San Francisco Chronicle Lynches SF Giants' Barry Bonds, Film at 11

Repeat after me: Barry Bonds said "I never knowingly took a banned substance" ; Barry Bonds said "I never knowingly took a banned substance." ; Barry Bonds said "I never knowingly took a banned substance."

Ok. Now, how many times does he have to say that? Apparently not enough for the San Francisco Chronicle. In a book to be released on March 21st, two Chron writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, claim that 200 sources "saw" Bonds take a banned substance, a form of steroid starting in 1998.

The San Francisco Bay Area sports media -- well populated with haters of the San Francisco Giants' premier slugger -- was quick to jump on the Chron's story, so quick that their brains shut off in the process. The people hot to lock up Barry Bonds apparently scored "six" on their Wonderlic tests -- and that exam applies more to what journalists do than the tasks of NFL quarterbacks.

But I digress.

The San Francisco Chronicle, in its lustful zeal to lynch a man that some Bay Area media types have branded as "arrogant" and basically a combination of adjectives that add up to "Uppity Negro," didn't even bother to use the term "allegedly." Nope. They just plain out and out wrote this:

Barry Bonds began using steroids after the 1998 baseball season and came to rely on a wide variety of performance-enhancing drugs over the next several years, according to a book written by two Chronicle reporters and excerpted in this week's Sports Illustrated.

The impication of this opening paragraph of today's Chronicle article is that everything Barry took was not legal at the time. Moreover, the Chronicle drunkenly uses the term "performance-enhancing drugs" as if that's a bad thing. Hey, in that case, you'd better lock me up for the four vitamin pills I took today.

I swear it's work like this that makes me wonder if some writers take the sauces before they write, rather than after they've written. And regardless of what the writer tells you, the sauce is not a performance-enhancing drug, but it can certainly cause one to write that Barry Bonds was knowingly using them, when they should have used more careful prose.

Here are the facts.

In 2002, San Diego Padres Ken Caminiti told Sports Illustrated that in 1996, not only was he using steroids, but half the players in Major League Baseball. Apparently, Bonds, who reportedly started using steroids in 1998, got the memo two years late, but even then the substances that were being provided were not illegal.

Indeed, it wasn't until 2004 that Major League Baseball placed a ban on the use of any drug that could be a steroid.

But the point is that -- repeat after me -- Barry Bonds said "I never knowingly took a banned substance." Again, Barry Bonds said "I never knowingly took a banned substance."

Are you listening?

This entire affair reads more like an attempt to defame Barry Bonds. I mean, why do I need to know that the drugs Bonds took which he did not know to be illegal have caused him to suffer sexual dysfunction and lead to his supposedly terrible behavior?

In other words, it's really important I know the brother's pissed cause he can't get it up. How in the heck do they know that, and why should I be aware of this news? It reads as if the Chron's trying to help Bonds' mistress stick it to him, and I'm not talking about a needle, either.

What's the point? If it's meaness, then Phil Bronstein's boys have hit the mark.

Look, I'm sure Barry was no different than "half the players in Major League Baseball" but where Mark McQuire gets away with a clean image (drug use allegations don't stick to him, even though Jose Canseco says McQuire used them), here comes the Chronicle to make sure dirt's kicked in Barry's face.

I have a feeling egg's going to be on the face of the Chronicle. Williams says that "I think it's important for baseball to corral performance-enhancing drugs and not tolerate them, because the tolerance for those drugs will inevitably seep down into the colleges and the prep programs. We're already seeing it," in response to why this story's important. That's a load of bull; the story's important because it's the latest bazooka they're using to embarrass Barry Bonds.

Look, Barry's not perfect. Fine. But he's a great baseball player. As far as I'm concerned, and other fans too, I'll still root for Barry, and pray that the San Francisco Chronicle gets a perfomance-enhanced kick in the collective ass.

Shocking: Kirby Puckett Passes Away at 47 Years of Age

One day. One day after suffering a stroke, Minnesota Twins star Kirby Puckett passed away. This is the rest of the sad, sad story. He was just 47 years old. God called him too early, and on the eve of his wedding.


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Kirby Puckett didn't need much time to make a big impact. Those who felt it, near and far, can only wish he had stayed around longer.

In his 12-year career, Puckett won six Gold Gloves, the 1989 batting title and two championship rings.
The bubbly Hall of Famer with the boyish enthusiasm for baseball, who led the Minnesota Twins to two World Series titles before his career was cut short by glaucoma, died Monday after a stroke. He was 45.

"He was revered throughout the country and will be remembered wherever the game is played," commissioner Bud Selig said. "Kirby was taken from us much too soon -- and too quickly."

Indeed, Puckett was the second-youngest person to die having already been enshrined in Cooperstown, Hall of Fame spokesman Jeff Idelson said. Only Lou Gehrig, at 37, was younger.

