YES (again)

Cue the Suzy Waldman dramatics.

Put the YES camera crews on call for an instant Yankeeography.

Have Howard Rubenstein draft a missive from George Steinbrenner. Um, too late for that one.

But I hope The Trentonian headline writers are feisty because Roger Clemens was indicted for lying to Congress. I know I shouldn't be so gleeful about my once-hero falling so far down, but I can't help myself. Besides, it couldn't happen to a bigger jerk.

See you in 30 years, Rocket.

Another item of note: Jarrod Saltalamacchia might have a staph infection. He's on the DL. That's the fourth Red Sox catcher to be disabled this season. Incredible.

Tonight's games: The Phillies and Red Sox tried to finish off sweeps of California teams, but the Giants beat the Phillies 5-2 and the Angels beat the Red Sox 7-2. That win saved the Angels the indignity of going 0-10 against the Sox this year.

Two former Red Sox flops back in the news

Two players who are among the most reviled Red Sox free agent signings in the 1990s have been in the news recently for slightly different reasons.

Jack Clark, who in retrospect is probably one of the last untainted sluggers, called out Mark McGwire and the rest of the roiders in a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"A lot of them should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire," Clark said. "All those guys are cheaters —A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro. Fake, a phony.

"(Roger) Clemens, (Barry) Bonds. (Sammy) Sosa. Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

"They should all be in the Hall of Shame. They can afford to build it. They've all got so much money. And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin. The whole thing is creepy. "They're all creeps. All these guys have been liars," Clark said.

Amen. Jack the Ripper, you might not have had the greatest career, but at least you're at peace knowing you did the best you could without cheating. He says it best:

"I'd rather take my 340 home runs (11 seasons of more than 20) legitimately instead of taking that stuff to be phony."

Meanwhile, Jose Offerman, who less than three years ago attacked former Phillie Matt Beech with a baseball bat, has punched an umpire in the winter league:

Offerman, manager of the Licey Tigers, appeared to hit first base umpire Daniel Rayburn in the face or neck with his fist during a heated discussion in a game against the Cibao Giants. Rayburn fell to the ground.

I have nothing to add. I just hope that Rayburn isn't hurt as badly by Offerman as John Nathans was.

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets: I often acknowledge that I tend to be a fair-weather football fan. I may be biased, but I think it's OK to be fickle as long as you never pretend to be devoted to a team and acknowledge that you are fair-weathered. But I usually root against three teams - Cowboys, Jets and Eagles - so I can't believe I was getting sucked into the Jets last night, even though they cemented another woeful weekend of predictions: 1-3 this time.

Best of plans

In the afternoon tilt - you know, the SoxandPhils game we could not watch because of work - Cliff Lee pitched another beauty, winning his home debut 3-1 against the Rockies. He went seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk with nine strikeouts.

John Smoltz - in the game we should have been able to watch - did not make it out of the 4th, getting tagged for eight runs in a 13-4 blowout through the 8th, which means the dominance against the Yankees probably ends tonight.

I found this Tony Masarotti tidbit interesting:

According to one baseball source, the Sox had serious discussions with the Indians for both Martinez and starter Cliff Lee, at least until Cleveland wisely broke the tandem apart and effectively sold them off as condos. The point is that the Red Sox wanted a hitter and a pitcher, or, more importantly, they felt they needed both. In the upper corners of Fenway Park, the inhabitants know this team has holes.

Stupid Indians.

Lots of other news today. J.A. Happ is staying in the rotation. Kevin Youkilis started in left field because Jason Bay has a hamstring injury. Josh Reddick is back because Rocco Baldelli was DL'd. David Ortiz was going to talk about steroids this afternoon, but now he's going to do it tomorrow.

I know, kind of a weak post given everything that's going on, but it's been a rough night. I had to teach myself how to change a car battery (took longer than I thought) and then had to prepare the bathroom shower to be recaulked and the rest of the house to get new windows.

At least the chores kept me from having to watch this debacle against the Yankees.

Interesting: They just showed the clip of Pedro Martinez taking out Don Zimmer in the 2003 ALCS. Christine sighed as she realized he's her problem now.

Confused

With the Phillies finally playing at a reasonable time, we had the game on in the background as we prepared dinner. We sat down to eat at the beginning of the 4th, just as Tom McCarthy raved about Barry Zito - who at that point faced the minimum (Ben Francisco had a single followed by a double play in the 1st).

"The Phillies need to remember they're facing Barry Zito and start hitting him," Christine said.

Sure enough, Jimmy Rollins homered on the next pitch. They had rallies in the 4th and 5th that yielded only two more runs, but they seemed ready to bust out.

Nope. Amnesia returned, and they let Zito handle them as if he were Cole Hamels or something. Speaking of whom, young Cole must have thought he was Barry Zito - giving up seven runs (six earned) in five innings. I thought he had turned the corner.

