Pujols heading to Arbitration

Albert Pujols has had about the best first three seasons of any player in the history of baseball. So, it comes as no surprise that he's looking to cash in, and rightfully so. He says he won't give the Cardinals a bargain. One has to imagine that Pujols is going to win a massive arbitration award, as he's currently among the top five offensive players in the game. St. Louis has offered him 5 years and $55 million, but that seems laughably low to me, even given the slowdown in the market over the past two years.

St. Louis was able to get Mark McGwire to sign for much less than his market value because he loved playing there so much. Whether or not they can get Pujols to do the same will have a big impact on the future of the franchise.

Today's Fun New York Yankee Item

Because 24 hours without something silly happening in New York isn't really a day worth remembering, we bring you this tidbit: George Steinbrenner has hired Jerry Krause as a scout. For those of you who are basketball fans, you might remember Krause was the GM who built the Chicago Bulls teams that won 6 NBA titles in the 1990s. You might also remember him as the GM who basically broke up that team, pissing off Michael Jordan by forcing Phil Jackson out as the head coach.

What you might not know is that Krause was a baseball scout before getting involved in the NBA. I can't exactly tell you what is so funny about this to me, but I feel like George and Jerry are a nearly perfect couple.

Rocket Cleared for Launch in Houston

What does it take to get Roger Clemens out of retirement? Apparently, signing Andy Pettitte, and $5 million for one year. This is a hell of a move for the Astros, obviously. Clemens was 17-9 with a 3.91 last year, and 190 strikeouts in 221 innings. Add him to a rotation that includes Pettitte, as well Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller, and the Astros start to look very good indeed. The NL Central seems like it's going to be up for grabs this season, but I'd call Houston the preseason favorites.

Molitor and Eck to the Hall

Today's Hall of Fame announcement didn't really contain any surprises, with Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley claiming their place in Cooperstown. Molitor got 85% of the vote, and Eckersley got 83. Molitor ranks eighth all-time in hits, which came as a bit of a surprise to me as I looked over his numbers. My memories of him primarily concern his amazingly quite approach at the plate, and his terrific performance in the 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays. I got the chance to meet him once, and he seemed to be a nice, genuine guy.

Eck was as good as anyone who ever closed a game. Has a pitcher ever had a more dominating season, starter or reliever, than he did in 1990, when he allowed 41 hits and 4 walks in his 73.3 innings, giving up only 5 earned runs? He also pitched a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1977, long before he reinvented himself closing games. They're two worthy choices, that's for sure.

As for those left out, Ryne Sandberg still isn't getting much love. He was the next highest vote-getter, with 61% of the vote. Seventy-five percent is required for election.

I don't understand what is keeping Sandberg out of the Hall, and I hope that I'm not saying that just because he was my favorite player. When you have the discussion about the best modern second basemen, it starts and ends with Sandberg and Joe Morgan. I think that Sandberg will eventually get in, but I'm surprised it's taking this long. Of course, Lee Smith got more votes than Bert Blyleven, so what do I know?

Baseball's Other Bonds

Just got the latest edition of the SABR Business of Baseball committee newsletter in the mail. I missed this when editor Doug Pappas posted it on his weblog, but Major League Baseball is selling $1.5 billion in one- and 10-year bonds. The bonds will be secured by revenue from TV and radio, sponsorships, and licensing. The sale is being led by FleetBoston and Bank of America. Anyone else want to own some of MLB (or at least some of their debt)? I can't seem to find the rating for these bonds online, but if anyone else can, let us know in the comments. It will be interesting to see if baseball is a good investment or not.

Beane, Foulke, and Tejada

The Boston Herald reports that the A's have offered closer Keith Foulke a four deal at about $6 million a year. Foulke apparently wants to resign in Oakland, and the deal seems to be about the same money that Foulke is being offered by the Boston Red Sox. Expect to see a deal before Sunday, when the A's have to decide whether or not to offer Foulke arbitration. What's interesting about this is that Beane has made a little industry of moving closers at the point that they become overpaid. Tying up $24 million in a closer goes against what he's always done -- and that makes me wonder what he's thinking.

It seems to me that Beane thinks the window for this team might be closing, and he's probably right. Miguel Tejada is probably gone already -- Beane told MLB.com that "I haven't spoken to Miguel's agent. I don't know if we're waiting for anything, we're just sort of moving on." Chavez is a free agent after 2004, and the Big Three are signed through 2005.

His quotes about Tejada seem to indicate that the TLong/Hernandez for Kotsay trade wasn't a move to try and free up money for Miguel. Could there be another trade in the works? Was it to free up money for Foulke? Have Hoffman and Schott loosened the purse strings to let Beane try and grab a title before the Big Three put on their pinstripes?

