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Bar Chat

07/29/2013

Here Come the Suspensions

Cincinnati Reds Quiz: 1) Post-1930, who has the highest single-season batting average? 2) Who are the only three to drive in 140 runs in a season? 3) Who is Cincy’s all-time leader in wins? Answers below.

Ball Bits

“The strong indications are Major League Baseball will announce all the suspensions in the Biogenesis case this week, including one that could cover the rest of this year and all of next season for Alex Rodriguez, The Post has learned.

“It always has been MLB’s plan to announce the suspensions at one time for the 15-plus players believed to be facing sanctions in the performance-enhancing drug case. MLB went early with Ryan Braun’s suspension because of his willingness to accept the penalty without appeal....

“(A) member of Rodriguez’ team told The Post yesterday (Saturday) it is ‘unequivocally untrue’ that Rodriguez is seeking a settlement.”

With the others, MLB is trying to get the players to accept being suspended the remainder of this season, with the understanding they start out 2014 with a clean slate...if they do not appeal. Many of the players, if not all, however, are guilty by reason of an investigation, not a failed urine test or blood exam.

Rodriguez, of course, is different on a number of fronts, including his previous drug use admission from 2001-03. He is owed $97 million on his contract through 2017 and wants to protect as much as possible. Sherman and Davidoff offer that A-Rod may accept a suspension through 2014 if he gets to keep his $61 million for 2015-17.

“When A-Rod commissioned his own physician this week to imply that the Yankees are unfairly shelving him on the disabled list, oh, after he’s been lying and cheating the game long after he said he stopped lying and cheating the game, he doesn’t merely come across as a multiple offender under baseball’s anti-drug program; he comes across as a three-time offender under humanity’s anti-fraud program.

“Bonds, Clemens, Braun and Rodriguez are all cautionary tales in what should be the thesis of the Lance Armstrong School of Ethics: The public will forgive a guy for using PEDs.

“What they’re less likely to forgive is lying about it afterward and then trashing and attacking the accusers.

“People understand the temptation to cheat. But if and when you get caught, don’t be a jerk. It makes you look irredeemable.”

For the record, and the archives, A-Rod enlisted an independent doctor, Michael Gross, to deliver a second opinion of his MRI on his strained left quadriceps, an evaluation he sought without asking team permission, when the actual team doctor said A-Rod had a real injury for which the team could hold him out. So then A-Rod’s selected orthopedic surgeon – “who was reprimanded by the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners in February for steroid-related offenses – said he reviewed an MRI of Rodriguez’ quadriceps and saw no visible injury, and that Rodriguez told him he was ready to play.” [Andy McCullough / Star-Ledger] Gross proceeded to go on the local airwaves, but he admitted he never personally examined A-Rod...so the whole deal just pissed off the Yankees even more. A-Rod is supposed to start another rehab stint on Aug. 1, though the commissioner’s office may have some say in the matter.

“Ryan Braun says he is going to speak eventually – a nation waits – and if, when he does that, he still tries to act like an innocent man AFTER taking a guilty plea from baseball, he will look more like a self-serving phony than ever.

“(Braun) is still the face of the (Brewers) franchise, but the wrong one. Forever branded as a steroids cheat and a liar, Braun is reviled all over baseball and hated in his own clubhouse – he did himself no favors with his betrayed teammates by issuing a statement after his suspension, skipping town and leaving them to answer all the questions of the media hordes – and he can now look forward to being booed and vilified in every ballpark in baseball for the rest of his career.”

Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer said Braun’s 65-game suspension didn’t fit the crime. “He still has his contract and he’s still financially gaining from this. You gotta start cutting out contracts. I’m for that.”

I mean look how much attitudes have changed...Scherzer is not just a player, he’s a player rep. The rank and file are indeed outraged, and that is going to be part of Selig’s legacy. This is how you clean the sport up...get the players to turn on, and perhaps eventually turn in, each other.

--Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers had become fast friends with Ryan Braun; both from California, both MVPs in their respective sports. So after mutual friends introduced the two in 2009, they eventually decided to partner in a suburban Milwaukee restaurant. As the New York Times’ Pat Borzi put it, “Until this week they were the state’s premier buddy twosome, the cool guys every cheesehead aspired to be, or be around.”

Rodgers had gone out on a limb for Braun in December 2011, after ESPN revealed Braun’s positive test for an abnormally elevated testosterone level. He then gloated when Braun avoided his 50-game suspension on an appeal. In a Twitter exchange, Rodgers bet a fan his 2012 salary - $8.5 million – that Braun never used performance-enhancing drugs.

So on Friday, speaking out for the first time following Braun’s suspension, Rodgers said he was shocked and disappointed.

Braun “looked at me in the eye on multiple occasions and repeatedly denied the allegations, said they weren’t true,” Rodgers recalled.

“In hindsight, a more measured approach next time would obviously be a better course of action. People make mistakes. I definitely believe in forgiveness and moving forward. Obviously, he has a tough task in front of him moving forward with his career, on and off the field.”

In terms of their business relationship, Rodgers said, “right now I’m focused on football.” No word on the status of the bet.

--It’s a depressing Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, with no living inductees being enshrined for the first time since 1965. As the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan notes, just 34 of the 62 living Hall of Famers showed up for what is normally a terrific celebration of the sport (with virtually all of them attending). The latest PED scandal makes it all the worse.

Brooks Robinson said, “The guys who have cheated have created an uneven playing field, and I don’t have any sympathy for them.” Robinson said he has lost “respect” for A-Rod.

Bert Blyleven said: “I think baseball was very lenient on Ryan Braun. My personal feeling is that he shouldn’t play next year either. Baseball has to make a stand, and whether it be Alex Rodriguez or Ryan Braun or whoever it is, they’ve been told. I mean, c’mon, the guys have been warned enough.”

Blyleven also said he didn’t know what made him more sick; Braun forfeiting $3.4 million of his remaining $127 million contract by sitting out the rest of this season, or the Blue Jays signing Melky Cabrera to a guaranteed two-year, $16 million contract after testing positive last season for testosterone.

Bob Gibson, though, said that while one day players with PED suspensions likely will be elected to the Hall, he will welcome them.

“What surprises me is that the best ballplayers in the world thought they needed to do that,” Gibson says. “But I’ve got to say, if it had been me, and I thought somebody would have been given a little bit of an edge (from performance-enhancing drugs), I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to make that decision...So I can’t be too critical. I don’t know what I would have done, so I can’t be holier than thou.” [Bob Nightengale / USA TODAY]

--Dr. Frank Jobe was honored at the Hall of Fame on Saturday, introduced by now 70-year-old Tommy John, who underwent Jobe’s pioneering procedure in 1974 that saved his career, and that of hundreds of pitchers after. John registered 164 of his career 288 wins afterwards, what became known as “Tommy John surgery.”

Stephen Strasburg is the most celebrated active beneficiary of the procedure.

Back in ’74, Jobe told John his surgery had a 1 or 2 percent chance of success. On Sept. 25 of that year, Jobe replaced the ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in John’s left elbow with a tendon from his right forearm. He ordered John not to throw for 16 weeks. But after that? “Follow your body,” John recalled Jobe telling him.

John sat out 1975, rehabbing, and was 10-10 in ’76, but then in 1977 he was 20-7 with a 2.78 ERA and would go on to big success with the Yankees, who he signed with as a free agent in ‘79.

--Boston’s Dustin Pedroia became the first second baseman in Major League Baseball to sign a contract for over $100 million, as Pedroia and the team reached agreement on an extension tying him to the Red Sox through 2021, with 2014 being reworked, making it an eight-year, $110 million package.

The 29-year-old Pedroia approached management himself about the extension.

