In news sure to lead today’s SportsCenter, Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for PEDs.

First thought: Whoa.

Second thought: This makes sense: once again something too good to be true (Manny’s epic postseason run) is, in fact, too good to be true. Now Manny joins Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Lance Armstrong, Mark McGwire, Floyd Landis, Roger Clemens and all the rest as a cheater. As someone who did something humans can’t do … and then we found out why. At this point why doesn’t baseball just take a 50-game breather? I kinda hate sports again.

God, if we find out Phelps or LeBron are doping I’m switching to becoming a knitting fan.

Third thought: $10 says he pulls a Sosa and pretends not to understand English at the presser.

Many times throughout his long and decorated career strangers would walk up to Harry Kalas and ask him to announce their names. It was a simple request, but in many ways an impossible one. Harry would either have to perfectly channel the rhythm and cadence of his professional life or leave his excited new friend disappointed.

Too often public characters of Harry’s stature disappoint. In this town on-air personas differ wildly from actual personalities, and too often that difference sucks. Guys who play hard on the field often play harder off it, and on-camera confidence turns easily into off-camera cockiness. Harry wasn’t this though, Harry not only accepted the larger-the-life role nearly everyone who grew up in Philadelphia ascribed to him, Harry embraced it. Using phrases such as ”cast of characters” instead of “people” and “ooh, sure” instead of “yes” in everyday life, Harry embodied the storied life he gave every game. Harry Kalas didn’t just converse, he narrated life. His off camera genuineness was full of all the same vivaciousness and subtlety that roped us all into baseball on the radio in the first place. Never did those strangers leave disappointed.

Yesterday, when Harry the K passed on, he did so as the best announcer of all time. We miss him.

This morning every link with will be story on and about Harry. That’s in part due to the fact that almost every story is about Kalas, everyone who was met him has an anecdote they want to share, and in part because we’re still not ready to talk about the race for the playoff’s 7th seed.

We’ll be doing the same thing through the blogosphere this afternoon.

“Swing and a Long Drive …”

What everybody is saying about Harry, after the jump

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Paul White at USA Today (who has actually been killing it this spring) has a fun look it Team USA Teammates, WFC J-Roll and some guy who plays for the Mets. Apparently Rollins and Wright are locker neighbors, separated only by one Derek Jeter.

Money quotes:

Rollins admitted walking around the U.S. clubhouse “for 20 to 30 minutes,” going to the other side to chat with Phillies teammate Shane Victorino, all the while wondering how to approach Wright.

The awkward moment was broken by an expert on the subject, who happens to occupy the locker between Wright and Rollins.

“Sure enough, (Derek) Jeter comes in,” Rollins said, “gets to his locker and says, ‘They put me in between you two, huh? Peace.’ “

Best of luck to both of them through the Baseball Classic, and then one of them moving forward.

Should be a fun season.

Tim Dierkes of MLB trade rumors recently put together a list of the worst 44 contracts in Major League Baseball. 24 teams were represented, 8 appear twice, and three unfortunate spenders grace the list three times. The Phillies are none of them.

Granted, Adam Eaton’s massive contract is listed under the O’s and the Phillies will be paying it, but still, for a team with a top-tier payroll this is still an impressive feat. The other teams who avoided the list (Marlins, Rays, Braves, Pirates, and Padres) don’t have near the payroll that the Phils do, and therefore aren’t in the position to pay anyone too much, for both better and worse.

So how did the Phils manage this? Couple ways.

• First they’re largely home grown:. An overwhelming majority of players on the list were signed as UFA’s away from their original teams. The Phillies, who attempt to lock up their studs asap, have successfully avoided that.
• Second, they’re young. Hamels, Utley, and Howard all recently signed deals that may be rich but included their arbitration years, which tend to be cheaper. Because of how MLB salary structure works, making a mistake on an aging player is far more detrimental than missing on a kid.
• Third, they don’t sign long term contracts. Chase and Jimmy are the only guys with contracts that run longer than three years. It can be a dangerous strategy (if Hamels continues to progress throughout the next three years they will have cost themselves quite a bit by not going to 5 or 6 years in the most recent deal) but it also has far less risk than the alternative (if Hamels blows out his elbow today they won’t be on the hook for the next 5 or 6 years)

For all the moaning we do about 1. how cheap the Phils are (I believe that part is over) and 2. how absurd the money the spend is (prove me wrong Raul), this organization really has done a nice job of putting together a team for the long haul.

