Unfortunately, this has overshadowed other players’ feats on the field this week as well as other players deserving of media attention.

But, primarily, the reason this leads the headlines and on sports TV is because it involves the NY Yankees, and is just one more opportunity for non-Yankee fans to dump on NY once again.

The difference this year is that all of a sudden, George Steinbrenner’s cash dole may not be nearly enough.

The luxury tax has kicked in a couple of times now for George, which has not even caused him to blink, but what is becoming evident this time around is that the small market teams may have finally leveled the playing field, so to speak, when it comes to dealing this season.

What they have and what George hasn’t got is farm prospects or up and coming players. The thought of trading established veteran commodities for a 41-year-old Johnson with $24 million left on his contract through next year, borders on insanity.

(The Diamondbacks supposedly pitched the idea of acquiring Yankee catcher, Jorge Posada, as part of a deal for Johnson.)

What has not been given enough attention, until maybe this year, is that many of these small market clubs have learned to develop their farm systems and have learned how to make deals with other teams by trading players rather than laying out cash, which they don’t have.

The Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Milwaukee Brewers and even the Detroit Tigers are just some of those teams now enjoying the fruit of those efforts.

While the big guys were busy buying up the smaller teams’ remaining big stars, which some smaller owners felt they could not unload soon enough, these previously losing teams were left with a well of up and coming talent, which they were forced to develop.

It will serve them well for the future too.

Clubs with large payrolls have aged and have run out of reserves to trade or to develop.

That is going to become a different kind of problem which MLB will have to address as a whole.

Player development will have to be a high priority for the likes of NY, LA and Boston.

Baseball owners need to appreciate this, and continue to build upon their teams for more than one season at a time.

More specifically as concerns Johnson, let’s get serious.

Even though he has had a wonderful 2004 season despite playing for the last place Diamondbacks, who are going to need to rebuild from scratch, and even though there are no apparent remnants of problems from his 2003 knee surgery, he’s 41!

All it takes is a tweak here or there and he lands on the DL.

Haven’t the Yankees gotten it yet?

Note Kevin Brown, who has been on the DL for six weeks at the age of 38.

Acquiring Brown was even more ludicrous as he had been on the DL more often in the past few years than he had been on the field.

When he performed he was great, but that was not very often.

Additionally, the Yankee roster is aged and they must start developing their system again.

So the only options now available to Steinbrenner and the serfs who are in his employ is to start trading his active players on the field!

This is wasteful and sets a bad precedent for all of baseball.

Finally, we have more parity in baseball, but through one way or another, we will soon be entering another phase of the haves and have-nots.

George will have his pile of cash with teams reminiscent of the 1980s when the Yankees never won any championships after winning the AL pennant in 1981.

More importantly, there is some incredible baseball being played out there this season.

We no longer need to be inundated with what Randy Johnson will or will not do.

The game is bigger than any one player or any one owner, which is precisely what explains baseball’s longevity.

It is a team spirit, made up of a collaboration of individual talents, unique in both respects.

Nevertheless, baseball is primarily played as a team and in order for its legacy to remain its Commissioner, owners, players and their union must continue to be reminded that the good of the game of baseball should always come first.

From http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-23-2004-56989.asp

To ensure that these players get proper recognition, I’ve drawn up an All Underappreciated Team for the 2004 season.

These players are the types who play pivotal roles on their teams yet never get the publicity. Many of them might not even be recognized outside of their home city. No 2004 All Star is eligible for this team, although a few of these players are obviously All Star caliber.

Catcher: Michael Barrett After years of disappointment in Montreal, is finally living up to his potential in Chicago. Barrett is currently batting almost .290, which is over thirty points higher then his career average. He also has already matched his season high in home runs, and let’s not forget that his role as battery mate for one of the best pitching staffs in the game.

First Base: Travis Hafner For those who have not noticed, Hafner is in the midst of a monster season. Just another promising bat coming into the year, Hafner has been one of the best hitters in the major leagues. Hafner’s OPS (the statistic that stat heads feel is most revealing of a player’s greatness) currently ranks third in the American league at 1.027. Can someone please explain how Hafner was passed over for the All Star game?

