Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Thursday morning.

 

Ramirez is expected to attribute the positive test results to medication he received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, the Times reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

 

The Dodgers informed AAA outfielder Xavier Paul Thursday morning that he was being promoted to the big-league club, according to the report.

 

MORE TO COME

More to come indeed

UPDATE

According to Scott Boras Manny has not been suspended for steroids, rather a substance prescribed by a doctor that was on the no fly list. I have no idea how the drug rules work but you think he'd get an appeal or something if this is the case.

link

DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers have released nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield, who is one home run away from 500 for his career.

Detroit parted ways with the designated hitter Tuesday after a disappointing stay with the Tigers. The team was hopeful Sheffield would be a powerful presence at the plate in the final season of the $28 million, two-year contract extension it gave him after acquiring him from the Yankees for prospect

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It couldn't happen to a better guy, frankly.

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - 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.

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.

"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."

what

link

Link

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The Houston Astros and catcher Ivan Rodriguez are closing in on a $1.5 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press. The deal would contain $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on games and plate appearances, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced by the team.

This is a great move for Pudge. If I were an aging right handed hitter and wanted to keep my career afloat, the first place I would want to play is Enron. The downside is that the Astros are not good.

All can be seen on mlbtv! How quickly can LL kill the Dutch Oven'd meme? Tune in and find out!

5:30 PM	Netherlands @ Puerto Rico	MP4	600K
6:30 PM	Venezuela @ United States	MP4	600K
10:00 PM	Mexico @ Australia	MP4	600K

Call me crazy, but i think the DR could have escaped defeat had they asked Pujols to play for them. That guy might be and up and comer, but he is a good ballplayer.

Games for Thrusday:

Edit: Hey that's neat, how'd I do that?

Bets maybe worth taking;

Atlanta- 84.5 (under)
Boston- 94.5 (slight under)
Chicago C- 94.5 (under)
Cleveland- 83 (big over)
LA Angels- 87.5 (under)
LA Dodgers- 84.5 (under)
Milwaukee- 85.5 (under)
Minnesota- 79.5 (over)
NY Yankees- 96 (under)
Pittsburgh- 66.5 (over)
San Diego- 67.5 (over)
Seattle- 72.5 (over)
Tampa Bay- 89.5 (slight over)
Texas- 81.5 (under)
Toronto- 81.5 (over)
Washington- 68.5 (over)

Sadly, there are only a couple lines  that are nutty.

Linkage

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VIERA, Fla. (AP) - The Washington Nationals released disgruntled pitcher Odalis Perez on Monday, a day after he failed to show up at spring training by the mandatory reporting deadline.

The 31-year-old Perez hadn't taken phone calls from general manager Jim Bowden or manager Manny Acta in recent days. Perez let the 7 p.m. Sunday deadline pass without reporting.

"We left messages yesterday for his agent, we left messages for him, I left messages again this morning, and they made their point really clear," Bowden said. "We've got a lot of pitchers here in camp who are committed to helping us win, and we want players here who want to be here."

Linkage

I honestly have no idea why he signed that contract in the first place. There still are some teams out there that could use another starting pitcher.

Rosenthal:

The Braves, shut out in their quest for Ken Griffey Jr., are close to signing free-agent outfielder Garret Anderson to a one-year contract, according to a major-league source.

Anderson, 36, will move to the National League after spending 15 seasons with the Angels. He will fill the same role that the Braves intended for Griffey, platooning with Matt Diaz in the left field.

The Mariners also had been interested in Anderson before signing Griffey. The Angels replaced Anderson by signing free-agent outfielder Bobby Abreu for $5 million.

Cardinals pitcher Joel Pineiro says he is "heartbroken" and feels "disrespected" after being left off Puerto Rico's World Baseball Classic team by manager Jose Oquendo -- who is also a Cardinals coach.

Oquendo first approached Pineiro about his role on Saturday. Pineiro construed the comments as a joke. But it later sunk in that Oquendo intended to use Ian Snell and Jonathan Sanchez along with Vazquez.

Pineiro had already purchased tickets for his family for second-round games in Miami, where Puerto Rico will play if the team advances past the first round in San Juan. But since he won't be a starter, Pineiro said he will remain in spring training and skip the World Baseball Classic entirely.

