March 10 - Baseball's Big Blunder

Will someone please talk some sense into the head honchos over at Major League Baseball? Just hours after learning that a congressional committee was planning on subpoenaing a handful of players to testify on steroid abuse in baseball, the league’s brain trust gathered and decided to circle the wagons. Rather then comply with the committee, league officials let it be known late yesterday that MLB was ready to stand fast with the affected players and fight the committee’s efforts to compel testimony. If necessary, MLB now says it will seek a court-ordered injunction to shield its players from having to testify. Judging from its actions, it seems the league is just a bit concerned by the prospect of having its dirty little secret aired all over C-SPAN.

The folks at Major League Baseball just don’t get it. They are like the German Army at Stalingrad in late 1942. Instead of pressing on with a hopeless fight against a superior force, they should be contemplating surrender, or, at the very least, an orderly retreat. But rather then capitulating, MLB is fighting back with an ill-conceived and misguided strategy. As far as I can tell, MLB would prefer to settle the entire steroid issue by forging a path forward without admitting any past wrongdoing. According to the league, the steroid issue is now being addressed and that begs the question why anyone needs to know the exact details of the sport’s tawdry past. If the league’s strategy had a motto it would be: “Let’s just move on.”

Sorry folks, it won’t be that easy. The public is not content to just move on. We live in a country whose entire legal system is based on principles of accountability and in this instance; the league’s strategy holds absolutely no one accountable. The Sportsaholic and the public at large want names and details and anecdotes and most importantly – confessions. This great game was disgraced and someone has to be held accountable for that crime. That is why I want to see those players up in front of a congressional committee. I want to see them squirm. I want to see them face the option of sullying their own reputation or committing perjury. I want these and all other offenders penalized and since baseball doesn’t have any suitable enforcement regime, a public flogging in front of a congressional panel will have to suffice. And if the players select perjury over the truth, I want the Justice Department to make them pay in ways that are not contemplated in Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Officials at MLB just don’t understand such sentiment. They want to move on with the reputations of their great stars intact. Such an outcome will spare the league of having to deal with thorny issues such as what should be done to adjust league records and whether felonious drug abusers should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Sorry guys, this is not in the cards and picking a fight with Congress is not helping the matter. Baseball has to offer these guys up. Scapegoats are needed and MLB has to comply. Seeking a court ordered injunction is not the first step towards compliance. And the last thing baseball wants to do is awake a sleeping giant. People at MLB seem to forget that Congress could up the ante in ways that baseball could not tolerate. If you don’t think so just think what baseball would look like without its anti-trust exemption. You think the owners want to be subject to the same laws and regulations that regulate commerce in this country? You think an owner is going to be thrilled when a consumer group marches into federal court and seeks relief from a team’s monopolistic price gouging? That last question was rhetorical and needs no answer.

It is time for the league to step back and take stock of their strategy. It is just not in its interest to pick a fight with Congress and especially if the effort is being spearheaded by a novice like Stanley Brand. Moreover, they have to realize that the league and its reputation have to take another hit. It is not enough to say that a problem existed and it has now been repaired. That just won’t cut it. And if baseball can’t fix this problem by itself, then it is probably a good thing that an institution with requisite power has stepped into the fray.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish sure helped their cause last night with an inspiring performance against the Garden State’s finest. Mike Brey has a lot to be proud of after his kids lost a seven point decision to Rutgers. Some Irish apologists this morning are pointing to Chris Quinn’s first half injury as an excuse for the loss, but that is no excuse whatsoever. The Irish lost because Chirs Thomas and Colin Falls were collectively 7 for 27. That isn’t going to get it done against anyone, including the woeful Knights. Notre Dame was in a weird spot last night. A win was going to do little to improve the team’s resume, but a loss would be crippling. ESPN’s Andy Katz was on the radio this morning claiming that they aren’t out of the tourney yet, but that is a bit hard to believe. Yes, the Irish do have a few nice wins over Connecticut, Boston College and Villanova, but they have also closed out the season with four losses in five games, the last coming against a team that may lose its Division accreditation next year. The Irish currently stand at 17-11 with an RPI in the seventies. And Katz thinks this resume may be good enough? I think Andy has been spending a few too many nights in Bristol cuddling with Digger. If you bet that the Big East would get less then seven tourney bids, you probably have a winning ticket this morning.

