• Major League Baseball

    Michael Ramirez on Drugs in Major League Baseball

    ramireztoon121407bweb

    How sad

    Flap watched quite a few of these players as collegians. Why did Major League Baseball allowed them to ruin their health, ruin the integrity of the game and failed to crack down on steroid use when it first began to surface?

    Money?

    Probably. More Home Runs and more excitement. But at what cost?

    Here is the list of the players implicated.

    Stay tuned……

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    Michael Ramirez on Evangelical Christian Vs. Mormon in the GOP

    Michael Ramirez on the Las Vegas Democrat Presidential Debate


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  • Major League Baseball,  New York City

    NYC SCARE: SMALL PLANE CRASHES INTO HIGH-RISE ON UPPER EAST SIDE

    REPORT: 'FIXED WING AIRCRAFT' FLIES INTO BUILDING E. 72ND STREET AT YORK, NEAR EAST RIVER... FDNY REPORTS 'PEOPLE TRAPPED'... STOCKS DIVE ON NEWS... DEVELOPING...

    Drudge has the story……

    Looks like terrorism to Flap although it is being reported as NOT.

    A temporary flight restriction has now been ordered for a 1 mile radius.

    NORAD: Fighters have been dispatched to area and to patrol all major American cities as a precaution.

    nycplaneweb

    FAA: all three NYC Area Airports operating normally.

    At least two people dead.

    This image from television shows fire and smoke after a small plane crashed into a high-rise on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police said Wednesday Oct. 11, 2006.

    More photos here.

    A small aircraft crashed into a high-rise on the Upper East Side on Oct. 11, 2006, setting off a fire and startling New Yorkers, police said. There were conflicting reports on whether the aircraft was a small plane or a helicopter.

    NYC Reports: Plane registered to Yankee Pitcher Cory Lidle

    US INTEL OFFICIALS: NO sign of terrorism

    Fox News is reporting that New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle was on the plane and is dead.

    AP: Yankee Cory Lidle on NYC plane; 4 killed

    A small plane with New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle aboard crashed into a 50-story condominium tower Wednesday on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, killing at least four people and raining flaming debris on sidewalks, authorities said.

    NYC Mayor Bloomberg will have a news conference shortly.

  • Major League Baseball

    PLAY BALL!

    U.S. President George W. Bush (R) walks back to the dugout with Cincinnati Reds Catcher Jason LaRue after Bush threw the first pitch of the Cincinnati Reds home opening day baseball game to him of the season in Cincinnati, Ohio April 3, 2006. Bush watched the opening innings of the Reds game against the Chicago Cubs.

    ASSociated Press: Bonds and Bush Highlight MLB Openers

    The major league season swings into full action Monday, with Barry Bonds returning to San Francisco’s opening-day outfield, Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins trying to keep his string of hits in 36 straight games going and President Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in Cincinnati.

    Flap is looking forward to the coming season…..

    Play ball!


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  • Major League Baseball,  Politics

    Major League Baseball Steroids Watch: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig Appoints Former Democrat Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to Head Steroid Investigation

    Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, left, is joined by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig during a news conference in New York, Thursday, March 30, 2006. Selig announced that Mitchell will be leading an investigation into the alleged steroid use by Barry Bonds and other MLB players. ‘Nothing is more important to me than the integrity of the game of baseball,’ commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.

    ASSociated Press:Chief of New Steroids Probe Draws Fire

    Baseball began its investigation Thursday into alleged steroid use by Barry Bonds and others, and the head of the inquiry immediately came under attack because of his close ties to the sport.

    In the wake of a searing book about Bonds, commissioner Bud Selig appointed former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell — and currently a director of the Boston Red Sox — to lead the investigation.

    The probe initially will be limited to events since September 2002, when the sport banned performance-enhancing drugs, but Mitchell has the authority to expand it.

    George Mitchell is a Leftie hack that has zero credibility in the sports world. So, why choose him?

    Because…..he will stonewall/cover-up any investigation.

    And where in the hell has been Bud Selig all of these years as a team owner and Commissioner of Major league Baseball?

    Selig said Mitchell’s report will be made public but didn’t set a timetable. By then, Bonds may well have passed Babe Ruth’s home-run mark on the way toward Hank Aaron’s all-time record.

    “The goal here is to determine facts, not engage in supposition, speculation, rumor or innuendo,” Selig said.

    Yeah, right….

    Selig has been grossly negligent and even in a way condoned steroid use. MLB will be well served after his contract expires in December 2007. What a disaster.

    And Mitchell? He should resign and go back to ruining the Walt Disney Company.

    Mitchell, meanwhile, said he will not resign his position with the Red Sox. He also is chairman of The Walt Disney Co., the parent of ESPN, a national broadcast partner of baseball.

    “I don’t think there’s any conflict,” he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I’m going to be independent, have complete independent authority and will act.”

    What a JOKE!

    Just like Barry Bonds’ homerun records…….

    Previous:

    Barry Bonds Watch: The TRUTH About Barry Bonds and Steroids


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  • Major League Baseball

    Barry Bonds Watch: The TRUTH About Barry Bonds and Steroids

    Sports Illustrated: Bonds exposed

    Shadows details superstar slugger’s steroid use

    READ IT ALL…..

