I don’t mean that in the judgmental way cops say it. You’d be nuts not to have a lawyer in Rodriguez’s situation. Lucky for him, he has a good one: Alex Rodriguez has bolstered his legal team, adding Jay Reisinger, who has represented a number of high-profile baseball players who have been confronted with questions […]

I first heard tell of this back in December, but Saturday’s New York Times updated Lance Niekro’s attempt to come back as a knukleballer just like his old man and his uncle Phil: The Elias Sports Bureau studied 190 father-son combinations in major league history and found that in 143 cases — three out of […]

Good news! Newsday’s Wallace Matthews — a truly awful columnist if ever there was one — has announced that he is no longer going to follow or write about baseball: In the week since I spoke with Bud Selig, I have thought long and hard about what the Omissioner can do to right the dreadful […]

Seems like everyone is speculating that Jim Bowden is about to be fired, but maybe they’re just not aiming high enough. How does prison suit you? A federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to baseball prospects from Latin America is looking at Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden as far back as […]

Things to read while getting your mind around the fact that “The Natural” — a pretty yet deeply flawed movie — somehow got four Oscar nominations. Man, 1984 has a lot to answer for: Chris Jaffe looks at the unique career of Rick Sutcliffe. He stops short of the broadcasting portion of that career, because […]

I’ve probably spilled a gallon or two of virtual ink lambasting GMs for signing “proven veterans” and trying to draft for a need rather than going with someone with some degree of upside and picking the best available player. But maybe I’ll let up a bit the next time. Why? Because mere minutes ago, I […]

Mets! Yankees! Madoff! Stanford! Johnny Damon, earning $13 million this season, cannot pay his bills. Xavier Nady, earning $6.55 million, cannot purchase an apartment in New York. The Stanford Financial Group scandal extends to Major League Baseball. The issues facing Damon and Nady — both New York Yankees outfielders and both clients of agent Scott […]

Ballpark Village, we hardly knew ye: Oakland Athletics officials today asked the City of Fremont to halt the planning process required to build a new stadium and move the team there, saying they want to reconsider their options. The Fremont city clerk’s office issued a notice today saying the A’s have asked the city to […]

At least their ticket office does: The Cleveland Indians may have found their most valuable statistics this season are coming from the ticket office rather than the playing field. Using statistical analysis of ticket purchases to understand the preferences and price limits of their fans, the Indians learned that fireworks after a game draw an […]

The government’s case against Bonds gets weaker by the day: A federal judge has barred prosecutors from using three positive steroid tests and other key evidence in Barry Bonds’ trial next month because of his personal trainer’s refusal to testify. The ruling issued late Thursday was expected. The judge had said earlier she was troubled […]