Second Base: Tony Womack Many thought that Womack was nearing the end after a fairly forgettable 2003, instead he has been the sparkplug at the top of baseball’s most potent lineup. Womack’s speed has always been his best asset, but this year he has added a dangerous bat. He is on pace to hit .300 (almost thirty points higher then his career average) as well as set new career highs in OBP and slugging.

Shortstop: Cezar Izturis Izturis was thought of as a only a glove man coming into this season. His defense is still top notch, but he has become a solid weapon at the plate as well. Izturis is currently hitting over .300 and his new found ability to get on base is letting him take advantage of his speed and as a result he has swiped 17 bases.

Third Base: Adrian Beltre Somewhat overshadowed by Scott Rolen’s MVP type season is the fact that Beltre is having an MVP caliber season of his own. Beltre has finally shed the dreaded p word (potential) and has started living up to, if not exceeding, the hype that has always surrounded him in baseball circles. Like Rolen, Beltre is putting up huge numbers across the board, as well as playing gold glove caliber defense for a team that is running away with its division. That he wasn’t an All Star was a travesty.

Right Field: Danny Bautista Lost in the horror that has been the Diamondbacks season, are the solid contributions of Danny Bautista. Bautista ranks first on the Diamondbacks in batting average, hits, and RBI. He is also among team leaders in runs scored and homeruns. Ranking first on the Diamondbacks in so many offensive categories might seem like faint praise, but just imagine where they would be without their only healthy, consistent bat.

Center Field: Mark Kotsay Coming off a fairly disappointing season in San Diego, Kotsay has been just what Billy Bean ordered. Kotsay has been solid at the plate hitting over .300 and getting on base at a clip that makes the front office smile. Kotsay’s solid bat and good glove work in center have been pivotal to a team that is in the midst of its annual second half surge towards the playoffs.

Left Field: Matt Lawton A long shot to contribute due to a particularly gruesome shoulder injury and perceived erosion to his skills, Lawton has proved that he has a lot left in his tank. Lawton is on pace to be a 20/20 player and score well over one hundred runs. With his batting average hovering around .290 and his veteran clubhouse presence, Lawton has been an invaluable contributor to the Tribe this season.

From http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-6-2004-57535.asp

Andrew Brack has tested positive for the same anabolic steroid, stanozolol, as the disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson in 1988 and will be dropped from the team. Derek Nicholson, a reserve player, tested positive for a diuretic, officials confirmed.

“That we are talking about doping is very sad,” said Yiannis Papadoyiannakis, chef de mission of the Greek Olympic team.

Cynics will say a change of nationality clearly does not mean a change of habits, with American Major League Baseball having regularly been accused by the World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound of failing to deal with a major drug problem.

Wada has been almost as critical of Greece’s attempts to stamp out doping. Papadoyiannakis also revealed that the agency had demanded detailed information on the whereabouts of several of Greece’s top Olympic competitors for routine testing.

He added that Kostas Kederis, the Olympic 200m champion, and Ekaterini Thanou, the European 100m champion, were not currently in Greece and would not be returning in time for Friday’s opening ceremony.

“We will fully cooperate with Wada,” Papadoyiannakis said. “The Greek team will crack down on doping wherever we find it.”

Two other Olympic hopefuls were yesterday revealed to have tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO). The Spanish canoeist Jovino González and the Swiss cyclist Oscar Camenzind have been dropped from their teams.

From http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-9-2004-57655.asp

The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that Bonds testified to the federal grand jury last year that Anderson, his personal trainer, told him the substances he used in 2003 were flax seed oil and a balm for arthritis.

Bonds’s attorney Michael Rains said the leak of grand jury testimony was an attempt to smear his client. “My view has always been this case has been the US versus Bonds,” he said, “and I think the government has moved in certain ways in a concerted effort to indict my client.

On Thursday the Chronicle had revealed that the New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi told the grand jury that he had used steroids including “the cream” and “the clear”, which he had obtained from Anderson. Tony Serra, Anderson’s lawyer, said his client “never knowingly provided illegal substances to anyone”.

The case of Michelle Collins, last year’s world indoor 400 metres champion who has been charged with doping offences, will be decided by an American Arbitration Association panel on Friday.

