Then buy the team !

Hmm..what would the roster look like on a JOE Z owned team?

MLB bans in PED case likely to drop this week; A-Rod's could keep him out until 2015

By JOEL SHERMAN and KEN DAVIDOFF

Last Updated: 5:47 AM, July 28, 2013
Posted: 2:09 AM, July 28, 2013

Joel Sherman

Ken Davidoff

The strong indications are Major League Baseball will announce all the suspensions in the Biogenesis case this week, including one that could cover the rest of this year and all of next season for Alex Rodriguez, The Post has learned.

It always has been MLB’s plan to announce the suspensions at one time for the 15-plus players believed to be facing sanctions in the performance-enhancing drug case. MLB went early with Ryan Braun’s suspension because of his willingness to accept the penalty without appeal.

It is expected other players will do the same this week. To that end, Rodriguez’s representatives met with MLB officials in the past few days, The Post has learned. It is believed A-Rod’s camp was trying to gain a better understanding of potential penalties. However, a member of Rodriguez’s team told The Post yesterday it is “unequivocally untrue” that Rodriguez is seeking a settlement.


It is believed MLB wants to make the suspensions formal this week before teams reach the point at which they have fewer than 50 games to play. The penalty for first-time offenders who fail a PED test is 50 games.

MLB apparently is willing to give the same sanction to first-time offenders in this case, in which the evidence does not come from a failed urine or blood exam, but rather from an investigation. The thinking is MLB wants to provide the first-time offenders this carrot: Don’t appeal and you can serve the entire suspension this year and start with a clean slate for next season.

Rodriguez does not fit into this category. It has become evident MLB is going to demand Rodriguez’s punishment far exceed Braun’s. That is because MLB believes the combination of being a user and obstructing the case demands a much stiffer penalty — especially because Rodriguez has admitted to previous drug use from 2001-03 and because MLB believes Rodriguez subsequently lied to its investigators in previous interviews about his usage.

Bud Selig was at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown this week and was said still to be mulling what punishment to deliver Rodriguez. It is conceivable he could ask for permanent banishment, akin to Pete Rose. But the belief is no matter the level of evidence — and it has been portrayed that MLB has substantially more evidence on Rodriguez than it does on Braun — it would be hard to convince an arbitrator, if Rodriguez appeals, that Rodriguez’s first suspension should be for life.

Keep in mind, though, that Selig could ask for life knowing the arbitrator could lower the punishment to a shorter duration — or even find that Rodriguez should not be punished at all.

But as a way to levy a sanction that will not be reduced, there was growing belief around baseball that Selig would request the rest of this season and all of next year.

That could be viewed as just about the death penalty for Rodriguez, at least for his playing career. He turned 38 yesterday. He has yet to play this year. The idea that he would not play this season or next season and come back able to play in 2015 after two hip surgeries seems farfetched.

The expectation was Rodriguez had hired a cavalry of lawyers, private investigators, crisis managers and spokesmen to fight any sanction. Publicly, his camp has been feisty — and more — in trying to mount a case that both MLB and the Yankees have tried to injure his reputation and keep him from playing.

The only reason, in theory, he would cease that strategy and accept a suspension would be if he felt the evidence was irrefutable and was seeking a way to protect as much of the roughly $97 million he is still owed on his record $275 million contract.

For example, Rodriguez is owed $61 million from 2015-17. Thus, if a punishment were offered to him that extended through 2014, he might accept that to protect the $61 million. If he does accept the punishment, though, the Yankees could try to mount a case to void the rest of the deal based on fraud (a team cannot punish a player for illegal drug use; only the commissioner can do that).

If Rodriguez fights the suspension, he apparently is going to have to counter — among other things — alleged communications between him and the Biogenesis kingpin Tony Bosch that delineate usage of PEDs. It is believed that is just part of MLB’s case and also that MLB will limit the scope of its suspension attempts to proving Rodriguez used PEDs and worked diligently to try to prevent MLB from finding evidence of that.

There was some anticipation that MLB might go after Rodriguez for serving as kind of a Pied Piper for Biogenesis or financially supporting the clinic, but it appears that will not be the case.

joel.sherman@nypost.com

kdavidoff@nypost.com

I'm disappointed that we won't be seeing Jorge Soler in the major leagues this season. Last month he fouled a ball off his shin. Stress fracture! Looks like he may be done for the season. He was scheduled to be in the Futures game as well as being in line for a September call-up. No Puig heroics this year for Soler.
Another Cuban, Leonys Martin is having a nice season for the Rangers.