Stricken early Sunday at his Arizona home, Puckett died at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where friends and family had gathered. Puckett, who was divorced, is survived by his children, Catherine and Kirby Jr. He was engaged to be married to his fiancée, Jodi Olson, this summer. Funeral arrangements were pending.

Puckett's post-retirement weight gain over the past decade had concerned friends and family, who were saddened but not shocked by his stroke.

"It's a tough thing to see a guy go through something like that and come to this extent," former teammate Kent Hrbek said.

Puckett led the Twins to championships in 1987 and 1991 after breaking into the majors in 1984. With a career batting average of .318, six Gold Gloves and 10 All-Star game appearances, Puckett woke up one morning during spring training in 1996 with blindness in his right eye, a condition that forced him to retire.

"That's what really hurt him bad, when he was forced out of the game," Hrbek said. "I don't know if he ever recovered from it."

A makeshift memorial began to form Monday night outside the Metrodome, with a handful of bouquets, caps and candles laid on the sidewalk.

"I grew up in center field yelling down on him. It's just not right," said fan Daniel Boche, who knelt down to pay his respects. "He was my idol growing up."

"It's tough to take," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said from the team's spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. "He had some faults, we knew that, but when all was said and done he would treat you as well as he would anyone else. No matter who you were.

"When you're around him, he makes you feel pretty good about yourself. He can make you laugh. He can do a lot of things that can light up a room. He's a beauty," Ryan said.

Though he steadfastly refused to speak pessimistically about the premature end to his career, Puckett's personal life began to deteriorate after that.

Shortly after his induction to Cooperstown, his then-wife, Tonya, accused him of threatening to kill her during an argument -- he denied it -- and described to police a history of violence and infidelity. In 2003, he was cleared of all charges from an alleged sexual assault of a woman at a suburban Twin Cities restaurant and kept a low profile after the trial, eventually moving to Arizona.

He stopped attending spring training as a special instructor in 2002.

Puckett was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001, and his plaque praised his "ever-present smile and infectious exuberance."

He spent his entire career with Minnesota.

"I wore one uniform in my career, and I'm proud to say that," Puckett once said. "As a kid growing up in Chicago, people thought I'd never do anything. I've always tried to play the game the right way. I thought I did pretty good with the talent that I have."

Puckett's signature performance came in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series against Atlanta. After telling anyone who would listen before the game that he would lead the Twins to victory that night at the Metrodome, he made a leaping catch against the fence and then hit a game-ending homer in the 11th inning to force a seventh game.

The next night, Minnesota's Jack Morris went all 10 innings to outlast John Smoltz and pitch the Twins to a 1-0 win for their second championship in five years.

"If we had to lose and if one person basically was the reason -- you never want to lose -- but you didn't mind it being Kirby Puckett. When he made the catch and when he hit the home run you could tell the whole thing had turned," Smoltz said.

"His name just seemed to be synonymous with being a superstar," the Braves pitcher added. "It's not supposed to happen like this."

Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk echoed Smoltz's sentiment.

"There was no player I enjoyed playing against more than Kirby. He brought such joy to the game. He elevated the play of everyone around him," Fisk said in a statement to the Hall.

Puckett's birthdate was frequently listed as March 14, 1961, but recent research by the Hall of Fame indicated he was born a year earlier.

The youngest of nine children born into poverty in a Chicago housing project, Puckett was drafted by the Twins in 1982 and became a regular just two years later. He got four hits in his first major league start and finished with 2,304 in only 12 seasons.

Though his power numbers, 207 home runs and 1,085 RBI, weren't exceptional, Puckett won an AL batting title in 1989 and was considered one of the best all-around players of his era. His esteem and enthusiasm for the game factored into his Hall of Fame election as much as his statistics and championship rings.

He made his mark on baseball's biggest stage, leading heavy underdog Minnesota to a seven-game victory over St. Louis in 1987 and then doing the same against Atlanta in one of the most thrilling Series in history.

"There are a lot of great players in this game, but only one Kirby," pitcher Rick Aguilera said when Puckett announced his retirement. "It was his character that meant more to his teammates. He brought a great feeling to the clubhouse, the plane, everywhere."

Puckett's best year was 1988, when he batted .356 with 24 home runs, 42 doubles and 121 RBI. A contact hitter and stolen base threat in the minors who hit a total of four homers in his first two major league seasons, Puckett developed a power stroke in 1986 and went deep a career-best 31 times.

He became a fixture in the third spot in Minnesota's lineup, a free-swinging outfielder with a strong arm and a flair for nifty catches despite his 220-pound frame that made him look more like a fullback. The man known simply as "Puck" was immensely popular.

Fans loved his style, especially the high leg kick he used as he prepared to swing. Public address announcer Bob Casey, who became a close friend, introduced him with vigor before every at-bat, "KIR-beeeeeeeeee PUCK-it."