Well, maybe that ticket isn’t a winner after all. As I am writing, West Virginia is putting the finishing touches on a Big East quarterfinal victory over Boston College. With this win in hand, WVU is 20-9 with a handful of quality wins. That should be plenty for a program that was moribund just two years ago. As for BC, their stock is falling fast. They will enter the tourney with four losses in their last eight games and two of those wins came over Rutgers. A few weeks ago, people were talking about BC getting a one seed and having their opening round games played at Worcester. Now it looks as if they will be a three or four seed and could be traveling out of New England for next weekend’s games. As for that ticket mentioned above – I see UCONN, Syracuse, PITT, Nova, BC and West Virginia with bids sewn up. Notre Dame is out and that leaves Georgetown. The Hoyas win last night against Seton Hall was uninspiring and irrelevant as far as I am concerned. For Georgetown its simple – beat UCONN tonight or make plans to play in the NIT.

Can we finally put the Maryland Terrapins to rest? I know ESPN hates to make this concession, but the Terps are officially dead after losing to Clemson this afternoon. The loss drops Maryland to 16-12 with three losses to Clemson and two losses to NC State. It was really a disgraceful finish for Maryland. They looked like a tourney lock two weeks ago, but a loss at home to Clemson and a loss at Virginia Tech were absolute killers. Today’s loss was just icing on the cake since I believed they needed to win at least two games in the ACC tourney to repair the damage from the season finale loss to Virginia Tech. So where does that put the ACC? There are probably four locks – UNC, Wake, Duke and GT, but that may be it. NC State may have a shot with a win over Wake tomorrow, but that is no chippy for the Wolfpack. So for all the praise heaped upon the ACC this year, they may end up with the same never of invitees as the Pac-10 and Big-10.

UNC’s Rashad McCants was cleared to practice today after missing a couple of weeks with an “intestinal disorder.” What the hell is going on with this kid? I have been following sports a long time and I cannot recall a player missing so much time due to the squirts. Appendicitis is one thing but diarrhea is another entirely. For god’s sake, guys play football with lacerated spleens but McCants is sidelined for a couple of weeks with a nervous stomach. I think the most famous case of diarrhea in college basketball occurred in 1990 when Duke guard Bobby Hurley was hit with the “mess” just before the National Championship game against Vegas. Unlike McCants, Hurley gave it go for 32 unexceptional minutes. Hurley’s heroics scored no points with teammate Christian Laettner who ended up ripping Hurley for letting “Montezuma” get the best of him. As I said the other day, UNC needs this guy badly and if he has some leakage, its time for him to go with the adult diaper or an extra strength colostomy bag.

Former Cardinals wunderkind Rick Ankiel is calling it quits, at least as far as pitching is concerned. Ankiel, as you may recall, was just a teenager when he was called up to the Cardinals in 1999 and he ended up winning 11 games the following year. Ankiel could throw gas and given his early call-up, some predicted he would be another Dwight Gooden, albeit from the left side. But on the way to greatness, Ankiel blew a fuse and his career has never been the same since. In 2000 Ankiel was pitching against the Braves in game one of the NLDS when he uncorked five wild pitches in a single inning. That hadn’t been done since 1890. Ankiel was never the same after that debacle and in recent years, he has been dogged by injuries. Yesterday, he threw in the towel and announced that he was giving up pitching and would try to become a major league outfielder. Rick did hit .250 in 68 at bats during 2000, so there is something there. He will obviously need some seasoning in the minors, but at 25, he still has a chance to make something out of his career. If he succeeds, Ankiel will be one of the very few who have transitioned from pitcher to everyday player. But Ankiel should take heart from the fact that one of the guys who succeeded ended up hitting 714 home runs.