Given the option of pitching in long relief, Piñeiro declined.

"I feel bad for my country, for the team we have had over there," he said. "I talked to most of those guys and they know I'm doing the right decision. If I wasn't going to start, why would I be there?"

Link

Another link 

One more for the road

Rosenthal:

Relief could be on the way for right-hander Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent whose market failed to develop because teams were reluctant to part with a high draft pick for signing a middle-inning reliever.

Major League Baseball, the players' union, the Diamondbacks and Cruz's agents are in discussions to facilitate a sign-and-trade involving Cruz that adheres to the collective-bargaining agreement.

Such a waiver would enable the Diamondbacks to trade Cruz immediately after signing him. The D-backs would need to strike a deal within a set amount of time, probably 48 hours, major-league sources say. If no trade were completed, Cruz would remain a free agent.

Entire article

How long before this mess of a compensation system is fixed?

*Hey it looks like Jason Phillips is now a Mariner. Remember that one good year he had that one time?

Rosenthal:

The Orioles have signed free-agent Ty Wigginton to a two-year contract, according to a major-league source.

Wiggington will receive $6 million for the two years, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Wigginton hit .285 with 23 home runs and 58 RBIs with the Astros last season.

Wigginton likely will serve as a right-handed hitting first baseman and DH, replacing free agent Kevin Millar.

He also will back up Melvin Mora at third base.

Wigginton is a nice little ~league average player, and I'm amazed that he didn't get overvalued after coming off a career year. I'm becoming more and more convinced that the Orioles aren't the worst run team in baseball.

Via Rosenthal:

The Mets, solidifying their starting rotation, have reached agreement with free-agent left-hander Oliver Perez on a three-year, $36 million contract, according to major-league sources.

The deal, which is contingent on Perez passing a physical, will not include an option of any kind, sources said.

 

The news of Perez's return to the Mets, first reported by the New York Post, could trigger a domino effect with other pitchers remaining on the free-agent market.

I don't get it, Perez isn't that good.

 

Perez, 27, wanted a longer contract, but the Mets held firm on three years, securing him for what should be the prime of his career.

Way to play hardball.

Full Article

The Pujols is *Finally* healthy edition!

Albert Pujols

Pujols, who turned 29 on Thursday, hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing with the sore right elbow. Pujols won his second NL MVP award despite St. Louis' fourth-place finish in the NL Central.

Pujols avoided reconstructive elbow surgery. Instead, Cardinals team physician Dr. George Paletta performed what he described at the time as a "relatively minor surgical procedure" to relocate the ulnar nerve in Pujols' elbow.

Pujols opted for surgery after consulting with Paletta and specialist Dr. James Andrews. In the last month of the season, Pujols experienced numbness and tingling in the ring finger and pinkie of his right hand, weakness of his grip and pain in the inside of his elbow and forearm.

The surgery, which took about 25 minutes, relieved compression and irritation of the nerve. Paletta said Pujols' elbow did not require reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament, which probably would have sidelined Pujols for all of spring training and possibly the first few weeks of the season.

You have my permission to conversate

It could explain why Barry Bonds’ attorneys believe the grand jury questions to him were impossibly vague and why the focus of the BALCO case veered from prosecuting distributors of illegal anabolic steroids and money launderers to catching world-class athletes lying about drug use.

Taking the Clear – the star drug of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative – was not a crime, according to expert testimony included in grand jury documents.

Not only was the performance-enhancing drug tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) not specifically banned when athletes squirted “The Clear” under their tongues to gain an edge, the testimony also indicates that the drug wasn’t categorized by the Justice Department as a steroid until January 2005, long after the drug laboratory had been shuttered.

Linky

The Rumble in Anaheim.. err... LA is over edition

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The city of Anaheim is dropping its legal challenges to the name of the Angels.

Mayor Curt Pringle says the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to give up its battle to restore the team's name to the Anaheim Angels. The city had argued that team owner Arte Moreno violated the city-owned stadium lease agreement when he changed the name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005. A California appeals court ruled against the city last month, and an Orange County Superior court jury sided with the team in 2006.

Link

I find it amusing

Anyway, have at it

The Braves have reached preliminary agreement with free-agent right-hander Derek Lowe on a four-year, $60 million contract, according to major-league sources.

