2.13.2004
Mad Dog in the Fog?
Well, whad'ya know? ("Not much, how about you?" is the proper response.) As of today, the Giants are on the short list of suitors for Greg Maddux, the mad dog disguised as a librarian.
My first thought was, "Uh oh, Dustin Hermanson is going to be really upset." But I shrugged that one off pretty quickly.
The Chron's Henry Schulman says P-Mag is getting involved in the negotiations, which probably means he sees the return value of paying a little extra for a Hall of Fame pitcher on the cusp of win #300. Plus the sale of Giants' "Maddux 31" jerseys....uh oh...wait a second...we have a number conflict. Nen, 31. Maddux, 31. Who's going to blink? We're making two assumptions here, of course: 1) Nen comes back and 2) Maddux comes aboard.
It would be a nice problem to have.
Rolling along with our little Maddux assumption for a moment...the rotation would ostensibly be Schmidt, Maddux, Rueter, Williams and either Tomko or Hermanson. Hermanson hated the bullpen in St. Louis and came to SF in part because of the chance to start. Tomko has also been mostly a starter; his greatest worth is his durability. My bet would be on an unhappy Hermanson moving to the bullpen. Of course if Schmidt can't answer the bell in April, Maddux would be bumped to #1 and both Tomko and Hermanson would crack the rotation.
Given the Cubs have offered Maddux a reported 2 yrs, $12 M, it seems the Giants would have to go either longer or more expensive (unless Maddux is giving a West Coast discount to play near his home in So Cal). 3 yrs, $15 M? $18 M?
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More on steroids:
Oakland Raider Tyrone Wheatley had a couple interesting comments in a Chron piece today. Here's a reprint:
Wheatley -- who sought Conte's services in performance strengthening and recovery on the advice of other athletes -- said he has every vitamin and nutritional supplement he buys tested by an outside laboratory for traces of illegal substances before he ingests them.
"The NFL tells players that we are responsible for everything we put into our bodies, so why would I put myself at risk if my vitamins or fish oil capsules or protein powder somehow had become cross-contaminated during manufacturing?" Wheatley said. "How else can I be certain that my bottle of vitamins hasn't been contaminated, because they might be bottling THG or steroids on the other side of the room?"
Thursday's indictments, Wheatley said, don't represent a dark day for sports but illustrate a double standard in the world's top arenas.
"There is a win-at-all-costs culture that says unless you do spectacular things on the field or on the court, you're nothing special,'' Wheatley said. "Is it OK that athletes are shot up with drugs to keep them playing with broken bones and torn ligaments but not OK when they take supplements to keep them on the field?"
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Well, whad'ya know? ("Not much, how about you?" is the proper response.) As of today, the Giants are on the short list of suitors for Greg Maddux, the mad dog disguised as a librarian.
My first thought was, "Uh oh, Dustin Hermanson is going to be really upset." But I shrugged that one off pretty quickly.
The Chron's Henry Schulman says P-Mag is getting involved in the negotiations, which probably means he sees the return value of paying a little extra for a Hall of Fame pitcher on the cusp of win #300. Plus the sale of Giants' "Maddux 31" jerseys....uh oh...wait a second...we have a number conflict. Nen, 31. Maddux, 31. Who's going to blink? We're making two assumptions here, of course: 1) Nen comes back and 2) Maddux comes aboard.
It would be a nice problem to have.
Rolling along with our little Maddux assumption for a moment...the rotation would ostensibly be Schmidt, Maddux, Rueter, Williams and either Tomko or Hermanson. Hermanson hated the bullpen in St. Louis and came to SF in part because of the chance to start. Tomko has also been mostly a starter; his greatest worth is his durability. My bet would be on an unhappy Hermanson moving to the bullpen. Of course if Schmidt can't answer the bell in April, Maddux would be bumped to #1 and both Tomko and Hermanson would crack the rotation.
Given the Cubs have offered Maddux a reported 2 yrs, $12 M, it seems the Giants would have to go either longer or more expensive (unless Maddux is giving a West Coast discount to play near his home in So Cal). 3 yrs, $15 M? $18 M?
---------
More on steroids:
Oakland Raider Tyrone Wheatley had a couple interesting comments in a Chron piece today. Here's a reprint:
Wheatley -- who sought Conte's services in performance strengthening and recovery on the advice of other athletes -- said he has every vitamin and nutritional supplement he buys tested by an outside laboratory for traces of illegal substances before he ingests them.
"The NFL tells players that we are responsible for everything we put into our bodies, so why would I put myself at risk if my vitamins or fish oil capsules or protein powder somehow had become cross-contaminated during manufacturing?" Wheatley said. "How else can I be certain that my bottle of vitamins hasn't been contaminated, because they might be bottling THG or steroids on the other side of the room?"
Thursday's indictments, Wheatley said, don't represent a dark day for sports but illustrate a double standard in the world's top arenas.
"There is a win-at-all-costs culture that says unless you do spectacular things on the field or on the court, you're nothing special,'' Wheatley said. "Is it OK that athletes are shot up with drugs to keep them playing with broken bones and torn ligaments but not OK when they take supplements to keep them on the field?"
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