One team’s trash is another team’s treasure?

Impressive career stats aside, Barry Bonds remains unsigned heading into the first week of March. It’s not surprising to anyone that Bonds’ stock has dropped, of course. When you’re facing four counts of perjury and another for obstruction of justice you’ve got to expect some fallout. But just because Bonds hasn’t shown up in Florida or Arizona yet doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing the reigning home run king in 2008.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are talking—at least loosely—about signing the disgraced San Francisco Giants slugger. Despite Bonds’ legal problems, a contract with the free agent might not be a bad idea for Tampa Bay.

Here’s the thing about baseball in Tampa Bay. The Devil Rays are a young franchise, and they sprang up in the backyard of the New York Yankees spring training camp. That, coupled with the reality that so many people in and around Tampa migrated down from points north (re: New York, New Jersey) makes it difficult for the struggling team to convert loyal Yankee fans. Add those complications to the architectural blunder that is Tropicana Field (why would you build an indoor stadium in a place where 72-degree days are the norm in January?) and you’re looking at a formula for a small and apathetic fan base.

How do you boost attendance and generate revenue for a team like this? Well, one way to do it is to bring in a marquee player. Bonds could be that player. He’s still got the goods at 43-years-old and he could certainly be an impact player on the Rays’ line up. And let’s face it—Bonds is a controversial guy and controversial guys fill stadiums.

Right now, Rays vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called the possible signing of Bonds a “non-story.” He should take a long, hard look at the state of the Devils Rays franchise and think about making it one.

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Will Coco Go?

For the first time in a long time, the Boston Red Sox have a real battle between position players on their hands. At some point before Opening Day, a decision will have to be made in center field.

The two contenders are Coco Crisp, the switch-hitter best known for his speed and great defensive skills and Jacboy Ellsbury, who took over for Crisp in center field in Game 6 of the ALCS and went on to win the World Series with the Sox.

Just from reading the early stories about the situation in Ft. Myers, you get the feeling that Ellsbury has taken the lead in this race. And if you’re following what the Boston papers in particular are printing or reading what they’re saying on Dirt Dogs, you also get the feeling that people want Ellsbury on top. Coco hasn’t been that impressive since he came to the Hub in 2005. He battled a broken index finger in 2006 and hasn’t gotten his batting average over .300 since he left the Indians.

Ellsbury has the edge on Crisp due to his production in the post season and he’s been saying all the right things to the press so far. Crisp, meanwhile, has already made it clear that he’d rather be traded to a team that needs him than sit on the bench in Fenway. Maybe they don’t like his attitude, or maybe they see Crisp as the long-term solution in center field. But fans aren’t wasting any time digging into Crisp. Dirt Dogs is already ripping into the star on their website, taking shots as everything from the size of his afro to his comment about being able to “cheer lead with the best of ‘em.”

Coco, you’re out.

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Pettitte Goes Public

Andy Pettitte’s public apology at Legends Field yesterday won’t make the Mitchell report go away, but it’s probably baseball’s best individual effort aimed at dealing with the fallout.

Pettitte’s press conference stood apart from the half-hearted apologies and flat-out denials most players have provided for the media and fans. He wouldn’t go into how his testimony impacted his friendship with Roger Clemens, but he’s probably right to assume that it “put a strain” on his relationship with his former Yankees teammate.

The best thing about Pettitte’s apology was simply that it appeared to come from someplace real. He spent an hour sincerely fielding reporters’ questions. His answers didn’t always hold water, but they were genuine and you could (sort of) see how his decisions could have seemed reasonable to him at the time. Pettitte messed up and shouldn’t get off scott-free, but he deserves some credit for owning—not hiding—his mistakes.

So far, Pettitte is the only player named in the Mitchell report to face their demons in such an honest and brutally public way. Everyone in baseball should hope that Pettitte’s press conference is only the first many and not the exception to the rule.

A Possible Expatriot?

The off-season has made free agents of a lot of premier players around the league, but none of them will likely get more attention from NFL coaches and football analysts than Randy Moss.

When Moss came to New England last year, he said he wasn’t looking for money—he was looking to win. He had a phenomenal season with the Patriots and, despite losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl, 2007 was his best season in terms of full-team production. But Moss’ success seems to share a direct link with how happy he is on a given team. This guy hates losing and if he doesn’t have a good relationship with his teammates and coaches he either becomes a distraction off the field or just starts droppin’ the ball during the game.