Brian Dawkins’ departure capped an eventful weekend. My sad thoughts on the subject have become too long for a standard open and will be run as a morning rant in an hours time. For now …

“I just really appreciate the way [Eagles fans] accepted me, a little safety from Clemson. … I’ll tell you one thing: I’ll always be an Eagle.” – Brian Dawkins, Bronco

Three lines on their world:

1. Jay Cutler and the Broncos aren’t seeing eye-to-eye

2. The Giants stole a Cowboys lineman

3. and Louisville held off a James-less Marquette

Three lines on ours:

1. Brian Dawkins is a Denver Bronco

2. Herb Magee passed Adolph Rupp in the career wins standings
3. and Roman took down Southern for the class AAAA city title
   

Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and what everybody is talking about after the jump

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From the department of news that really shouldn’t surprise me anymore … Bookmaker.com has released betting odds on both the next baseball hero to be caught having used steroids and the next slugger to admit they juiced. I’ll post the full odds after the jump but wanted to tackle a couple of the gimme’s above the fold.

Dumb bets on next to be caught:

Ryan Howard +350

• Howard is quite literally the runt of the family and until this year had a body that could generously be called “natural.” I’ve seen dudes on roids and Ryan just isn’t one of them – his out-of-this-world power is all him. 

Manny Ramirez +350

• Manny’s power has stayed consistent for far too long to be juicing. Plus no way that guy is diligent enough to stay on that type of schedule.

Great bets on next to be caught: 

before I go let me make this real, real clear: I am in no way suggesting that any players on this list have done steroids, nor do I have any evidence suggesting such. This is not an accusation, merely thoughts on a bet.

David Ortiz +350

• Papi hit 20 home runs in 2002, 41 in 2004, 54 in 2006, and 23 in 2008. At 33 his power has left him and he’s been suddenly plauged by injured.

Derrek Lee +350

• Lee’s natural athleticism (he was recruited to play ball at UNC on that Sheed/Stackhouse team) started him on the other list but a quick look at his year-by-year stats told a different story.  Check which one is not like the others.

Full odds, ATJ

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Yesterday the Los Angelos Dodgers offered Manny Ramirez $25 million dollars to play baseball for them next year. Today, Manny officially declined. Lets put aside the fact that all of these numbers are play money to us and instead look at what it means – Manny Ramirez, a top 5 hitter in the majors and probably the best postseason offensive player in the majors can’t get his asking price. When he first hit the market there was talk of Manny getting $100 million and a longterm deal. Thus far his biggest offer has been for half the years he asked for and less than half the money. 

Manny is not the only corner outfielder not getting his money. Pat Burrell was told he wasn’t wanted in Philly and took a serious pay cut on his way out the door, and entering an offseason where he made no bones about the fact that he was after a three year deal, the best offer Bobby Abreu has received is one year at $8 million – half of what he got last year.  That is better than what Adam Dunn and Rocko Baldelli are reportedly being offered though, neither have been strongly linked to anyone.

The takeaway? Kudos to MLB execs, I suppose. In a market that has clearly established itself as favorable for the buyer they’re refusing to bid against themselves for either a violate star or a series of fairly statistically indistinguishable left-fielders. After all, only a rash team would pay a corner outfielder their asking price in this market.

nytimes

Baseball’s arbitration system was created as a check on salary-capless league. It was put in place to reward small market teams for finding, developing, and holding onto their talent. Sure, there is a point where the Yankees of the world can swoop in and buy the best players, but that point isn’t until those players have paid their dues, below market value, to the dedicated albeit cheap team that found them in the first place.

But now, in a tumbling economy with a stocked free agent class, has the tide turned? Are some players now better off going year-to-year with arbitration than they might be on the free market? Matt Myers, a contributing editor as ESPN the magazine, thinks yes: (insider only)

Since when is going to arbitration better than being a free agent?

It’s true for Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard, two remarkably similar players born 10 days apart in November 1979.

[snip]

Howard, who is eligible for arbitration, asked the Phillies for $18 million, which is $8 million more than he made last year after winning his arbitration case. The Phillies countered with a $14 million offer, so at the very least Howard is getting a 40-percent raise. Dunn, on the other hand, made $13 million last season. But despite what would be considered a typical Adam Dunn season, the prevailing wisdom is that he stands to make a lot less, even though he is a free agent.If nothing else, this illustrates just how bad the free agent market is right now. Not only are many free agents not getting the offers they might have gotten in the past, but comparable players could earn more than them in arbitration, even though arbitration is designed to keep costs down.Therefore, even though Howard probably wouldn’t get $14 million per season as a free agent, he is set up to get at least that via arbitration.

Myers goes on to explain that Howard has a hugely artificially inflated value because he gets so many chances to bat with runners on (over the last three years he’s had more RBI opportunities than anyone else in the league). Myers argues that Mark Teixeria’s enormous contract is an unfair benchmark for Howard because Teixeira is an elite defender and a well rounder hitter. In short, because Teix is better, Howard can’t expect to make the same money. In fact, Myers argues, the difference between Adam Dunn and Ryan Howard is almost entirely perceived and because of that perception Howard and whoever signs Dunn to a bargin basement deal are going to make out like bandits.

