There have been plenty of moments in baseball involving steroids that stand out in our memories, but one that's always stuck in the back of my mind was Rafael Palmeiro sitting in front of Congress back in March 2005. There he was wagging his finger at Congress and saying "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that."
Then five months later Palmeiro was being suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball for failing a steroid test. Of course Palmeiro then began backtracking and saying that he'd never "knowingly" taken any steroids in his life, and he wasn't changing his story on Friday as he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a nod to what's ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler had a pretty good night, rolling all sorts of rare feats into one ballgame. The headline is that he hit for the cycle, the first Rangers player to do that since Gary Matthews Jr. on Sept. 13, 2006.
He also had six hits, the first Rangers player to do that since Alfonso Soriano on May 8, 2004, but that was a 10-inning game. So Kinsler is the first in team history to have six knocks in a nine-inning game.
Over the last seven days there seemed to be a lot of back and forth between the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners for the services of one Ken Griffey Jr. Last Thursday the word was that Junior was going to be returning to Seattle, and the only thing in the way was passing a physical. A few hours later, Griffey came out and said the report wasn't true.
Then on Tuesday the report was that Griffey was going to Atlanta where he could be closer to his family, as he'd reached a contract agreement with the Braves and was just waiting to pass a physical. Once again, a few hours later Junior said it wasn't true. Finally on Wednesday Ken signed with the Mariners, but who helped him decide between legacy and family? Well, any bitter Braves fans should probably direct their ire at the great Willie Mays.
Tom Glavine's rehab from a season-ending elbow injury has progressed so well this winter that the legendary left-hander is on track to be ready for Opening Day. The question now is just what uniform the future Hall of Famer will be wearing come April.
It had long been assumed that Glavine, should he be able to pitch, would return to the Braves, the team he broke into the majors with and pitched for in 2008. However, with the addition of three other pitchers (Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami) this winter, Atlanta might not have the room or financial flexibility to bring the veteran back.
While the 2008 All Star Game may be a thing of the past, people have still been talking about things they saw at Yankee Stadium those three days, and most of them have to do with Josh Hamilton. While most of the talk is about the 498 home runs (give or take) that Hamilton hit during the Home Run Derby (How dumb did Justin Morneau feel having to accept that trophy?), there's also a lot of talk about Hamilton's relationship with the legendary Willie Mays.
The day after the game there was a lot of talk about the apparent snub of Hamilton by Mays before the game. If you didn't see it, before the player introductions, forty-nine Hall of Famers were announced at their positions. Then, when the players were introduced, they ran out to their spot and shook hands with the legends that stood before them. Just one tiny problem.
When Hamilton ran out to his spot in centerfield, Willie Mays turned away from him and kept on talking to Kosuke Fukudome, who doesn't speak a whole lot of English. This of course started the firestorm that Mays didn't like Hamilton for some reason, but Josh wants us to know that wasn't the case at all.
Hamilton quickly denied any sort of snub, though, and said Mays was simply talking to National League starter Kosuke Fukudome and later greeted Hamilton (visual proof above).
"He leaned over and told me, 'Congratulations,' " said Hamilton, a first-time All-Star. "I told him that I've known who he is for a long time and that I'm a big fan."
Josh then told Willie to let his godson know that he has a ton of unused needles should he need any. Or he just sang along to the Star-Spangled Banner, I don't know, I'm not a lip-reader.
Awards and accolades are nothing new to Curtis Granderson. I mean, after you've already won the Most Boring Baseball Player Blog, there isn't much mountain left to climb. Not for Curtis, no sir, he's gonna keep climbing that mountain until he runs himself right off the top of it.
Last night when Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the Tigers 6-1 victory over the Mariners, he entered the history books. Granderson became the first player since 1979 to hit 20 homers, 20 doubles, and 20 triples in the same season. The last person to do it was George Brett.
There was also some guy named Willie Mays who did the same thing back in 1957. In total, only six players have done what Curtis has done this season in the last 100 years. I don't care what it is, but if you're on a short list of people to accomplish something, and one of the guys on the list is named Willie Mays, that's got to feel pretty good.
"Definitely some good players," Granderson said. "It's amazing. I'm really kind of speechless right now. I'm just trying to continue to play. That's the big thing. That's the hardest thing right now."