“It was a no-brainer to me. This is the place where they gave me an opportunity to play professional baseball,” he said. “I want to make sure I do all I can to prove those people who took a chance on me right. I’m not here to set markets or do anything like that. I want to make sure the team I’m on wins more games than the other teams’ second basemen. That’s the way I look at it. Our job is to win games and that’s what I play for.”

--So Saturday night I was watching the MLB Network Red Sox-Orioles contest and David Ortiz put on one of the most despicable displays of all time. After getting thrown out for arguing strike calls, he proceeds to go into his dugout and start smashing the bullpen phone with his bat, only Pedroia’s head was but inches away.

I don’t like to use the word ‘hate,’ but boy I despise Ortiz. One of the true frauds of all time who almost took out his teammate! Pedroia, cowering in fear, confronted him after and I can only imagine their conversations going forward.

Ortiz should be suspended multiple games for his actions. Let alone he shouldn’t even be playing due to his ‘roiding. And talk about an example of ‘roid rage.

--The Mets’ Matt Harvey is 8-2 with a 2.11 ERA and 11 no decisions in his 21 starts. Incredibly, the Mets are just 12-9 when he hits the mound. [The Mets also scored just one run in each of their last three games this weekend in Washington, thus ending any hopes they had of getting back into the N.L. East race.]

--The Yankees’ Derek Jeter certainly has a flare for the dramatic, homering in his first at bat on Sunday in his second return from rehab. New acquisition Alfonso Soriano, obtained from the Cubs to provide power, homered as well in a 6-5 win over Tampa Bay, with Mariano Rivera getting the win.

--Wow, seven shutouts in baseball on Saturday, four 1-0 contests; only the second time in baseball history for the latter factoid. That ought to tell you progress is being made on the PED front, right, sports fans?

--The Dodgers’ Matt Kemp once played in 399 consecutive games. The other day he was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season. He played in only 106 games last season.

This year he is making $20 million. He will be paid an additional $128 million from 2014-2019.

--And we just learned Albert Pujols has been placed on the DL, most likely out for the season.   He finishes the year hitting .258 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI. Only 8 years left on his $240 million contract.

--Update: Manny Machado has now gone 18 games without a double. He has just one in his last 23.

I rest my case forever. I have told you never to waste your time with double and triple records until a player is into August.

Meanwhile, teammate Chris Davis is 0-for-10 games since the Home Run Derby, stuck on 37, as Miguel Cabrera, despite being out a number of games with injury, has inched up to 32 in his quest for a second straight Triple Crown.

--Thru Saturday, the Cardinals have an astounding .337 team average with runners in scoring position. Detroit is way back in second at .290. Tampa Bay at .286. The MLB median is .252. Pittsburgh is last of 30 clubs at .222. But the Buccos are 20 games over .500 thanks to their outstanding pitching.

--The Phillies agreed to a contract with Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, who defected to Mexico earlier this year and worked out for scouts there. The deal is reportedly for six years and $60 million! Goodness gracious. He is said to be 26 (but I’m guessing 36) and throws a fastball in the upper 90s.

--I was watching the Mets-Braves on Wednesday night and Atlanta pitcher Tim Hudson suffered as gruesome an injury as you’ll ever see when the Mets’ Eric Young Jr. inadvertently stepped on the back of Hudson’s lower leg as Hudson covered the bag on a grounder to first, with Young driving the pitcher’s right ankle awkwardly into the ground. The result...a broken right ankle.

Young was visibly shaken the remainder of the game and in the clubhouse afterwards, but the classy Hudson told him as he was leaving the field on a stretcher that it was all part of the game.

The 38-year-old hurler is 205-111, 3.44, for his career. He was also pitching his best baseball of the season; a big blow for Atlanta should they make it into the postseason.

--The last I checked, the Reds’ Brandon Phillips was still 12 for 15 with the bases loaded the past two seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

If you had Paul Goldschmidt, 85; Brandon Phillips, 81; and Allen Craig, 79, as the first three in the N.L. RBI list at the beginning of the season, jump to the head of the class and pour yourself a premium. Or a Shiner Bock, the premium domestic.

