he was traded. He thinks they're in an even better position now. He's eager to finish the job.

"That was my goal, especially when I got to the big leagues, was to be a part of helping the franchise turn around and get back to a winning franchise," he said. "To not be able to see that through was one of the most difficult parts about being traded. Now that I'm back, I re-welcome it knowing that we're even closer than when I left."

[jimmy olsen]

Angels get CJ Wilson as well.

As for Albert's age, haven't legions of reporters tried to track down proof that he's older? If he was older wouldn't they have found out by now?

[The Minsky Moment]

What do the Angles plan to do with Trumbo?

[Sophie Scholl]

What do the Angles plan to do with Trumbo?

Hopefully trade him to the Indians.

[fhdz]

I am sooooooooo happy about the new Cubs front office.

[sbr]

NL MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for PEDs.  His spokesman says "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence...."  Of course there are

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7338271/ryan-braun-milwaukee-brewers-tests-positive-performance-enhancing-drug

National League MVP Ryan Braun, who last season led the Milwaukee Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades, has tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and faces a 50-game suspension if the initial finding is upheld, two sources familiar with the case told "Outside the Lines."

Major League Baseball has not announced the positive test because Braun is disputing the result through arbitration.

A spokesman for Braun confirmed the positive test Saturday and issued a statement: "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated."

USA TODAY reported Saturday night that Braun said of the test result: "It's B.S."

The 28-year-old Braun had to provide a urine sample for testing during the playoffs, and he was notified of the positive test sometime in late October -- about a month before he was named the National League's most valuable player.

The positive result was triggered by elevated levels of testosterone in Braun's system, the sources also told "Outside the Lines." A subsequent, more comprehensive test revealed the testosterone was synthetic -- not produced by Braun's body.

Every individual naturally produces testosterone and a substance called epitestosterone, typically at a ratio of 1-to-1. In Major League Baseball, if the ratio comes in at 4-to-1 or higher during testing, a player is deemed to have tested positive. The sources did not indicate how high above the threshold Braun's sample tested.

To affirm the results and strengthen its case, MLB asked the World Anti-Doping Agency lab in Montreal, which conducts its testing, to perform a secondary test to determine whether the testosterone spike resulted from natural variations within Braun's body or from an artificial source. The test indicated the testosterone was exogenous, meaning it came from outside his body.

Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes said Saturday that the team had not been contacted by the commissioner's office and the team had no knowledge of a failed test. Messages left for MLB officials were not returned. Greg Bouris, spokesman for the Major League Baseball Players Association, declined comment.

Since being informed of the results, Braun has been disputing his case. A source close to Braun said that when he was told about the positive test, he immediately requested to be tested again. That second test, using a different sample that was tested by Braun's camp, the source said, was not positive. Those close to Braun believe that the difference between the two tests will show that the first test was invalid. Although Braun's representatives acknowledge that a non-positive test would not negate a positive one, they believe the second test shows certain anomalies that will suggest problems with the first. They declined to specify.

The outfielder has told those around him that he did not knowingly take any banned substances and hoped to prove that during the arbitration process. No major league player has ever successfully appealed a positive test.

MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Policy calls for strict liability among players, meaning if a player tests positive, the league is "not required to otherwise establish intent, fault, negligence or knowing use of a Prohibited Substance on the Player's part to establish such a violation."

Even if a player can establish he did not knowingly take a banned substance, he must show he was not in any way negligent to appeal successfully. For example, taking a dietary supplement that contains an unlabeled performance-enhancing drug would not be sufficient grounds for appeal, but if he were to show that he ingested something that was either tampered with or no player reasonably could have assumed to have been contaminated, the appeal might succeed.

The source close to Braun said he believes that standard can be met.

Once criticized for protecting its biggest stars from scandal, the league is now faced with the possibility of suspending one of the game's best and most-admired players.

Braun had never been linked to PEDs previously; in fact, at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, when commissioner Bud Selig addressed efforts by Albert Pujols to tamp down questions about steroid use, he invoked Braun as a shining example of the sport's tough testing policy.

"Albert Pujols is absolutely right. He has been tested since he started playing," Selig said. "So has Ryan Howard. So has Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman. Since they were in the minors."

About a month before that, Selig was quoted in The Arizona Republic as saying, "Our minor league testing program is in its ninth year, and that means all the great young players in baseball, from Ryan Howard to Ryan Braun, have all been tested for nine years. There's a system in place, and it's working. We know we have the toughest testing program in major league sports."

Earlier that spring, after Alex Rodriguez was exposed for using steroids, Braun spoke to MLB.com about the "mistakes" made by the superstar. Braun said he met Rodriguez in 2001 during a recruiting trip to the University of Miami.

Asked if he were surprised that Rodriguez had been exposed as a steroid user, Braun was quoted saying, "I don't know if I would say I was surprised. I feel like it was so rampant, so prevalent, in baseball during that time period that not much surprises me anymore. If anything, I was surprised he got caught, that it came out this long after he supposedly did it."

On whether he had ever been tempted to try performance-enhancing drugs, Braun said, "It's never something that I sought."

MLB.com wrote that Braun then showed "a flash of his sense of humor and his well-documented self-confidence" by adding, "I would never do it because if I took steroids, I would hit 60 or 70 home runs."

Braun was speaking to the website prior to the news conference at which Rodriguez admitted his use.

"... The best thing he can do is come out, admit to everything and be completely honest," Braun said. "The situation will die a lot faster if he tells the whole truth."

Since breaking into the majors in 2007 at 23, Braun has emerged as one of the sport's top young players. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and was an All-Star each of the past four seasons.

In his rookie season, Braun hit 34 homers and drove in 97 runs, while amassing a .634 slugging percentage in just 113 games. He had 37 home runs and 106 RBI the following year, then saw his power numbers decline modestly over the next two seasons. He still hit 25 home run runs and had a .501 slugging percentage in 2010.

In April, Braun signed a five-year contract extension worth $105 million. He then went out and had his best season ever, carrying the Brewers to their first division title in nearly three decades. He led the league in slugging percentage at .597, with a .332 batting average, 33 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 109 runs scored and 33 stolen bases.

Braun turned 28 on Nov. 17 and five days later was named the NL MVP. Now, though, he's looking at a 50-game suspension to open the 2012 season, and, of course, all sorts of questions about what role steroids have played in his success.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn are investigative reporters with ESPN's enterprise unit. Fainaru-Wada can be reached at [email protected]. Quinn can be reached at [email protected].

[Syt]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7423044/joe-torre-quits-mlb-job-attempt-buy-los-angeles-dodgers

Joe Torre has quit his job with Major League Baseball to pursue ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the league announced on Wednesday.

Dodgers Suitors

Dodgers Although a definitive list has not been released, a number of prominent names have emerged as potential buyers of the Los Angeles Dodgers: Among them:

Joe Torre
Group includes former Dodgers manager and real estate developer Rick Caruso

Magic Johnson
Group includes Lakers legend, Guggenheim Baseball Management and baseball executive Stan Kasten

Steve Garvey, Orel Hershiser
Group includes former Dodgers stars and Joey Herrick of Natural Balance Pet Foods

Larry King
Group includes talk show host, White Sox special assistant Dennis Gilbert and Jason Reese of Imperial Capital

Fred Claire
Group includes former Dodgers general manager, A's president Andy Dolich and former Dodgers batboy Ben Hwang, who brought in the financial backers

Peter O'Malley
Former Dodgers owner's group not revealed

Mark Cuban
Dallas Mavericks owner's level of interest or group not clear