Granderson isn't done yet, either. He may have at least 20 homers, doubles and triples, but he's only got 19 stolen bases. If Granderson can manage another stolen base this season, he'll join even more exclusive company. Of the six men to have done this over the last 100 years, only WIllie Mays and Frank Schulte in 1911 managed to do it with at least 20 stolen bases as well.
They sure love their home run champ in San Francisco, I tell you. So much so, that they will be honoring their slugger today, and it sounds like they're going all out:
Mayor Gavin Newsom will host a celebration honoring San Francisco's favorite slugger, Barry Bonds, and his historic achievement of becoming the new all-time home run leader. The celebration is scheduled for noon PT on Friday in the Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, but the party will start at 11:30 a.m. with the Wonderbread 5 band.
The public is welcome to join the festive ballpark atmosphere that will feature Bonds along with his family, former and current teammates, Giants executives and broadcasters, and various celebrities. Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda are also scheduled to attend.
Next thing you know, Bonds will be awarded a key to the city. And mayors, take note: if you want to honor a player, this is how you do it. Are you listening mayor of Cincinnati?
This news is, quite frankly, saddening. When I need my baseball fix in November and December, where will I turn? Unfortunately, it won't be to the Puerto Rican Winter Ball League -- their upcoming season has been canceled.
The Puerto Rican winter baseball league, where the likes of Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez once starred, canceled its upcoming season Thursday because of financial problems.
The league was supposed to start its 70th season in three months. Instead, it suspended operations and planned to spend the next year trying to reorganize. ... Puerto Rico's league runs from October through January. This year's season was expected to feature Yadier Molina and his brother, Jose.
Well, the bright side is that it's only one season and it has a chance to be back in '08-'09. I'm just wondering why none of the Puerto Rican players have stepped up to revive the league. Sigh. If only Juan-Gone had signed on the dotted line ... the league might have been able to live on.
With Willie Mays at his side, here's what Barry Bonds had to say shortly after breaking the all-time home run record:
"Thank you very much. I got to thank all of you. All the fans here in San Fransisco, road and home, it's been fantastic. I want to thank you all. I got to thank my teammates for their support. Through all this, you guys have been strong and you've given me all the support in the world and I'll never forget it as long as I live -- thank you. I got to thank my family. My mother, my wife Liz, my kids Nikolai, Shikari and Aisha. I'm glad I did it before you guys went to school. Thanks for being here. I got to thank the Washington Nationals for your support. Thank you for understanding this day. It means a lot to me. My dad ... thank you .. for everything .. thank you."
As one can imagine, Bonds was very emotional when he mentioned his father at the end of the speech. And this just in: ESPN just showed an interview with Erin Andrews and Bonds and when asked what's next for him, Bonds said "a lot more baseball, hell yeah. I'm not quitting, plenty more baseball left."
Commissioner Bud Selig's schedule will preclude him from being there until later in the week. In his stead, Jimmie Lee Solomon, a Major League Baseball executive vice president, is slated to be in attendance Monday and Tuesday, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, an MLB advisor, is slated to replace him Wednesday and Thursday.
Surprise surprise, Bonds hasn't received congrats from the commish on 755 either:
Bonds shrugged when told that the Commissioner probably won't be in attendance the next few days. Bonds never heard from Selig directly after the game, although the Commissioner released a congratulatory statement. But Bonds said he did speak to Ken Griffey Jr. and had voice messages from his godfather, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez, who earlier Saturday hit his 500th homer at Yankee Stadium.
There was no message from Aaron, either, Bonds said.
Sound to me like there's a pretty good chance Selig won't be there when Bonds breaks the record, and my guess is, that's fine by Bud. Let the criticism rain.
There have been plenty of moments in baseball involving steroids that stand out in our memories, but one that's always stuck in the back of my mind was Rafael Palmeiro sitting in front of Congress back in March 2005. There he was wagging his finger at Congress and saying "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that."
Starting Five
Over the last seven days there seemed to be a lot of back and forth between the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners for the services of one 
While the 2008 All Star Game may be a thing of the past, people have still been talking about things they saw at Yankee Stadium those three days, and most of them have to do with 
They sure love their home run champ in San Francisco, I tell you. So much so, that they will be 
International Pastime
With 
The Giants have a four game series with the Nationals in San Francisco that begins tonight, and funny enough, the 
