Red Munger

 

Born on this date, Red Munger.

One of these cards is closer to cardboard perfection than the other.

Sammy Sosa

On this date in 2007, Sammy Sosa hits his 600th career home run.

"I would just do what Mark McGwire did. Come clean with it. Explain it to them. 'This is what happened.' It is hard to do, to admit this. Just admit it and live with it and understand it. I am sure a lot of people will forgive him." - Ernie Banks on Sosa's alleged steroid use

Mark McGwire

On this date in 2000, Mark McGwire hits three home runs to move past Mickey Mantle into eighth place on the all-time career list with 539.

"No, not by the guidelines that they have now." - on whether he would vote for himself for the Hall of Fame

Mark McGwire

On this date in 1998 at Busch Stadium, Mark McGwire hits a Livan Hernandez pitch for a 545-foot homer in a 5-4 Cardinals win over the Marlins. "It's the best ball I've ever hit."

"I wish I had never played in the Steroid Era." 1-11-10

Gregg Olson

On this date in 1989, Gregg Olson of the Orioles becomes the first relief pitcher to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

"In my first real save, I had the middle of the lineup with a on-run lead, and it was Mark McGwire, Dave Parker and Dave Henderson. And I struck all three of them out, and I said, 'All right, this stuff works.'"

Mark McGwire

On this date in 1998, Mark McGwire hits his 69th and 70th home runs setting the single season home run record.

"I wish I had never played in the steroid era".

Extremely useful piece of trivia

No one has ever finished a season with 53 or 55 home runs!

It shows you how steroids completely screwed up MLB's records and statistics.

You know McGwire, Sosa or Bonds would have topped out there during those years without the juice.

What a mess!

Mark McGwire

On this date in 1995, Mark McGwire hits three home runs in consecutive at-bats and ties the major league record of five home runs in consecutive games, leading the Ookland A's over the Boston Red Sox 8-1.

"I wish I had never played during the steroid era."

Mark McGwire Highway in danger

AP reports that the Missouri Senate voted unanimously Monday to rename a stretch of Interstate 70 in St. Louis that was previously designated the Mark McGwire Highway to the Mark Twain Highway.

First off, Tony LaRussa is gonna be like mega-pissed about this but maybe if he told all those guys to throw out those needles years ago, we wouldn't have these problems.

Well anyway, Mark Twain certainly smoked a lot of cigars and that may or may not have helped him write but for now, I think it is safe to name this highway after him.

For now!

*Whoops! Spoke too soon. NBC Sports today reminds us that Mark Twain was a frequent visitor to the opium dens in San Francisco throughout his life. Hey Missouri State Legislature! Opium?! Come on now! Do you have a third choice in mind? We got kids that live in Missouri, you know.

Another Mark McGwire fan (NOT)

Adolphus A. Busch IV who is the great-great-grandson of the founder of Anheuser-Busch has recently issued a statement on Mark McGwire's return.

Here are some excerpts:

"I suspect I am not alone in my disappointment at Mr. McGwire's recent 'clarification' on his use of illegal steroids."

"But has no one noticed? McGwire is not apologizing for his deceit, only for the embarrassment that came from his admission of having previously lied. The timing of his announcement at the start of a new baseball season has allowed him to hide behind the frenzy of a new Cardinal season and the blinding faith of Cardinal loyalists."

"Mark McGwire chose to take performance-enhancing drugs 9 of his 18 years in professional baseball. He was paid millions while perpetuating a fraud."

"McGwire has chosen to come out of the closet at the perfect time - alongside a manager who also refuses to be honest, to the fans or to the game itself. After all, why would Tony LaRussa hire a batting coach whose lifetime batting average was only .263?"

There is more but ouch!

Adolphus, don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.

Ok, first practically every sports columnist in America, then Whitey Herzog, then Jack Clark, then Carlton Fisk, then Ferguson Jenkins and now Adolphus A. Busch IV who I guess is probably close to royalty in St. Louis.

Memo to Mark McGwire:

You are not very popular right now. I know you received a nice ovation from the fans at the Cardinals Winter Warmup but I think most of those people were just hoping for an autograph.

You know what you should do?

Put a "stop pay" on that check you made out to the public relations firm you used for that written "confession" statement and also for the assistance in prepping you for those interviews which haven't gone so well.

Let them sue you for payment.

Fight them in court over it.

They blew it.

So did you.

Don't pay!

McFarlane has no regrets. (He's got a lot of money, you know)

Per Tarina White of the Calgary Sun, comic book creator, Todd McFarlane says he has no regrets about paying $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home-run baseball despite Mr. McGwire's recent steroid "confession".

"Regardless about your emotional feelings about the subject, the 70 ball is still the second-highest home run total," said McFarlane who purchased that ball from the 1998 season at an action in January of 1999.

McFarlane also owns Barry Bonds' 2001 record-setting ball for 73 home runs, and Sammy Sosa's third place ball for 66 home runs in 1998.

"Until they say that I don't have the top three home run balls, I have the top three home run balls," said McFarlane.

Yea, I guess but it is kind of like investing in Enron in October of 2001 or buying a distillery in 1918.

Todd's gotta work on that timing thing next time.

Hand over your phones! You work for us!

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals were so paranoid about potential leaks of Mark McGwire's plans to "confess" his steroid usage, that several employees had to turn over their cell phones after being informed of the pending announcement.

Now there is some morale-building stuff for you!

Is this covered in the Employee Handbook?

I wonder if they are unionized over there.

I wonder if they will be by the All Star break.

Jack Clark won't even shake his hand

Per Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, former Cardinal slugger, Jack Clark had this to say about Mark McGwire and his recent steroid "confession".