From http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-3-2004-62481.asp

On Wednesday, an investigative committee of Congress issued subpoenas to seven active and retired major league players, among them some of the sports biggest names, as well as four baseball officials, to testify before the house committee on government reform on the use of steroids.

Yesterday, players and team owners delivered their preliminary response: No.

Stanley Brand, a lawyer for the baseball commissioner’s office, said the players would contest the subpoenas. He went on to accuse Congress of using concerns about drug use to try to win points with the public at the sport’s expense. He also warned that the hearings could compromise a grand jury investigation now under way in California into steroid use. “The legal audacity of subpoenaing someone who’s been a grand jury witness before there has been a trial in the case in California is just an absolutely excessive and unprecedented misuse of congressional power,” Mr Brand told reporters.

The showdown now sets the stage for a fullscale confrontation between US lawmakers and baseball authorities. In a hard-hitting response to Mr Brand, the committee leaders, Republican congressman Tom Davis, and Democratic congressman Henry Waxman, indicated they were determined to have the players testify. If players defy the subpoenas, the committee could vote them in contempt, an action that could potentially result in jail time.

“Baseball and ballplayers do not, by virtue of their celebrity, deserve special treatment or to be placed above the law,” the statement said. “Any American citizen under these circumstances would be required to comply with the committee’s request. Major league baseball and baseball players are no different.”

The congressmen went on to accuse organised baseball of ignoring more than a decade of press reports about drug abuse, and said failure had encouraged an entire generation to resort to steroids in an attempt to be like their sporting heroes.

Yesterday’s showdown, and a series of high-profile deaths of major league and amateur players that have been linked to steroid use, now forces major league baseball to confront problems of drug use that were addressed by other sporting officials years ago.

“I think the world of sport has been waiting for this. When we introduced our code in March 2003, many of the Olympic sports said what about the major leagues, what are they going to do?” said David Howman, director of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Further fuel was added to the steroid scandal this year by a locker room exposé by one of the players summoned by Congress, Jose Conseco, who wrote at length about how he - and a number of team-mates - regularly injected themselves with steroids.

“It certainly taints some of the records and achievements that have been accomplished in the last 10 or 15 years,” said Dan Shaughnessy, the baseball columnist for the Boston Globe newspaper. “It hasn’t hurt them at the gate, but I suppose there is an element of trust that has been dented.”

The players summoned by Congress to testify on March 17 include some of baseball’s biggest names: the home-run kings Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, and Curt Schilling who last year continued pitching on an injured and bleeding ankle to lead the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series championship since 1918.

The first baseman, Jason Giambi, who has admitted using steroids and other substances before a grand jury, was also subpoenaed.

But there was criticism of the Congress decision not to summon Barry Bonds, who is poised this season to challenge the career home run records of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. According to leaked testimony from a grand jury investigation into doping, Bonds has admitted the inadvertent use of a cream containing steroids.

“It’s like not requesting Tony Soprano to a discussion on organised crime in New Jersey. Without subpoenaing Bonds, the committee’s credibility is tainted,” the sports columnist George Willis wrote in yesterday’s New York Post.

From http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-10-2005-66960.asp

     “I don’t know whether he used steroids or not,” stated former Giants manager Roger Craig, “but even if he did, to hit those homers is incredible. He gets one pitch a night and he hits a homer. This guy has some skills and athletic ability you only see once in a lifetime. You’re watching something you may never see again in sports.”

     It may not be a completely celebratory atmosphere Tuesday night if Dodgers fans vent their hostility towards Bonds.

     “It would be very disheartening and disappointing,” Giants center fielder Dave Roberts said. “It’s something that’s going to be showed over and over again. With Hank (Aaron), you saw guys run on the field, and everyone’s going crazy. That’s the way it should be.

     It’s the greatest record of all time. For it to be charred with that kind of acceptance would be disappointing at any ballpark. I would hope it wouldn’t be like that.”

     For New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox could garner a major career victory. With 499 runs under his belt, Rodriguez, 32, could easily become the youngest player ever to hit 500.

     Bonds, who needs two home runs for his career highlight, showed angst for Rodriguez during Sunday’s game against Baltimore.

     “Come on, hit one,” Bonds said. “Get this thing over with.”

     But it wasn’t meant to happen. Rodriguez walked three times Sunday, and remains without a hit in 11 at-bats since hitting his 499th career homer.

