Follow up conversation with Chris Mihlfield, who Deadspin revealed was one of the redacted names. It isn’t really news that Mihlfield denies doing anything wrong, but it’s certainly true that the closer you look at what it would mean if he was named the less it seems to mean.
News
Baseball Musings:
David Pinto goes to the place I think all discussion about PEDs has to go, but in a comment far down the page Keith Levenberg takes it one step further. Well worth reading down the page if you have set ideas about drugs and the games.
I was going to link to Deadspin’s sober speculation of the contents of the redacted information in the Grimsley affadavit (about him, not by him), but the link from the affidavit to Albert Pujols’ trainer, Chris Mihfield, is too tenuous. Anyone who has hung around with professional athletes in the last 20 some odd years (and probably longer) knows that all follow the supplements, vitamins, and enhancement products to some extent. Mihfield recommending a guy to Grimsley who had bennies is a far cry from a smoking gun pointing at Pujols.
But then I think we need a lot less hysteria.
Holy humidor! Rockies are for real
Todd Helton is quoted in this story as saying that the humidor helps the Rockies on the road: “Before they used the humidor, breaking pitches did not break as much at Coors as at sea level, so when the Rockies went on the road, they had to adjust to breaking pitches that actually broke.”
Do balls coming out of the humidor break more than those kept in the outside atmosphere? I don’t see why they should. The issue is how far the ball goes when hit, no?
LaRoche’s disorder in spotlight
Adam LaRoche’s problem, apparently, is ADD. He won’t take medication for it, however, or make excuses, which is why he sometimes looks like he isn’t paying attention to the game. Or he doesn’t hustle, as in a play in Monday’s game against the Nats. According to the experts quoted in this story, if LaRoche took the right medication he’d be a better baseball player. But there are a lot of people these days who say that taking the ADD medication helps them focus better, too, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with the disease. Since LaRoche can function on the extraordinary level of a major leaguer without taking medication, can his disease be bad enough that he should be allowed performance enhancing drugs his teammates and opponents aren’t allowed?
I’m just asking.
A funny bit of business
MLB – Cleveland Indians/Seattle Mariners Box Score Saturday May 6, 2006 – Yahoo! Sports
Seattle manager Mike Hargrove was tossed from this game in the third inning, and one of his coaches got tossed in the seventh, both for arguing balls and strikes. The odd thing is that Seattle starter Joel Pineiro struck out six and walked none in the game. Could the arguing have made a difference? (And I know that coach Mike Goss was chucked because the home plate ump appealed to the third base coach on righty Richie Sexson’s checked swing, rather than the traditional first base ump, but maybe by that point the ump was rattled.)
AL Hitter and Pitcher of the Month
No point in digging deep into Jason Giambi’s numbers since mid-season last year, yet, but he was certainly the dominant AL hitter in the second half last year and the has continued in that role this spring. I continue to have difficulty ascertaining whether it was steroids that made him a great hitter and an MVP or not. Certainly the braying of those who thought his accomplishments all came because he was juiced has died down, but we don’t seem to be any closer to agreeing about what steroids can do to improve a hitter’s performance. Assuming Giambi is clean now, since he’s surely tested regularly, how can he continue to rank among baseball’s best hitters?
Idiots Write About Sports
Cogent analysis of the A’s rotation this week from someone who pays attention.
Shinjo leaves the ballpark for a quiet life of nude modelling
Former Met and Giant announces his retirement at the end of this year in spectacular style. Bravo!
Capitol Punishment:
Hanged By His Own Testimony–A Washington Nationals Blog
Patience with Jim Bowden is running out.
The Great Divide
Jeff Passan, a workaday baseball writer writing for Yahoo, does a fine job identifying the issues at play (and their importance) as we approach this year’s collective bargaining negotiation.