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| One of Brian McNamee's lawyers said Sunday he believed the Justice Department will open a criminal investigation into Roger Clemens ' denials of doping, according to a Fox Sports report.
The newest development adds more drama to what were sure will turn into an ESPN soap opera as the chairman of a congressional committee said comments attributed to one of the pitcher's lawyers could be interpreted as trying to intimidate a federal law enforcement official. "I think there will be a criminal prosecution after Wednesday, and that means there will be grand jury proceedings and subsequent proceedings," said Richard Emery, one of McNamee's attorneys. Hardin was quoted in Sunday's New York Times as saying it would be "brazen" and "unbelievable" if IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, a key prosecutor in the BALCO drug cases, attends the hearing.
"If he ever messes with Roger, Roger will eat his lunch," Hardin was quoted as saying.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the committee chairman, wrote a letter to Hardin on Sunday saying that some comments by Hardin and McNamee's lawyers were "inadvisable." "SpyGate" has nothing on the "RogerRoid" drama heating up in Washington. |
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| Continuing their tradition of not going to arbitration with players in the Theo Epstein era, the Red Sox have agreed to terms with first baseman Kevin Youkilis according to the Boston Globe. Youkilis will make $3 million dollars this year according to the one-year deal. Youkilis was asking for $3.7 million, while the team offered $2.525 million. |
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| Adam Loewen, P, Baltimore Orioles | Sunday 2/10, 6:28 PM CT |
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| After the Eric Bedard trade the Orioles have only Jeremy Guthrie, Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera penciled into the starting rotation; but Adam Loewen is coming off elbow surgery and continues to progress in his rehab, according to the Baltimore Sun. The left-hander said Friday that his arm is getting stronger and he feels as if he never had surgery. Before his elbow broke down last year, Loewen went 2-0 with a 3.56 ERA in six starts. With any semblance of a productive or promising spring, Loewen will garner some attention in AL-only formats. |
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| Aubrey Huff, DH, Baltimore Orioles | Sunday 2/10, 6:22 PM CT |
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| The Orioles would love to move one of their high-priced veterans to create some roster flexibility, reports the Baltimore Sun. However, that's easier said than done, and it might not be possible. They have shopped outfielders Jay Payton and Jay Gibbons and designated hitter Aubrey Huff and found no takers. Only Aubrey Huff has any fantasy value and that rests in the AL-only container. |
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| The Orioles want to bring in at least one veteran starter to eat innings and to offer insurance so they won't have to rely so heavily on unproven youngsters, according to the Baltimore Sun. The free-agent market is thin. Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are too risky for health reasons. Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez are probably too expensive. Jeff Weaver and David Wells might carry too much baggage. That leaves Josh Fogg and Steve Trachsel as the most likely candidates. Trachsel threw 141 innings for the O's in '07 walking 69 and striking out only 45. |
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| When the offseason began, it was expected that Miguel Tejada would be the first Orioles veteran standout to be traded, followed by Erik Bedard and then Brian Roberts. The Baltimore Sun reports that with Tejada and Bedard gone, and Roberts' future hanging in the balance, talks with the Chicago Cubs are in fact ongoing. The report noted that the belief in Baltimore is that the Orioles will keep their All-Star second baseman for now and revisit trade talks before July's trade deadline. |
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| Troy Rench of the Denver Post reports that the Dodgers have an interest in free agent Livan Hernandez. The projected rotation for LA has Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Jason Schmidt rounding out the starting five; but Schmidt's health has reportedly raised some red flags within the Dodgers front office and the organization will make sure they have plenty of options if Schmidt isn't registering 90 plus on the radar gun this spring. |
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| Joe Blanton, P, Oakland Athletics | Sunday 2/10, 4:51 PM CT |
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| The Denver Post reports that Oakland's asking price for pitcher Joe Blanton is steep. According to the report -- when the Dodgers made a play for Blanton -- the A's ask for Andre Ethier, Andy LaRoche and a prospect. Oakland GM Billy Beane is not only retooling his roster, he is loading up with youth, talent and the epitome of "Money Ball" personnel. |
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| It's official according to the Athletics team website. Mike Sweeney's days with the Kansas City Royals are over. On Sunday, he agreed to a Minor League contract with the Oakland A's.