Head-scratcher in Baltimore: I thought the sweep was well in hand when I saw the Red Sox were up 7-0 in the 3rd, but the O's put up a six-spot in the 3rd and knocked out Clay Buchholz with another run in the 5th. Although, by then, the Red Sox had already doubled their tally with a seven-run 4th inning. It ended as an 18-10 Red Sox win that left me wondering whether to praise Victor Martinez for going 5-6 with four RBI or complain that Red Sox pitchers gave up 10 runs in his first game behind the plate.

Today marked the official beginning of the end of the Jason Varitek era - I just have to remember that V-Mart's strength is at the plate, not behind it.

More head-hurting drug news: In the latest episode of the Red Sox trying to out-drug the Yankees, it was revealed that last year they fired two staffers, including Jerry Remy's son, for possessing steroids. I can't wait for this big weekend series against the Yankees. Our druggies are better than their druggies. Yea!

Season goes on

With yesterday's shaming of David Ortiz, I had forgotten that today was the trade deadline until I heard Mike & Mike talking about it.

I started wondering what former roider, like Eric Gagne, Theo Epstein might pick up this year.

OK, that's not fair to last year's acquisition of Jason Bay, but I was still bummed about Papi. I still am. By the afternoon I was starting to get over it, especially because, as Christine predicted when Lou Marson went to the Tribe, the Red Sox got Victor Martinez. They did so without losing Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard or Michael Bowden, but they did give up Justin Masterson, Bryan Price and Nick Hagadone. They also flipped the recently acquired and suddenly extraneous Adam LaRoce to the Braves for Casey Kotchman.

Despite having Jason Varitek, I've long coveted V-Mart because of his hitting. Reading the first reports of his arrival, I think I'm going to like his attitude - sentimental yet focused on winning. I just hope he does it cleanly:

Upon learning of the deal, Martinez admitted it was difficult to leave the only organization he had played for since entering professional baseball in 1996.

"It's tough," Martinez told The Associated Press. "This is my house. This is my home."

According to the report, Martinez fought back tears as he sat in front of his locker, hugging son Victor Jr. Earlier in the day, the young boy asked his dad, "Are we still an Indian?"

But he later added that Red Sox fans unfamiliar with him will soon find out what he's all about.

"Everybody knows I play to win," said Martinez. I love this game and I'll go there and do the same thing. As soon as I cross the line, I'm all about winning."

Masterson also sounded the right tone - I'm going to miss him, and I think he's going to be a real good pitcher. Hopefully he needs some days off whenever we play Cleveland:

"It will be nice when we get to Cleveland, but it's unfortunate to have to leave a great organization like the Red Sox, but I've heard nothing but good things about Cleveland, so I'll be excited to get up there."

So the 2009 trading deadline has passed. The top names moved came from Cleveland and landed with the SoxandPhils. The Red Sox have struggled, but I think the Papi revelation will be cathartic and Martinez will spark them past this slump and back to the top of the American League. The Phillies look to be a slam dunk to repeat at least as division champions and are probably favorites to repeat as World Champions.

Tonight, their new acquisition, Cliff Lee, debuts in San Francisco. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay up past his first inning - probably not.

John Smoltz gave up five runs in six innings, but the Red Sox won a back-and-forth affair in Baltimore 6-5.

Shattered

I got an e-mail today with the subject: "I knew the Red Sox were too good to be true."

Once I opened it, instantly the best baseball year of my life was ruined. What I long suspected, but hoped would not be true, was confirmed: The 2004 Boston Red Sox were tainted by drugs. David Ortiz, like his cohort Manny Ramirez, tested positive in 2003. I'm a hypocrite, and the Red Sox first championship in 86 years is no more pure than any that the Yankees have won.

Fun day.

I didn't even care when I heard Papi hit a big home run to win today's game, 8-5 over the A's. The myth of Big Papi has been shattered. Ortiz, who had previously advocated a full-year suspension for roiders, claimed ignorance until after the game:

He said he was "blindsided" when a Times reporter asked him about the allegation before the game, and said he responded at the time with a "no comment" because he "wanted to get to the bottom of this." He added:

Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. ... I will find out what I tested positive for [and] based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me -- I will not hide and I will not make excuses.

Speaking to reporters in the clubhouse after the game, Ortiz elaborated on his statement. "I found out like an hour before the game about the situation. You guys know I'm a guy that never turns my back on you guys, always been true with you guys. And, honestly, right now I don't have information about it. I'm going to get more input about the situation and I'm going to honestly tell you guys what's up. But right now, I don't have answers. I've got no information."

At least Curt Schilling, the real hero of 2004, remains taint-free. I know, I shouldn't make such statements about any player of the last quarter decade.

Before this stunner, I had prewritten the following post. It encapsulates what I felt about Papi before this afternoon. I will post it as a final reminder to myself of the hypocrisy. I apologize to Jimmy Rollins for the roider ruining it for him:

It was nice to see Jimmy Rollins listed as one of Bubba Burgers "Who's Hot?" players on Sunday.

