Selig Must Shift Focus back to the Game

By Gary Armida

Rather than write yet another full column on performance enhancing drugs and Baseball’s mishandling of the Steroids era, let’s briefly hit the salient points from yesterday and finish out a week with some real baseball news from around the league. Yesterday, Commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement admonishing Alex Rodriguez for his steroid use and expressing his disappointment when he heard the news of Rodriguez’s transgressions. Initially, he didn’t rule out punishment for the infraction that was supposedly committed six years ago. But, someone must have told him that such an action would be illegal as he backed off that in a second statement. There are more than a few issues from Selig’s announcement. First, it is obvious that he must make some sort of statement that acknowledges the fact that arguably the best player in the game has used performance enhancing drugs. But, Selig issues the exact wrong statement, one that will incense the intelligent fan.

 Commissioner Selig stated that Rodriguez has shamed the game as well as himself. While steroids has certainly put baseball in a dark light, the Commissioner has to remember that he was the leader of Baseball in 1998 when everyone (fans, media, owners, players, and commissioners) turned a blind eye towards steroids as the homerun was saving the game. Rodriguez may have ruined his reputation forever, but it was Baseball’s negligence under Selig’s watch that exacerbated the issue that it has become today. Proof? Rick Helling, the former Texas Ranger and 1998 20 game winner, spoke up annually at Union meetings regarding the problem of steroids. He spoke openly about how the game was overrun with users. Despite a player’s cry, the union and the Commissioner’s office did nothing but cash in on the homerun ball. Selig cannot chastise Rodriguez for something he was just as guilty of.

 The idea of Rodriguez being punished is quite ludicrous. Alex Rodriguez could have denied the allegations like all of the other users. But, he didn’t and actually added that he used consistently from 2001 to 2003. It’s important to note that he didn’t fail more than that one drug test. He didn’t have to mention the previous years. If Selig decides to punish Rodriguez, he better be prepared to punish the other 103 names on the list. There is no doubt that those names will be made public at some point. Also, the question of how someone could be punished for something that had no policy in 2003 has to be raised. The Commissioner looks as if he is wrestling with the fact that history will portray him as the Commissioner of the Steroids Era. While he deserves some blame for the current state of performance enhancing drugs, he cannot shoulder the blame alone. Bud Selig has done quite a few positive things to improve baseball (wildcard, realignment, World Baseball Classic). He just needs to react better than he did yesterday.

 The Commissioner needs to take a page out of the National Football League’s public relations book. Football has a performance enhancing drug issue as well yet it is baseball that is continually spoken about. Shawn Merriman, the San Diego Charger great, was caught using performance enhancing drugs last season. He was suspended during the season. There was not a huge ordeal. Merriman came back and actually made the Pro Bowl. His situation was not addressed everyday like Rodriguez’s has been. Commissioner Selig has to use Football’s philosophy by saying, “there’s been a problem, we’re cleaning up the game, and we are not looking back.” With that simple statement, the witch hunts to figure out who was clean and who wasn’t would come to an end. Baseball needs to move on with a strict policy and focus the news to the field much how football does.

 In that spirit, the steroids conversation ends and the attention moves back to the field with just one day before we can officially say the best phrase a baseball fan can hear: Pitchers and catchers. Let’s take a look at some of the late signings and moves as teams begin to get spring training underway.