Hit by a pitch that broke his jaw on his last at-bat of the 1995 season, Puckett woke up one morning the following spring and couldn't see out of his right eye. It was eventually diagnosed as glaucoma, forcing him to call it quits that July.

Ryan said he had an "empty" feeling that day, much like the mood around the organization Monday.

"His time came way too early," Ryan said.

Boston Red Sox Pitcher David Wells , Pissed Off With "Lack of Privacy" in Boston, Now Will Remain and Retire, Instead of Seeking Trade

By Howard Ulman, The Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox left-hander David Wells rescinded his trade request and said Sunday there was a "99.9" percent chance he would retire after the upcoming season.

He said he told Boston general manager Theo Epstein of his decision on Saturday. Wells had requested a trade so he could be closer to his family in San Diego. He also disliked the lack of privacy he had when he went out in public in Boston.

During Saturday's meeting, Wells said, Epstein told him "there are a lot of teams out there that are not interested because of the fact that there are a lot of young guys they want to look at."

The 42-year-old Wells is coming off surgery on his right knee, lessening the likelihood that a team would want him before he proves he's healthy. He said his first exhibition start for the Red Sox could take place on March 13 or 14.

Washington Nationals Get Stadium Lease Signed By MLB

By Joseph White, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Major League Baseball took a major step Sunday toward resolving an impasse over a home for the Washington Nationals, signing a lease for a new ballpark.

One day before the Monday deadline imposed by the District of Columbia Council, baseball signed the lease approved by the Council last month. The lease calls for a ballpark to be built along the Anacostia River, south of the Capitol, with a provision capping the city's spending for the project at $611 million.

Baseball, which will not select a new owner for the team until a lease is in place, had expressed concern over the cap, which altered the original 2004 agreement that brought the team from Montreal last season. In particular, baseball was concerned about a scenario in which the team's future owners could be forced to pay cost overruns. The alternatives for baseball would have been to ask for binding arbitration or search for a new city.

"We have worked very hard to accommodate the requests from the mayor and the Council that changed the terms of the agreement that brought the Expos to Washington," baseball chief operating officer Bob DuPuy said in a statement. "Because we believe in the future of baseball in the nation's capital, we have signed a lease that honors the 2004 agreement, while conforming to the emergency legislation that the Council passed last month."

DuPuy said the lease will go into effect if the Council agrees to several provisions, including an agreement that the city not enact any legislation that violates the terms of the lease. Other provisions deal with the issuing of bonds that pay for construction and how those bonds will be funded.

The Council will study the provisions over the next 48 hours.

"I don't see anything that could be a deal-breaker," Councilman Jack Evans said. "The devil is in the details, but all of that sounds like something we can move forward on."

Evans said his main concern with the provisions is that they could delay a final resolution for several week, which would further delay construction.

Council chair Linda Cropp's main concern was that the city's spending cap remained intact.

"I haven't seen the provisions yet, I've only talked to folks," Cropp said. "What they have said to me is that baseball has certified the council's legislation with the $611 million cap. If that is the case, then that's a good thing and we can move forward."

Mark Tuohey, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and a lead negotiator for the city, said he saw nothing in the provisions that would scuttle the lease.

Vince Morris, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams, said the additional provisions "should be OK," although city leaders would spend Sunday night and Monday examining them.

"We're delighted, and I'm betting millions of Nationals fans are too," Morris said. "This clears one of the last hurdles in the process and gets us ready to finally break ground on a ballpark that gives the Nationals a new home and sparks an exciting economic revival in southeast."

The Expos/Nationals were bought in 2002 by the other 29 major league teams and operate on a limited budget. Baseball and the city have been negotiating the lease for more than a year, and commissioner Bud Selig has delayed selecting a new owner because of the lease dispute.

The Nationals will continue to play at RFK Stadium until the new stadium opens.

Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett in critical condition after stroke

By Jim Mone, AP

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett was in critical condition after having surgery for a stroke, a nursing supervisor said early Monday.

The 44-year-old former Minnesota Twins star, who led the Twins to two championships before his career was cut short by glaucoma, was stricken Sunday at his Arizona home.

Puckett had surgery at Scottsdale health care Osborn, the Twins said from their spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla., and was later moved to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

A nursing supervisor at St. Joseph's, who declined to give her full name, said Puckett was in critical condition. She did not provide additional details.

"The Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball ask fans to keep Kirby and his family in their thoughts and prayers," the team said earlier in a statement.

Ron Shapiro, who was Puckett's agent, said he had been in contact with Puckett's family Sunday.

"We're all praying for his recovery," Shapiro said.

Twins center fielder Torii Hunter sat out Minnesota's exhibition game against the Red Sox after learning of Puckett's stroke.

After the game, team officials said they didn't immediately have any further information on Puckett's condition.

