Jack Clark Accuses Albert Pujols and Justin Verlander of PED Use

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The debate on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball couldn't be any hotter right now, but it appears former St. Louis Cardinal Jack Clark just threw gasoline on the fire after accusing Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers and Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels of PED use.

Here is what Clark had to say about a conversation he had with Pujols' former trainer, Chris Mihlfeld, who has been connected with PEDs in the past, per Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Mihlfeld “had told me what he was doing with ‘Poolie’ — threw him batting practice, worked him out, shot him up, all that stuff,” Clark said on the air.

“I had asked him about conditioning and working me out, what he would do for me, and he asked me whether I had ever thought of taking some steroids,” Clark said. “... He just told me that he wanted me to get started on steroids and he had some other guys that were doing it. He told me that’s how he’s conditioning this guy that he met out of high school and college and he looked like he was going to be a star, keep an eye on him.’’

“He told me, ‘Well you couldn’t do what I do with Albert Pujols, he’s on this real strenuous workout deal.’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t want to try to do that.’ Every day he kind of came to me and says, ‘you ready to do it? I’m ready to do it.’ I said, ‘Well I’m just not a needle guy, I’ve had enough surgeries and injuries over the years. I don’t like needles ... I’m not going to do that ... I’m not a player anymore."

“He had told me he had done that with Pujols, with steroids, and I really never thought too much about it because steroids were really not on my radar screen at that time.”

“The fact is (Mihlfeld) told me,” Clark said. “I never saw him’’ inject Pujols.

To be fair, per ESPN.com, Mihlfeld has denied he ever told Clark about Pujols using PEDs:

"I haven't even talked to Jack Clark in close to 10 years. His statements are simply not true. I have known Albert Pujols since he was 18 years old, and he would never use illegal drugs in any way. I would bet my life on it and probably drop dead on the spot if I found out he has. As before, once again both Albert and myself have been accused of doing something we didn't do."

After talking about Pujols, Clark then went into why he believes Verlander is using the stuff, although to be fair again, his evidence in the matter is far less compelling than his evidence against Pujols:

“Verlander was like Nolan Ryan, he threw 97, 98, 100 miles an hour from the first inning to the ninth inning,” Clark said on the air. “He got that big contract, now he can barely reach 92, 93. What happened to it? He has no arm problems, nothing’s wrong. It’s just the signs are there."

To touch on Verlander first, I can see where the signs are that possibly Verlander was using in the past. His fastball velocity has been down this season and there's no question he hasn't been as effective in 2013 as in years past after getting that big deal.

But you can easily make the case that Verlander, who has thrown at least 200 innings every year since 2007 and is on pace to do the same this year, could be suffering from a tired arm. It happens to guys in baseball and Verlander could be the next victim.

 

I think the jury is still out in that case as far as Verlander being on some kind of decline, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on as it is plausible Verlander could have used up until he got his mega deal from Detroit.

Again, the evidence Clark has against Verlander is nowhere near that of the evidence against Pujols.

Apparently, Clark had these in-depth conversations with Mihlfeld, who in the past used to train Pujols before it was discovered that former MLB pitcher Jason Grimsley was trained by the same guy and was caught using PEDs.

While that connection certainly doesn't convict Pujols, it is a connection worth making note of.

On top of that, these intimate conversations Clark had with Mihlfeld are between the two of them specifically, so it would be one man's word against the other, which is never a recipe for success in any investigation without strong evidence for one side or the other.

Either you take Clark at his word or you don't.

Perhaps the most damning evidence against Pujols is the fact that his body has been breaking down in recent years and that is normally a sign of long-term PED use. Pujols has developed a set of bad wheels in recent years and may fail to play 100 games this season because of them.

Again, it's a small sample size so we'll have to wait and see how Pujols' health holds up the next few seasons, but right now his physical struggles aren't looking so good for the future of his enormous contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

At the end of the day, it's Clark's words against anyone else's that chooses to fight the allegations against Pujols, but ask yourself: does Clark have a reason to lie and risk his newly-found radio career?

