Posted by basebal5 on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 2:23 pm

From the Baseball Digest Daily Picture Gallery (stay tuned for a new picture feature)

(June 10, 2007- CSF NCAA Super Regional (by Angelina Heleloa))

BDD Offers -

New Article: Home Runs and the Power of Perception, by Geoff Young

Legal Analysis of Clemens vs McNamee, by lawyer Gordon Berger.
The Bloggers Roundtable – Atlanta Braves (Boston Red Sox are next!)
Baseball Bloggers vs Baseball Reporters, by Dave Rouleau
Fan Mania – The Tigers Go Wild, by Rob McQuown
Does Juan Piere Help a Team?, by Rob McQuown
Waiting For Their Pitches, by Jonathan Hale
San Diego Padres Starting Pitching Analysis, by Dave Rouleau

BDD's Big League Futures covers minor league news and analysis on the web and will soon add original material by Jim Pratt and Dave Rouleau.

You can also hear the latest edition of the BDD Radio Show, with Jim Callis and a Phillies beat writer, Scott Lauber.

Join the Baseball Digest Daily Facebook group!

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All Baseball Transactions Thursday

- Joe Sheehan wrote an article for Sports Illustrated making a case for Jim Rice not to be inducted next year, even though he clearly has the momentum going into 2009 after getting 72.2% of the vote (75% is needed).  Excellent article, good arguments and please, please read the following excerpt, which closes the text:

“As far as Cooperstown goes, the facts of Rice's career are not
going to carry the day, however, as his vote total has reached a point
that will make his eventual election inevitable. This will open the
door, as Bruce Sutter's '06 election did for Gossage, to a host of Rice's superiors. Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Dale Murphy
and a whole hell of a lot of guys to come are going to be compared to
Rice, who will be a BBWAA choice, not a Veterans Committee pick that
can be hand-waved away, and find themselves cast in bronze. There's no
better way to become a Hall of Famer than to have an inferior peer let
into the room ahead of you.

Recently, Rob Neyer took it
on the chin publicly from a colleague, a member of the BBWAA; Neyer was
accused of leading a charge against Rice's candidacy. Frankly I think
the notion that this is personal is a disturbing one. When Neyer, or Keith Law, or Joe Sheehan, or Rich Lederer
builds a case for or against a particular player, they're trying to
serve the discussion, and beyond that, uphold the standards of the Hall
of Fame. These people have advocated as strongly for the induction of
players such as Alan Trammell, Raines, Bert Blyleven and Ron Santo as against the candidacies of Rice, Sutter, Jack Morris
and others. The arguments made by thoughtful analysts rise above the
mythology of the day and provide context to notions such as “feared,”
“couldn't win close games” or “pitched to the score.” They should be
regarded not with as much respect as the opinions of contemporaries,
but with much more, because they don't come with an emotional
attachment to a player, a team, or an era.

The central theme
running through the case for Rice is voters of a certain age attempting
to validate their misbegotten impressions. In 1983 not very many people
knew or cared that Rice was an ordinary player outside of Fenway Park,
or that his RBI totals had less to do with his talent and more to do
with that of his teammates. He was “feared,” and that's what mattered.
The facts are, Jim Rice had a Hall of Fame peak and not enough
performance outside of that peak to raise his career to a Hall of Famer
standard. That he'll be elected in spite of that, and in contradiction
to the facts in play, will serve neither the electorate nor the Hall of
Fame well.”

- While this is a misguided statement, we can't accuse Rich Gossage of being an hypocrite:

“In a surprising admission, the newest addition to this year's Hall
of Fame class hinted yesterday that he would have become “Juice”
Gossage had steroids been prevalent in baseball when he played.  “I would have probably done it,” Goose Gossage said,
referring to steroids. “I'm a free spirit. I like to have fun. I was a
competitor. Chances are I would have done it too.”

- Another sign that we are not close to seeing the end of this Clemens-McNamee saga: Clemens representatives now say they are having trouble serving the trainer papers for the lawsuit.

Aso, McNamee met with federal prosecutors yesterday about the events that led up to his phone call with Clemens last week.

Representatives from major league baseball and the player's union met this week to talk about the recommendations included in the Mitchell Report.

Some former Blue Jays teammates say they never saw The Rocket use PEDs.

- Former Blue Jays DH Josh Phelps has been signed to a minor league contract by the St-Louis Cardinals, with a chance to earn a spot on the 25-man roster out of Spring Training. 

Last year, the 29-year-old right-handed batter split time between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates for a combined batting line of .306/.399/.503 and great splits against both righties and lefties.  That was a year after he played a full season for the Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit) and posted a .902 OPS, with 26 doubles, 2 triples and 24 home runs.

Defensively, he can play first base and the catcher position, both with average results, although he is not liability; he has never committed an error as a catcher in 57 innings and retired 2 out of 8 runners who tried to steal a base (25% success rate).

- Chuck Knoblauch came out yesterday to deny the allegations made by the Mitchell report.

- The Texas Rangers are reportedly close to signing RHP Jason Jennings.

The 29-year-old had an elbow injury last season and had surgery to repair a torn elbow tendon.  With the Rangers' rotation only sure things Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla, they need to add some pitching depth and maybe give Brandon McCarthy and Gason Gabbard the 4th and 5th if Jennings signs with them.

His repertoire includes a fastball (88 mph), slider (80 mph) and a splitter (83 mph) that he throws less than 10% of the time.  Before last season's injury, he was a workhorse for the Colorado Rockies since 2002, but never posted very good numbers, with a career ERA of 4.91 and a career WHIP of 1.55.  His ineffectiveness against lefties (career batting line: .300/.390/.468) also make him a back-of-the-rotation option at best.

- Minor League Baseball's 11th president, Pat O'Conner, chose his vice-president yesterday: Tim Purpura, former Astros GM.

- Thought death was what would ultimately separate you from baseball?  Think again.

- Steve Aschburner, of Sports Illustrated, proposes a 12-step program for Mark McGwire to ever get a chance to enter the Hall of Fame.

- Do you agree with these 'Twenty Greatest Home Runs Ever'?

- The Tribe will no longer call home 'Jacobs Field'.  It will now be known as 'Progressive Field'.

- Oriole Park at Camden Yards will receive a face lift in the shape of a new scoreboard.

Chase Field in Arizona also received a new electronic display earlier this offseason.

- Mark Armour offers a defense of the HOF, at Baseball Analysts.

- The Yankees are now rumored to be in the hunt for OF Mike Cameron, along with the Milwaukee Brewers.

I wonder how a competing Front Office reacts when it first hears that the Yankees are hunting down the same player you are?  If New York can always match your offers for the player, how do you create the impression his future should be with you instead of the storied Yankees?

Debate of the Day: Are you for or against Mark McGwire's induction into the Hall of Fame?


You can reach me at drouleau@baseballdigestdaily.com