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In other stories, the sky is blue. There’s snow on the ground. The Redskins suck.
MLB announced on Monday that the Yankees were the only team to be levied a tax on its payroll in 2009. The team must pay its $25.69 million to the Commissioner’s Office by Jan. 31.
This marks the seventh straight year that the Yanks have had to pay the tax, and of the $190 million in luxury tax payments collected by baseball, $174 million of that has come from the Yanks.
Does that look like to you that the system isn’t working? Other teams on the lower end of the spectrum (aka Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays) have not been using the tax to improve their own teams.
I was talking with Trevor when I shared this news — he said he heard somewhere (he thinks from Scott Boras) that the teams on the bottom should also pay a tax, that would help created more fairness in regards to payroll.
With the recent “leakage” of Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and former slugger Manny Ramirez having tested positive for steroids in 2003, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has finally asked the federal court system to investigate who is responsible for the leaks.
If you are not familiar with the situation, here is a brief recap. In 2003 MLB was starting to get a lot of outside pressure to do something about the rampant steroid use in the game. In an agreement with the players association, all players on active rosters would submit to steroid tests to see exactly how many big league players were using.
The promise MLB made to the player’s association was that the names of those tested would never be released and quite possible would be destroyed. Either 103 or 104 players tested positive and their names were placed on a list. Assuming that all 25 players on each 30 MLB team’s rosters were tested, that means 750 total players were tested.
The MLBPA held onto the list of names and the federal government seized the list of names as a part of its BALCO investigation. The MLBPA sued, and three separate district court justices ruled the seizure of the names was illegal under the Fourth Amendment, however, those rulings were set aside by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, located in San Francisco. The ninth circuit heard the case in December 2008 and is expected to issue a ruling sometime this fall.
Since all this has happened, SI.com found out from four separate sources that Alex Rodriguez’ name was on the list. Subsequently, the NY Times cited lawyers close to legal proceedings when it reported that Sammy Sosa, Ortiz and Ramirez were also on the list.
Now that brings us back to today.
Finally, the MLBPA is taking the right steps to get this leaks plugged. The list was ordered sealed and all lawyers attached to this case are required to keep the information sealed, yet 4 names have been released and more would likely come in the future had the MLBPA elected not to do anything.
The MLBPA’s head guy, Donald Fehr issued this statement: “The leaking of information under a court seal is a crime. The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal is a crime. That its informants, according to the Times, are lawyers is both shocking and sad. That the Times is pursuing and publishing what it openly declares to be information which may not be legally disclosed is equally sad. We intend to take the appropriate legal steps to see that the court orders are enforced.”
Many players simply want this to end. Mark Teixeira, the Yankees first baseman who is also an executive member of the PA said, “Names are going to keep coming out, so just put it all out. Let everyone deal with it at the same time, because names coming out every two months isn’t good for the game. I don’t pass judgment on anybody. At the same time, as a guy that’s clean and has done things the right way his entire career, I don’t want any little kid looking at me and saying, ‘Did you do something? Were you on a list?’”
I’m just excited to see the player’s association finally threatening legal action against those responsible for the leaks. At this point, the steroid scandel is old news and for it to keep being rehashed every 2-3 months is just obnoxious. The list shoould be released all at once, much like the Mitchell Report and get it over and done with.
Now this is getting just plain fun. Apparently Derek Jeter didn’t hear what he though he did. After almost getting thrown out Monday afternoon while arguing a bad call, umpire Marty Foster is now disputing Jeter’s account of the events.
Jeter told the media after the game that Foster told him that although he was not tagged while stealing third in the first inning, he did not actually have to be tagged to be out. Essentially, Foster was saying that if the ball beats you to the bag, you are out – which by the way, is NOT in the MLB rule books.
In the nicest way possible, the crew chief of Monday’s game against the Blue Jays, John Hirschbeck, said that his umpire was wrong and that in the past, before television, umpires used to call players out if the ball reached the bag before they did, but after the advent of television and instant replay for fans, the umpires apparently dropped that practice. Probably because it was never in the rule books to begin with.
Now, Hirschbeck is speaking again for Foster and for the second straight day, Hirschbeck refused media access to Foster after Tuesday’s game at Citi Field between the Mets and Dodgers. Hirschbck said Foster told him that he said to Jeter “The ball beat you and I had him tagging you.”
Now Hirsch (can I call him that?) attributes the misunderstanding to tempers flaring – but Jeter did not get all worked up until Foster said something to him – so I don’t really buy this count of events and I’ll explain why.
First, Derek Jeter does not get a temper. He’s the most cool, calm and collected guy on the team. Its a reason why he’s the captain. He was not fired up until Foster said something to him.
Second, stadiums are loud, but I don’t think Derek Jeter is going to hear “The ball beat you and I had him tagging you” and turn it into “you don’t have to be tagged to be out.”
That’s all I need to say. Its a two point argument. Bottom line, Hirschbeck is doing his job, Foster sucks at his and got caught saying something dumb.
With only 3 days left in the voting, Kevin Youkilis has taken over at first base. It ain’t over yet!
This Saturday, July 4, 2009, is the 70th Anniversary of the day that Lou Gehrig gave his famous last speech at Yankee Stadium. The New York Times reported online today that Major Leage Baseball will have the speech read at every game this Saturday during the seventh inning stretch.
“It’s an honor to pay tribute to this American Legend,” commissioner Bud Selig said. However, the purpose does go beyond simply honoring one of the greatest players in MLB history. The league also hopes to raise awareness for ALS, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. 
When Gehrig gave the speech on July 4, 1939, no one knew that the great man was essentially giving his goodbye speech. He played in 2,130 consecutive games before taking himself out of the lineup on May 2, 1939 due to his declining performance. He never played baseball again.
The Yankees announced his retirement on June 21 and proclaimed July 4th “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day.” Gehrig gave his famous speech between the games of a doubleheader that day. During the ceremony, the Yankees retired his number 4, honoring him as the first player to ever have their number retired in MLB history. Gehrig died nearly two years later, on June 2, 1941 at the age of 38.
Here is the famous speech:
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
“Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.
“When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that’s the finest I know.
“So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”
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