You can certainly make the argument he does and is trying to grab some ratings for the show. But the incredible amount of specific detail in Clark's story certainly warrants some looking into as Pujols continues to approach Hall of Fame numbers that will enshrine him in Cooperstown one day.

Why New York Yankees Fans Won't Boo Alex Rodriguez

 

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The question has been up in the air ever since Alex Rodriguez came back from injury and began fighting his 211-game suspension handed down from Major League Baseball: will New York Yankees fans cheer the embattled slugger?

After playing a single three-game set on the road against the Chicago White Sox, it's clear that Rodriguez won't be a fan favorite away from home no matter where he goes. While there were some cheers from the minority of fans in attendance that wore the pinstripes, the hometown fans in Chicago weren't so friendly.

But things should and will be different once A-Rod returns to the Bronx on Friday night.

The Yankees third baseman hasn't exactly earned support from many these days. His exploits in alleged performance-enhancing drug use have earned A-Rod the label of cheater, and all of the other things he's being accused of are just piling on top of an already negative persona.

However, this is still sports and above all else, fans want their players to help them win. Regardless of what A-Rod may have done on and off the field, he can still help this team and is by far the best third baseman the Yanks have sent out to the field this season.

Yankees fans also know that while the American League East title looks to be nearly impossible to reach this season, the Wild Card standings are a bit more realistic with the Bombers being just seven games back. A bat like A-Rod's could help New York make up that deficit with a little over a month and a half to go.

The Yanks need to score runs--which is a big reason for their struggles of late--and A-Rod could very well supply what the team needs. So, with A-Rod being so important to this team, Yankee fans will ultimately support him because it's in their best interests for him to do well.

Another reason Rodriguez will be cheered is because there are a sect of fans out there that view him as a sympathetic figure. It may be hard to imagine, but many feel Rodriguez has been unfairly targeted and that his 211-game suspension was more personal for commissioner Bud Selig than anything else.

After all, it is the longest suspension in MLB history aside from numerous lifetime bans handed out by the league in the past. It is also outside the guidelines of suspensions set in place by the league's drug agreement.

Not to mention, this is the same league that turned a blind eye to the widespread use of PEDS in the past and is now trying to clean up its own mess by trying to make an example out of Rodriguez, whether unjustly so or not.

A-Rod is just one man fighting an entire league, and in many cases an entire planet that thinks negatively of him because of several blunders he's made in his life. Yankee fans are used to and understand the "me against the world" attitude as fans of one of the most hated franchises on Earth.


This support will only last for a certain amount of time, though. If A-Rod starts to show the old, non-clutch version of himself and routinely doesn't come through in big spots, then we might hear the boo birds in the Bronx rear their ugly heads.

Until that happens, the Yankee fans will welcome A-Rod with open arms as he returns home.

Philadelphia Eagles Allow Riley Cooper to Return With Zero Rehabilitation

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The Philadelphia Eagles made us all believe that Riley Cooper was going to pay the price for his comments caught on video a few months back, but it appears the money out of his pocket is all he will pay.

According to Phil Sheridan of Philly.com, Cooper did pay the fine the Eagles handed down to him but it looks as though he never went to sensitivity training at all and the Eagles had no plans for the controversial wide receiver after dropping the N-bomb on video.


Instead, four days later, Cooper made it back to practice and head coach Chip Kelly didn't even announce it was coming as he had originally promised. I guess, as many have joked, that Cooper found a four-day cure for racism.

Also thrown into Cooper's alleged image-recovery tour was a meeting with the African-American guard he used the slur against and apparently dealing with his use of alcohol and the potential that it may lead to his saying things like the N-word. It's doubtful those things were addressed in such a short time.

In fact, per the same Philly.com article, Cooper likely went home to Florida to see his parents.

