May 12 - Philly Challenges TO to a Game of Chicken

It was good to see Philadelphia Eagle owner Jeffery Lurie lay down the line yesterday and tell Terrell Owerns, in no uncertain terms, that the Eagles will not be re-negotiating Owens contract this year. Owens, evidently upset that he is being underpaid, has threatened to sit out this year if the Eagles do not tear up his 2004 deal (49M with 9M up front) and replace it with one that gives TO a more robust guarantee. Owens posturing has clearly rubbed Lurie the wrong way as he stressed yesterday that re-doing the contract “is not even an issue.” Lurie then went on to criticize Owens’ agent for giving the player “self-destructive advice.” The Eagles are in quite a box here, since it doesn’t take an expert to know Owens is a key to this team’s success. They can win without him, but they cannot win big, especially since it is too late in the year to just go out and find a replacement. Sure, they won two NFC playoffs with TO on the sidelines, but this is not a bigtime team with Todd Pinkston and Reggie Brown split wide. But even though Owens is needed, Lurie is known as a hard ass who has a history of drawing lines that he won’t cross. He did it with Duce Staley and he did it again with Jerry Trotter. This is clearly a guy who thinks contracts are sacred and once signed, each signatory is bound to live up to its obligations. So what can Lurie do at this point if he isn’t willing to cut a deal? Well, he can attempt to trade Owens, but that may prove difficult since not many will want to deal with this headache. Also, other teams know Philly is under the gun so no one is going to offer fair compensation. Short of a trade, Philly is left with the options of either playing the season with a couple of scrubs lined up outside or hoping Owens buckles and comes back. I am not confident the latter will happen. Owens has burned so many bridges that he would need a map and compass to find his way back without a new contract. I honestly feel there is a decent chance he will sit out without a new deal. I am in the minority here, but Owens and Lurie both seem to me like guys who won’t blink. Thus, without a trade, I think it is entirely possible that Owens will be sitting at home on opening day.

Kudos to the United States Olympic Committee which recently honored one of sports first anti-doping crusaders. This didn’t exactly make Sports Center, but ten days ago, Shirley Babashoff was awarded the USOC’s Olympic Order for her efforts to fight steroid abuse in swimming. In case you are not familiar with Shirley’s resume, she was one of the world’s top swimmers from 1972-1976. During those years, she won thirteen silver medals at two world championships and two Olympics, finishing second behind East German women ten of those times. Finally, in 1976, at the Montreal Olympics, Babashoff went public with her suspicion that the Germans were using performance enhancing drugs. Shirely didn’t stop there as she refused to shake hands with any gold medalists whose performance she felt was tainted. This outburst drew heavy criticism from some in the media who thought she was a poor loser and therefore dubbed her “Surly Shirley.” Ultimately, Babashoff was vindicated when it was disclosed in the early 90s that there was systematic doping in the former East Germany. But even though Babashoff was proven right, she was never awarded any of the gold medals that she would have won on an even playing field. For me, Babashoff’s story has always been compelling. She was not merely a good swimmer. She was great and I don’t use that word lightly. In fact, aside from Janet Evans and Mary T Meagher, Babashoff was probably one of the two or three best American female swimmers during the German drug reign which lasted from 1972 until 1988. This was a woman that probably would have won three or four individual gold medals in Montreal had the meet been clean. With such a bounty, it would have been Babashoff, and not Bruce Jenner, who would have been on the cover of Wheaties. Unfortunately for her, she returned from Montreal with a bunch of silver and a sullied reputation. This should not have been the fate for a teenager who worked her ass off and just wanted a fair fight. I am glad the USOC took at least this little step to recognize Shirley and her trailblazing role in the war against performance enhancing drugs. It doesn’t completely right a terrible wrong, but it was an important and long-overdue gesture that should have received more attention.

Notes from the National: The D-Train kicked the extra point last night as he moved to 7-0 on the season with a 2-1 win over Lee Harvey Oswalt. Doesn’t he always start off like this? Well, not exactly, but close. In 2003, he started 9-1 before finishing 14-6 and in 2004, Willis started 6-3 before finishing 10-11. Granted, Willis has never got off to a start like this – 1.08 ERA, .193 BAA and only two home runs in 50 innings – but let’s calm down before we extrapolate this out to a 25-0 year. With that said, Willis is downright nasty right now. It was a tough loss for Lee Harvey who threw a million pitches but watched as his offense couldn’t rally to get him off the hook. Lance Berkman (1-17) may have been more valuable on the DL then the playing field. The Braves rallied for an improbable win in Colorado but Danny Kolb evidently didn’t get the memo and ended up tossing away the victory in the bottom of the ninth. Kolb just doesn’t look like he is the answer at the back of that pen and the bet here is Chris Reitsma will eventually be closing. BH Kim gave up only one run over five for the Rockies yesterday in what may have been the best game pitched at Coors this year. Twenty-two year old Tim Stauffer made his MLB debut last night for San Diego last night and got the win as the Padres pounded the hapless Reds. Stauffer, a recent first rounder, gave up two runs over six and it looks like he may get some starts while Tim Redding is out. Stauffer was helped by some insane production from the top of San Diego’s lineup where Dave Roberts and Mark Loretta combined for nine hits and five runs. The Padres have been hot, but we will see if it is for real over the next week as both Florida and Atlanta visit the Pet Store.