I'm not sure, but I'd guess by the weekend, we might have a much better idea of what's going on in Oakland

Online Baseball Rights

Catching up, Wired News ran my story on Major League Baseball's move to collect license fees for online gamecasts like those featured on ESPN, Yahoo!, and Sportsline. The legal issues around this are really cloudy, and it will be interesting to see if someone stands up to MLB and forces this to go in front of a judge. In some ways, it almost feels like it needs to be litigated, to get some clarity on what constitutes a broadcast.

The Cubs Trade

The deal was Hee Seop Choi and a PTBNL to the Marlins for Derrek Lee. I can't decide if I think this is the sort of move the Cubs should be making or not. On one hand, it's painfully obvious at this point that Dusty Baker is simply never going to be comfortable relying on young position players unless he's given absolutely no other options. He can protest all he wants that it's not the case, but everything we've seen from him as a manager says otherwise.

Lee is arbitration eligible this year, and could be looking at a contract in the $7 million range, which seems about right for a Gold Glove first baseman who hits 30 homers and drives in 100. He's a good hitter, and doesn't need a platoon, which means that we've probably seen the last of Randall Simon. There's a lot of like about Lee as a player, especially as he's coming into what should be his peak. A strong glove over there could be a big help for Ramirez at third, and another run producer is crucial for this offense.

Will Choi ever be a star? That's the real question here. If you think he will be, then this is probably a bad deal, as the Cubs have only guaranteed themselves one year of Lee, before he hits free agency after 2004 (although Chicago will likely try to sign him for a longer term before next season). If Choi breaks out in Florida, which he very well might, then the Cubs might have cost themselves millions of dollars over the next five years.

But there's another way to look at the situation. The Cubs have pretended to be a medium-market team for years, which is a load of crap. There aren't five teams in baseball with a better financial situation than the Cubs.

Maybe they finally have the go-ahead to spend some of that money. This is a deal that should be made by a team with money. Teams with money don't have to hope that their prospects pan out, even prospects as good as Choi. Teams with money can let other teams take that risk, which is exactly what Hendry is letting Florida do. If this trade means that the checkbook is open on the North Side, then I say bring it on.

Barry in a Catch-22

As the BALCO steroid investigation continues, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that a raid at the home of Barry Bonds' personal trainer in September turned up "suspected anabolic steroids." No one has confirmed this as yet, but it seems like a decent bet that steroids were found in the house of a guy who has worked with Bonds for years, and was around the clubhouse all the time. This, along with Bonds' association with BALCO, is intensifying the long-standing rumors that Bonds was taking steroids. And the simple truth is, we'll never know if he was or not. If he was, he certainly won't now that Major League Baseball is finally going to test for steroids (no matter how perfunctorily). He's too smart to get caught.

On the other hand, if he has been clean, there's not going to be any way to stop the whispers. Simply put, everything Bonds has done in the past is tainted, whether or not he was actually on the juice.

Just imagine if he comes out this year and hits 20 homers. The innuendo will be overwhelming. No one will discuss the possibility that it's just the aging process -- it will just be sly asides and winks. It's a shame, either way. If he's dirty, it's a shame that he's done that, and if he's clean, it's a shame that he'll always be suspected of being dirty.

Attributing Genius

Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's, is one smart guy. In fact, he's gotten a bit of a reputation as the smartest executive in baseball, as he's steered the A's to the postseason the past four years with a payroll the size of the Yankees' catering budget. This reputation was certainly helped along by Michael Lewis' Moneyball, which cast Beane as the best in the business. Beane might be the smartest guy in baseball, but that's like saying you're the tallest midget in the world--there's a surprising lack of competition for the title. Beane has recognized that certain skills, such as getting on base, are undervalued in the market for talent, and he should be commended for that.

That's probably why he went out yesterday and traded Ted Lilly to the Toronto Blue Jays for Bobby Kielty. Kielty has a nice OBP, and will be an upgrade to what was the worst outfield in baseball last season. Beane's got a lot of pitching in place, and perhaps the thinking was that Lilly, without Rick Peterson tending to his mind and body, would regress to the pitcher he's been most of his career, and not continue to be the stud he was down the stretch and into the playoffs in 2003.

But Beane has made is share of mistakes, and none of them looms larger than signing Terrence Long to a four-year, $12 million contract extension in August 2001, after which Long became about the worst regular in baseball. Beane is so desperate to get that contract off his hands that he's apparently close to trading Long and Ramon Hernandez to the San Diego Padres for Mark Kotsay.