"The doctors said that if he has good luck, he'll be all right. You have to keep the faith," former manager Tom Kelly said.

Said manager Ron Gardenhire: "Our hearts and our prayers are all with Puck. We know it's a tough situation out there."

Puckett, who broke in with Minnesota in 1984, had a career batting average of .318 and carried the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991.

Glaucoma forced the Gold Glove center fielder and 10-time all-star to retire in 1996 after 12 seasons with the Twins when he went blind in one eye.

Three years ago, he was cleared of assault charges after being accused of groping a woman at a Twin Cities restaurant.

Puckett has maintained relationships with many people in the Twins' organization. The team tried unsuccessfully to get him to come to spring training as a special instructor this year, something he hasn't done since 2002.

Another former Twins great, Tony Oliva, a special instructor during spring training, said he has been worried about Puckett's weight.

"The last few times I saw him, he kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Oliva said. "And we worried about him. I saw him about five months ago. He always tries to invite me. He says, 'Come to Arizona, and we'll play some golf.' "

Puckett is divorced and has two children.

Yankees Steinbrenner Predicts - Or Is It Orders - World Series Title

(For Yankeees tickets, click on the title of this post.)

TAMPA, Fla. -- Welcome to "The Spring of George" at Legends Field.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, eager to bring a trophy back to New York and excited about the acquisition of Johnny Damon, predicted on Wednesday that this year's Yankees will win the franchise's first World Series title since 2000.

"It's been a while; we haven't won it," said Steinbrenner, who stopped to speak to TV and radio reporters. "We're going to win it this year. We're going after them this year."

The statements came as Steinbrenner, who has been more visible than usual during the first week of Spring Training, paid a visit to manager Joe Torre, parking himself on Torre's couch while the manager met with reporters.

Torre and Steinbrenner's icy relationship from last season has been well documented, and the manager made a point to address it in October as he decided whether to return for an 11th season with the Yankees.

The two men have already spoken several times this spring, so Wednesday's visit wasn't out of the ordinary, other than its timing.

"I can't do much to teach him anything," Steinbrenner said of his visits with Torre, "but I'm just there [for Torre] to know he's got my support."

Steinbrenner even muscled his way into Torre's interview session, injecting some laughter into the room. Torre was asked about the Yankees' pursuit of Damon after the 2001 season, when Jason Giambi expressed his desire to see his former Oakland teammate join him in the Bronx.

"I remember when we signed Jason, he said, 'Johnny Damon is out there,' " Torre said. "But he took all the money, so we couldn't do anything."

The words were barely out of Torre's mouth when Steinbrenner inserted his two cents into the conversation.

"You got some, didn't you?" Steinbrenner said.

"Thank you, sir," said a smiling Torre.

Mark Feinsand is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Carl Everett expects to win with Seattle Mariners

By GREGG BELL
AP SPORTS WRITER

PEORIA, Ariz. -- He hadn't even started his first Mariners workout, and already Carl Everett was spicing up a bland Seattle spring training.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, minutes after arriving at his new clubhouse, Everett was whooping and churning out jokes. He teased 39-year-old pitcher Dave Burba for looking like the goody-goody player depicted on the league's posted notice on the proper way to wear a uniform.

Later, the Mariners' new designated hitter explained why he bought two weeks of spring training lunches for his Montreal teammates in 2004. He paid for catered hot food over the clubhouse cold cuts, because "when you get turkey, you get the whole turkey. Legs, hips, rear end. Everything."

But there was nothing about dinosaurs. Not yet, anyway.

"That's dude's crazy, man," said outfielder Matt Lawton, a fellow offseason Seattle import and locker neighbor who spent most of his morning at Everett's side. "Good luck with HIM."

On the field, trainers called the players to stretch before for the first full Seattle practice. Everett was using nail clippers to trim his fingernails.

Everett later pantomimed punches into the stomach of new hitting coach Jeff Pentland. Three times, he clowned with a television cameraman. He bellowed cackling, drawn out laughs at Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre around the batting cage.

The man infamous for once head-butting an umpire, spitting at and grabbing his crotch at Seattle pitcher Jamie Moyer after a home run and claiming dinosaurs never existed had landed with laughs onto his eighth team in 11 major-league seasons.

"Eight teams doesn't bother me," the 34-year-old former Marlin, Met, Astro, Red Sox, Ranger, Expo and White Sox said. "That means I'm wanted."

The Mariners, desperate for a left-handed power hitter, wanted him enough to pay the switch-hitter $3.4 million this season. Seattle also has a club option for 2007.

Everett earned $4 million last season with the World Series champion White Sox. He played in 135 games and batted .251 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs.

It was the fourth time in his 11-year career he hit at least 20 home runs and drove in at least 80, yet Chicago declined its 2006 option.