My boy Brady Clark in Milwaukee kept it going last night with a couple more knocks – he is hitting .414 over the past week and now leads the NL is runs scored. Even with Junior Spivey hitting third, the Brewers punked the Phils and if I had to guess, Philadelphia is nearing breakup depth. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the hull being crushed. The Mets took a tough loss yesterday in a game that featured the NL’s two least disciplined leadoff hitters. Derrick Lee – whose walkoff blast was the difference – is on pace to drive in about 160 runs, which is about sixty more then he has ever tallied. I kept hearing over the off-season how the Giants Noah Lowry was one of the top young lefties in the NL. It turns out that was all hype as Ark Boy is 1-4 with an ERA of 5.49. The Pirates have actually won seven of their last ten and now return home for a very manageable eight game home stand. If things break right (6-2), the Pirates could be over .500 when the head for St. Louis on the 23rd. That isn’t bad for a team that hasn’t hit a lick thus far. Javy Vasquez didn’t get a decision, but he pitched well again for the Dbacks last night. That guy went fro Ass to Ace in a matter of weeks. Have any of you non-fantasy guys ever heard of this guy who plays short for the Nationals? Maybe it’s time you did since Jamey Carroll is hitting .350. The Cards banged out 19 hits last night against the Dodgers, twelve of which came off Brad Penny. The Cards onslaught came sans Scott Rolen who may be headed for the DL with a damaged wing. Is Rolen really hurt or does he just want to skip Saturday’s game against Pedro – the guy he is 1-11 against lifetime and made him look like a child last October? If Rolen were any more overated, his name would be Hideki Matsui.

Airmail from the AL: It was a classic “half empty-half full” game for the Yanks yesterday. On the bright side, Tino stayed hot with his fifth dong in five days and the chilly triumvirate of Posada, Matsui and Bernie combined for seven hits. On the dark side, Carl Pavano gave up four bombs and Gayrod dropped two more balls. I guess the Robinson Cano era is just about over and the Rey Sanchez era is just about to begin. Meanwhile, the Yanks formally released Steve Karsey today. He signed an 18M dollar contract for the Yanks after the 02 season and ended up just throwing 12 innings under that deal. That equates to 1.5M per inning. Seattle is one of the top revenue generators in baseball so how come they have such crappy pitching? Just when it looked safe to go back in the water when Keith Foulke pitches, the shark re-appeared. How do you blow a three run save opportunity against the Athletics? After this week’s dramatics at Fenway, the Sox are now ahead of last season’s pace with three starters on the DL, a shaky bullpen and almost zero production from the infield. Things pretty much cannot get any worse for Octavio Dotel who blew ninth inning leads on both Tuesday and Wednesday. It probably isn’t the best time for Billy Beane to be dangling his suicidal closer. Kansas City got the post-Tony Pena era of to a rousing start by blowing a late inning lead at the Sky Dome. The Jays got to love those wins that come on days when Dave Bush pitches. Those victories should be called “steals.” The Rangers bullpen is a mess right now as three right-handers have already blown out their arms. It showed yesterday as the Rangers were unable to hold a 4-2 lead at home against Detroit. Pudge is mired in a terrible slump right now and the steroid whispers are growing every day. He is now “svelte” and has the numbers to prove it. The White Sox got back on track yesterday against Dewon Brazelton, but let’s see them do it against Baltimore. Garland goes for his seventh win tonight against Bruce Chen in a matchup of the two biggest over-achievers in the AL this season. Baltimore got by Santana yesterday although Johan wasn’t around to take the loss. He’s too smart and crafty for that. Brian Roberts drove in his 30th run yesterday – his career high coming into this year was 53. The Angles putrid offense was at it again yesterday, scoring just three against the Tribe’s Cliff Lee. How long will it be before Chone Figgins (one for his last twenty-one) is cast adrift in the Pacific and Mike Piazza is DH’ing in Orange County?