--The Chicago Cubs finally won approval on a $500 million renovation project for 99-year-old Wrigley Field, including a massive Jumbotron like the ones in every other major league ballpark. The Cubs will still maintain the iconic manual scoreboard in center. Plans also include the building of a 175-room hotel across the street, which is very cool.

But the owners of the famous rooftops overlooking the field aren’t happy, and lawsuits could potentially delay the upgrade.

I say, tough, rooftop owners. [Though clearly Cubs ownership needs to work out appropriate compensation, but this is going to be like getting all the Jersey shore homeowners to sign off on easement’s for their properties so the towns can rebuild after Sandy; it will be one Chicago building owner after another that needs to sign off, I imagine.]

--Nothing worse than season-ending injuries in training camp, especially when it’s not even in an exhibition game. Such is the case with Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who suffered a torn ACL and is out for 2013. Witnesses say that in a seven-on-seven drill, Maclin took a few steps off the line of scrimmage and dropped to the ground. Yet another reason why these guys go for as much up front bonus money as possible because the rest of the contract generally isn’t protected. And what a rough start for new head coach Chip Kelly. Maclin obviously would have been a key to Kelly’s super-charged offensive schemes.

--And the Ravens lost star tight end Dennis Pita for the season with a hip injury.

“I extend my sympathy to the ones who have been impacted...A young man lost his life, and his family has suffered a tragic loss. There is no way to understate that....

“As the coach of the team, I’m primarily responsible for the people that we bring into the football operation....

“I and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed at what we had learned...

“We try to look at every single situation on a case-by-case basis and try to do what’s best for the football team and best for the franchise. Most of the decisions have worked out. Some don’t. Over all, I’m proud of the hundreds of players that have come through this program.”

--Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan signed a five-year contract extension for $103.75 million, with $59 million guaranteed.

Since he was selected No. 3 overall in the 2008 draft, his 22 career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime are the most in the league, with an overall record of 56-22, but 1-4 in the playoffs.

Previously, Drew Brees was guaranteed $60.5 million and Peyton Manning $58 million in their latest contracts.

Joe Flacco recently re-signed for $120.6 million, $52 million of which was guaranteed.

--Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com said Darrelle Revis is taking it very slow with his new team, the Tampa Bay Bucs, following his ACL surgery. One AFC corner told Prisco, “It’s what happens when he gets his hands on the guy and he has his leg planted and has to turn and go. It’s going to be interesting to see how he does it. It won’t be easy.”

The Bucs would like to keep Revis out of preseason games and save him for the Sept. 8 opener. Whether Revis will agree to this is another matter.

--Revis’ role model, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, who had a spectacular return from ACL surgery last season, said Friday he is certain that NFL players are using HGH. Peterson has acknowledged social media speculation he himself used it to speed his recovery last year and Peterson said he is eager to prove he’s clean.

--San Francisco 49ers defensive back Tarell Brown simply needed to show up for the team’s offseason program, lift a few weights, run some sprints, and he would have received $2 million extra in base pay. Only his agent, Brian Overstreet, forgot to tell him and Brown did what he usually does, work out on his own during the offseason.

When he learned he had forfeited $2 million, Brown said, “(That’s) what agents get paid to do, to orchestrate the contract and to let you know what you can and can’t do as far as workouts and things of that sort....He didn’t do that, so in my opinion you have to be let go.”

--The dysfunctional Jets started off training camp with receiver Santonio Holmes, recovering from a serious left foot injury sustained last September that required two operations, telling reporters he didn’t know if he would return this season. “If the foot’s not ready to roll, it’s not ready to roll.”

And then Coach Rex Ryan said he would make the decision on who starts at QB between Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez, only to have GM John Idzik say the next day, not so fast, Rex...it’s going to be a joint decision.