It got me thinking of all the crap J-Roll and David Ortiz took at the beginning of the year. These are two clutch players who willed their teams to overcome desperate odds to win improbable championships - Phillies over the Mets in 2007 and Red Sox over the Yankees in 2004.

Yet when they scuffled a bit this year, the fans who benefited greatly from their past performances wanted to run them out of town.

I admit I got impatient and frustrated with both of them, but it was more a feeling of "I don't want to see such a proud and capable player who has meant so much to my team struggle."

It wasn't the usual sports-talk drivel of, "He's done. Ship his ass out of here."

Since J-Roll bottomed out on July 1, he has increased his line from .205/.250/.319 to .236/.288/.381. Papi has improved from .186/.282/.284 on June 2 to .224/.311/.409 today.

I'm sure neither player is happy with his line, but I'm just glad they're back to playing at superior levels - not for what it means to their teams, but for what it means to their pride.

Maybe they'll carry their hot streaks through the World Series and battle not only for the big trophy but for World Series MVP as well.

Phillies: They lost 4-0 to the Diamondbacks last night. Hmm, maybe they should have traded losing pitcher J.A. Happ for Roy Halladay. They play even later tonight, opening a series against the Giants.

It does sound sketchy

I believe Ryan Madson, if for no other reason than "spaghetti arms" is the best defense I've ever heard for someone even remotely accused of taking steroids.

But when a pitcher whose fastball suddenly gained a few miles per hour attributes the increased velocity to a clandestine meeting arranged by the title character of a horror novel who was driving a rented getaway car, it seems awfully suspicious.

"Flash [Gordon] took care of me," Madson said. "He really did. [The program] we were doing was good, but it wasn't the only thing that could help. I give him a lot of credit. He rented a car and said, 'We're going, 9 o'clock in the morning, get up. You're coming with me.' I got the chills right now just talking about it."

I don't know why this story broke today in both the News Journal and Daily News, but Madson says the success he has had dating back to the end of 2008 traces to Tom Gordon introducing him to his Arizona-based trainer.

Like I said, I'm not being a blogger accusing a player of something improper, but if we ever read about Mad Dog getting a 50-game suspension, I'm blaming Gordon.

Speaking of steroids: If you are under suspicion of drug use and know you had tested positive, don't talk about your Hall of Fame induction like it's a slam dunk. That's how Sammy Sosa spoke recently, and today he was revealed as the next player after Alex Rodriguez on the list of players who tested positive in 2003. That was a category in SoxandPhils' predictions this spring, but no one picked Slamming Sammy.

Games back on: After battling the Mets and Yankees, and then each other, the Red Sox and Phillies are facing less-riveting competition in interleague play: the Marlins and Blue Jays. The Phillies, behind Cole Hamels, lead the Jays 3-2 in the 7th. My jaw dropped when the announcers said of Rod Barajas: "Everything he wasn't in Philadelphia, the Blue Jays say he is north of the border."

The Red Sox, behind All-Star hopeful Tim Wakefield, lead the Fish 8-2 in the 7th. Big game for David Ortiz so far: 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.

Lifetime achievement award

Nick Cafardo today endorsed an unlikely star for his first All-Star game: Tim Wakefield. Amazingly, Wakefield has never made it to the Midsummer Classic in a 17-year career with 186 wins. He's been so classy and so consistent that Cafardo felt obliged to write about his All-Star chances even after pitching poorly, but just good enough, to beat the Yankees yesterday:

It may even be time to start thinking about things like the All-Star Game, one accolade that has eluded him.

"It would be huge," said Wakefield, whose eight quality starts are second on the Sox to Josh Beckett's nine. "It's one thing you want in a career is to make an All-Star team. We've won two World Series; just to add it to the list of things that you can say you've accomplished in your career. Obviously it would be nice to make a team and hopefully I can continue to pitch the way I've been pitching and finally make one after 14 or 15 years. Hopefully I can be in St. Louis."

In his best year, when the Red Sox plucked him up after he was discarded by the Pirates in 1995, he was 7-1 at the break with a 1.61 ERA. He didn't make the cut because he only had 10 starts in the American League. Besides, Erik Hanson made it for the Red Sox, going 7-2 with a 3.61 ERA in his first 14 starts.

It's too soon to start compiling the All-Star roster, but Wakefield probably won't get a spot because I can't see more than one Red Sox starting pitcher on the staff, and Beckett has better numbers (7-2 with a 3.77 ERA).

Wakefield's 2009 season is a perfect example of why the All-Star rosters could be expanded to honor career contributions of special players.

In other news: Pablo Osuna, a veteran journeyman playing in the Phillies minor league system, has been suspended 50 games for drugs. I hope this is an isolated case pertaining to one player and is not tied to the organization. ... Mike Pelfrey's teammates were proud of him for putting Chase Utley in his place last night. Here's the coverage from the Mets perspective:

"He's a guy that I look at who always takes his time in the box," Pelfrey said. "I don't know if he's thinking or what in between pitches, but I was ready to go, and he wasn't. ... And I was mad."

