Posts tagged BudSelig at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

The Major League Baseball draft is only two weeks away, and, as Josh Alper reported earlier this month, the league is holding a ceremonial, voluntary draft of Negro League players before the actual draft begins. The idea is to honor the accomplishments of the guys we still have and throw a little money their way, and while that's nice enough, Jon expressed via (real live copy and pasted) Dugout our general malaise and disappointment. You shouldn't honor the Negro Leagues like this. You should honor the Negro Leagues by buying a big jacket with all of the teams' logos on it. All of them at once. I don't like any specific team, I just like the Negro Leagues!

Well, the official chatroom of Major League Baseball (that's us) couldn't let baseball have a fantasy draft without doing one of their own, and presented today post-jump is part 1 of the completely legitimate shoot conversations that went on during said draft.

Not featured: Joe Torre drafting Satchel Paige and then cutting him for being too flamboyant.

Featured: everything via this link

By now it's old news that Barry Bonds probably won't suit up ever again despite all evidence pointing to him still being one of the most dangerous hitters alive. I know he'd be a huge public relations nightmare, but I'm still surprised there's not one GM out of 30 who thought Bonds might be worth the risk.

The player's union thinks it's odd, too, and for the past month it's been investigating to see if there's any evidence of collusion. From ESPN's Buster Olney:

"The union notified us that it was investigating potential collusion regarding Barry Bonds and asked for information, and we told them that there was absolutely no collusion with respect to Barry Bonds or any other free agent," said Dan Halem, MLB senior vice president and general labor counsel. [...]

Jeff Borris, the agent for Bonds, said, "No team has made me an offer for any amount at any time since Barry became a free agent." Borris added that "Barry continues to work out," but when asked about his client's prospects for this season, he said, "I'm not optimistic that he will be in a major league uniform in 2008."

Really? Not a single call? He'd be a headache, sure, but surely there's a point somewhere on the cost-benefit scale where it worth offering a cut-rate contract just to see if he bites. If he signed with a contending team, he'd make them that much more dangerous. If he signed with a perennial loser, at least he'd be a draw at the gate, even if people were only buying tickets to boo him.

I don't think anyone in the commissioner's office is stupid enough to leave a paper trail, but I don't doubt for a second that the owners were strongly encouraged by one of Bud Selig's lieutenants to give Bonds the cold shoulder.

As you can see from the photo above, on May 22nd, the Braves are currently scheduled to play ... Harrison Ford?? As the kids would say, W.T.F. The Braves are actually playing the New York Mets, and as it turns out, there's a pic of Indy on the schedule for every single MLB team right now. On their official MLB produced site anyway.

Of course, that just happens to be the day Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is released. But it's hard to believe that Major League Baseball is simply that enthused about this new Ford-Jones joint in order to let the world know for free. Rather, it would seem that we, the fans, are about to get immersed in another moneymaking scheme by baseball.

After Bud Selig decreed any player named in the Mitchell Report wasn't going to be sent to the corner for their (alleged) transgressions, it should only follow suit that members of management named in the report weren't going to get a slap on the wrist either.

Our assumptions have been confirmed.

As part of Selig's announcement April 11 that players wouldn't be disciplined, management and the players' association agreed that players will join Major League Baseball in "efforts designed to educate youth and their parents regarding the dangers of performance-enhancing substances." The union also agreed to contribute $200,000 to "an anti-drug, charitable, educational or research organization."

"I don't use the word amnesty. I don't think there is amnesty because I think that whatever they're doing, they're doing something as a result of what they did. And the club officials and the clubs will be treated in exactly the same manner," Selig said. "That would be unfair if they weren't."

Asked as a follow-up whether that meant management officials wouldn't be suspended of fined, Selig responded: "They're going to be treated the same way."

That's what Sons of Steve Garvey are asking today, given the news that Major League Baseball is donating $1.2 million to the Jackie Robinson Foundation to fund scholarships over the next four years (at 300k per annum).

The Sons make a pretty valid point that maybe the sum is greater than the whole, if that little redundancy can make any sense. See, that 1.2? It's over four years. Still a big chunk of change, no doubt. But it's a little bet less grand when you really break it down.

Okay, so $1.2 million over four years means $300,000 per year. Divided by 30 MLB teams, each scholarship is worth $10,000 per year per team. So counting the 25 people on each team's active roster, MLB is generously donating $400 per player. $400. That's not enough to park 27 cars at Dodger Stadium, nor is it enough to drink 50 beers.

Now, first of all, there is nothing "shortchanged" about 1.2 million dollars. That is a ton of money, and I think it is fantastic that Bud Selig has helped to raise that much from the 30 teams in Major League Baseball for donation to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

On the other hand, it is somewhat contrite to announce a $1.2 million donation when it's really a $300,000.00 donation that will be milked for the next four years. So I agree on SoSG on that notion. At the same time though, it is pretty unfair to pinpoint the monetary breakdown to individual players, considering that these individuals are not responsible for the donations themselves. Rather, it is the teams that are doing the donating.

In that sense, I agree with wanting to see more money coughed up for the Robinson Foundation. Jackie Robinson was one of the most well respected athletes and human beings in the history of our country and discounting anything -- especially a fraction of the dollars being made by MLB teams -- at the expense of honoring a great bastion of civil rights seems a bit trite. On the other hand, forcing someone to donate something is an ethical paradox in the first place, so I say good job on the initial work by Selig and crew, and hopefully more teams and/or individuals will follow suit with separate donations.