Golf Balls

--Hunter Mahan was the leader after two rounds of the Canadian Open, a nice comeback from his implosion in the fourth round of the British Open last weekend.

But then Mahan’s wife went into labor and Mahan exited the tournament.

Brandt Snedeker was on the seventh tee, Saturday, in the third round, when he noticed something wasn’t quite right on the scoreboard.

“I looked at my caddie, and I go, ‘What’s going on?’” Snedeker said. “He goes, ‘I think Hunter had to leave because (his wife) went into labor.’”

So Mahan rushed home to Dallas to be there for the birth of his first child. The baby wasn’t due until Aug. 17, thus the reason for Hunter opting to play in the tournament.

Snedeker ended up taking his sixth PGA Tour title as Dustin Johnson, tied for the lead on the 17th, proceeded to hit his tee shot out of bounds and ended up with a triple bogey.

--What did former Tiger Woods caddie Steve Williams see in Woods’ game that had changed? “The one thing that’s missing is his old aggressiveness.” Great point, Stevie.

--Golfweek’s “Forecaddie” had this blurb about his experience at the British Open.

“A mere 25-minute walk to Muirfield made The Forecaddie forget those 90-minute bus rides to last year’s PGA Championship.”

Yup, folks are still talking about the logistical nightmare at Kiawah. Suffice it to say, it is unlikely to get another major the rest of my lifetime. [I’m in training to head back to Kiawah for my half-marathon in December...and another round of golf at the Ocean Course.]

--According to the Associated Press, Sprinter Tyson Gay failed more than one drug test this year, including a positive reading at nationals. One person familiar with the case told the AP that multiple positives over a short period of time are a sign of an athlete simply not knowing he was taking a banned drug, rather than someone trying to hide it. Gay is cooperating with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

He also hasn’t given up the name of the doctor he said is responsible, though he reportedly was working with anti-aging doc Clayton Gibson out of Atlanta.

Meanwhile, with Gay and Asafa Powell (who also tested positive) out of the world championships, that leaves Usain Bolt in the spotlight.

Bolt insists he’s clean. “So I’m just going to continue running, using my talent and just trying to improve the sport,” he said.

Bolt then went out and won an event in London over the weekend, the 100m, in 9.85, a return to the 2012 Olympic Stadium. American Michael Rodgers was second in 9.88. The next day Bolt anchored a Jamaican 4X100 relay team to victory in 37.74.

“Elephants are sneakier than anyone imagined. A study has shown how the huge animals organize their raids on crop plantations to coincide with nights when moonlight is at a minimum.

“Elephants have long been a problem for African farmers but the huge beasts often wreak havoc without being spotted.

“Now scientists at Anglia Ruskin University have published research in the African Journal of Ecology showing how they do it. The animals track the lunar cycle and carry out their raids only on dark nights.

“The implications are profound – showing that elephants know they are doing something risky, that humans are a threat and then working out a plan to minimize the risk of contact.”

Yet another reason why Elephant has supplanted the Gibbon in the No. 2 slot of the All-Species List behind Dog.

--Speaking of dogs, one of the greats of the species had to be put down this weekend, Honeydog, a real fan of Bar Chat. See ya upstairs, kid.

--As reported by Amy Li in the South China Morning Post, the first Chinese tour ships have sailed into the disputed Paracel Islands, claimed by both China and Vietnam, with the country’s online community fearing tourism could ruin the picturesque South China Sea islands.

One tourist uploaded photos of his recent trip to the Paracels, which have been advertised as “China’s Maldives,” and boasted of hunting sea creatures.

I mean this freakin’ bastard “bragged about harvesting and feasting on endangered creatures such as giant clam – also known as Tridacna gigas – and nautilidae. Giant clam is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“As of May, China along with 177 other countries signed up to the multilateral agreement that aims to protect 34,000 species of rare animals and plants, which was flouted by the Paracel visitors.