But according to Phillies coverage, Utley didn't notice:

And there was the minor (so minor that it really never happened) sixth-inning flare-up between Utley and Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. A few New York reporters asked Utley about it after the game, and he looked at them like they each had 12 heads.

Basically, Pelfrey was miffed when, just as he was ready to deliver a pitch, Utley stepped out of the batter's box. Pelfrey yelled toward the batter's box, and although it appeared he had more to say to Utley after the at-bat (a groundout to second base), both players said there were no words exchanged.

That's hysterical. The Mets are even too inept to fight with the Phillies. That, or Chase is just playing a brilliant mind game with the young Met. {Little of A, but mostly B. Utley wouldn't acknowledge something like this, especially to the press. He knows exactly what Pelfrey said but will never admit it. That's the way it should be.}

Tonight's games: Brad Penny battled for six innings (I was even reconsidering my previous get-rid-of-Penny posts) protecting a one-run lead (David Ortiz hit a big home run off CC Sabathia), but then the vaunted bullpen (Manny Delcarmen) blew it. Delcarmen gave up a barrage of hits, allowing three runs, most horribly a two-run double to Alex Rodriguez - his first hit of the series. The Sox have rallied, and the game is now tied at 3-3 in the 8th with the bases loaded and no one out.

Meanwhile, the Phillies and Mets went into extra innings for the second straight night. They've played some good games this week, making me kind of hope the Mets can win the Wild Card. That would be an entertaining NLCS with a new way to crush Mets' fans spirits.

Like, for instance, a three-run home run from a 37-year-old slugger having a career year who is not on steroids. Oh wait, that's what happened tonight. Phillies 6, Mets 3. So the Sox and Phils each head into the big showdown with series wins against the New York teams.

I hope I don't need a restraining order

This morning I asked Christine to make sure she locked the door when she left for work.

Raul Ibanez is angry and coming after bloggers who suggest that his stellar performance this season is artificially enhanced:

"Unfortunately, I understand the environment we're in and the events that have led us to this era of speculation," he said. "At the same time, you can't just walk down the street and accuse somebody of being a thief because they didn't have a nice car yesterday and they do today. You can't say that guy is a thief."

Ibanez said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs.

"You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.

You can hold on to your stool there, Raul. For the record, I have just advocated testing him. For his own protection. As he is even offering to do so. And I'm a 32-year-old blogging with my wife, not, as Raul describes, "a 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement." {And, we have no readership that would even find out if you did say such a terrible thing about Rauuuuuuul.}

I thought this was all in fun until I read the headline Phillies outfielder might consider taking legal action. I can't afford a lawyer, but I'd love to see him sue if only to see a judge officially rule that suggesting a baseball player is on steroids is not defamation.

Besides, even if Raul were doping, as Manny Ramirez said today, doing drugs isn't the worst thing in the world: "I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it, I'm just going to come and play the game." {Just shut up, Ramirez.}

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are up 6-3 in the 6th. Chien-Ming Wang was knocked out in the 3rd. Tim Wakefield is battling. Every Red Sox has a hit except for David Ortiz, whose seven-game hitting streak is in jeopardy; he does have two walks. I'm still nervous about this one though. ... Cole Hamels didn't have it tonight, giving up four runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings. Mike Pelfrey is pitching well as the Phillies trail the Mets 4-1 in the 7th.

I think either game may end up with different results.

Update: After I wrote that, the Phillies tied the game 4-4 in the 7th. One run came on a badly botched play by David Wright. Paul Bako made his first appearance as a Phillie - a strikeout with the bases loaded. It was the outcome I expected, but if he came through, I predicted that that would be the end of the Mets' hope for another year. I guess they're still alive.

And, the Yankees scored two more in the 7th - home runs by stupid Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira. Red Sox are up 6-5.

SoxandPhils should have been in the bibliography

I read a couple more chapters today of The Rocket that Fell to Earth. It was the part that describes how Roger Clemens made the leap from an awful human being to a cheating drugged-up loser in the mid-1990s, thanks to some help from Jose Canseco.

As he looked around the clubhouse, Clemens surely noticed that he was surrounded by aging and adequate players. What he also noticed was that one older player who seemed to be getting bigger, stronger and better was Jose Canseco.

The book describes how Canseco tried hard to become a B-list celebrity with a fling with Madonna, a 1-900 line and mansions on each coast.

It also noted the 1995 Red Sox yearbook, whose juiced-up contents was duly noted on this blog a year ago. Here's what Jeff Pearlman wrote:

On the cover of the 1995 Red Sox Yearbook, Canseco posed in a black tank top, arms folded, biceps popping (wrote Mark Newman in the Sporting News, "It looks less like a team yearbook than, say, the latest issue of Playgirl").

OK, Newman beat us by more than a decade, but we were the first with the steroid link. And, unfortunately, this is not the cover shot, but one from inside the yearbook. But I think you still get the picture of what he was talking about.