The Texas Rangers officially signed the outfielder, a Cuban defector on May 4, 2011. He got a five-year major league contract worth $15.5 million that includes a $5 million signing bonus. He played 8 major league ballgames the same season that he signed. He played in another 24 games in 2012.

So far this season, he's played in 92 games so far and is having a solid if not spectacular season for the Rangers.

Hernandez dominant in win over D-backs

ST. PETERSBURG --

Interleague Play didn't slow the Rays down, as they cruised to a 5-2 win over the D-backs at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.

The Rays have won 26 of their last 32.

Roberto Hernandez, the team's fifth starter, threw his first complete game since 2010, working through the seventh inning for the first time this month, and stuck out six. He was aiming for his fourth career shutout until Eric Chavez's two-run homer in the ninth.

Hernandez picked up steam as the game went on, retiring nine straight after giving up a leadoff single to Cliff Pennington in the sixth.

As well as he has pitched, Hernandez could be in danger of falling out of the Rays' rotation, as the club continues to discuss moving to four starters in order to compensate for five upcoming off-days in the first three weeks of August.

Showalter: Yanks benefit from ban

Updated: August 1, 2013, 12:22 PM ET

By Andrew Marchand | ESPNNewYork.com

TAMPA, Fla. -- The way Buck Showalter sees it, Alex Rodriguez's possible suspension would mean that the New York Yankees would end up with Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters in two years.

If Rodriguez is suspended for all of next season, the Yankees would not have to pay the embattled slugger's $25 million salary for 2014. The unpaid money would not count against the luxury tax and revenue sharing, which would make it much easier for the Yankees to fall under team owner Hal Steinbrenner's goal of a $189 million payroll for 2014.

"If Bud lets them get away with that, they're under the luxury tax," the Orioles manager told USA Today. "If they can reset, they can spend again, and I guarantee you in two years Matt Wieters is in New York."

If the Yankees fell beneath the $189 million limit next season, they would significantly increase their luxury tax savings under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

The Yankees would be subject to a 50 percent luxury tax if their payroll was over the $189 million threshold. But if they were under $189 million, the Yankees' luxury tax would roll back to 17 percent, making it easier for them to be free spenders.


The 27-year-old Wieters, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2015 season, is batting .239 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs this year.

The Yankees will have several free agents this offseason, as they are expected to reshape their roster. Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain are among the players eligible to test the market.

After Rodriguez opted out of his previous record contract following the 2007 season, the Yankees signed the three-time MVP to a new 10-year, $275 million deal that included a possible $30 million in home run bonuses.

Whatever the length of Rodriguez's deal, Showalter thinks it is unfair the Yankees will receive salary relief from a suspension.

"They're the ones who signed him to that contract," Showalter said.

Rodriguez, 38, will play in a simulated game Thursday in Tampa as he tries to return from offseason hip surgery and a strained quad. ESPN's "Outside The Lines" reported Wednesday that Rodriguez's lawyers are in talks with MLB about the length of a possible suspension as a result of the Biogenesis investigation.

Peter Gammons ‏@pgammo 23h

per McCarver's story about Reggie not scoring on a long fly by Bando to keep his RBI lead--I was there, and got the story from Sal

Peralta one for four today before he goes on break.

I thought that Yasiel Puig would have cooled off by now. I guess not. He looks like the odds on favorite to take the NL ROY award in 2013. I knew he was good, but he's exceeded my expectations.

Detroit - Top of 9th SCORE
Mariano Rivera pitching for New York DET NYY
J Nix at third base. 1 3
M Rivera relieved D Robertson. 1 3
D Kelly hit for J Iglesias. 1 3
D Kelly flied out to center. 1 3
A Jackson doubled to center. 1 3
T Hunter grounded out to pitcher. 1 3
M Cabrera homered to center, A Jackson scored. 3 3
P Fielder doubled to right.

In Myers, swagger comes as natural as talent
Rays outfielder displaying confidence while breaking out in big leagues


By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 8/12/2013 11:39 A.M. ET

ST. PETERSBURG -- The story, as Triple-A Durham manager Charlie Montoyo remembers it, goes something like this.

Wil Myers was standing on third base after a hit by infielder Vince Belnome. He made a simple observation to Montoyo: Belnome's a good hitter. Montoyo replied, "Yeah, he's our second-best hitter."

According to Montoyo, Myers responded, "Well, yeah."

There was no doubt who Durham's best hitter was. Nor is there any question that Myers has been the Rays' best hitter since making his much-anticipated Major League debut on June 18.