So, in all this talk about rehabilitating Cooper and keeping him away from the team while he does so, it was all bogus. The Eagles knew they were going to keep him all along and all Cooper needed to weather the storm was a few days off with mommy and daddy.

No suspension. No sensitivity training. Just a fine and nothing else. As if the Eagles couldn't have handled this any worse, they just keep topping themselves.

It's bad enough Cooper is still on the team, but the fact that the organization sold us this line of garbage makes it even worse. There's no question that the Eagles don't even care about what Cooper said, they just wanted him back to make things easier on the field and were willing to lie to shut us all up.

That has got to be troubling to the players on the Eagles roster who were rightfully offended by Cooper's use of the racial slur. A head coach must know these things to be true, but clearly Kelly didn't get the memo of just how divisive this situation could become.

I highly doubt players on the team have much trust for their new coach.

For a team whose future is already up in the air, this isn't likely to make it any easier. Kelly has failed to make the conversation about the team's play on the field and has done everything in his power to seemingly make it about off-the-field issues instead.

I told SportsGuyMike last week that I believed the sensitivity training was just the first step in Cooper's comeback. However, I had no idea that the Eagles receiver would skip that altogether and present zero justification for his return or any evidence that he has changed his ways.

This is a puzzling move to say the least for a sports town that used to be considered one of the worst years back as far as being accepting of other races is concerned. Now, Philly has a team that supplies almost zero punishment for egregious racism and this issue will only add another black eye to the ugly history of race and sports in Philadelphia.

While coach Kelly has made many questionable decisions during his time as a college football coach, the new Eagles front man is quickly making even worse decisions at this level. The coach and the organization should be ashamed of itself for this behavior and their allowance of a bigot to remain on the team with no repercussions at all.

News and Notes from Denver Broncos Training Camp

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

The season is just one month away and much like all teams in the NFL, the Denver Broncos are hard at work in training camp trying to get things ready for the start of the 2013 campaign.

Let's take a look at some of the news and notes from Broncos camp.

Depth Chart Release: Running Backs

The Broncos released their first depth chart of the summer and there weren't any surprises really. Sure, the fact that Knowshon Moreno was listed as the No. 3 back might be surprising, but he has been battling a knee injury during camp that has bothered him since the playoffs last season.

So with Moreno's positioning on the chart taking a hit as a result of the injury, that left Ronnie Hillman as the No. 1 back for Denver, followed by rookie Montee Ball. Hillman is obviously the more experienced of the two having played in one season, and in that season he compiled 330 yards to the tune of 3.9 per carry.

If Moreno is healthy to start the season, that will likely push Ball back a spot on the depth chart, but Hillman figures to be apart of this offense no matter what barring something unforeseen.

However, judging from Moreno's injury history the past few seasons, it's almost a lock that Ball gets some serious carries during the year or at the least, gets a chance to get his feet wet with very little pressure on him thanks to a great supporting cast.

Wes Welker Comments

Welker is wasting little time making headlines in Broncos camp. One of the newest additions to the team recently spoke about his time with his former team, the New England Patriots, and even had an interesting comment about former head coach and evil genius, Bill Belichick.

The quote is courtesy of ESPNBoston.com:

"It was just kind of hard," Welker told the magazine in a story that appears in this week's edition, "one of those deals where you have to endure him, put up with him. ... But he does it to everybody. It's the way he is."

"When I'm answering questions from the Denver media, I'm not worried about what the Broncos' people are going to think," Welker told SI. "I'm worried about what Belichick will think. Isn't that crazy?"

Clearly, playing for a coach like Belichick is mentally taxing to say the least and Welker's comments clearly show that. I don't think many would argue with what Welker said, they just wouldn't say it aloud to the media while still playing for Belichick.

It couldn't have been that bad for Welker as he's compiled more catches than any other receiver the past six seasons (672). Moving forward, Welker shouldn't have a problem playing for or with anyone after such a "tough" ordeal in New England.