Today's news: Red Sox are off; Phillies play late in San Diego. ... Gannett's furloughs don't exempt sports baseball beat writers. ... Jerry Remy sounds good in an audio Tweet released today. ... Todd Zolecki, not furloughed, reports: Raul Ibanez is now second in All-Star voting; Ryan Howard was co-player of the week; Kyle Drabek was promoted to Double-A Reading; and you shouldn't trust a Tweet from a Phillie other than Chad Durbin or Jamie Moyer.

The end?

Preface: I have a gut feeling, beyond just a fan's hope, that this post will soon be outdated.

I wrote that more than a year ago on a post about David Ortiz's early struggles in 2008. He looked pained after every at-bat, knowing he was hurting the team. I had faith he would snap out of it. He did for parts of last year, but now I don't have the same faith, as Chad Finn wrote this week:

More than any player in franchise history, David Ortiz taught even the most cynical Red Sox fans that refusing to give up sometimes results in the sweetest
rewards.

So the inclination is to resist giving up on him. The man deserves that much, at least under normal circumstances.

Of course, there's a particularly cruel catch here: The circumstances are no longer normal; they are dire.

Is Papi done? Is his body breaking down? Will we find out that the magical combination he formed with Manny Ramirez was propped up by drugs? I hate thinking that about a guy who seemed so pure in spirit as he led the Red Sox to two World Championships, but after Manny, who knows who's next?

On Thursday, the guy who used to be automatic in clutch spots went 0-7 and left 12 men on, most notably weakly grounding out to end the 12th inning with the bases loaded.

In the aftermath, a dejected Ortiz said the words that many of us feel guilty for thinking:

"I'm sorry, guys. I just don't feel like talking right now," he told the media. "Just put down,'Papi stinks.'"

You could hear the pain through the printed words and my stomach turned. I'm hoping with nothing but hope that this is just an particularly bad slump and by the All-Star break he'll have 20 home runs, the Red Sox will be in first place by five games and all of this will be forgotten.

But I have a feeling that the more likely scenario is that the Sox will spend July looking for a successor to Big Papi.

Last night: With Papi on the bench, the Red Sox blew a 4-0 lead, losing to the Mariners 5-4. Next Saturday, I might have to write about Jon Lester's 2009 woes.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Cleaning up yesterday's Tasch

In yesterday's post recapping our conversation about Jack Taschner's crappy performance and lack of a nickname, I forgot to say that it started with Christine lamenting, "Where's J.C. Romero?" when things started to turn bad.

"I dunno, off doing steroids," I snarkily replied.

Well, turns out Christine wasn't the only one missing J.C. for Sunday's game. While most reporters obsessed about moving Jimmy Rollins out of the leadoff spot, Scott Lauber focused on the Phillies playing a tight game without their best reliever of the past three seasons.

"That would have been J.C.'s role if he was here, definitely, without a doubt," Manuel said later, standing outside his office in Citizens Bank Park. "That's how we did it last year. That's what got us through to [closer Brad] Lidge."

[...]

"I gave up three base hits, and not one of them did I consider to be well struck," Taschner said. "It's just the way the game goes. I'm the one to blame for this one."

Somewhere, Romero must've felt responsible, too.

Red Sox: Dan Duquette defended his regime against the steroid accusations leveled by Lou Merloni. Their stories aren't entirely dissimilar; it's just a matter of interpreting whether the doctors were purely educating about the risks of steroids or how to do them safely. I don't want to be dismissive, but I'd be more concerned if it involved the current ownership.

I didn't like one answer because it's more implication of Manny Ramirez's Red Sox years:

On whether he was surprised by Manny Ramirez's suspension:

Duquette: "I was disappointed. I wasn't surprised."

Last night's game: I struggled to stay up as Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side to preserve the 4-3 win after starting the inning with a walk and a hit. Other than the time (and an injury to Dustin Pedroia, who wasn't playing shortstop, as first reported by the Globe), it was a pretty good game - solid start by Josh Beckett and another late clutch hit for Jason Bay.

Pat Burrell jumped out of the box when the crowd erupted in reaction to the Celtics playoff win.

With Hideki Okajima on the mound, much of the crowd started applauding for no reason that was evident on the field. Burrell, in fact, was confused enough that he stepped out of the batter's box and looked around.

Glen Davis's jumper at the buzzer had just gone in, and the Celtics had evened their series with Orlando.

"I didn't know if there was a big fight going on or did somebody run on the field," Burrell said. "Definitely, it was time to get out of the box. No idea.

"And then as soon as I thought about it, I said, 'Oh, it's probably hockey.' The home plate umpire said, 'I think it's basketball.'"

Disappointing

If we ranked the roiders, the fourth biggest name on the list would be the newest addition: Manny Ramirez.

Unreal.

I first heard it from a Yankees fan. He was laughing and surprised that I wasn't. Then I heard about it from a Red Sox fan who was ecstatic and couldn't understand why I wasn't sharing in his joy.