Seattle then leaped for a potential spark for its complacent clubhouse and an even more inert offense.

"I heard this team was lax and laid back," Everett said. "I find they are very humorous and willing to play baseball - so far.

"The tone for me right now is it's going to be a great year."

Everett's first-day tone surprised some Mariners.

"Actually, being with him today, he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met," said Lawton, who has never played with Everett. "He's going to be great for our clubhouse, keeping guys loose.

"You see some many guys with the label 'Time bomb' and they are quiet, like they are about to explode. He was great."

Hold on, Matt. Everett warned those "time bomb" moments may still be coming.

"You're going to find when I'm not smiling, stay away from me," Everett said.

A hearty chuckle failed to hide his seriousness.

"I don't know what my reputation is. I've heard so much from so many different people," he said. "And, actually, I really don't care. But the guys in the clubhouse, they know who I am. They are around me more than anybody.

"I'm not a person who will let you get to know me - and that tends to offend people.

"I'm not looking for people to like me," he said. "I'm here to win."

Everett said he perceived that winning mentality to be lacking from the Mariners last year during their 69-93 season - Seattle's second consecutive 90-loss year.

"'Hope we're going to win,' that's exactly what I saw," Everett said. "It wasn't a team that went out to beat you every day."

With that, Everett rose from the picnic table he had been using as his pulpit. He then issued this ironic advisement:

"You all stay out of trouble."

Cubs pitcher Mark Prior starts carefully

By RICK GANO
AP SPORTS WRITER

MESA, Ariz. -- Mark Prior needs a quick start and a healthy one. He's opened the last two seasons on the disabled list, a place he doesn't want to visit again.

That's why Prior said he is taking a deliberate approach to getting ready for another season.

Nearly a week into spring training, he still hadn't thrown off the mound when the Chicago Cubs held their first full-squad workout Tuesday.

Slowed by a two-week throat infection this winter - one that sent him to the emergency room - his early regimen has been limited to throwing off flat ground and working on endurance.

"I've been on throwing programs before, but this one is a little more structured, trying to build up arm strength," Prior said Tuesday. "I'm doing extended amounts of sets, throwing 20-25 at a certain distance and then taking a little break and going back a little bit farther. I think I'm responding to it well. We talked about it last year, that's how it would be - take it a little bit slower or a little bit more methodical."

Prior has pitched in just one regular spring training game the last two years. In 2004 he was hampered by Achilles tendinitis, and last year had a sore elbow.

"I know what my history's been," he said.

Prior said his arm is fine. After recovering from his elbow soreness last season, he took a line drive off the elbow, rebounded from that trip to the DL and finished 11-6 in 27 starts with a 3.67 ERA.

In 2003 when Chicago made a run for the World Series in Prior's first full major league season, the 6-5 right-hander went 18-6, including 10-1 in the final two months.

Hampered by the injuries, he's just 17-11 in the ensuing two seasons.

"I feel good. I felt good out there yesterday, and I expect to be on the mound here in a couple of days," he said. "My body feels good. I'm getting closer. It's a process to get ready for the season. It's not just show up and go to work. I don't feel sick and weak."

Cubs manager Dusty Baker is satisfied with where Prior is at this point in the spring.

"I mean the guy, he's progressing like we said," Baker said. "Mark's going good. I asked him. I get tired of asking how he's doing, actually. And I'm sure he's tired of answering the questions himself."

Manny Ramirez given permission to report March 1

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Manny Ramirez will be in camp with the Boston Red Sox - just not for a few days.

After asking Boston to trade him during the offseason, the slugger was given permission to report to spring training on March 1, six days after the club's first full-squad workout and one day after Major League Baseball's mandatory reporting date.

"Manny is in Florida completing an extensive training regimen and is prepared to have an exceptional season," said a joint statement from Ramirez and the team that was released by the Red Sox on Tuesday.

"There are a lot of factors involved, some of them are personal, some are family related," general manager Theo Epstein said in Fort Myers, Fla. "He assured us that by staying in Miami and continuing to work with his personal trainer, continuing his regimen, that he wouldn't be behind. In the end, after talking to him, we were OK with accommodating him. It's not perfect, but we're going to support him through this."

Position players were due in town Wednesday, the day before the first workout. Baseball's collective bargaining agreement sets the mandatory reporting date as 33 days prior to the major league opener, which is April 2.

"It happens all the time, guys all over the big leagues show up at different times," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said. "He'll be ready to play. Manny's one of those guys who if he didn't show up for spring training, I'd still know he'd be ready for the season when the season started."

In Scottsdale, Ariz., the San Francisco Giants gathered as a full team for the first time this year, with players getting the chance to hit, field, run and throw together as they prepare for the start of the season. There was one notable exception - Barry Bonds was nowhere to be found.

"It's nice to see everybody - not quite everybody," manager Felipe Alou said. "It always feels good when you see all of those guys."