Sweeney said he'd report to the A's Major League camp on Wednesday with pitchers and catchers.
"They want me to play first base and DH and be a veteran presence for the younger guys like Eric Chavez," Sweeney said from his San Diego home. Sweeney's at-bats will be limited playing behind Dan Johnson, Daric Barton and Jack Cust and expecting him to stay healthy if he did play is truly the definition of fantasy-insanity. |
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| Manny Ramirez has been training like a football player lifting heavy weights this off-season in hopes of rebounding from his worst season since 1994. He has also spent time working on his flexibility to avoid the nagging injuries that have become common place. Manny is just 10 HR shy of 500 for his career, and he is still just 35-years-old on opening day, so there is certainly a chance he could rebound this season. 2007 was the first time since 1998 that he failed to hit 30 HR with 100 RBI as he was limited to just 20 longballs and 88 RBI. Boston Globe |
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| C.C. Sabathia appears content with the amount of dollars that the Indians are offering but not the length of the contract after seeing the contract Johan Santana received from the Mets. "There's no question C.C. wants to stay here and there's no question we want to keep him here," GM Mark Shapiro said. "The only question is can we find a business deal that is deemed to be equitable and fair by both parties?" Sabathia will likely want a 6-year deal, the Indians have not yet gone beyond four years. Sabathia is only 27-years-old and has won in double-digits while hurling at least 180 innings in each of his seven seasons. That Cy Young on his mantle certainly doesn't hurt either. Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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| Brandon McCarthy battled injures, which limited him to just 101.2 IP, and ineffectiveness, including a 4.87 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, in 2007. In order to combat this he has added about 15 pounds to his slender 6'7" frame while deciding to use his curveball as more of a complementary pitch in 2008. McCarthy had a stellar minor league career built largely on an ability to control the strikezone, a skill that eluded him last year with a pitiful 1.23 K/BB ratio. If he can command his pitches there is no reason to think that he cant be a solid or pitchers on most fantasy staffs. Dallas Morning News |
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| C.J. Wilson hopes to be able to hold on to the closer role this season, and the best way to do that may be for him to control the strikezone after throwing far too many pitches in some outings last season. He also needs to hold off Eddie Guardado who was recently added to the team. Wilson had a solid '07 season with 12 saves and 63 K in 68.1 IP, but he averaged 17.6 pitches per inning in his 14 saves chances, and the team would like to see him cut that total by about two pitches and inning if possible. Dallas Morning News |
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| Kevin Millwood will need to rebound this year in order for the Rangers to have a shot in the AL West. "He's taken his conditioning to a different level," said Mark Connor, the team's pitching coach. "But, as time goes by, you have to do that. He's worked hard on his core. I think he's on a mission because he wasn't satisfied with the way things went last year." Millwood threw only 172.2 innings, just the second time since 2002 that he has failed to throw 200, and his 5.16 ERA and 1.62 WHIP were clearly the worst numbers of his career. At 33-years of age, the question becomes how much gas does he have left in the tank pitching in that home park in Texas? Dallas Morning News |
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| Kevin Mench, LF, Toronto Blue Jays | Sunday 2/10, 8:51 AM CT |
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| Kevin Mench and the Texas Rangers are discussing bringing the former Rangers OF back to Texas, but the club wants to make sure that if they bring him back, he is willing to accept a demotion to Triple-A if he doesn't make the big league club out of spring training. The team is set with starters in the OF in Marlon Byrd, Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley (when healthy), so Mench would have to battle for one of the backup spots with David Murphy, Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz to make the team. MLB.com |
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| Roger Clemens' lawyer says he can prove that he wasn't at a Jose Canseco party in 1998 as claimed by former trainers Brian McNamee. The evidence comes from a sworn affidavit from Canseco saying he wasn't there as well as brodcast tapes that specifically mention that Clemens wasn't there. Really, this is getting a bit ridiculous isn't it? Whether or not the guy did PEDs has nothing to do with some random party 10 years ago does it? Should we really be subjected to this type of nonsense on an almost daily basis? AP |
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