The reason is simple. Bob Ryan nailed it:

If Manny is lying, and we discover that he's been juiced for a long time, the ramifications for Boston and the Red Sox are enormous. He was a major part of what went on in 2004 and 2007. He was, after all, the MVP of the 2004 World Series. Any implication that a juiced Manny helped end the 86 years of misery and trauma would not be good.

For some time, Christine has been convinced that one or more significant contributors of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox would turn out to be roider. Rationally, I've known it's possible, if not probable, that our championships are tainted. Emotionally, I still hope it's not true.

When it comes to roiders, the truth has been elusive. Especially with Manny's idiosyncrasies, I expect the same twists we've seen with Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. We may have seen one already in this Deadspin story that tracked drugs shipped to a Manny Ramirez in Massachusetts, but maybe not the Manny Ramirez.

If it were anybody else, I'd call it coincidence because in this climate who would be stupid enough to have drugs shipped using his real name? Perhaps Manny.

Today's games: The hopefully clean Red Sox beat the Indians 13-3 behind a good start by Tim Wakefield and a 12-run 6th inning. The hopefully clean Phillies lost their second straight game to the Mets, 7-5. J.A. Happ pitched well in relief after an early departure from Jamie Moyer. Christine got mad when I suggested he replace the old guy in his next start.

A call to the pen as Papi struggles with steroid issue

Yesterday, when I told Christine (who sometimes accuses me of shilling for the Red Sox) that I planned to rip David Ortiz for his response to being associated with Alex Rodriguez's steroid-tainted trainer, I questioned why Papi wouldn't demand that the other 103 players who tested positive with Slappy be revealed.

If I were innocent, privacy rights be damned, I'd want my name cleared. Right now in baseball, it's guilt by association and the benefit of the doubt points toward guilty.

Brad Lidge understands this:

"I wish they would just come out and say who the 104 players are because it's not fair for the other players," Lidge said last week. "We're all lumped in with them, and people think most players did it during the steroid era. But all of us didn't cheat. I don't care how they do it, they should name all of the players on the list."

Amen, Mr. Perfect.

Thanks to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, A-Roid and possibly Papi, baseball's taint will linger for decades. The only hope to speed up its removal is to get everything out there.

Birthday update: And on that cheery note, some lighter news in andPhils world. I wasn't surprised when there were a few World Series trinkets from Greg included in my birthday present. I was surprised, however, to receive the eight-disc set chronicling the Phils playoff run. I suggested that we immediately sit down to relive the series in its entirety. Greg politely declined. Oh well, maybe another weekend.

Troubled waters

Yesterday I compared the carefree SoxandPhils camps with that of the steroid-tainted Yankees. The cloud of steroids, which has already cost the Phillies their second-best reliever for nearly a third of the season, is now approaching Boston.

David Ortiz has trained with the guy who may be Alex Rodriguez' supplier. He's denying using, but sees no reason to stop going to Angel Presinal's facility. I really want to believe him, but we've heard denials before. Plus, he's tripping himself up already, saying he has to be careful with whom he associates, but that he hasn't stopped associating himself with anyone, including Presinal:

Do you have to be careful about who you associate with?
Ortiz: Of course. Especially in these days.

Are there people you don't associate with anymore?
Ortiz: No, I don't care what people say. It's the way you show yourself out there. That's what I think it is. But definitely you've got to be careful with anybody that is
involved in any kind of stuff like whatever is going on right now.

[...]

You said you have to be careful with the people you associate with, but there's no one you no longer associate with?
Ortiz: I don't have that problem. I'm pretty much always with my family. I'm not the kind of person that has relationships with strangers.

Then, he refused to answer the basic gimme question whether he is upset about the reputation the Dominican Republic is getting with steroids. "I can't comment about that. I don't know too much about that," he said.

Funny, he had no trouble commenting on the topic in 2005, when he said the steroids policy is unfair to Latin players who don't speak English.

I hope this all turns out to be coincidence, but I don't like where it's heading. Or maybe I'm just cranky from a lack of sleep.

Last night, when Christine and I returned home from an excellent dinner to celebrate her birthday (which is actually today) we looked forward to a rare evening in which we had absolutely nothing to do. But when I turned on the fish tank light, I saw the tank was leaking and had ruined the wooden fish stand. From experience, I quickly drained the tank and put the fish in a bucket. Christine found the receipt for the tank and stand, and I was soon on the phone with the pet store, less than an hour before it closed, to tell them I expected the items to be replaced.

The manager agreed - I think it was the desperation in my voice when I said, "My fish are in a bucket. This has to be taken care of tonight."

We arrived at the store just before it closed and got the new stand and tank. By the time the stand was assembled and there was enough water in the tank to get through the night, it was past 1 a.m. The ironic thing is that earlier in the day, I had seen a recap of the 2008 Red Sox season and I had forgotten that they trailed Game 5 of the ALCS 7-0. I guess those details slip your mind when you're unexpectedly scooping up fish.

No fish seemed to have been injured last night, thankfully.