Montoyo's story conveys one well-known fact about the rookie outfielder: He's certainly not lacking for confidence. Just listen to some of the things he says or watch him flip his bat as he admires one of his prodigious home runs.

But it would be a mistake to misconstrue Myers as cocky, those close to him insist. More than anything else, they say, he's just an exceedingly genuine and straightforward 22-year-old from North Carolina enjoying the only career he's wanted.

"I feel like I'm very honest with what I do," Myers said. "If I don't feel good, I'm going to tell you I don't feel good. If I do feel good, I'm going to tell you I feel good.

"I never had a dream of doing anything else, even as a kid. I was never like, 'Well, maybe one day I'll want to coach.' I always thought I was going to play in the big leagues."

Myers paused and grinned: "Luckily, it worked out."

* * * * *
It was hardly just luck. The story, as Myers' father, Eric, has told it countless times, goes like this.

They were living in a small basement apartment in Thomasville, N.C. Eric would lob plastic balls to his 3-year-old son in their den, and Myers would spray them all over the room with a plastic bat.

"I knew right then the boy had something," Eric Myers said. "He waited until it got in the zone and just unleashed on it."

That might sound familiar to anyone who's seen Myers hit. The Rays have talked about Myers' bat speed and the "different sound" his bat makes from the moment he first stepped into a batting cage this spring.

Acquired from Kansas City in the offseason trade headlined by James Shields, Myers has delivered on the hype in nearly two months with Tampa Bay, posting a .325/.376/.509 batting line with eight homers and 31 RBIs.

Myers' .385 average since the All-Star break ranks first among American League hitters with at least 40 at-bats, and his second-half 1.116 OPS is fourth in the Majors, behind Jayson Werth, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout. Less than two months removed from Triple-A, Myers is putting up numbers with some of baseball's best hitters.

"He's able to process stuff, whether it's hitting, defense or baserunning, that not a lot of other young guys process as well as he has," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I think you look at him and you see a rookie, just the way he acts. But then you talk to him, it's different. There's actually some sophistication there."

But it's that part about the way Myers acts -- the "naivete," as Maddon called it -- that stands out at times. Like in Spring Training, when Myers crushed a triple, received some praise from coach Tom Foley for hitting the ball so hard and responded, "I hit everything hard."

"I don't think he means anything by it at all," Eric Myers said. "He's almost too honest."

Maddon agreed that Myers' brand of confident humor is "disarming" in a way that "totally takes any vitriol away." It's also part of the reason he's been heralded as one of the game's best young hitters.

"I don't think it's cockiness at all, but it's certainly confidence," Rays utility man Ben Zobrist said. "You can see that he believes that he's going to be here for a long time, and he believes that he's one of the best players in the game. He doesn't have to question that."

"I think it's just him being goofy and confident," said former teammate Anthony Seratelli, who played with Myers in the Royals' organization. "It helps keep his head high, which is why he plays so well."

* * * * *
The other side of Myers' personality is more visible away from the ballpark. The story, as his mother, Pam, remembers it, displays a degree of humility you might not expect.

Shortly after Myers graduated from Wesleyan Christian Academy, they were talking to his kindergarten teacher, who asked where Myers planned to attend college.

"And he said, 'Well, I got a job out of high school,'" Pam Myers said.

His mother insisted that Myers tell her the whole truth: He'd been picked by the Royals in the third round of the 2009 Draft. His "job out of high school" was professional baseball.

"I would bet almost anything that he's not changed a lick since he was in Little League, seventh grade, high school," Maddon said. "I would imagine he's the same exact guy."

So it's not too surprising that Myers said the most unusual thing about the Majors has been the "different lifestyle ... the overall thing besides the game."

As a rookie, Myers has to arrive to the park before everyone else to get his work in, so he shows up early. He's sought advice from Zobrist, 10 years his senior, and before most night games at home, they sit down to discuss their faith and families, in addition to baseball.

"He doesn't take himself too seriously. He's not afraid to fail or afraid to look stupid," Zobrist said. "I think that's one of those most endearing things that anyone can have in their personality. ... I think that's why a lot of people in this clubhouse have taken to him already."

And Myers doesn't necessarily crave the public spotlight. Consider a more recent story, as his parents remember it, when they were at Tropicana Field for the Rays-Giants game on Aug. 3. Myers made postgame plans for his family to eat together at a restaurant near his apartment.