Bonds was a no-show at the first voluntary workout for position players. His agent told the team last week that because of personal issues, the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday.
"To me, he can get here whenever he feels he is ready because whenever he walks into this field he'll perform the way Barry has performed all of the time," Giants outfielder Moises Alou said.

In Tampa, Fla., Gary Sheffield reported to spring training and was upbeat after the New York Yankees said they'd likely keep him around for 2007.

Sheffield is entering the final season of a $39 million, three-year contract, and the Yankees hold a $13 million option for 2007.

"They brought me in and told me they were probably going to pick the option up," Sheffield said after meeting with general manager Brian Cashman. "You always want to earn whatever you get. I take a lot of pride in that. He didn't have to bring me in today. I appreciate that. When I was a free agent, a lot of teams called and I really didn't answer. There was only one place, and that still remains the same. I don't want to play for nobody else but the Yankees."

Cashman said there is no timetable regarding a final decision. Sheffield's contract calls for the option to be exercised within five days of the end of the World Series or Nov. 5.

"He's such a great player, I'd been surprised at the end of this thing we're not doing something," Cashman said. "Let's play this thing through and see where it goes. I'm not saying we'll do anything soon. I'm not saying we're not going to do anything until the very end. I don't know yet."

Miguel Tejada, who asked the Orioles to trade him during the offseason, was greeted by his Baltimore teammates one hug at a time in Fort Lauderdale., Fla.

Tejada said he told the Latin players, "I felt really embarrassed, because I'm not that kind of man. I'm not the kind of person that makes some trouble. Everything is over. Everything is straight."

After the two-hour workout, he told reporters, "It's never going to happen again."

In Vero Beach, Fla., Jeff Kent said the tense atmosphere in the Los Angeles Dodgers' clubhouse last season shouldn't be used as a reason for the team's 71-91 finish.

"That's not an excuse. Me and Barry fought all the time and we went to the World Series," Kent said, referring to his former teammate in San Francisco. "Just because we can't all always get along doesn't mean we shouldn't win. It still shouldn't have affected the way we played."

In Surprise, Ariz., Phil Nevin said he was eager to erase what he called "my most embarrassing season," acknowledging that he didn't respond well to a midseason trade that sent him from San Diego to Texas.

After acquiring Nevin for pitcher Chan Ho Park in July, the Rangers asked Nevin to be a DH. The team then went through a 1-12 trip and started looking at younger players. Nevin played in only 29 games for Texas, hitting .182 with three homers and eight RBIs in 99 at-bats.

"I didn't handle anything well," Nevin said. "It was my most embarrassing season, and I was basically immature about the whole situation."

A career .279 hitter, Nevin hit .289 in 2004 with 26 homers and 105 RBIs.

"I'm looking forward to making up for things this year," said Nevin, who is in the final year of a contract that makes him the highest-paid Rangers player at $10 million.

Rangers star Mark Teixeira knocked the cover off a ball during batting practice.

"I've never done that before," he said. "I think the cover was probably defective. I'm not taking credit for that one."

Nevertheless, he did put it away in his locker and said it might go in his trophy collection.

Barry Bonds arrives at Giants' camp

Barry Bonds arrives at Giants' camp

By JOSH DUBOW
AP SPORTS WRITER

San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds steps out of a vehicle as he reports to his Major League baseball spring training camp Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006, in Scottsdale, Ariz. His agent told the team last week that because of personal issues, the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Barry Bonds showed up at the San Francisco Giants' camp Wednesday, one day after the slugger's teammates held their first full-team workout.

Bonds' agent told the team last week that because of personal issues the star would come a day or two later than his teammates, who showed up Monday. The mandatory reporting date for players is next Tuesday.

After having three knee operations and playing only 14 games last year, the Giants are eager to learn what they can expect from Bonds this season. He showed signs of his old self in his brief September return, hitting five homers in 42 at-bats to help the Giants make a late run at the San Diego Padres in the NL West that ultimately fell short.

Bonds, 41, has already caused a stir this spring with contradicting interviews he gave in the past week. He told USA Today that his knee bothered him so much he would probably retire after the season, with or without the home run record, then told MLB.com that his knee brace felt good enough for him to possibly play 10 more seasons.

Bonds is in the final season of his $90 million, five-year contract and will be eligible for free agency after the World Series, meaning his time with the Giants could be up even if he doesn't retire.

He is seven homers shy of passing Babe Ruth for second place and 48 away from breaking Aaron's record. Since Bonds has hit that many only twice in his 20-year career - including his record 73 in 2001 - it seems unlikely he'll break the mark this season.

After Using The "R" Word, Barry Bonds Backpedals

He's reportedly backing off his statement that after this year he was going to retire. Personally, I think Barry should not place so much emotion in his comments and keep some thoughts to himself. Of late, he seems to get himself into these positions where he regrets something he said.