Spring training circus

Four years ago, the aftermath of the 2004 World Championship brought us Fever Pitch, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and a bevy of books from the likes of the acclaimed (Stephen King) to the barely literate (Johnny Damon).

This year, the Phillies are experiencing a little of the media crush that comes with a championship afterglow.

It's only a few days into spring training, and there have already been more guests in Clearwater than usual, highlighted by Big Sexy Kevin Nash. Um, yeah, I can't decide which is worse, this or Carson Kressley.

HBO is also in camp, doing its much-anticipated feature on Charlie Manuel.

The Phillies are talking a good game:

"Everyone's the same," Jimmy Rollins said. "Nobody's walking around with their chest out or a ballooned head. Everybody's still working. ... Like I said, we're still trying to win respect. We know we're winners and people know we have a good team, but we're fighting for respect as a champion."

"I'm actually proud of the guys, how they've come into camp," Chase Utley said. "It would be very easy to look back on last season and say, 'We're the world champions,' and sit on it. Brett looks like a new person. Ryan looks
extremely strong - and scary."

Fonzie quotes aside, I'm sure the 2005 Red Sox expressed similar sentiments, but we all know how that season went - followed by an even worse 2006.

I do think the way the Phillies have won the past two seasons that they will be able to block out these distractions. They may get off to their usual slow start, but I think they'll turn it on once they've given the Mets (aka the Coyote) false hope that this will be the year.

While things are tamer than the 2005 Red Sox, the 2009 Phillies camp is raucous compared with this year's Red Sox, who are playing with children, challenging each other to ping-pong games and playing golf to raise money for charity.

It's sort of nice that they are flying under the radar a bit this year. It's very nice that they're not wasting their time doing this:


[Photo credits: Slam Wrestling, Star-Ledger]

Quality control

The MLB Network has remained on the basic FIOS package for the past two weeks. I still like the fledgling channel despite its glitches, most notably with its programming guide.

Last week, the network had a special weekend dedicated to big strikeout games. I tried to DVR Roger Clemens' 1986 20K game against the Mariners. Despite the buffoon the roider has become, I would still like to sit down and watch the game responsible for me becoming a Red Sox fan.

The first time I tried, it wound up recording one of Randy Johnson's old Mariners games halfway through. The next time, I got the beginning of a game - David Cone's 19 strikeouts against the Phillies on the last day of the 1991 season.

I was bored so I watched the first inning - pure cheese. In the broadcast booth for the Mets that day was Ralph Kiner and Frank Cashen, who was still the team's GM but would be fired in the offseason. Perhaps the ownership didn't like to hear their top personnel guy chuckle when their leadoff hitter loafed into second on the first play of the game.

I don't know if this was just a sign of the pre-Internet times or lack of preparedness by the Mets broadcast team, but when they were talking about Phillies catcher Doug Lindsey (never heard of him), Cashen could only guess that it was his first game because his batting average was .000. For the record, it was his only game of 1991. Lindsey would appear in two more games for the Phillies in 1993 and then two more that year after being traded to the Cubs. Christine wonders whether he is proud or sad if he ever happens upon this rebroadcast.

He was the top scrub in two lineups filled with them. For the Phillies: CF Braulio Castillo, PH Jim Lindeman and SS Kim Batiste led off. For the Mets, the double play combo says it all: Kevin Miller and Jeff Gardner. Needless to say, I won't sit through this whole game. {I disagree with calling Doug Lindsey the "top scrub" of the lineup. Most Phillies fans will forever remember the names in the lineup that day, whether they were scrubs or not. Hollins, Morandini, Jordan, Chamberlain - those names mean something to us.}

Other gaffes: Recently, I had the channel on when they were showing Mike Cameron's four home run game. Coming back from a commercial break, MLB's Hazel Mae noted how well the Mariners had rebounded from losing superstars, notably Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez. She called the trio surefire, first-ballot Hall of Famers. I hope that was taped before Slappy's steroid revelation.

And then, Barry Larkin made a huge error the other night. I've been annoyed by Larkin since the network debuted. He seems too attached to players with Reds' connection, especially Ken Griffey Jr. Larkin can't accept The Kid isn't 24 years old anymore.

But in a discussion of which player in history had the greatest rookie season, Larkin picked four, including Edinson Volquez' 2008. I was ready to blow my top, but Christine calmed me as she saw the other analysts about to correct him. Nope, they just chided him for picking four players when he was asked to pick one. Don't they have interns at MLB Network to make sure its talent doesn't perpetuate embarrassing mistakes?

No quality: Alex Rodriguez spoke today about his drug abuse. He's so delusional I can't even get my head around all the lies he is spinning. I hope he gets some help.

Baseball's crazy past and scary future

For the first time since the Phillies won the World Series, a gift-giving occasion passed without me getting Christine any championship garb or trinket. I wonder if that trend will hold true for her birthday next weekend.

But Christine did go baseball for my Valentine's Day gift, getting me the latest version of Baseball Mogul, my favorite sports simulation game. This year, for some strange reason, the game is endorsed by former Red Sox great Bill "Spaceman" Lee.