     “I hope he does it,” Bonds said. “Nobody will ever beat” Rodriguez’s record.

     Last, but certainly not least, New York Mets starter Tom Glavine, 41, is on tap to win his 300th career game in tonight’s battle against the Milwaukee Brewers. When he hits his 300 game, Glavine will join 22 other baseball greats who have achieved such status and will also tie Hall of Famer Lefty Grove for the fourth-most victories by a left-hander.

     Glavine was still in high school when famed pitchers Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton racked up their 300th career victories in 1982 and 1983. Two years later, Tom Seaver and Phil Niekro followed suit. Don Sutton joined the ranks the following year, totaling a whopping five 300th victories in a mere five years.

     Since that astounding run in the 1980s, only three other players have joined the ranks - Nolan Ryan in 1990, Roger Clemens in 2003, and Greg Maddux in 2004. Since then, there has been a noticeably long dry spell. Some say that after Glavine’s record breaking game, that dry spell may return for a very long time to come. Few players can even see the milestone on a far horizon.

     “I guess it would be kind of cool to be the last one to do something,” Glavine says. “But somebody else will probably do it.”

     Get more information here.

     The Competition

     What can best be remembered about the 2007 Major League Baseball season though? It’s hard to say until the season is over and passed, but the changes are greater than ever. First, the competition. For the first time in years, the level of competition in Major League Baseball has reached an all time high.

     The Boston Red Sox have ended an 11 year streak of Eastern Division titles by the New York Yankees, winning their first such title in more than a decade. Many consider the Red Sox to be the strongest team in the major leagues and with one of the best pitching lineups in baseball and some of the best rookies in professional sports this year, they stand the best chance of going all the way.

     But it is not just the Red Sox this year that have surprised this year. The Chicago Cubs are poised to win the division for the first time in years and the Milwaukee Brewers are almost back from the brink of last place with a winning season and the Seattle Mariners – despite a late season collapse – managed to end in second place behind the outrageously good Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

     The Records

     The obvious event that was best known to the rest of the world from baseball this season was the hitting of homerun number 756 by Barry Bonds. The most hallowed record in baseball was broken this year by the most controversial personality in sports. The man who once was considered one of the best players in all of baseball, and can arguably still be compared to them now, broke the record but not without a shadow over his head. Barry Bonds has long since become a pariah of the steroid controversy since it was made known that he likely broke the record with the use of some kind of steroids. Further compounding the controversy was the purchase of the record setting baseball by Mark Ecko and the decision of the public to have the ball marked with a permanent asterisk.

     Additionally, other players broke milestones in record numbers. Three players hit their 500th home run over the course of the season, an event that will not likely happen again for many more years. Additionally, Tom Glavine reached his 300th win, Roger Clemens his 350th and Sammy Sosa reached his 600th home run.

     On almost a weekly basis, a new record or milestone was reached and the baseball community felt that much more energetic. The controversies of the last few years aside, an entire generation of achievement and the accomplishments of more than a dozen players have captured the attention of a nation.

     More Popular Than Ever

     And so baseball has reached a level of popularity that it hasn’t known for more than three decades when it was truly America’s pastime. As the football season starts and the basketball season sits only a month away, it is the role of baseball to usher the summer back into the fall and for the millions of sports fans across the nation to get ever more involved. The world baseball classic and little league world series along with the continued growth of international participation in the MLB have shown that baseball is not just America’s sport, but the world’s sport.

     Get more information here.

     The Angels won the 2002 World Series partially because of the arm of Lackey in the decisive Game 7. He went in the 5th round of my league’s draft in 2003. I sighed. The manager that picked him said “Did you not see the World Series?” Everybody forgot that Lackey lost the first game of the series, and only pitched 5 innings in game 7 to get the win. Hardly stellar numbers. He’s been a mediocre pitcher ever since.

     Josh Beckett

     Josh actually did pretty well this season after his 2003 World Series performance. However, he wasn’t good enough to earn a pick in the 3rd or 4th rounds we saw him go in. He didn’t even get to double-digits in wins and only pitched in 156.2 innings.

