Brother Jeff Comes to San Diego

REALLY LATE ON THIS ONE but always glad to see someone who is excited about owning a team actually get one. I felt the same way when Arte Moreno bought the Angels. Needless to say, not all owners care about putting the best team on the field every year. Mr. Moorad doesn't seem to fit that image. Circumstance was unique leading up to the purchase, as a divorce by previous owner John Moores helped precipitate the sale where Moores' wife had part ownership in the team. The Padres are now probably at least a few years away from competing for the division title, just that the NL West has been anyone's division the last few years.

Eri Yoshida's White Knuckler

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD ERI YOSHIDA STRUCK OUT one of the two batters she faced in her debut for the Kobe 9 Cruise last friday. She's a mere five feet, 114 pounds and throws a sidearm knuckleball. I'm not sure why or even how she throws the sidearm pitch, since a knuckleball's deception occurs in those last five to ten feet. While there are some batters who can't wait to face her, there are probably some who sport white knuckles for the fear and embarrassment of striking out against a female pitcher. A pitch is a pitch is a pitch, right?

Miguel Tejada's Wrist Slap

MIGUEL TEJADA BECAME THE FIRST high-profile ballplayer to be convicted for lying to Congress about performance-enhancing drugs. The penalty handed down by the judge was a $5,000 fine and 100 hours of community service, in other words just a small slap on the wrist. For the average citizen, that would be the equivalent of a $100 fine plus community service. So this is what Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham meant when he essentially said there will be accountability for lying to Congress. The average joe out there might not have received such leniency.

David Price Is Not Right...yet!

SOMEDAY IN THE NEAR FUTURE if not already, there will be a t-shirt like the one above sans the word 'not' because the number one overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft not only has a last name that's easy pickings for Chris Berman, he also has the tools to someday be the ace in Tampa Bay's rotation. Nonetheless, it stinks to be sent back down to AAA (by VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, pictured above) to start the season when you clearly have big league talent, especially when you closed out Game 7 of the '08 ALCS.

Marlins Take Miami-Dade for a Ride

IT'S NOT THE FIRST TIME and it won't be the last, but it's always frustrating to the taxpayer when private corporations, in this case the Florida Marlins, use publicly-funded money to pay for stadiums. The Marlins have tried for fifteen years to tap significant citizen dollars to build a new stadium. They claim a need for a new venue which will bring in more dollars and help make their team more competitive, blah, blah, blah. Lest we forget, the Marlins have won two World Series since 1997. That's one less than the Yankees, the same number as the Red Sox, and more than everyone else.

WBC Championship Cap = Waste of Money

I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST World Baseball Classic post until next year, just that I couldn't help but notice the championship hat for Japan selling for $26.99 at MLB.com. What were they thinking?! Will anyone buy and wear one of these slap-it-on ugly hats? Shame on MLB.

Curt Schilling Was Money

RATHER THAN WAIT 'TIL MIDSEASON to entertain an offer, Curt Schilling chose to hang 'em up yesterday after a 20-year career. Schilling will always be remembered first and foremost as a big game pitcher ala John Smoltz, Jack Morris, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, etc. He was pretty much money during the postseason, winning some harrowing, high-stakes AL Championship and World Series games with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks. From the notorious bloody sock game against the Yankees in '04 to Game 7 of the '01 World Series, Schilling was nails. MLB was lucky to have him.