A few hours later, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Myers laced a single to deep left field to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 win. He got the full walk-off treatment from his teammates, celebrating another career first. But when Myers left the clubhouse, he called off his original plans.

Myers wanted to be with his family, his mother said, and that would've been tough at a place where he knew he'd be recognized as the night's walk-off hero. Instead, he invited the dozen or so family members back to his apartment and put a frozen pizza in the oven.

"I don't think he likes the limelight. He doesn't want to be a movie star," Eric Myers said. "He wants to be the best player on the field."

* * * * *
The thing is, Myers has grown used to being just that. This story, as Myers' parents tell it, took place during the 2008 Perfect Game National Showcase in Minneapolis.

Myers, working out as a catcher, ventured into the stands to ask his father how he looked. More specifically, he wanted to know if he'd done better than the star-studded competition in his group. The answer -- a simple "no" -- wasn't the one Myers was looking for.

"Don't tell him anyone's better than he is," Pam Myers said, laughing.

That doesn't mean Myers is trying to show anyone up, even if his occasional bat flips might lead observers to think otherwise. Maddon acknowledged that Myers may appear to finish his swings in a "flamboyant" way, but Myers says it's just a natural part of his follow-through.

"It's just him being happy about what he did," Seratelli said. "But I don't know how he flips the bat that far. It's actually kind of amazing."

* * * * *
It helps, obviously, that Myers has brought more to the Rays' clubhouse than his considerable swagger and his likeable down-home personality. The numbers help tell the story.

Myers has been on base in 38 of his 44 games this season, including a 22-game on-base streak. He leads all Major League rookies since June 18 in homers and RBIs, and he's second behind Yasiel Puig with 55 hits. Veteran reliever Joel Peralta noted that the expectations on Myers were almost impossibly lofty, but he's "proved himself, that he can hit, since he got here."

Myers will admit he wasn't prepared for all this when the season began. He was eager to get here, of course, but still happy to be close to home in Durham, where the Bulls named a section of seats "WilVille."

Meanwhile, Myers developed a better approach at the plate, improved his defense and baserunning and eventually got into a groove over his last 25 games -- a hot streak that signaled to Tampa Bay's front office that he was ready for the next level.

So far, so good.

"Honestly, I felt like I was big league-ready two or three days before I got called up. It's kind of funny that it happened at the time it did," Myers said. "Even as good as I felt in Durham, I feel like I'm a better hitter now than I was then."

Myers' story, if these first few glimpses have been any indication, is only just beginning.

Adam Berry is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adamdberry. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I have played golf with Eric Myers at my club in Thomasville. He has a younger son too.

Man dies after fall at Turner Field

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The man who died Monday night after falling 65 feet from the upper level of Turner Field and landing in a parking lot outside of the stadium was identified early Tuesday as Ronald Homer of Conyers.
Homer, 29, was transported to Atlanta Medical Center, where he later died, Officer John Chafee with Atlanta police said.

“At this time, there is no indication of foul play and the fall appears accidental,” Chafee said in an emailed statement.

Investigators remained at the scene late Monday trying to determine what led to the fall.
The start of Monday night’s game vs. the Phillies was delayed due to rain, and the game started just prior to the man’s fall, shortly before 9 p.m.

The death is believed to be the second fatal fall at the stadium and the third at a major sports facility in the city.

In May 2008, a spectator died after falling 150 feet inside Turner Field. Justin Hayes, 25, of Cumming, fell from the upper deck concourse to the field level concourse behind home plate.

Last year, a college football fan fell 45 feet to his death at the Georgia Dome. On Aug. 31, Isaac Grubb, 20, of Lenoir City, Tenn., fell during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Tennessee and North Carolina State, Georgia World Congress Center Authority officials previously said.

Grubb, who suffered head trauma, died after being transported to the hospital. His death was ruled accidental.

KENM and JOEZ:

Still think the Indians should go after him?

Manny Ramirez released from minor league deal by the Texas Rangers


ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Manny Ramirez has been released from his minor league contract by the Texas Rangers.

The 41-year-old Ramirez hit .259 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 30 games for Triple-A Round Rock after agreeing to a deal early last month. He hit all of the homers in the first eight games.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Tuesday that Ramirez was released so he could pursue other opportunities if he chooses.

Daniels said, based on the team's evaluation, there wasn't a spot on the Rangers roster for Ramirez.

The 12-time All-Star is a .312 career hitter, and is 14th on the career home runs list with 555. He started out the season playing in Taiwan.

Could he be more productive than Mark Reynolds??? I'm always looking to upgrade.