I personally can't wait for the first book that comes out detailing what it was like to play for the Belichick regime. Can you imagine the stories that are just waiting to be told?


Peyton Manning Getting his Recruiting on

Apparently Manning has some experience in the recruiting process and executive VP of football operations John Elway tapped him to use them.

After the team's centers were dropping like flies, Elway consulted in Manning to find a new center and Manning suggested former teammate, Ryan Lilja, per the Denver Post. Of course, Manning was successful in his attempt to bring Lilja out of retirement to play center for the team.

Lilja's role isn't certain as of yet, but if all goes well he has a huge edge over every other center candidate on the roster because of his experience playing with Manning. At this point in the summer, Manning and the Broncos would love to have someone familiar with the star QB snapping the ball.

Lilja fits the description, but don't count out a guy like Manny Ramirez, who has been working with Manning since Dan Koppen went down to injury. This will be a battle to the end of the summer, but if Lilja can get ready in time, he looks to be the team's No. 1 choice.



Broncos Make the Cover of Sports Illustrated

 

Normally, you wouldn't want the stigma of SI cover boys for your favorite football squad because of the added pressure and expectations it might bring, but come on, this is Peyton Manning we're talking about.

Manning, along with wide receivers Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, graced the cover of SI this week. It's well deserved in my humble opinion because Denver is set to have one of the most feared passing attacks in the NFL and is a favorite to win the Super Bowl.

The Broncos will be going airborne early and often this season and that could lead to a historic run numbers-wise during the 2013 season.

Carlos Gonzalez Injury: DL Stint is Nail in Coffin for Colorado Rockies Season



By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

Carlos Gonzalez has done his best to play through a nagging finger injury for some time now, but the Colorado Rockies superstar slugger has finally succumb to the pain.

According to the official Twitter feed of the Rockies, CarGo will take some necessary time off via the disabled list:

The #Rockies announced today that the club has placed OF Carlos Gonzalez on the 15-day DL with a sprained joint of the right middle finger.
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 7, 2013

The move isn't a surprising one at all. Gonzalez has been battling with this injury for about a month or so now and has even admitted it to the media recently. It was pretty obvious that when Gonzalez's numbers began to slip he was having difficulty playing hurt.

For the season, Gonzalez has bashed 26 homers and driven in 70 runs with a .302 average. All of those numbers are no doubt impressive, but a slow month of July that was likely the result of the injury greatly slowed down what was once a potential Triple Crown season.

While his average did rise 11 points in July, his run production was down to the tune of four homers and 10 RBI. That was his worst month of the season since April, when he hit five homers and 13 RBI.

Along with CarGo's decline, the Rockies themselves have struggled mightily offensively, and what was once just a three- or four-game deficit in the National League West has ballooned to 11 games heading into Wednesday's action.

Gonzalez's injury is just a microcosm of the issues Colorado has faced this season. The Rockies have sent many players to the DL on numerous occasions this season and Gonzalez is just the latest.



If it wasn't injuries, the Rockies simply couldn't put it altogether this season. If the pitching was solid, Colorado couldn't put the bat to the ball. If the bats were alive, Coors Field and any other National League park wasn't so friendly to the team's inconsistent pitching staff.

The trade deadline came and went and with the Rockies doing nothing, it was clear the players already on this talented roster were going to have to step it up in order to make October baseball happen.

That was the realistic goal of this team, but now the Rockies will start looking to next season barring a miraculous turn of events. It wouldn't be the first time a baseball miracle would happen in the Rocky Mountains, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball and won't be caught.

Next season is still bright for the Rockies in most regards. The majority of their killer lineup will be returning and the team's younger pitchers will be looking to build off strong performances in 2013.

All that's left will be to get some help in both the bullpen and starting rotation if possible to add to the strong core the Rockies already have. If that can be accomplished, there's no reason why the Rockies shouldn't be atop the NL West in 2014.

