Baltimore Orioles Articles
Sports Illustrated's Selena Roberts and David Epstein this morning report that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for PED/steroid use in 2003.
In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers
, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.
Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.
When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."
Really, if this is true, Rodriguez's career will be severely impacted. Look at what has happened to Barry Bonds, Mark McQwire and Rafael Palmeiro. If he ever reaches or comes close to Hank Aaron's record, I wonder what the reaction will be -- I'd imagine not good -- and it may be ugly.
The question you have to ask yourself is why do guys like he ever even considering doing something like this unless he just was like any typical athlete as in he wants an edge.
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Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam -- one my favorite singers of all time -- apparently is working on his vocal cords or prepping to sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". If you click on the link, you'll be directed to a video on "The Bunny With Fans Blog" where Vedder did some karaoke at the Best Western Dobson Ranch Inn in Mesa, AZ where he was staying for the Cubs’ 2009 Fantasy Camp.
He did U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” and The Beatles “Yellow Submarine” and altered the lyrics to show loyalty to his beloved Cubs.
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As predicted, George Sherrill will not go to arbitation as the closer and the Orioles have come to an agreement for his 2009 contract...
From the Baltimore Sun: The Orioles avoided arbitration with George Sherrill tonight, signing the All-Star reliever to a $2.75 million deal for the 2009 season.
Eligible for arbitration for the first time, Sherrill, who saved 31 games last season, tripled his salary from 2008. Sherrill had asked for $3.4 mllion, while the Orioles offered $2.2 million. The hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 19.
The signing means the Orioles won't have any arbitration hearings again this season. They haven't gone to arbitration since beating Rodrigo Lopez before the 2006 season. Overall, the Orioles have gone to arbitration nine times since 1994 and are 8-1 in those cases. The club is 6-0 when its arbitration efforts have been led by general counsel H. Russell Smouse.
Sherrill, 31, finished seventh in the American League last year in saves, and set career highs with 53 1/3 innings pitched and 58 strikeouts. His season highlight came in his first All-Star Game, when he pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings to help the American League secure a 15-inning victory at Yankee Stadium.
On Tuesday night, there was quite an interesting and candid conversation with some prominent Baltimore-area women who are involved in the sports industry to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The panelists included Katie Hoff – Olympic Swimming Medalist, Amber Theoharis – MASN Broadcaster, Missy Doherty -- Towson University Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach, Hillary Fratzke -- Towson University All-American Lacrosse Player & Nicole Sherry – Orioles Head Groundskeeper.
They all discussed their careers, gender, the sports industry in general, influences, as well as the difficulties some faced as women in their respective fields. It's too bad that the crowd was somewhat sparse for the event; however, for those that were there, hearing the insight these from these esteemed women was nothing short of fun, inspiring, but also eye-opening.
Below is a sound file from the event (length -- 1:04:03) and at the very top are pictures.
Despite the economy and the finances of many fans in the region, the Baltimore Ravens have not heeded the warning of commisioner Roger Goddell and have decided the raise their ticket prices for next season. I guess you have the pay for unexpected success, eh?
In a letter that will reach some fans as early as tomorrow, the Ravens are notifying season-ticket holders that the prices of their seats will increase from $5 to $15 per ticket for the 2009 season.
The majority of seats in the bowl of the stadium will be increased by $10, and some upper-deck seats will increase by $5. The biggest bump of $15 are for some club seats and lower level seating around midfield, which are the most sought-after tickets at M&T Bank Stadium.
In the letter, which was obtained by The Baltimore Sun today, the Ravens say they need their average ticket price to be in the top third of the NFL to stay competitive.
The Ravens, who have increased ticket prices every other season since 2001, said the evaluation process was "very thoughtful and detailed."
"We understand that we are in a down economy but to change our every other year philosophy would likely mean even greater increases in future years," said Baker Koppelman, the Ravens' vice president of ticket operations. "The economy is only one of many factors but ultimately our goal is to provide a product that fans can take pride in. To do that, we must remain financially competitive with other teams."
no commentsAs if we didn't need any more from baseball and the involvement of the drug world, it looks like an individual from Baltimore may played a key role in the investigations during the past few years.
The Smoking Gun' website, in an extremely detailed and lengthy report site claims Baltimore area native Andrew Michael Bogdan -- a friend of former Orioles outfielder Larry Bigbie -- acted as key FBI informant that helped to nail Kirk Radomski (known as now an infamous drug suppiler to prominent MLB players).Basically, he decided to come clean about his involvement, only after he scored a deal to get out of his own mess.
There's also good article in the Baltimore Sun profiling Mr. Bodgan as well.
It's worth reading both pieces this morning, and although I consider this all ancient history, you cannot discount how prevalent drug use was or could still be today. The Baltimore organization was especially hard by drug use allegations, as highlighted notably by Rafael Palmiero, Jay Gibbons and David Segui; however, I don't think this case may come back and haunt the Orioles any more.