The deal, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is pending a physical.

Lowe, 36, is the third starting pitcher added by the Braves this season, joining right-hander Javier Vazquez and Japanese right-hander Kenshin Kawakami.

...so says Rosenthal

The Cards fan in me says "Aw nutsack..."

Hope it was worth your soul; enjoy staring at this for the next four years Derek:

Rosenthal:

The Brewers have reached agreement with Hoffman on a 1-year, $6 million free-agent contract, according to major-league sources. The deal includes $1.5 million in incentives, bringing the potential total value to $7.5 million and will be announced today

The Brewers lost their closer, Salomon Torres, to retirement at the start of the offseason. Three of their other relievers — Eric Gagne, Brian Shouse and Guillermo Mota — are free agents.

Hoffman can still get people out, but that seems like way too much money for a guy who'll only throw 50 innings and is in danger of collaspe.

The Oakland Athletics and free agent first baseman and designated hitter Jason Giambi are on the verge of agreeing on a one-year deal with an option for 2010, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The deal would pay Giambi, who started his major league career in Oakland, $5.25 million in 2009 with a $4 million base salary for the option year in 2010. The second year would also provide for a $1.25 million buyout.

Link

I thought Giambi would make that much in 2009 alone. What a deal for Oakland!

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday that Bonds, who has said he is not retiring and wants to play baseball again, underwent a hip procedure.

Bonds had the surgery with the intent of resuming his playing career this year, the Chronicle reported, citing a source familiar with the operation. With the start of spring training six weeks away, baseball's home run king would not be fully healed by then, but could be by Opening Day, the Chronicle reported.

Linky

...because clearly they don't have enough:

The Chicago Sun Times reports that the Cubs have agreed to terms with Aaron Miles on a two-year, $4.9 million contract.

St. Louis cut Miles loose because they didn't want to pay him around $2.5 million via arbitration, so it's a surprise that he's able to get a two-year deal. Chicago already had infield depth with Ronny Cedeno on the bench, so signing Miles seemingly could lead to the Cubs shopping Mark DeRosa.

Proof

The first person to suggest trading Washburn for DeRosa is banned.

This seemed timely:

The Truth:

Tossing a friend in bed after they've passed out drunk is a fantastic idea, provided you're hoping your friend drowns in their own vomit. Passing out and falling asleep aren't the same thing.

Someone who has passed out as a result of alcohol intoxication is unlikely to be awakened by the need to hurl. If they happen to be lying on their back when the spewing starts, the chunks have nowhere to go except into the lungs. Tell Hendrix we say hi!

Happy new year: remember every time you have a beer, Coach is blamed for an angel losing it's wings.

Rosenthal:

The Cubs, trying to clear salary while fortifying their bullpen, are close to trading right-hander Jason Marquis and cash to the Rockies for right-hander Luis Vizcaino, according to major-league sources.

The move, which is not expected to be announced until next week, would save the Cubs between $5-6 million -- money they could devote to the pursuit of a left-handed hitting outfielder such as their primary target, free agent Milton Bradley, a switch-hitter.

link

Jason Marquis pisses me off so freakin' much I can't evaluate this properly, but it seems a bit questionable for the Cubs.

Andruw Jones, coming off a disastrous first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been the subject of trade talks between L.A. and the New York Mets, according to sources.

New York also has been trying to move a second baseman Luis Castillo, who is coming off a poor season and is owed $18 million over the next three seasons. But it's unlikely that the Dodgers would have interest in Castillo, because they have a young second baseman in Blake DeWitt, and Castillo does not play a lot of different positions. If the Mets were to move Castillo, they would be in a position to then pursue the top free-agent second baseman, Orlando Hudson.

link

Hey, if you can get him for next to nothing, Jones may be worth a look, his UZR results are excellent (+17.5 3yr average) and he can't possibly be as bad as he was last year.

With all the enthusiasm for people wanting to create their own OT threads I'm surprised no one has made more of the opportunity the last few days.

Normally I would talk about how the warm day yesterday was just a cock tease from god, and how the skies have resumed shitting snow and why that upsets me, but I'm felling cheery so I'll leave you with this:

via i42.tinypic.com

As horrible of a day it was for football, I'm gonna dwell on the positive.