Here’s the problem. While Moss is an undeniable playmaker for the Pats, he’s not the only key free agent on that roster. Cornerback Asante Samuel is also a free agent, which leaves the Patriots front office with a huge decision to make. Moss may be the best receiver they’ve got, but he’s certainly not the only one. Samuel, however, is their biggest defensive asset. New England has enormously talented skill players but let’s face it—that secondary is starting to show its age. Samuel is a commodity. All things considered, New England’s best bet is to slap the franchise tag on Samuel and let Moss go.

Assuming he doesn’t get franchised, it’ll be interesting to see what teams make a run at Moss. His asking price won’t be cheap, so the winning team will have to dig deep into its’ pocket to get him. Moss wants a Super Bowl ring, but don’t expect him to go with any team that’s not offering straight cash…homey.

Clemens Goes to Bat

The 2008 MLB season kicks off this week when 18 teams send their pitchers and catchers to Florida and Arizona to prep for Opening Day in April.

But the start of spring training won’t be the only baseball story this week, as sports writers will inevitably divide their stories between teams’ first workouts and fallout from the Mitchell Report.

Roger Clemens will spend Wednesday testifying before a congressional committee. But his former teammate Andy Pettitte—whose name also came up in the Mitchell Report—will join the rest of the New York Yankees pitchers and catchers in Tampa. Thanks to a private deposition he gave earlier this month, Pettitte’s been excused from the hearings. Clemens wasn’t lucky enough to avoid the spotlight entirely, but he’s certainly done a good job of unofficially selling his story to the same people on tap to grill him this week.

Clemens has been proclaiming his innocence since day one using every public forum available. But in case the 41 members of this committee didn’t catch any of his TV appearances, he spent two days last week meeting privately with about half of them.

Clemens hasn’t had much large scale success through his media blitz, but you’ve got to wonder if he’s been able to use his star power to sway at least some committe members. It’s easy to write him off when he’s just another talking head, but when you’ve got the seven-time Cy Young winner looking you in the eye and pleading his case…you may start to feel a little sympathy for the guy.

The Rocket is, after all, one hell of a pitcher.

The Next Big Thing?

If you’re still reeling from the outcome of the Super Bowl, you may want to brace yourself for what you’re going to read next.

The New York Giants’ upset over the New England Patriots may not have been a fluke. It may have been the catalyst of a Big Blue Dynasty.

Consider what elements go into the making of a dynasty team. The current roster must include players in their prime to be leaders in the here and now. Next, there’s got to be a well of young guys the team can tap once older veterans start to fade. Finally, a core coaching staff must be in place so the team can adjust to—and ultimately perfect—the head coach’s system.

This is the current state of the Giants. Amani Toomer, Antonio Pierce and (if he returns) Michael Strahan are just a few of the club’s immediate talents. Younger players like Ahmad Bradshaw, David Tyree and Justin Tuck will have the benefit of learning the game from experienced teammates who are still playing some of their best football. That means that for every Giant who retires, there’s going to be a younger player who already has his moves down cold.

Stability of coaches is key. Coughlin may have had a hard time getting players to buy into his system early on, but with the team now fully committed, it’s hard to imagine a Giants team that won’t be successful under his leadership. And Steve Spagnuolo—the brains behind the Giants defense—just inked a three-year deal with the team that’ll pay him $2 million annually. Everybody close to the team knows this guy’s worth every penny.

The Giants’ late season hot streak was, perhaps, only the beginning of a string of winning seasons. If you never believe in the possibility of a Giant’s dynasty, that’s OK too. Those guys seem to do a whole lot better with the odds against them anyway.

Almost Perfect

It’s been said that nobody remembers which team loses the Super Bowl. New England, you won’t to be so lucky.

The Patriots’ perfect season was dismantled two days ago by the New York Giants in what was arguably the greatest Super Bowl of all time. In the end, the season that seemed destined to go 19-0 bottomed out at a not so perfect 18-1.

The Giants’ defense, directed by the brilliant (and hopefully not leaving anytime soon) Steve Spagnuolo, limited the Patriots to a mere 14 points. Tom Brady was sacked, hit and rushed so much that he was unable to find his rhythm and make big plays New England desperately needed.

That said, Brady did give the Pats a four-point lead with just over two minutes left in the game. And just when it looked like the Patriots had 19-0 sewn up, Eli Manning escaped from two New England defensive ends and aired one out to David Tyree—who was 32 yards down the field and in coverage with Rodney Harrison. Tyree made the catch. Four plays later, Plaxico Burress scored the game-winning touchdown and ended the Patriots’ dream of perfection.

Naturally, we’ll all remember how the Giants did the impossible and beat the unbeatable.
We’ll also remember how close New England came to perfection, and how it got away from them in the final seconds of their tremendous season. It’s funny, but for a lot of people, that ending is just about perfect.