Kotsay will make $5.5 million each of the next three seasons, which seems like too much for the A's. Could it be that Beane has another move lined up? If not, I don't understand the Kotsay move -- why not just cut Long and keep Hernandez? We'll have to wait and see where Beane is headed this offseason, and if he can keep his reputation intact.

Bonds to Union: Drop Dead

If there's one thing we've learned, it's that Barry Bonds is perfectly happy to do things his own way. So, it shouldn't come as too big a shock to learn that Bonds has refused to sign the marketing agreement that the Major League Baseball Player's Association uses to market products with each player's name and image. Although Bonds is the first player in the program's history to refuse to participate, it's not unprecedented in other sports. Michael Jordan didn't take part in the NBA program, which is why when you bought a basketball video game, there wasn't a Jordan on the Bulls, even though there was a guy with a shaved head who could kick everyone's ass.

The timing of Bonds' move is interesting. In the next few seasons, he could sell an amazing amount of gear and memorabilia, as he makes his run towards 714, and then 755. By doing his own marketing, he stands to make significantly more than he would if he was simply paid a royalty through the MLBPA. Also, he'll have more control over what is done with his name and image.

But for the union, which has always prided itself on its solidarity, it's not a good moment. I'm sure there are a lot of conversations happening, as Donald Fehr and Gene Orza try and make sure that no one follows Bonds' lead.

Baseball, the Olympics, and Steroids

Major League Baseball hasn't been able to figure out a way to get it's players into the Olympics. Or, now that we have a little more insight into the results of last season's steroid tests, they maybe they don't really want to. Could it be that MLB is afraid to subject its players to the more stringent tests that are required by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency? Dick Pound, the Canadian lawyer who runs the anti-doping agency, is appalled at the penalties that MLB players can face if they test positive.

"I think it's an insult to the fight against doping in sport, an insult to the intelligence of the American public and an insult to the game itself," Pound told The Associated Press.

"I think it's a complete and utter joke. You can test positive for steroids five times, then they think of booting you out for a year? Give me a break. The first time someone has knowingly cheated and they give you counseling? It's a complete and utter joke."

It's certainly a more lenient policy than most Olympic sports. Under that code, athletes face a two-year ban for the first positive steroid test, and a lifetime ban for the second. Of course, most Olympic sports don't have to collectively bargain their drug testing policies.

UPDATE: Having just posted this, I ran across this little tidbit buried in Jayson Stark's column:

One final Olympics note: Not much has been -- or ever will be -- said about it. But sources say that several minor-league players being considered for the team the U.S. sent to Panama were disqualified for failing to pass the we-ban-everything Olympic drug test.

Here's Your Cup. Now Go Fill It.

What to make of the announcement that between five and seven percent of Major League Baseball players tested positive for steroids last season? Commissioner Bud would have you believe that it's good news, saying that the results show that "there is not widespread steroid use in baseball." Certainly, they're not the sort of results that Ken Caminiti or Jose Canseco might have led us to expect. But, given that MLB conducted 1,438 tests, there were somewhere between 70 and 100 positive tests.

That's not good news. That's three to four teams worth of guys who are on the juice. And while I'm not sure how much good taking steroids does for a baseball player (unlike the clear benefits offered to a football player), it's still far, far too many player to be acceptable.

Beginning on March 2, 2004, players can be tested anytime. According to ESPN, a first positive test for steroid use would result in treatment, and a second in a 15-day suspension or fine of up to $10,000. The length of suspensions would increase to 25 days for a third positive test, 50 days for a fourth and one year for a fifth.

And, most importantly, they'll be naming names. It could be an interesting spring -- especially since anyone who comes to camp a little less pumped than before will face a lot of whispers.

Baseball World Cup?

The AP is reporting that Major League Baseball and the player's union are in negociations about staging a World Cup of Baseball before the start of the 2005 regular season. This is welcome news, especially since MLB isn't willing to stop their season for two weeks to allow players to play in the Olympics. Baseball might be the second best sport in the world, behind soccer, for a World Cup-style competition, with eight or so national teams facing off. Imagine the interest in the game if you got to a final featuring a U.S. national team facing off against a Dominican team, for example. Pedro Martinez, Sammy Sosa, and Albert Pujols taking on Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Jim Thome.

MLB is, without a doubt, the most frustrating entity in all of sports. They do so many things wrong as they bumble from crisis to crisis without any hint of a plan to market the game and expand its audience. And repeatedly, the game itself saves them. Think of this year's postseason, where a month of phenomenal baseball lead to the best ratings in years. A World Cup could be a huge boon, not only here in the U.S., but around the world. Let's hope they can make it happen.