When the committee didn’t hear from Knoblauch or a representative, it issued a subpoena to force the 1991 AL Rookie of the Year to submit to a deposition next Tuesday.

As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, though, that subpoena had not reached the former infielder who, like Clemens and more than 80 other players, was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in last month’s Mitchell Report on baseball’s steroids era.

Knoblauch swiped 407 bases during his 12-year career. Presumably he’s slowed since then, so the question now becomes whether the feds have a rag-armed catcher or just don’t hold runners very well.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pujols asked Cardinals media relations director Brian Bartow to make a reporter and cameraman from St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI leave the room where Pujols’ news conference was taking place on the final day of the Cardinals’ winter warmup.

Not that you can blame Pujols. Assuming he’s clean, someone has tarnished his reputation, which is a bad thing in any line of work, much less one that involves such high visibility among its employees.

Sigh. When will it all end? Let’s get real; it probably won’t…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

I’ve been suspended 18 years for betting on my own team to win. I was wrong … but these guys today, if the allegations are true, they’re making a mockery of the game.

Rose should stop complaining. At least he got a big, nasty report all to himself and didn’t have to share it with hundreds of other guys.

Seriously, dude, not everyone gets their own report. Let it go already.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Jim at AZ Snakepit wonders about the Diamondbacks pitching staff.
• Eric at Philliesflow searches for hidden gems in right field.
• Harper at Oleanders and Morning Glories reacts to news of Paul LoDuca’s inclusion in the Mitchell Report.
• Kurt at Goat Riders of the Apocalypse muses on the nature of hypocrisy in sports, specifically as it relates to the current steroid flap.
• Lisa at Astros Dugout rejoices in the signing of right-hander Jack Cassel.
• Dave at U.S.S. Mariners fantasizes about how much better the world would be if he ran the Mariners.
• Eric at Rays Anatomy calls for Bud Selig’s resignation as puppet, er, MLB commissioner.
• Evan at Fire Brand of the American League is under the mistaken impression that the NL should adopt his favored league’s “DH experiment.”
• Lee at Tiger Tales examines his team’s starters and relievers.
• Aaron Gleeman discusses the Twins’ signing of Mike Lamb.

Okay, then. You’ve got some reading to do…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• How surprised is anyone by the magnitude of this?
• How surprised should we be?
• Should players and others be held accountable for their actions?
• If yes, how forthcoming will athletes be in the future?
• If no, what is the incentive for not trying to cheat the system?
• Why do we, as fans, continue to support these people and provide them — through our purchase of tickets, merchandise, and the like — with the means to perpetuate their actions?
• How will future generations view the current era?
• Should individual records and awards be stripped?
• What about team accomplishments? The IOC is considering sanctions against Marion Jones’ relay teammates because they earned their medals while working with Jones. Should MLB do the same?
• If we are to damn an entire era and those who are a product of its environment, should we do the same with other eras, e.g., anyone who played before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier?
• What confidence do we have that the list of names provided in the report is accurate and complete?
• If it’s not complete, and there are others, how does MLB pursue and possibly reprimand them?
• How culpable are the owners? The players union? MLB?
• Can anything really be done to improve the situation beyond superficial actions that make it appear as though something is being done?

There are others, but I’ll stop here. This really, really, really, really stinks…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• MLB was slow to respond to steroid issue. Although baseball is moving in the right direction, it needs to do more.
• The report claims to be a “deliberate and unbiased examination of the facts.” In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that George Mitchell is part of the Red Sox ownership group (he is listed as “Director” in the Front Office directory on the team’s web site).
• Several players were approached for interviews, including five who had “spoken publicly about the issue”; of that latter group, only Toronto’s Frank Thomas agreed.
• Describes the union as being “largely uncooperative,” which I think surprises no-one.

A quick excerpt on that last point:

We sought to interview as many current and former players as possible. We attempted to reach almost 500 former players. Many of them declined to be interviewed, but 68 did agree to interviews. In addition, interviews of 3 former players were arranged through the assistance of federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents.

Mitchell’s general recommendations:

1. Major League Baseball must significantly increase its ability to investigate allegations of use outside of the testing program and improve its procedures for keeping performance enhancing substances out of the clubhouse;
2. there must be a more comprehensive and effective program of education for players and others about the serious health risks incurred by users of performance enhancing substances;
3. when the club owners and the Players Association next engage in collective bargaining on the joint drug program, I urge them to incorporate into the program the principles that characterize a state-of-the-art program, as described in this report.

David Pinto is covering the press conference. Me? I’m slowly losing my will to live. Have a nice day.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Ready for the Mitchell Report? Totally psyched? Man, it’s just like the World Series, only with allegations of drug use instead of baseball games. I can’t believe it’s almost here, just in time for [insert winter holiday of choice].

Howard Bryant at ESPN writes a detailed piece outlining the troublesome nature of this investigation (hat tip to Baseball Musings). You really need to read the entire article, but here are a few little nuggets worth mentioning:

The teams’ general managers, too, felt pressured by questions that led them to believe the Mitchell report will judge them harshly for condoning widespread drug use by not bringing it to the attention of club owners and baseball’s central office. That, they acquiesced, is an unfortunate but real byproduct of the enormous demands placed on player evaluators to win games in a billion-dollar business.

“If this thing comes out and pins everything on us, which is what I think will happen, then every GM in baseball should sue baseball,” one general manager said over the summer. “It’s not going to happen, but this report is going to be total B.S. It’s going to blame us for everything, because we don’t have anyone in our corner. The owners aren’t going to blame themselves, are they?”

And further down:

As ESPN.com spoke with baseball people interviewed during the investigation, a common theme emerged: Investigators, while generally cordial, often revealed an alarming lack of knowledge regarding the day-to-day workings of baseball. Instead of focusing on the elements of the game that might make drug use appealing, investigators asked surface-level questions such as which players suffer from back acne and who underwent the most dramatic body changes. One interviewer, for example, read off a list of players and asked the interviewee to say if he believed the player could have used steroids. No questions were asked, the source said, about the root causes of steroid use.

“They didn’t ask us those things because they didn’t have the level of sophistication about what we do,” said a National League strength coach. “They didn’t know the right questions to ask. At no point in my interview did anyone say to me, ‘What can we recommend to make sure this never happens again?’”

Sounds like the emphasis is more on assigning blame than actually trying to solve the problem. Disappointing, perhaps, but hardly surprising.

Let he who cast very small rocks…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Guillen is filing a grievance, while Gibbons is accepting his fate as-is.

Guillen, you may recall, just signed with the Royals for beaucoup bucks. It will be interesting to see how his signing and subsequent suspension affect Mike Cameron, who will miss the first 25 games of ‘08 due to testing positive for a banned stimulant.

It’ll also be “fun” to watch as other names are revealed when the Mitchell Report is released. Lord knows I love my sport of baseball, but sometimes it drives me batty (pun only somewhat intended)…

Other Voices

• Oriole Post
• Sabernomics
• Biz of Baseball

Post from: Knuckle Curve