Ah, the reassuring sounds of spring agita

It has been almost too serene at SoxandPhils camps this spring. But today, news broke that Jonathan Papelbon piped up about Manny Ramirez in Esquire, calling him a clubhouse cancer that had to be removed last year:

"It takes 25 guys on a team to win, not 24, and that was blatantly obvious," Papelbon said today after the club's workout. "It doesn't matter who you are -- you could be Babe Ruth -- if you're not in that same cubbyhole with the rest of the guys going to war with you, you're all going to die. That almost happened."

I like the rhetoric, but why now? I would have loved it if Papelbon had said this last summer, but now it's just odd and creating an unnecessary diversion.

I, unfortunately, have to agree with Manny: "I've already moved on with my life. Like I said, I wish everybody the best. I'm in LA now."

And one other thing. I'm usually not overly PC, but I would hope Papelbon would reconsider using his use of the word cancer. Jon Lester had cancer. The team had a petulant prima donna who brought down morale.

Please, no more about Manny unless we have a rematch of last year's NLCS.

Wall of Fame: The Phillies announced their Wall of Fame nominees. There are several candidates more qualified than Juan Samuel, who was last year's inductee:

Pitchers Jack Baldschun, Ricky Bottalico, Larry Christenson, Gene Garber, Jim Konstanty and Rick Wise; catcher Darren Daulton; infielders John Kruk and Fred Luderus; outfielders Lenny Dykstra, Doug Glanville, Greg Gross, Von Hayes and Roy Thomas; manager Jim Fregosi.

Scott Lauber is not endorsing a candidate, but I will. My write-in endorsement goes to Ken Ryan. My other two votes will go to John Kruk and Doug Glanville.

{Ricky Bo? The only award he gets is the "What the hell is he doing on this list?" award. I want to vote for Dykstra; I know he's tainted, but he embodied the '93 team. Same for Daulton; not all there now, but he was the leader. I would also accept Kruk and be happy with Glanville, just because he seems like a genuinely good guy. But I will go with Dykstra and Daulton, but my dark horse will win it - Von Hayes. The fans are in a good mood and have seemed willing to forgive for the past, so it's his year.}

Juan Samuel? Really??

Lost in the craziness of the Sox-Phils series was the announcement that Juan Milton Samuel will be enshrined on the Phillies Wall of Fame. As someone who studied the backs of baseball cards in the 1980s more closely than his school books, I know Samuel was a good player, although not, as the sponsor of his Baseball-Reference page claims, "quite simply, the greatest baseball player in the history of the world."

I didn't follow the Phillies back then, but I admired his combination of speed and power, racking up double digits in all categories. But I know enough about Philly to know that he is not the most deserving Phillie - Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and John Kruk are the obvious ones. And unlike Samuel, they contributed to a Phillies postseason.

A fan vote narrowed the choices for wall nominee to Daulton, Dykstra, Kruk, Samuel and Greg Gross. Then, a committee of media and Phillies executives chose Samuel to be inducted.

I'm not sure how Gross even ended up in the mix. I understand the arguments against choosing Dykstra (links to steroids and other issues) and Daulton (his philosophical musings); as for Kruk, maybe they're unhappy that he bailed on his Phillies announcing and has become a national media figure. But I still don't get it. I'll be happy to cheer Juan's induction, but if the Phillies keep flying their '93 NL pennant, they should induct players from that squad.

Harper: I forgot to mention yesterday the little baseball fan seated behind his. His name was Harper, and he was attending his first game with his pop-pop, who provided running commentary for his grandson. It was very cute and wholesome. And the next time the media or populous want to bemoan baseball, they should sit in the park and take in nine innings with little Harper and his cap and pack of Red Sox playing cards.

[Image: Baseball Reference Bullpen]

Dude

Subscribing to HBO would be a waste of money for me; I don't have the time to watch much of its programming. But there are times I wish I had it, such as now to see the Real Sports profile on Lenny Dykstra, the financial whiz.

The Inquirer had some of the transcript. Most impressive about Dykstra's transformation from the Dude to Money Dude is this exchange between Bernard Goldberg and Jim Cramer of Mad Money:

Cramer: "If I didn't know any better I would tell you that everything you hear from Lenny is an act. Because there's no way that he would ever, that you would ever feel like he's as smart as he really is, if you listen to him. Now, there are probably four or five people in the world who, if they sent me an e-mail, told me to learn a stock, I would actually take them seriously."
Goldberg: "And he's one of them?"
Cramer: "He's one of them. He's one of them."

I first heard about this on WIP this morning. Here's a summary of a real interesting story Angelo Cataldi told. I caught it midway, so I didn't hear where he got it from:

Goldberg asked Dykstra about steroids and the Mitchell report. Dykstra denied juicing on camera. After the cameras stopped, Goldberg apologized for the questioning but said he had to because it's been in the news. Dykstra replied, "It's OK. I hope you don't mind that my answer was a lie." Later, Goldberg called him to make sure he understood properly. "Nah, I was just kidding," Dykstra replied.

Speaking of steroids and outfielders from the '80s, the Globe has more from Mike Greenwell and his lamenting of the steroid era. He has a point about how drugged-up players have overshadowed his career, but Greenwell loses credibility by defending Roger Clemens:

Greenwell said his former teammate, Roger Clemens, belongs in the Hall of Fame.
"First of all, he's one of the hardest workers I've ever met in my life," said Greenwell. "I mean, period - in sports and out of sports. It would just blow me away with how much he worked.
"Do I know, or think, or have an idea whether he did do any of that stuff? I really don't. I don't have any idea. My thought is no because he's such a hard worker that he wouldn't do that. Then when you watch the hearings and you see the things going on, it does cast doubt, but I certainly hope people don't judge his career on that. I think that's a shame."

Speaking of roiding Yankees pitchers: Hide the HGH - Andy Pettitte is injured.

YES

Cue the Suzy Waldman dramatics. Put the YES camera crews on call for an instant Yankeeography. Have Howard Rubenstein draft a missive from George.

The greatest baseball team we have ever seen is reuniting. Yes, the 1998 Yankees, they of the 114-48 record and 11-2 World Series run will join up again on Jan. 16 to regale Congress with tales of how they stole titles in the 90s and formed the best team drugs could inflate. Big-time players -- Roidger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch -- are slated, but so is the team's most valuable contributor, Brian McNamee.

No word yet whether other members of the Empire's dynasty -- like Justice, Holmes or Velarde -- will be called.

Or whether disgraced Red Sox and Phillies alums like Manny Alexander or Lenny Dykstra will be invited. {Note from Christine: I wouldn't say that Lenny Dykstra has been disgraced. Disappointing, yes, but I don't think anyone thinks less of him since the report came out. It's not a surprise that he was named. Especially since he talked with MLB officials about his steroid use in 2000 and yet nothing was done about steroids in baseball until years later.}

In other sports: A protracted Red Sox playoff run delayed my interest in football this year, I still can't believe the regular season's over. Like many, I'm going heavy on road warriors this weekend.

I'm jumping on the Redskins bandwagon, the Steelers are too beat up and the Giants will find a way to get past Tampa Bay. The only favorite who will play like it is the Chargers, who will look more like the '06 version than the '07 version against the Titans.

But we all know these four games are just appetizers for the weekend's main event: two Yankee blowhards pinky swear over steroids.