The news of Jordan Schafer being suspended 50 games this season for violation of baseball's PED policy was shocking to say the least. Although maybe it shouldn't have been, since there has apparently been a Mitchell Report aftershock investigation surrounding the prospect since spring training, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. This, of course, resulted from his meteoric rise through the minors.

Even more spicily, there's a lot of chatter coming out of Schafer's "camp" (read: his dad) about a slew of extenuating circumstances that surround the suspension, none of which Jordan or his family are available to talk about, at the advice of their attorney.

'I want so bad to clear things up, and I want so bad for Jordan to clear things up,' said David Schafer, a Florida businessman. 'But unfortunately the powers that be say not to say anything. I want so bad to straighten this thing out, I just can't say. ... I don't know what to do. He's in a bad spot. It's not the way it seems.

'I never thought it would come to this.'

The article in the AJC also confirmed not only the investigation this spring but also that there was no positive drug test for Schafer, which makes this suspension ridiculously speculative. In fact, the only possible manner of him being busted that would make me not remotely start firing up the conspiracy machine would be possession, but we can't guarantee that either.

The official would say only that there are other 'non-analytical' means of establishing guilt, including possession of a drug.

'He was willing to take a blood test, give them hair samples, willing to do anything he could,' David Schafer said.

Just briefly -- isn't it just freaking fabulous that from now on, anytime someone plays well or improves rapidly, they're going to be privy to a Senate-style investigation from baseball? Anyway, that hair sample/blood test bluff isn't something I would offer up if I was guilty of having done HGH, and I would certainly think Schafer would have the same attitude.

Warning: Contains the type of language that may not be safe for office settings and/or the Mets clubhouse.



If you make it past the amusing segments about his shoe fetish and words of wisdom for Barack Obama, at about the 1:24 mark rapper Rick Ross has some advice for Bud Selig and the rest of us traditionalists trying to rid the game of HGH and steroids (and for a brief moment, I was convinced he was about to accidentally "out" Shaquille O'Neal as a user). I'm not sure Selig should listen to Rick Ross' advice, but I'm completely in favor of Selig dropping "a couple hundred thou" on a 10-pound gold and diamond encrusted medallion of his face. It just lends gravitas.

The old saying goes that money can buy you many things but it can't buy you love. Eliot Spitzer might argue with the latter part of the cliche and Bud Selig can probably come up with a pretty good counter for the former this morning. Selig, he of the $15 million a year contract, had a bit of a scare when his private jet had some issues shortly after taking off yesterday.

A private jet carrying Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and bound for his desert home in Scottsdale, Ariz., had to return to Mitchell International Airport on Wednesday night after a landing-gear door failed to work properly after takeoff.

You'd think with Selig's scratch he could find himself a plane that, you know, worked. He was a used car dealer, after all, which should make him better suited for selling lemons than buying them. The plane landed without incident and, thankfully, nobody was hurt.

On a somewhat related note, I'm surprised that Selig is flying in a private plane at all. Earlier this week, FanHouser PostmanR told us Major League Baseball was making a big deal about the establishment of a league-wide environmental awareness program. At the time Selig said "sound environmental practices make sense in every way." Unless, of course, you've got to get to Scottsdale in a hurry.

(H/T BBTF)

Another day, another set of baseball player names to add to the steroid user rolls. Prosecutors in Northern California are investigating Ramon Scruggs to see if the doctor has illegally prescribed steroids to his patients. Sources told the New York Times that among the patients are several major league baseball players. That shouldn't surprise anyone since Scruggs prescribed 'roids to Troy Glaus and Scott Schoeneweis and was named in the Mitchell Report.

One of the lawyers said the current investigation had uncovered the names of other major league players who had received prescriptions from Scruggs. Those names are unlikely to be disclosed immediately if legal action is taken, as expected, against Scruggs in the coming months.

"It's not as big as Radomski, but certainly is something significant," one of the lawyers said in characterizing the investigation, referring to the investigation of the former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski.

Radomski was, along with Brian McNamee, the star of the narrowly focused Mitchell Report. You'd have to be naive to believe that there weren't local versions of those two in every big league port of call and the Scruggs investigation is just the latest reminder of how far from done we are with baseball's Steroid Era.

I'm sure that comes as a disappointment to Bud Selig. The commish probably thought he could occupy his time by cashing outlandish checks and sucking up to aging comedians but, alas, it's not the case.

Take a stab at what Bud Selig made last year. Do you have a number in mind? If your guess was the same as mine, you'll need to double it to even get close. According to the Sports Business Journal (via The Biz of Baseball), Selig raked in $15.06 million last year, making him the highest-paid commissioner in all of sports.

You hear the owners complain about player salaries being out of control, and yet Selig made more than all but 10 players last year. Think about that: the man took home more money than Albert Pujols, and for what? The Mitchell Report? An All-Star Game that "means something?"

I'm not as down on Selig's legacy as some people are, but there's no chance at all that he's the top commish in all of sports. Just to put it in context, the NFL's Roger Goodell made $6.5 million in his first eight months on the job, putting his annual salary right around $10 million, which is roughly what the NBA's David Stern reportedly makes. The NHL's Gary Betteman makes around $6 million, which seems about right given his sport's standing below the Big Three.

Here's what I don't get: the reason why companies pay their CEO's big bucks is so that they won't bail for another company, right? But where could Selig possibly go? What other job in the world could he reasonably expect to make $10 million a year at?