Oh well. One thing's for sure: the Giants will be entertaining this year.

Don't forget to get tickets for the Giants games! Just click on the link.

Praying For The Day Barry Bonds Can Keep His Tongue Out of His Cheek

Read this from the USA Today. Barry says everyone can just forget about him. That's impossible and he doesn't want that anyway. Meanwhile, check this out, and click on the title post link to buy or sell SF Giants tickets. Thanks.

USA Today Claims: Barry Bonds to Retire After this Year

Published: February 19, 2006 8:45 PM ET

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds says he plans to retire after this season, even if he doesn't break Hank Aaron's home run record.

The San Francisco Giants star was limited to 14 games last year following three knee operations. He has 708 homers, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Aaron (755).

"I'm not playing baseball anymore after this," Bonds was quoted by USA Today in a story posted on its Web site Sunday.

However, the Web site for Major League Baseball, mlb.com, reported Sunday that "in various conversations during the past few weeks with MLB.com, Bonds said he is considering retirement, but needs to have those conversations later in the season with the people closest to him.

"I'll play this year and I'm not sure about 2007," Bonds said.

But Bonds told USA Today: "I'm not playing baseball anymore after this. The game [isn't] fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the [stuff] going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me."

Bonds underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three times this past year and played in only 14 games, all in September, as the Giants made a late and unsuccessful run at the Padres for the National League West title.

Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Working To Buy Braves

By TIM TUCKER and STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/15/06
Arthur Blank continues to pursue a purchase of the Braves.

Blank's representatives have had a series of meetings and discussions with Time Warner about the baseball team, the most recent on Tuesday, several people familiar with the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Blank has been informed of Time Warner's asking price for the team — believed to be slightly upward of $400 million — and talks with him are more advanced than with any other prospective purchaser, sources said. He has not agreed to the asking price or yet made a counteroffer, they said

High on Josh Rupe: Texas Rangers Ready for Season - Start Spring Training in March

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Rangers officials met before Spring Training to review club personnel, and rookie pitcher Josh Rupe's name came up for discussion.
As coaches and scouts weighed in around the room, there were those who felt Rupe had an immediate future as the Rangers' fifth starter, and those who envisioned either an eighth-inning setup reliever, or eventually a closer.

A more precise measurement of where Rupe stands might be gauged from the fielding group he has been in during the Rangers' first couple of workouts in the desert.

While incumbent fifth starter Juan Dominguez and other rotation candidates were working on other fields, Rupe was placed in a group that includes Kevin Millwood, Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla and Kameron Loe.

This is a camp, under the careful eye of manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Mark Connor, where nothing is done by accident or at random, including putting a rookie like Rupe in the same fielding group as the four established members of the rotation.

"We like this kid and his stuff," Connor said after Friday's workout. "This kid has got the ability to do anything in the Majors. Like Juan Dominguez, it's a matter of consistency."

Red Sox' Theo Esptein Returns Two Months After Escaping in Gorilla Suit (No Kidding)

According to the AP, Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein returned to the organization in an unspecified role and just two months after quitting the team, and....Well, read the rest below.

BOSTON -- The door was ajar, and Theo Epstein finally walked through it and back into the front office of the Boston Red Sox.

The most successful general manager in franchise history will rejoin the Red Sox baseball operations department in a full-time -- but otherwise unspecified -- position. His long-rumored return comes 2½ months after he turned down a contract extension and fled Fenway Park in a gorilla suit to avoid the encamped media.

"As you know, we have spoken frequently during the last 10 weeks," the team and Epstein said in a joint statement on Thursday night. "We have engaged in healthy, spirited debates about what it will take over the long term for the Red Sox to remain a great organization and, in fact, become a more effective organization in philosophy, approaches and ideals.

"Ironically, Theo's departure has brought us closer together in many respects, and, thanks to these conversations, we now enjoy the bonds of a shared vision for the organization's future that did not exist on Oct. 31. With this vision in place, Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week," the statement continued.

Epstein declined to elaborate on the statement, which also came from principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Larry Lucchino. The team would not comment on how Epstein will fit into the organization's hierarchy, but Henry denied that Lucchino's role was diminished to lure Epstein back.

"Larry's role does not change," Henry said. "Details next week."

Lucchino did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The Red Sox have been operating with co-GMs, former Epstein lieutenants Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington. But their Dec. 12 promotions were overshadowed by persistent rumors that they would soon be working for Epstein again.

"Certainly Theo is a good friend of all of us, and he's worked very closely with these guys in the past," Lucchino said then. "The door has been really ajar for some time, and until Theo goes to work for another baseball organization we'll keep the light on in the window with the possibility of him coming back and helping us."