This comes to us straight out of the “no shit” file. ESPN’s Len Pasquerelli reported yesterday that Indianapolis Colt General Manager Bill Polian has told Edgerrin James that the Colts will probably be unable to sign James to a long-term contract. James is currently bound to play for the Colts next year under an $8 million dollar qualifying offer, but he is looking for a long-term deal with tons of green paid up front. Such an offer is too rich for the Colts, according to Polian who now admits the team’s well is running dry and therefore James will be made available as trade bait. What a surprise! Polian has been spending money hand over fist over the past year so this is hardly news to the Sportsaholic. The Colts now have a ton of money tied up in Peyton Manning, their receiving corps and offensive line, making it fairly obvious that no resources were left for James. This has got to be a bit humbling for Polian since he has arrogantly predicted in the past that he would be able to keep his core together. Bill, ain’t that salary cap a bitch? As I mentioned in this space a couple weeks back, the Colts window is closing quickly. Manning’s salary cap hit explodes in 06 and it is possible that the team will need to be blown up like the Tennessee Titans in the not so distant future. The only thing real interesting in yesterday’s report was Polian’s revelation that the market has become awfully depressed for running backs. As such, he may be willing to accept something less then a first round pick for the Edge. Are you listening Miami? If James is really on the block, why not send him to South Florida for Jason Taylor? Miami poured some cold water on such idea yesterday when they told the Miami Herald that they intend to keep Taylor.

Can you believe that wide receiver David Boston is only 26 years old? It seems like centuries ago that this cat was grabbing everything in sight at Sun Devil Stadium. Well, it turns out that it was only four seasons ago that Boston caught 100 balls for 1600 yards. I had him on my fantasy team that year and I think that was the last time I made the playoffs in the super-competitive Jay Goldman league. Since that huge season, Boston has fallen off the face of the earth. The 240 pound behemoth got hurt in 2002 and then left for the beaches of San Diego. He had a mediocre 2003 in San Diego and then split for Miami where he got hurt and ended up missing all of last season. But there is now talk that Boston is now headed to San Francisco where he will be reunited with his old Arizona receiver coach. It is hard to say that the Niners are securing a jewel since Boston is a complete jerk and he is coming off a major injury. But the talented Boston is only 26 and it wouldn’t surprise me if he comes back and becomes a 60 catch receiver. That is if he can ever pass a physical.

This comes to us from the mouth of Auburn’s humble Tommy Tuberville. According to Tubes, a season ago, Auburn had “the best overall backfield in college football in the last 50 years.” Tubes is of course making reference to running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, along with quarterback Jason Campbell. Tubes went on to say “there haven’t been many backfields like that. You got two guys that will be drafted in the top six or seven who will play football for a long time and who complemented each other. You can say Herschel Walker or Bo Jackson or so many backs at USC. You can’t say that and add the quarterback.” Somebody get out the urine cup cause its time to test Tubes for crack. Tubes definitely had a real nice set of players a year ago and I got to admit I think Brown has a big future. But boy does this coach have an inflated view of his guys. Lest anyone forget, this great triumvirate played on an offense that was 19th in scoring a year ago and 25th in total yards. Granted, the Tigers play in a conference where points and yards are not exactly handed out, but this is not exactly the 1983 Huskers. And as for his quote about this group being the best in 50 years, I think John Robinson may disagree. Tubes, take a look at the USC Trojans in 1979. They were led at tailback by a guy named Charles White who wound up winning the Heisman Trophy. His blocking back that year was none other then Marcus Allen who ended taking home the Heisman two years later and a Super Bowl MVP two years after that. I don’t know Tubes – I don’t recall either of your guys going home with such hardware. And while Jason Campbell is a nice player, is he any better then SC’s very efficient Paul McDonald? While McDonald only played 7 unspectacular seasons in the NFL, there in no guarantee Cambell will be playing in the NFL come 2012. I am sure I could come up with some more ammo to use against Tubes if given the time, but his asinine comments only get 15 minutes from me on this busy day.