    Beginning in 1998 with injections in his buttocks of Winstrol, a powerful steroid, Barry Bonds took a wide array of performance-enhancing drugs over at least five seasons in a massive doping regimen that grew more sophisticated as the years went on, according to Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters at the forefront of reporting on the BALCO steroid distribution scandal.

    The Major League Baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig, must BAN Bonds from baseball and strip him of any and all records.

    For the integrity of the game……..


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  • Health,  Major League Baseball

    Baseball Catchers Face Irreversible Hand Trauma

    In a typical pro baseball game, a minor or major league catcher stops about 150 pitches, many slamming into his glove at speeds well over 90 mph. Add in pre-game practice throws, and the total number of catches climbs as high as 300 a day, experts say.

    Now, a new study finds that despite recent improvements in glove design, that kind of repetitive pounding is causing long-term, irreversible damage to many catchers’ hands — especially their index fingers.

    “We think that the repetitive impact over time causes scarring around the digital nerves and arteries, and some of the microvessels,” said study co-author Dr. Andrew Koman, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

    While these injuries may not be career-limiting, they will have an impact on hand function and sensation as the catcher ages, Koman said.

    Gloves currently used by professional catchers do not adequately protect the hand from repetitive trauma says a study published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2005;87:1464-1469.

    Background: Repetitive trauma to the hand is a concern for baseball players. The present study investigated the effects of repetitive trauma and the prevalence of microvascular pathological changes in the hands of minor league professional baseball players. In contrast to previous investigators, we documented the presence of abnormalities in younger, asymptomatic individuals.

    Methods: Thirty-six baseball players on active minor league rosters underwent a history and physical examination of both hands as well as additional specialized tests, including Doppler ultrasound, a timed Allen test, determination of digital brachial pressure indices, and ring sizing of fingers. Data were compared between gloved hands and throwing hands, hitters and nonhitters, and players at four different positions (catcher [nine subjects], outfielder [seven subjects], infielder [five subjects], and pitcher [fifteen subjects]).

    Results: Digital brachial indices in the ring fingers of the gloved (p < 0.05) and throwing hands (p < 0.02) of catchers were significantly diminished compared with those in all other players. Doppler testing showed a significantly greater prevalence of abnormal flow in the ulnar artery at Guyon's canal when catchers were compared with other position players (p < 0.01). Doppler abnormalities were significantly more common in the gloved hand compared with the throwing hand (p < 0.05). Seven of nine catchers (and only catchers) were found to have index finger hypertrophy (average change, two ring sizes; p < 0.01); the hypertrophy occurred at the proximal phalanx and the proximal interphalangeal joint of the gloved hand. Catchers had a significantly higher prevalence of subjective hand symptoms (specifically, weakness in the gloved hand) compared with pitchers and infielders/outfielders (44% compared with 7% and 17%, respectively; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Microvascular changes are present in the hands of otherwise healthy professional baseball players in all positions, with a significantly higher prevalence in catchers, prior to the development of clinically important ischemia. Repetitive trauma resulting from the impact of the baseball also leads to digital hypertrophy in the index finger of the gloved hand of catchers.

    Flap’s son is a baseball catcher and although not a professional has caught a good number of innings (over multiple seasons), since the age of 8 (he is 19 now and plays American Legion ball). His gloved hand is often bruised and his index finger is usually exposed outside his glove.

    Technology needs to develop padding or glove material that is flexible enough to be used in a one handed catching environment.

    Hat Tip: Medgadget

  • Major League Baseball,  Sports

    Bonds Reportedly being Investigated by Baseball

    The Kansas City Star has this piece on Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds:

    While Giants outfielder Barry Bonds rehabilitates his troublesome left knee, Major League Baseball is conducting its own investigation into the troubled slugger, major-league sources told the New York Daily News.

    MLB security officials believe Bonds may be at risk of ultimate imprisonment over allegations of tax fraud, and are conducting their own probe into Bonds’ relationships and activities. An official from another club said the Giants’ front office “is starting to freak out” over Bonds’ mounting problems.

    “I think they realize they’ve let the situation get away from them,” the source said.

    The most recent controversy centers on Bonds’ reliance on his own doctors and trainers as he attempts to rehabilitate his right knee. Bonds, 40, is recovering from three surgeries on the knee since Jan. 31.

    Bonds’ surgeon, Albert Ting, has been reprimanded twice by the California state medical board and is on probation for “unprofessional conduct,” according to reports.

    Baseball’s labor agreement allows players to go outside the organization for help, but requires that the player keep the team informed of any developments.

    MLB was not happy to hear that Ting, who performed all three of Bonds’ knee surgeries, has had trouble with the law. Because Bonds is under government investigation for perjury relating to his testimony before the BALCO grand jury and possible tax fraud involving allegedly undeclared income from memorabilia sales, baseball’s investigators have found it difficult to conduct their own inquiry, sources said.

    Officials aren’t sure where the investigation will lead or what action they would take if they find Bonds has violated baseball’s rules.

    Does anyone really think that Bonds will play baseball again? NO!

    The knee surgery is a distraction and a ruse. Using a disciplined orthopedic physician is a convenient excuse.

    Bonds should be stripped of his records – along with Mark McGwire.

    Update #1

    Baseball says it is NOT investigating Bonds. Read ths story here.