The argument isn’t entirely without merit, but it’s also really flawed. Not only is Howard more than just a marginal step up from Dunn production wise (Myers harps on the fact that RBI mean nothing but ignores Howard’s other statistical advantages since 2006 – 33 more home runs, an average 33 points higher and an OBS increase of almost 85 points) but he also discounts the tangible value of perceived value: he misses Howard’s accolades – the MVP, the ROY, the World Series – as useless. When it comes to matters of the pocketbook, nothing could be further from the truth. Ryan Howard may be slightly overrated, but if he is he’s just as overrated by fans and he is by GMs. Unlike Adam Dunn, Howard’s jersey flies off the shelf, he sells out stadiums, and he appears in his Phillies’ uniform on the cover of video games and magazines. In short, he’s really valuable. If you think this is a glib point, think about why the Phillies’ payroll just shot up – people were buying their product. If that product moved on, so would many people. Maybe Teixeira has better skills, but I’m guessing that if Big Brown had hit the market at the same time as the no-time top-5 MVP finisher Howard would have gotten better money.

The moral: arbitration still wins.

Atlanta is set to officially ink two pitchers today, Kenshin Kawakami, a 33-year-old righthander who was an all star in Japan, and Derek Lowe, the former Dodgers righty who has been been an all star in America. Those two, combined with Jair Jurrjens offseason addition Javier Vazquez, give the Braves a rotation with both upside and stability. 

I’m not sure it’ll be enough to launch the Braves into the Phils/Mets echelon, but if a few things break right for ATL I’m not sure it’s not either.  Larry Jones, Brian McCann, Yunel Escobar, and Kelly Johnson isn’t exactly the worst core, and that isn’t even counting Jeff Franceour, who was arguably the best right fielder in the national league before he fell apart at the plate last year. 

People forget, but before the 2008 season started many experts were projecting the NL East for the Braves. It obviously didn’t end up that way, but the team is more talented than us east coasters are giving them credit for. The Phils would be wise to keep an eye on their division neighbor to the South as well as the choke artists to the north.

In November of 2005 Major League Baseball released the third version of its supposedly revolutionary drug-ban.  It was noteworthy for two reasons: first it increased penalties for steroid use (a first offense meant 50 games, something we are all too familiar with around these parts) and second it announced that MLB would begin testing for amphetamines.

To outside observers this didn’t mean much – why wouldn’t they test for a performance-enhancing stimulant? – but within MLB it caused quite a stir. Amphetamines, most commonly referred to as “greenies,” had been around the game longer nearly every current major leaguer has been alive. The beans would often sit out in the clubhouse and players would casually pop them as a way to focus in after a night out. They were to ballplayers what a cup of coffee is to office workers. Playing without their high had a name: players called it “playing naked.”

When they were banned there was widespread concern about what it would mean for baseball. Players had become so dependent on the stuff that veteran coaches began seriously pleading for an increase in roster size to help counter the effects of taking away the players’ crutch. Well, roster sizes remained the same but it appears that players have found another loophole: prescription greenies. According to the Daily News Wire Service Reports nearly 8 percent of Major League Players were granted ADHD exceptions last year, legally allowing greenie-like substances.

Naturally, this has raised some eyebrows.

“This is incredible. This is quite spectacular. There seems to be an epidemic of ADD in major league baseball,” said Dr. Gary Wadler, chairman of the committee that determines the banned-substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

He recommended an independent panel be established – WADA recommends at least three doctors – to review TUE requests in what he termed “a sport that grew up on greenies.”

“I’ve been in private practice for a lot of years. I can count on one hand the number of individuals that have ADD,” he said. “To say that [7.86 percent] of major league baseball players have attention deficit disorder is crying out of an explanation. It is to me as an internist so off the map of my own experience.”

Baseball has responses – their players are young, male, and have fantastic medical coverage – three things that all would skew the percentages away from the general population – but none the excuses sound terribly true.

I know there should be an outrage, but truth be told I’m not terribly offended. I remember back in school I knew dozens of
people who would pull the same trick in order to cram in more intense
study sessions. I didn’t touch the stuff, and despite being in several competitive courses I never felt like I was at a strategic disadvantage. Maybe they would have a slight edge the hour before an exam, but I knew how to budget my time and could work without them. I could be being naive, but I kinda think of baseball like that too. Steroids change your body and should be illegal or universally accepted, but uppers just change your focus. They seem to be a decision as opposed to a means of cheating. Some guys use light bats and some guys prefer heavier ones and both have their advantages. Same thing with uppers. There are plenty of pressure situations where I’d rather be calm than hyper-attentive, especially if I’m good.

That said, in practice, the argument I’m making is for a change is kind, not scale.  If greenies are illegal, the loophole should be fixed. I expect it will be, and that players will quickly find another one.