•  The Milwaukee Brewers signed veteran right hander Braden Looper to a one year, $5.5 million dollar contract with a mutual option for 2010. Looper will attempt to replace the innings left by Ben Sheets. A reliever for the first eight years of his major league career, Looper transitioned to being a starter in 2007. Last year, Looper had a record of 12-14 with a 4.16 ERA in a career high 199 innings. He gave up quite a few hits (216) and didn’t strikeout many (108), but he only allowed 45 walks and had a solid 1.51 groundball to flyball ratio. Looper is obviously not an upgrade over Ben Sheets or CC Sabathia, but he should provide league average pitching to what should be an improved offense. The Brewers needed a better starter, a more dominant starter, but Looper should give stability. Obviously, the Brewers are really depending on Yovanni Gallardo to be healthy and to lead the staff.
• The Rays added some depth to their bullpen as Brian Shouse was officially signed to a one year $1.35 million dollar contract with an option for 2010. Shouse, 40 years old, gives the Rays a left handed specialist out of the bullpen. In 2008, Shouse held left handed batters to a batting line of .180/.196/.290. He has an unbelievable 3.19 groundball to flyball ratio.  Shouse fills the role that was left by Trever Miller and will likely provide better production than Miller did in 2008. Despite the age, the Rays do well as manager Joe Maddon as a deep, yet unspectacular bullpen.
•  Orlando Hudson still can’t find a job. The Nationals’ General Manager Jim Bowden was quoted as saying that they are no longer interested in Hudson after signing Adam Dunn. The contenders for the Nats’ second base job include Anderson Hernandez and Ronnie Belliard. Early word is Belliard is in shape after losing the second base job last season and having to shift to first base. If Belliard is in shape, the Nationals would have one of the most underrated offensive second basemen in the league.
• Chase Utley is already fielding groundballs after having hip surgery in November. Reports right after the surgery projected Utley to miss half of the season, but Utley has steadfastly said that he will be ready for opening day. Barring a setback, it looks as if Utley is correct.
• The Blue Jays signed veteran Kevin Millar to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Look for Millar to win a bench job as there are enough lefties in their order (Overbay and Lind come to mind) that could afford Millar 300 at bats in a platoon role.
• Chris Carpenter is already on a mound throwing. He is recovering from shoulder problems and elbow surgery, but looks to be on target for a normal spring training. The Cardinals will be very careful in getting their ace through spring training. While he can’t be expected to be the Carpenter of four years ago, he would still be the Cardinals’ top pitcher.
• Speaking of rehabbing pitchers throwing off a mound, the Red Sox’s Brad Penny threw on Wednesday and reported zero problems. It’s early, but a motivated Penny thrown in with a healthy Josh Beckett (who wasn’t at all healthy for much of 2008) would give the Sox the best rotation in the American League. With John Smoltz to key a second half run and Justin Masterson (and Clay Buchholtz) working as a starter this spring, the Sox not only have depth, they have quality depth.
• Andrew Jones could not have picked a better situation to resurrect his career than in Texas. Jones likes working with Rangers’ hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, is reportedly in good shape (we’ll believe it when we see it), and would be playing in one of the best offensive parks in baseball. Look for Jones to work slowly into shape and perhaps break camp as a fourth outfielder. He could win the centerfield job with a great spring which would move current centerfielder Josh Hamilton to a corner spot. Of course, the Rangers have the usual pitching problems that will hold them back another season.
• Finally, the Orioles signed Ty Wigginton to a 2 year, $6 million dollar deal early this week. Wigginton hit left handed pitching to the tune of .340/.424/.631 in 2008 and has a career line of .288/.364/.514 against southpaws. At $3 million per season, the 31 year old will provide the Orioles with an excellent bat off the bench and a player with tremendous flexibility as he can play third base, first base, one of the corner outfield spots, and even second base in a pinch. If the O’s can keep him in a utility/platoon role without playing him too much against right handed pitchers, they have made yet another good move this off season. Wigginton could net them a decent return in a trade closer to the trade deadline if a contender has a hole due to injury. It’s too bad the O’s reside in the East as they have really improved their team, but have little chance to compete against the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox. If they were in the AL Central or NL, they would be a good sleeper candidate in 2009.
• Ok, really finally…FCP Live, our blogtalk radio show, will have an all-new, live episode Sunday night at 9:00 PM eastern time. Head over to blogtalk radio to listen live, participate in our chatroom during the show, and even call in during the show. This week, we will welcome Jim Stewart, author of the memoir, The Angel From Vietnam. Mr. Stewart also represented operationsports.com at SCEA San Diego’s community event for MLB 09: The Show. He spent a few days previewing the latest entry into the video game market which is due in March. He will come on to talk about the new features for the latest edition into the much heralded video game series, discuss his book, and share his thoughts about his Washington Nationals. Of course, we’ll have our usual assortment of baseball topics and discuss any breaking news. If you can’t listen live, you can download the episode on FCP and i-tunes. Have a great weekend.

Popularity: 2% [?]