     Mark Prior

     Prior was dominant in the post-season for the Cubs in 2003. People would talk and say how Prior would never get injured because of his fluid delivery style. Well, the workload from 2003 took its toll on Prior in 2004 and he ended up missing a good part of the season. Thus making owners that picked him in the first round this year wish they had picked Johan Santana instead.

     Kerry Wood

     See above, but leave out the part about his fluid motion.

     This Year

     Carlos Beltran

     Beltran went on an absolute tear in the post-season for the Astros. I think Beltran should be a #1 pick in fantasy leagues in 2005. His playoff performance just reinforces that opinion.

     Derek Lowe

     After his performance in Game 7 against the Yankees in the ALCS, people are thinking this guy can get back on track and have a sub 3.00 ERA again someday.

     Curt Schilling

     His bloody socks have made us all forget that Schilling is an aging starter with a lot of innings under his belt. Will fantasy managers keep in mind that he’s injured and may have problems with that ankle in 2005? Or will we just choose to remember his superb performances against the Yankees and Cardinals?

     Get more information here.

    Jeter is sponsored by the Jordan brand, and was in Tampa where the Yankees’ spring training facilities are, unveiling his newest edition in his shoe line, the ninth installation.

     Jordan made headlines last week when his ownership of the Charlotte bobcats was unanimously passed by the other owners in the league and NBA Commissioner David Stern.

     “Oh yeah,” Jeter said. “The only interest I have in ownership is to be able to call the shots. I’ve said that time and time again.”

     Jeter and Jordan have known each other since the basketball player tried a stint in professional baseball upon his first retirement from the NBA.

     “I’m happy for him. I know it’s something he’s wanted to do for quite some time. Not too many former players get an opportunity to be an owner. It’s something I’d like to do as well,” Jeter remarked.

     But Jeter has no intentions of retiring anytime soon.

     “I’m going to play as long as I’m enjoying myself. I don’t really put limitations on too many things. I think when you start putting limitations out there, you’re in trouble,” the 10-time All-Star said. “I’m having a blast right now playing, and I’m going to play for a long time. That’s the plan.”

     Jeter in his the final year of his decade-long contract, that was a whopping $189 million.  New York has a strict policy of waiting for the player’s contract to expire before negotiating on a new deal, regardless of the stature of the player.

     Jeter says that the new contract will be the last one he signs, but is only concerned with winning back-to-back World Series titles this season.

     Last season, Jeter tabbed a .334 average to go along with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs , as New York won their first World Series since 2000.

     “I like competing,” Jeter stated. “I’ve always been that way. When you’re playing a sport, the bottom line is to try to win. There’s a lot of people who’ve won more, so I’m trying to catch them.”

     “We had a long drought,” he remarked “For us to finally win, you can’t say it’s better than the first one or the second one. It’s just different. But you do forget how good it feels.”

     Jeter is not one who likes to lose, and uses that feeling to keep him going.

     “It’s tough. You put a lot of work in throughout the course of a year to get an opportunity to win. If you don’t win, then the season’s a failure,” Jeter said. “And if you don’t feel as though it’s a failure, in my opinion you shouldn’t be playing.”

     Get more information here.

     Mike MacGregor, owner/operator of DraftBuddy.com , started the Herzog league and is the commissioner. He opened it up to all of his Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy customers, and 14 stepped up to the challenge to take on Mike, with me being his draft day conscience to prevent him from drafting Toronto Blue Jays rounds ahead of their average draft position, if at all.

     The league is a 15-team 5X5 roto, mixed (AL + NL) format. Given the difficulties of coordinating 15 middle-aged guys each with a wife, kids and a job (sometimes all three) to find time for a live draft, we arranged for a slow draft using a timer running Monday to Friday, morning to night. The timer turned off on the weekend and overnight.
     Choosing Our League Management Software

     To our surprise, the only major player amongst the online fantasy baseball league managers—CBS, ESPN and Yahoo—that offered a slow draft option, with a timer and the ability for owners to input pre-draft selections, was CBS. For this reason, CBS clearly met our needs better than the rest.

     CBS also has the ability to input weekly lineups with exceptions, the exceptions being swapping starters midweek who unexpectedly go on the disabled list. That was one of the planned rules for this league. The starting lineup options for the other league managers were much more restrictive in this respect. It was daily or weekly, and that was it.