This isn't just a name-on-the-box run-of-the-mill sports endorsement. No, no, no, that wouldn't do for the Spaceman. The game comes with a separate DVD containing three ... three ... hours of interviews with Lee. Christine was quite amused when she saw that the interviews got the game a T for Teen rating because of sex and drug references. We still don't understand the point of the interview, but I'll watch every minute of it.

The first 10 minutes or so provides no insight. It's Bill Lee talking to the camera while a guy talks to him off-screen. The guy (I'm pretty sure he's a Canadian) doesn't know that Pete Rose is banned from major league ballparks, that Fidel Castro is out of power or that Ronald Reagan is dead. So far, I've learned that Bill Lee liked the drugs his dad got to treat pneumonia and is very fond of Cuba. I'm sure I'll share more as I watch in the coming days.

Since we're talking about crazy Red Sox pitchers from long ago, Nick Cafardo says Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd wants a chance to make a comeback. He wants to emulate his idol, Satchel Paige, and pitch into his 60s. He says his shoulder is stronger than ever:

I have nothing to lose, and all a major league team has to lose is 15 minutes. Give me 15 minutes and I'll show I can still pitch. That's all I want.

If the Pirates took a chance with those guys from India, why not give Oil Can a looksie? He's only three years older than Jamie Moyer.

Speaking of whom ... you know how when you got in trouble as a kid, it was always worse when your parents sat in quiet disappointment than if they just yelled and screamed at you? I bet that's the equivalent of being taken to the woodshed by baseball's elder statesman, who chimed in on Alex Rodriguez:

"It's about respecting the game," Moyer said. "I'd be disappointed in anybody in that situation. "When people have had an impact on your life, you want to feel for them. But how can I feel for him? To me, if you're doing it, you know it's illegal. I commend him for coming out and saying it, but why didn't he say it seven years ago?"

Asked if his sons, now teenagers, were disappointed in Rodriguez, Moyer said: "I'm sure they are. We've talked a little about it. It's also a lesson. One day he's a Hall of Famer, and in a 24-hour period he's not because of a poor decision. That's a shame."

Scary thought: Nick Cafardo's Sunday column muses how baseball is getting "creepy" again. I thought it was going to be another steroids theme, and parts were, but it was an encompassing look at all the storm clouds appearing between players and owners, with the implication that the resolve not to let the 1994 strike recur could be forgotten. Creepy, indeed.

[Cover shot: Strategy First]

I hate Bud Selig

I've tolerated Bud Selig doing nothing as the Yankees have freely spent small-market teams such as the Expos (and now the Nationals), Royals and Pirates into oblivion.

I've forgiven him for the strike and cancellation of the 1994 World Series.

I didn't even get that mad at him for making us sit through the really cold and rainy first half of last year's World Series Game 5.

But what he has now done is unforgivable: He has made me defend Alex Rodriguez.

After days of mulling the situation, Selig said Wednesday he was considering punishing A-Roid. I'm all for punishing the juicers, but you can't pick and choose your spots or make up rules and enforce them years after the transgression.

And as much as I wish it could be, Hank Aaron can no longer be the home run king. I think he has too much pride and integrity to allow that to happen.

I've been saying for years we should remove tainted World Series titles, but I now know that's impossible. Find me one team during the steroid era that wasn't touched at all by drugs. Even the last two SoxandPhils championships in the "clean" era had connections to steroids - J.C. Romero (technically on both teams) and Eric Gagne.

Selig could have done something about steroids when they were prevalent. He chose to do nothing. Baseball has been tarnished, and all we can do is sit back and watch as Slappy cheats Barry Bonds out of the record he cheated away from Hank Aaron.

Way to go Bud.

I'm so frustrated I want to hit him with a baseball bat. No, that's not funny. And it could get me sued like Jose Offerman.

And, it seems that Bud's advisers warned him what a PR nightmare it would be if I had to align myself with Slappy against him. He's not going to punish the roider nor tinker with the record book.

He's lost his reputation - and his mind

After yesterday's post, I told Christine that I regretted not giving Alex Rodriguez credit for not whining that only his name - out of the 104 total roiders - was published.

Now, I'm glad I didn't mention it.

It turns out I missed the portion of the interview where Slappy does his classic bumbling PR shtick. He accused reporter Selena Roberts - whose report he had said was accurate - of breaking into his home and stalking him.

Roberts responded today:

I know for a fact everything that came out of his mouth was a fabrication. I don't know how he could believe anything that was such a grand distortion.

A-Rod's pattern of feigning innocence and making it seem as if the world is out to get him is beyond old. It's downright troublesome. He has lost is mind. And that, coupled with his history of substance abuse, could make him a danger to others. I hope someone steps up and gets this pampered prima donna some professional help before this story truly turns tragic.

Those seeking relief from these sickening steroid stories can take solace in the fact that the Daily News profiled Mike Zagurski today. The appearance of a story only his mom - and Christine - would care about can only mean that spring training is imminent.