News

The Scold

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Michael Sokolove – New York Times

Those of use who love sports have been dealing with the issue of performance enhancing drugs at least since Jim Bouton wrote Ball Four (that would be 1970). This is important because the Dick Pound fueled hysteria over the past few years has actually done some good (there has been plenty of attention paid to figuring out how to implement testing regimens) and some bad (like even when certain athletes test as clean they’re tarred with the PED brush).

In this story (which I believe will be available to NY Times subscribers only come Tuesday or Wednesday) Michael Sokolove profiles Pound, explains why he is the way he is, explains why his quest is quixotic, and does a fair job of laying out the path to the future of sport.

Essentially, people with like chemistry will compete against one another. There will be levels based on chemical compositions and ratios, and if you’re a PED taker or a freak of nature, your actual chemistry is what will matter.

I’m confident to predict that when this comes true, the big money league will be the one in which the athletes run the fastests, jump the farthest, hit the ball hardest. Everything else will be minor league.

Instant Replay set to consign line disputes into history

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Yahoo! News

This is a story about tennis and television technology implemented to correct erroneous calls by the umpires and judges. In the first tournament it was used in about one-third of the challenged calls were upheld.

I think baseball’s biggest problem (bigger than roids, bigger than Paul Lo Duca gambling) is that umpires do not consistently call balls and strikes the same way, and often blow the incredibly close plays they’re forced to judge. This is not a knock on the umpires, but I think as the game gets comfortable with using technology to make better calls on the strike zone and to review judgement calls on the basepaths, everything we think we know about the game is going to change in significant ways.

This is important, but I’m not sure what the right way is to handle the neighborhood play.

Judge: Fantasy leagues allowed to use MLB player names, stats – MLB – Yahoo! Sports

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MLB – Yahoo! Sports

My opinion is that this will was the rational conclusion, and it will also prove to be the best one for the fantasy sports business and the leagues, too. MLB has plenty to sell beyond the stats and names, and they will benefit because the grass roots development of leagues and games won’t be squelched before they start.

Soriano to White Sox? Not so fast.

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Major League Baseball : News : Major League Baseball News

We don’t know how this thing is going to turn out, of course, but my reaction yesterday to the so-close Soriano for McCarthy deal was that it sounded like a typical last-minute leak intended to either sink or force an agreement. Most trading deadline deals have a whiff of surprise about them, because it is very hard to operate when everyone is standing around commenting on what you’re doing.

The denials of Kenny Williams (McCarthy is going nowhere) and Jim Bowden (There is no deal for Soriano) may just be window dressing, allowing them time to put all the pieces in place, but when it comes to baseball trading at the deadline, it’s best to remember that where there’s smoke there often isn’t any fire.

Should be: The Indispensible Baseball Musings

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Baseball Musings


DAVID PINTO WROTE: “Update: Jason Marquis is allowed to take a beating for the second time this year. He gives up two hits in the sixth before he comes out of the game. Just to finish his night off, the bullpen allows the runner they inherited from Jason to score. He’s charged with 12 runs. He allowed 14 against the White Sox earlier this season. Almost 30% of the runs Marquis allowed this year came in those two games.”

Pinto has created a baseball news site with fantasy relevance, excellent data tools, and it’s all free. Unless you do the right thing and pony up some cash, if you feel the way I do. I sent money last year and I’m not bragging, it wasn’t really enough. So I’m sending more this year.

Highly recommended.

As for Marquis, he’s killing me. Or Tony LaRussa is. I’d been riding the matchups the last couple of weeks (since the last time he was left in to take a beating) and it’s worked out well, so I didn’t see the spot to dump him. Mercy.

Taking One for the Team

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MLB – St. Louis Cardinals/Chicago White Sox Box Score Wednesday June 21, 2006 – Yahoo! Sports

That’s what Jason Marquis is doing tonight, dragging down my Tout Wars NL pitching staff, which went into tonight with the second best ERA and Ratio in the league. Amazingly, after 12 runs in four innings I’ve still got 12 points in both categories, though the margin of error is significantly smaller now.

Names change, drugs remain — Affidavit starts witch hunt

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BostonHerald.com – MLB Coverage:

Clever stuff, and makes me feel a little dirty.

BTW, does baseball really need to save itself? Haven’t these steroid allegations been out there for a few years now? Did anybody think that testing was going to make the game totally clean? Aren’t millions of people going out to the ballyard in every major league city? Isn’t everyone making so much money they aren’t even discussing the possibility of a strike/lock out when the basic agreement expires after this season?

That’s all. For now.

Ps. I found the Boston Herald link through deadspin.com.