“ ‘Giant clams are best when served raw, they taste good with mustard and soy sauce,’ the post said. ‘Most giant clams we picked weighed at least four kilograms.’

“Other photos showed the group scooping up sea urchins and touching fishes during scuba diving....

“By the time another poster pleaded at the end of the post that visitors must not fish or hunt excessively when visiting the islands, the account had already enraged the nation’s environmentally-conscious readers.”

Thank god for this growing segment of the Chinese population, which one day is going to topple the regime, mark my words. I’ll have much more to say about this in that other column I write this coming week. 

--Jason Sudeikis, a writer and performer on “Saturday Night Live” for 10 years, confirmed he is leaving the program, joining Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. All three were great.

--Shirley Jones, writing in the pages of her new memoir, says that she once had a threesome with her first husband, Jack Cassidy, and another woman. When asked about it, Jones replied, “Yuck.”

--Phil W. reminded me that when you talk about Chock Full o’Nuts Coffee, you must mention Nedick’s hot dogs and orange drink in the same breath. My bad.

--Phil also passed along the tragic story of the 80-pound Husky that lost its life the other day near the town of Jacksonville, North Carolina...Mill Creek, which comes out of the New River.

“Amy Matz was walking 9-month-old Simba at dusk Tuesday when he ran to the edge of the water near a local shopping center to take a drink and was grabbed by a 12-foot alligator.”

The gator was later shot and killed by authorities, who pegged it at 500 pounds.

Authorities had contemplated removing the monster, say to downtown Raleigh or Charlotte, which would have been fun, but then they decided it was too big to be moved.

--We note the passing of singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, 74. Cale wrote “After Midnight” and “Cocaine,” which were popularized by Eric Clapton.

--Sacha Baron Cohen was to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic, but Cohen bailed, apparently because he is not on the same page as the remaining members of Queen, who have creative control over the project.

I have to admit I didn’t know this was in the works, but Cohen obviously would have been outstanding.

It seems the band wants a PG movie, while Cohen was pushing for a “gritty R-rated tell-all centered around the gifted gay singer,” according to Deadline.com.

I guess you could fold Johnny Depp into the role, but it’s not like he has been boffo box office recently.

Top 3 songs for the week 7/24/65: #1 “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones...kind of well-known tune...) #2 “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” (Herman’s Hermits) #3 “I Can’t Help Myself” (Four Tops...their stuff has held up so great over the years...)...and...#4 “What’s New Pussycat?” (Tom Jones...love it...) #5 “Cara, Mia” (Jay & The Americans...Jay Black a big favorite of the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Ozone Park, Queens...cough cough...) #6 “Yes, I’m Ready” (Barbara Mason) #7 “What The World Needs Now Is Love” (Jackie DeShannon....love this tune as well...) #8 “Seventh Son” (Johnny Rivers...another excuse to label him one of the more underrated artists in the history of mankind...) #9 “Mr. Tambourine Man” (The Byrds...heard of this one...) #10 “You Turn Me On (Turn On Song)” (Ian Whitcomb...what an outstanding week...)

Cincinnati Reds Quiz Answers: 1) Since 1930, the highest single-season batting average is Pete Rose’s .348 in 1969. 2) Only three to drive in 140: George Foster, 149 (1977); Johnny Bench, 148 (1970); Ted Kluszewski, 141 (1954). 3) Eppa Rixey, a highly marginal Hall of Famer, is Cincinnati’s career leader in wins with 179 (179-148), 1921-33. He was 266-251 for his career, including 87-103 with the Phillies, and was voted in by the Veterans Committee in 1963. Clearly some of the committee members were paid off.

Meanwhile, look again at Tommy John.   288 wins and the guts to be a guinea pig...after which he directly saved all those careers, which I think it was the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner who pointed that out this weekend. For being such a pioneer alone John deserves to be in the Hall. Throw in the 288 and it’s a no brainer! This December, one hopes the Veterans Committee sees the light after Dr. Jobe was just highlighted.

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