New York Jets Must Start Mark Sanchez Over Geno Smith

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist

The debate continues to rage about who the New York Jets should start behind center Week 1 of the 2013 NFL season, but it's obvious that the Jets should choose Mark Sanchez over Geno Smith.

This decision shouldn't be based on training camp performance alone. As of right now, however, Smith seems to be outplaying Sanchez for the right to the starting job, per Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.

That's really no surprise quite honestly because there's no question Sanchez has totally lost whatever potential it is he had just a few years ago. Not to mention, Smith's athleticism and arm are superior to that of Sanchez's and the Jets horrid offense would no doubt benefit from a quarterback who can extend plays with his legs.

But that's where supporters of Smith should stop and really think about what's best for the young rookie quarterback. Granted, Smith would be my first choice if circumstances were different and having him on the field would give Jets fans something to watch and care about this season.

Still, it's just not a smart move considering New York has next to zero weapons for Smith to throw to and even less of a running game behind him. That problem is exacerbated by the fact that Santonio Holmes may not be ready to play this season after missing much of last year's campaign.

How on Earth could the Jets consider throwing Smith out there Week 1 without anything legit to work with?

Doing so will only set Smith up for disaster and in turn, that could stunt his growth before he even gets his career off the ground. To make matters worse, if the Jets feel the need to pull Smith during the season in favor of Sanchez, that would no doubt be a huge step back for the West Virginia product.

There is simply no harm in making Smith wait another season while the organization continues to put the personnel in place to give its new quarterback a chance to succeed in the future. After all, isn't that what Smith represents?

This team has no aspirations of winning now aside from the fact that the head coach, Rex Ryan, needs a miraculous season to save his job. Even with that being the case, let's hope Rex does what's best for Smith and not what potentially could be best for him while disregarding Smith's career.

It would be a typical Jets move if they were to throw Smith on the field as the starter for headline purposes and that's why that scenario can't be discounted in the least bit. Instead, New York needs to have some patience and give it until half the season or maybe more until they start the Geno Smith experiment.

Riley Cooper: Philadelphia Eagles Choose Winning Over Doing the Right Thing

 

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist

Even after video emerged of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper using the N-word, the team remains behind him for the most part but for all the wrong reasons.

The video of Cooper using the word at a Kenny Chesney concert in June can be seen here, although it's tough to watch to say the least because of the horrid nature of Cooper's speech.

As a result of Cooper's use of the N-word, the Eagles are getting a ton of backlash for the simple fact that they kept him on the team while he undergoes sensitivity training. The Eagles could have made it much easier on themselves had they just cut ties, but refusing to do so has put them smack dab in the middle of this mess.

Quite honestly, the Eagles have nobody to blame but themselves for the incredible amount of scrutiny they are receiving for how this situation has been handled. Common sense would tell any team to let Cooper go, but the Eagles chose winning instead and further proved common sense isn't so common.

It's hard to imagine that had fellow Philly receiver Jeremy Maclin not gotten injured for the entire 2013-14 season, Cooper might be out of a job by now and possibly out of the league had no other team had the fortitude to pick him up.

However, that didn't happen and with the team in need of a receiver who is already somewhat familiar with head coach Chip Kelly's confusing offensive system, the Eagles must have thought it would be too difficult for a newly-signed player to get on board with Kelly's system in such a short amount of time.

Regardless of the reasoning for keeping Cooper, the Eagles messed up big time and now they have to deal with the consequences that comes from angry fans, activists and even the players on the roster itself.

This move alone will make things far more difficult for Kelly and the Eagles this season as the potential is there for the team's locker room to be heavily divided and distracted by the issue. And it certainly isn't going away since Cooper will likely return at some point to take the field for Philly again.

It may be more than the Eagles ever bargained for with Cooper, but it isn't Cooper who is to blame for this media relations disaster the organization is dealing with, it's the organization itself.