At this point, I think most people want to move on and enjoy baseball for what it is -- a game.
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- Peter Schmuck gives his thoughts about the state of the team only nine days away from the start of Spring Training.
- Andy MacPhail was on the "Scott & Anita Show", and talked about the team going to Spring Training. There's a writeup of his appearance on Roch's blog.er
- Drew Forrester gives his thoughts on the MacPhail appearance on the radio yesterday.
- Jay Trucker of the Baltimore Examiner speaks to 105.7's Jeremy Conn in part two of his interview.
- Ray Bachman recalls his thoughts on the 1989, "Why Not" season...
- Steve Melewski catches up with center fielder Adam Jones.
- Amber Theoharis in a column on the Pressbox website has thoughts on the Oriole outfield.
If you'll be in town for the next few days, here are some events to consider attending:
Honoring the 'Why Not' 1989 Season: If you have time to go the Inner Harbor this Tuesday, the Orioles in conjunction with the ESPN Zone will be honoring the 20th anniversary of the Orioles’ “Why Not?” season, with a few of the stars who made it happen. Former Orioles Mike Devereaux, Larry Sheets, and Dave Johnson will answer fans’ questions and sign autographs as they relive the magic of that memorable season.
The event will be hosted by O’s broadcaster Tom Davis and will feature giveaways for fans. Everything kicks off at 7pm on Tuesday, Feburary 10th.
Babe Ruth's Birthday Bash 2009: Join a lineup of local sports stars, including Baltimore Blast, Bullets, Colts, Orioles, Ravens, Maryland Terps and Olympic champions at
Birthday Bashers will also be invited to commemorate the 114th birthday of the great Bambino by joining WBAL’s Doug Roberts and MC Keith Mills in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday!
Witness the presentation of the 3rd annual Babe Ruth Museum Community Service Award to 2009 recipient, Melvin Mora. no comments
Andy MacPhail -- President of Baseball Operations -- has taken some slack for not signing quite a few names despite the deals already made. Like many out there, I advocated signing Ben Sheets to become part of the starting rotation in light of his obvious risks and red flags.
Most who follow the sport know Sheets has talent and the ability to an ace. Well, I guess we also know why a lot of teams stayed away from giving oft-injured fireballer a long term deal:
From ESPN: Free-agent pitcher Ben Sheets is leaning toward elbow surgery that would probably keep him out for most, if not all, of the 2009 season, according to a major league source familiar with Sheets' medical prognosis.
The surgery would repair the torn flexor tendon in his pitching elbow that kept Sheets from pitching for the Brewers in the NLDS and limited him to just two abbreviated starts over the final 2½ weeks of the regular season. The normal recovery time from the procedure, according to the source, is nine to 10 months.
I can say, I guess we the fans were wrong and I guess there's a very good reason why fans are not general managers. I could just imagine the anger and derision aired on part of the public about this move if Sheets had been signed.
Today, I am sure a lot of teams just dodged a serious mistake.
no commentsWith Opening Day 2009 only a mere two months away, obviously most fans are curious as to what the season holds in store for us at Camden Yards.
This week, I decided to reach out and send a few questions via email to Greg Bader -- Director of Communications for the Baltimore Orioles -- about the upcoming season, the economy, the ballpark itself, the team's community efforts and the re-design of the jerseys.
Mr. Bader was gracious enough to respond to my inquiry in less than 24 hours, and his responses are below.
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Oriole Post: Now, I know the Orioles have had several affordable plans available for a while – Bargain nights on Tuesdays, Student Night and also the Junior Oriole Dugout Club program – however, with the state of the economy right now, will the organization be impacted by it?
Greg Bader: There is no question that the state of the economy will play a role in the way people decide to spend their money on entertainment. While we strongly believe that baseball and the Orioles are uniquely positioned in the marketplace as an affordable family entertainment option, we also recognize that times are tough. That is why we have $9 tickets for virtually every game, $8 Bargain Night tickets every Tuesday, $6 Student Night tickets every Friday, and of course the Junior Orioles Dugout Club for kids 14 and under (it should be noted that the Dugout Club provides well over a $100 value for just $17). no comments
Yesterday, Olympian Michael Phelps was suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming, thanks to the now infamous published photo which appears to show him using marijuana. I guess this their way of punishing him for just being plain immature and hurting his image. I didn't think he'd be swimming anyway; however, I guess it was a convenient time to give him the hammer.
"Michael Phelps is the greatest star our sport has ever had and he is a role model and hero for hundreds of thousands of kids," USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus said in a phone interview. "Under our code of conduct, we felt we had an obligation to address this issue, to send a message to Michael and to our membership."
In addition, he's lost a sponsor -- Kellogg's. They obviously dropped him after him seeing his photo. I guess they had to do what they had to do.
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