Epstein's return concludes an almost Shakespearean saga that led him to walk away from the team, reportedly because of a falling out with Lucchino, his longtime mentor. The Red Sox president and chief executive officer first hired Epstein, then a Yale student, to work as an intern with the Baltimore Orioles; Epstein followed Lucchino to the San Diego Padres and rose to assistant GM there.

The Red Sox made Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history in 2003, and his first team came within a Pedro Martinez pitch count of reaching the World Series. The next year, Boston won it all for the first time since 1918.

The Red Sox also reached the postseason in '05 -- a three-year run that was a first in franchise history. But what should have been easy negotiations over a contract extension turned fierce and Freudian.

On Oct. 31, the day his old deal was set to expire, Epstein belied a newspaper report that he had agreed to stay and walked away from the team's three-year, $4.5 million offer.

Explaining his move two days later, Epstein said, "You have to be all-in. You have to believe in every aspect of the job and the organization and your ability to stay and do the job the right way, with your whole heart and your whole soul. And in the end, it just wasn't the right fit. It wasn't right."

Both sides denied -- or at least downplayed -- a rift between Epstein and Lucchino.

"We've had a very successful working relationship," Epstein said in November. "I think Larry and I like each other. As with any long relationship, there are complexities. ... But in the end, I want what's best for Larry. He's done a lot for me. I owe him quite a bit, and I take that to heart."

SF Giants Spring Training and Season Tickets on Sale

Again, the season gets closer! Now SF Giants tickets are on sale. You can get them with a click on the title of this post. This will be an exciting year as Barry Bonds returns in good health and chasing the Home Run title!

Why can newspapers sell baseball statistics content? -- The illogic of MLB's business

Well, here we go. Major League Baseball is working yet again to guard the use of baseball player statistics. What's so illogical about this is the terrific loophole that newspapers take advangtage of.

What do I mean?

Well, sports sections contain stats on players, right? Those same papers have annual fantasy contests based on what those same players do. Plus, those same papers make money off articles written abut the players and the stats they generate.

All this and baseball never touches them at all.

But MLB gives internet companies hell.

What if I have an internet company that reports baseball news using blogs, etc., but then has the same contests that offline newspapers have? Good idea, eh?

If I do that, MLB should not be able to touch me in court.

Right? Right?

I think so. Otherwise, it is a double standard that should not hold up in court.

LA Angels of Anaheim? Still Reads "LA" to Me - Type "LA Metropolitan Area" in Google and see!

I can understand that the City of Anaheim is upset that they are sharing space in the name "LA Angels of Anaheim" with Los Angeles. But their lawsuit is ill-considered. Why? Well, first their own lease agreement with the organization allows for the use of the name "Anaheim" in some fashion. In fact, the lease reads that team name itself be one "containing Anaheim therein."

Hence "LA Angels of Anaheim."

The City claims that it is losing economic development money by this agreement, which it structured. But really the City should just go ahead and sue anyone and everyone who identifies "Anaheim" with "LA" starting with the search engine company Google.

If you type "LA Metropolitan Area" in Google you get a huge number of listings that will show you what cities and towns the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area contains. Right there is Orange County, and within it Anaheim.

It's funny. Under the logic of the City of Anaheim, it should haul Disney into court for not respecting emiment domain laws and calling Disneyland "Disneyland of Anaheim." Heck, why not. Disneyland is shown as a major destination in the "LA Metropolitan Area."

But under that logic, and since Disneyland has a more prominent listing than the City of Anaheim, perhaps Disney should sue Anaheim for not calling itself "The City of Anaheim: Host To Disneyland."

Well, at least you can't fault Anaheim for having no civic pride. They're a far cry from their sister California city, Oakland. Oakland has no problem giving public money for an arena for a team that doesn't even want to carry the city's name. Of course, we're talking about the Golden State Warriors. They should be called "The Oakland Warriors."

Think of the marketing revenue Oakland's losing. Many people don't even know where "The Golden State" is, or so they tell me.

It's California, you say? Great, but does that mean I have to sit next to Bigfoot in the woods of Northern California to watch a Warriors game? Or do I have to find them in downtown Fresno, only to learn that the team's now playing in Palm Springs? I hope not. If I'm Oakland's tourism chief, I can't work with my own city's basketball team to help me promote the city. That's more than sad, it's sick for one town to allow itself to be used in this way.

Anaheim wouldn't stand for it.

If the Warriors were in Anaheim, they'd be ran out of town for calling themselves 'The Golden State Warriors of Anaheim' rather than the 'Anaheim Warriors.'

Opps...I should have typed "LA Warriors of Anaheim."

Oakland A's 2006 Tickets Exchange

Yep. It's almost baseball season! 2006 A's tickets can be gotten with a click on the title of this post!

Atlanta Braves tickets on sale for 2006 season

Atlanta Braves 2006 tickets for sale -- or sell your own. Just click on the title of this post.