Top News:
ESPN:
A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs — His voice shaking at times, Alex Rodriguez met head-on allegations that he tested positive for steroids six years ago, telling ESPN on Monday that he did take performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings, Mariners Blog, AwfulAnnouncing, The Yankee Scrolls, matsuifan.com, Angels blog, Fox Sports, Walkoff Walk, SPORTSbyBROOKS, Mets Merized Online, It is about the money, stupid, The Fowl Balls, 3:10 to Joba, Athletics Nation, Florida Marlins, Respect Jeter's Gangster, New Jersey Online, LA Times Sports Blog, Lady At The Bat, Mondesishouse.com, The Mets Police, New Stadium Insider, Can't Stop The Bleeding, steinbrennerblog.infozed.com, The Crawfish Boxes, YFSF and MLB
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Bob Raissman / NY Daily News:
Raissman: A-Rod expected to talk 'roids with ESPN … The next words out of Alex Rodriguez's mouth, the first since he was outed for steroids use by Sports Illustrated, will set the tone for how he is viewed for what's left of his baseball career. — He is expected to utter those words on ESPN …
Mark Hale / New York Post:
DEREK: GIVE ALEX BENEFIT OF DOUBT — RODRIGUEZ DESERVES CHANCE TO REPOND TO STEROID CLAIMS — TAMPA, Fla. — Derek Jeter said Alex Rodriguez should be given a chance to address allegations he used steroids before passing judgment. — “You have to give him the benefit of the doubt,” …
Bill Madden / NY Daily News:
Madden: Yanks need to ditch Alex the Grate — When the Yankees re-signed Alex Rodriguez in the fall of 2007, they envisioned the “clean” alternative to Barry Bonds - the knight in shining armor who would erase the stain of steroids from the all-time home run record, and they would bask in the glory of it with their brand.
Sports Illustrated:
Rodriguez admits to using steroids … Alex Rodriguez has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-2003, ESPN is reporting. — Those were the first three seasons of Rodriguez's then-record 10-year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers.
Discussion:
Sports Illustrated
Chad Finn / Boston Globe:
A-Rod admits to using performance-enhancing substances — Embattled New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez admitted during an interview this afternoon with ESPN's Peter Gammons that he used performance-enhancing substances from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers.
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Union Official Says He Did Not Tip Off Rodriguez — Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the baseball players' union, said on Monday that he did not tip off Alex Rodriguez to a drug test at the end of the 2004 season. — “It's not true,” Orza said in an e-mail message. “Simple as that.”
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Rodriguez Admits to Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs — Alex Rodriguez admitted in an interview with ESPN on Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs for several seasons at the beginning of this decade, but he said he has not used the substances since then.
Bob Raissman / NY Daily News:A-Rod admits to steroid use in ESPN interview
Discussion:
Jorge Says No!
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:Jeter says A-Rod deserves ‘benefit of the doubt’
Discussion:
The Mets Police
King Kaufman / Salon:Last clean player, please bring the flag
Discussion:
Baseball Prospectus, The Futility Infielder, NJ.com, Chris Sabo's Goggles and Sabernomics
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louis Cardinals release Adam Kennedy — JUPITER, Fla. — The Cardinals have abruptly reversed course, releasing second baseman Adam Kennedy and declaring an open competition for the position, the Post-Dispatch has learned. — The move, apparently made at the strong urging of manager Tony La Russa …
Discussion:
Fox Sports, Jorge Says No!, Yahoo! Sports, LA Times Sports Blog, Lookout Landing and MLB Rumors
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MLB:
Surprise at second: Cardinals waive Kennedy — ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals have released Adam Kennedy, leaving the second base job up for grabs with just a week to go before spring training. — Kennedy — The Cardinals made the surprise announcement on Monday.
JSOnline:
Stuff on Looper — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — For those not acquainted with Braden Looper, he was a closer with Florida and the New York Mets before going to St. Louis and being converted to a starting pitcher the past two seasons. — Over that span, Looper went 24-26 with a 4.52 ERA in 63 starts.
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball, Lookout Landing, MLB FanHouse, Right Field Bleachers and The Cub Reporter (TCR)
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MLB:
Yomiuri Giants ink former MLB infielder Alfonzo — MIYAZAKI, Japan — The Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League have signed former major league infielder Edgardo Alfonzo to a one-year contract worth $380,000. — The Giants signed the 35-year-old Venezuelan after giving him a tryout at their spring training camp.
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Rangers Have Crowded Outfield — By Tim Dierkes [February 9 at 9:53am CST] — Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that the Rangers have six candidates for the outfield: Josh Hamilton, Andruw Jones, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Frank Catalanotto, and Marlon Byrd. Is a trade in order?
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Tim Kurkjian / ESPN:
Neyer upsets Phillips in first semifinal … This isn't a fair fight. Steve Phillips, a former general manager of the New York Mets, a guy who built a real major league team for seven years, against Rob Neyer, a baseball writer, a stat guy. — Baseball writers don't know anything about baseball; neither do stat guys.
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Ensberg has shot to make Rays roster — Former All-Star third baseman Morgan Ensberg has reached agreement on a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. — Ensberg will earn a base salary of $650,000 if he makes the major league club out of spring training.
Mitchel Lichtman / FanGraphs Baseball:
First Basemen “Scoops” - The Value of Handling Errant Throws at First Base — Most of you are familiar with Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), a metric for evaluating fielding using detailed play-by-play data. For first basemen, like all other fielders, it measures the number of ground balls …