"All those guys are cheaters. A-Rod: Fake, phony. Rafael Palmeiro: Fake, a phony. Clemens, Bonds: Fakes. Phonies. They don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame."

"A lot of them should be banned from baseball, including Mark McGwire."

"They should be in the Hall of Shame. They can afford to build it. They've got so much money. And they could all go there and talk about the next way to rub something on your skin.* The whole thing is creepy. They're all creeps."

Clark and McGwire are scheduled to appear this weekend at the Cardinals Winter Warmup event.

If I am the Cardinals GM, I have memo out to the lowly intern(s) setting this thing up telling them that the signing tables for these guys need to be apart from each other. WAY apart. They might even want to get that hand wand from the storage room and scan everybody for weapons on their way in. VIPs included.

Can't be too safe you know.

*Not that kind of site but I will let it go this time.

Canseco says he is having a breakdown

Jose Canseco* abruptly cancelled his appearance last night on CNN's Larry King Live.

"We received word from Jose Canseco, the former baseball star, saying. "I am having a breakdown. I can't emotionally do it. I am emotionally drained. I am tired of defending myself," King said at the top of the show.

Of course, Canseco was scheduled to talk about Mark McGwire's recent steroid "confession".

First McGwire breaks down and now Canseco?

Man, these steroid guys and their emotions.

You know, I can see Dr. Drew Pinsky setting up a side business specializing in treating these steroid guys. I do think there is a demand for it.

You think I'm joking?!

*Sometimes the artwork on those Diamond Kings was "right on" but sometimes.....

You can't get stuff past 90 year old Bob Feller. Don't even try.

Bob Feller* on the Mark McGwire situation per Jim Ingraham of the Willoughby (Ohio) News-Herald:

"I think he's still lying. He said he didn't take steroids to hit more home runs. He said he took them because he was injured. I want to know what doctor told him to do that? I know it's no doctor I would ever go to. He took steroids for one reason, and that was to hit more home runs."

"If he had just come out and said, 'I took steroids because I wanted to hit more home runs,' I'd buy that, and I'd accept his apology. "But to say that taking steroids had nothing to do with wanting to hit more home runs, that's just a (let's go with "darned", CC) lie."

I know that he is an old coot and all and he says outrageous things from time to time but maybe old coots are needed at times like this.

Props to the reporter who thought to call him.

*Everybody knows Bob Feller signs like crazy. Above is a rare unsigned card of Bob Feller. It never crossed Bob's path for some reason.

"Obviously I think my dad still holds the record"

Rich Maris, son of Roger Maris.

Say it loud!

Say it proud!

Shout it to the rooftops!

So where is LaRussa's credibilty in all of this?

He said repeatedly that Mark McGwire never used steroids and shouted down anybody that suggested that he did.

Does he kick McGwire off his staff now?

He has to, right? I mean if we were to take him at his word up until now, then McGwire bamboozled him all these years making him look like a idiot now. You don't cross Tony! Nobody does that.

Unless.....

Is LaRussa trying to pull a fast one?

The Contra Costa Times quotes Tony LaRussa as saying that he will seriously consider adding new hitting coach, Mark McGwire to the roster in August for pinch-hitting duties.

"If we're in contention, we'll put him on the roster August 31. It's a nice little dream."

Of course, an "unretired" Mark McGwire would kick-start a new calendar for his Hall of Fame consideration. Players have to wait five years after retiring or from their appearance in a game and then have 15 more years to remain eligible for election. McGwire has been on the ballot three times and would only have 12 years of eligibility but this would give McGwire extra time for voters to "forgive and forget" about McGwire's ster...whoops, sorry ALLEGED steroid use, Incredible Hulk appearance, back acne, embarrassing Congressional (non) testimony etc.

Couple this with LaRussa's indignant defense of everything Mark McGwire and also his hysterical, rabid insistence that McGwire never used steroids and let's just say that Tony's motivation for this sure seems to be an open question.

Unfortunately, as much as LaRussa talks about the sanctity of the game, I don't think he is above doing something like this in service of his good buddy.

I can just see some Hall of Fame committee preemptively offering to waive the second 5 year waiting period for McGwire if he only gets a few at-bats in August with LaRussa foaming at the mouth responding, "Oh, no you won't! I will play him all year then! We can void Holliday's contract, you know! Don't make me do it! Stop messing with my boy!"

Think I am being too hard on LaRussa?

Think about it.

Tell me it can't happen.

Ok, then.

It was all McGwire's fault. Now pay us!

Per Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, Matt Holliday's agent, Scott Boras says that Mark McGwire was to blame for Holliday's horrid first part of 2009. Boras says Holliday's slow start for the A's last spring was due to swing changes McGwire made with Holliday during offseason coaching sessions the two had.

"After five weeks (Holliday) went back to his old stance," Boras said. "From that point on, he was the same player he always has been."

He says all this at the same time he wants the Cardinals to sign Holliday to a long-term $22.5 million a year contract.

These are the same Cardinals that just hired Mark McGwire as their hitting coach.

You can't make this stuff up.

Is Bonds next?

Ok, with Mark McGwire now formally back in baseball, you have to wonder just where is Barry Bonds' hitting coach position.

The dude could seriously hit. Like about a million times better than McGwire, give or take a quarter million.

If Barry Bonds is talking "hitting", I am listening. If Mark McGwire is talking "hitting", I might ask him to show me how far he can hit a ball but that might be it.

As with McGwire, Bonds doesn't like talking about the past but McGwire is now back in so.....

What's the difference?*

Just askin.

*Yea, I know that Barry Bonds is being criminally prosecuted for his lying about his drug use but Dave Parker also took his share of illegal substances and testified in a drug trial and he went on to be a hitting coach. I also know that Bonds is a creep of the highest order but have you ever heard sportswriters talk about Mark McGwire?