N ews item: San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy is being shopped and would look really good in the Orioles' rotation.
My take: Trouble is, Peavy has a full no-trade clause and apparently does not want to play in the American League. And even if he did want to play in the American League, he probably would like to play on a winning team. And even if he didn't care about playing on a winning team, the Padres are going to try to get the kind of value the Orioles got for Erik Bedard. And if you were paying attention during August and September, your first question should have been: "What Orioles rotation?" I hope that clears things up.
News item: The Major League Baseball Players Association is preparing a grievance against owners for allegedly acting in concert to keep Barry Bonds off any major league roster this year.
My take: The union claims to have proof, and if it does have proof, it would prove two things, the second being that somebody in baseball was stupid enough to think it was necessary to act in concert to keep Bad News Barry out of the game. The guy is in his 40s, has gimpy legs and is under multiple indictments that could send him to prison. It would take no stretch of the imagination to envision each of the 30 major league teams deciding individually that nobody needs that kind of headache.
Bonus take: Remember, just because Barry can still hit home runs and could help a contending team doesn't mean anyone is required to consider signing him. But if a team such as the New York Yankees calls a team such as the Boston Red Sox and says, "If you don't sign him, we won't either," then the union has a case.
News item: Former Auburn coach Terry Bowden wrote in his blog at Yahoo.com that his brother Tommy deserved to get fired after Clemson got off to a disappointing start this year.
My take: I sure am glad my brother doesn't have a blog after some of the swill I've been writing lately.
News item: Manny Ramirez reportedly was voted a two-thirds playoff share by the Red Sox, despite his unseemly effort to force the team to trade him.
My take: That's pretty much par for the course. Every player who appears on a championship team during the regular season generally gets at least a prorated share reflecting the number of days he spent on the roster. No big deal one way or the other. The guy makes $20 million per year, so the prospect of getting an additional $200,000 probably wasn't going to turn him back into a Red Sox fan.
