Mr. Goldman will definitely be missed. His writing had a unique element to it, weaving in the history of the game with present events. He also seemed to be genuinely receptive to readers of the site, which is one of the qualities that I have appreciated from most of the BP writers (and all of the current staff). It seems like Bleacher Report has been trying to become more of a legitimate sports news source, what with the hiring of King Kaufman and more experienced writers for the various sports. The hiring of Steven is another step in that direction, and I hope they do well. As far as writers leaving, it's true BP has lost some tremendously talented people (Steven, Marc Normandin, Joe Sheehan, Christina Kahrl). However, it doesn't seem so strange to me that some would leave to go to other outlets. Think about it: Tim Kurkjian, Buster Olney, Peter Gammons, and Jon Heyman are just a few prominent baseball writers who have jumped from one outlet to another. The more important thing to me is that BP has continued to bring on talented writers in one role or another, including Mike Petriello, Jonathan Bernhardt, Larry Granillo, and a few others. It's great that the site is continuing to keep an eye out for talent, even when other talent is moving on to other opportunities.

My experience and reaction may be colored slightly by my job (I'm a defense attorney who does some product liability work). But, here goes... Let's start with the idea that the whole basis for Ryan Braun's potential suspension was this positive test. The results of the test are, presumably, the reason why action was taken and why he was issued a 50 game suspension. So, the results of the test are the primary factor here, the primary evidence. If that's the case, the way in which the evidence was drawn, evaluated, and kept are important issues. If any of those steps are done incorrectly, then there is a problem with the evidence that is the central factor in the case. Then, it turns out that there was a problem, a chain of custody issue. There was a problem with the way in which this very important evidence was handled. In that way, this doesn't seem like so much of a "technicality" or a "loophole." It goes to the heart of the entire case, and the care in which the process was undertaken. Again, this all may be colored by my work experience. In my world (product liability defense), chain of custody is a huge issue. You look for chain of custody forms from other parties all the time, and if chain of custody is not properly documented or preserved, then it changes the whole complexion of the case.

"I just hope the Posada HOF discussions die soon and never are revived. Very good player. Can't even carry the bags for HOFers." I'm not sure if "can't even carry the bags for HOFers" is accurate, and would point you to Jay Jaffe's discussion. My sense from looking at it was that Posada was a very good player who didn't quite reach the HOF standard. Not a Hall of Famer, but definitely someone who could "carry the bags for HOFers." That said, I'll freely admit Posada was one of my favorite players ever, and I'm likely not the best person to rationally discuss his HOF case.

Wasn't Heyman the Yankees beat reporter for Newsday for most of the 80s and 90s? If that's the case, how many times did he actually see Morris pitch? Would it have been more often than the casual fan or stathead?

You could talk about the Houston Astros rotation of the mid-to-late 70s, what with J.R. Richard (mentioned earlier by kdbart) and Don Wilson (who I believe died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning).

I'm having the same problem as roarke and randolph3030. I tried signing out and going back in, but it didn't work.

All I'll say is my own personal "scariest thing" was when a drunk driver crossed over the center line and hit my wife and I, head-on. It was a terrible experience with a long recovery, and it's a story I always tell to warn people of the dangers of drunk driving: my wife and I were sober, obeying the speed limit, and we still were almost killed. I shudder to think what would have happened if we weren't in such a safe vehicle.

@hypryvpr (for some reason I can't reply to your comment directly) I don't think there's any way these college pitchers could say anything to their managers. If they ask out of a game after a certain amount of pitches, all of a sudden there would be red flags about "toughness" and scouts questioning their makeup. For college athletes, it's just not worth it to them to question the manager. The person in the best position to avoid these 150+ pitch outings is the manager, and as we've seen there are a few who just don't care.

Very nice job with these new columns - Corey's medical training really comes through, and I like learning about the medical details.

Ah, I remember the Hensley Meulens days with the Yankees. I was a kid growing up in CT, and it was around the same time when the Red Sox had a AA affiliate in New Britain. I grew up in the greater Hartford area, so my dad and I used to go see the games when the Yankees AA team (with Meulens) played against New Britain. I was hoping he would move up the ladder and be part of the lineup with Mattingly, but obviously that never happened.

Sorry, I'd rather have Dunn at 4/56.

Thanks for the interview. I grew up reading Mr. O'Connell's writing in the Hartford Courant, and his Sunday weekly wrap-up column was one of my favorite things to read during baseball season.

Congratulations! It's great to see more writers like yourself getting the chance to vote on the major awards and the HOF.

Mike, Ozzie seems like the type of manager who will use a vet over a youngster. Does that weigh against Sale getting a real chance at the closer's role next year? Collin

Towles is 26 and has now hit .189 in over 200 major league at bats. I know that isn't a tremendous amount of history, but at what point do the Astros cut bait with him?

You may have to start giving the TTO leader the "Mark Reynolds Award."

Agreed. I think he has a point that the team's moves shouldn't be influenced by the media.

Sort of off-topic, but who would have guessed that Brett Myers and Carl Pavano would have the highest SNLVAR on that list prior to the season?

Rizzo is the cancer survivor, correct? Pretty impressive that he has been able to beat cancer and make that sort of comeback over the past two years.

No objections from this corner, great post. In my former life as a journalist and later a PR person, I used to marvel at how much columnists could write, or how they could write so much each week on different topics.

Unfortunately, I did not get to read Flood v. Kuhn during law school. I never took a sports law class or an antitrust class, so that may have something to do with it. However, if you have any interest in Supreme Court history, I would highly recommend "The Brethren." The part about this particular case is priceless, specifically where it mentions that Blackmun was taking forever to write his opinion. If I remember correctly, Justice White was particularly upset. He thought Blackmun had spent all of the time researching antitrust law, and it appeared he had just spent the time researching baseball statistics to compile his list.

Part of the problem with this type of deal is that it doesn't account for the marketing value of Jeter. Maury Brown (I think) was discussing this a bit on Twitter, and his value to the Yankees as a promotional piece lifts his value beyond the $5 million range. I voted for 4 years, $15 million per year. The concern I would have with a 2 year deal, or even a year-to-year deal, is that you might encounter a PR nightmare if you're negotiating a contract when his production bottoms out. With a 4 year deal, you're much more likely to have him retire at the end of the deal, and work out an association with the team (or even part ownership) at that point.

Agreed. Plus, at the end of the day, we have a choice. If as a subscriber we feel like we're not getting our money's worth from BP because of writers leaving, changes in format, etc., we can always choose not to renew our subscription.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't think he owes an explanation to anyone, save for possibly the Red Sox and Dodgers as his employers. Even accepting the fact that the media are the "eyes and ears" of the fans, are we as fans really entitled to an explanation from Manny? In my mind, the PED suspension, "tanking," and all the other issues are employment issues that should have been addressed with the Sox and Dodgers, not necessarily with the public at large. I say all of this as a former journalist and PR person who remembers the frustration at having a public figure refuse to speak publically on an issue.

I don't mean this to be snarky, but why should Manny cooperate with the media? He's been constantly ripped by media members since the end of his Red Sox days, and whether deserved or not, there's not a whole lot of motivation for him to play nice with the media (even in a new city).

Does anyone honestly think Cervelli will be Posada's successor? I mean, he's a decent backup catcher, but I think people look to someone like Romine as a more likely future starter (considering the issues with Montero's defense).

That's the problem with these guys who just try to tough it out. Media members (like Dan Shaughnessy) love them, but at the end of the day it's questionable whether they're actually helping the team.

This is probably as good a place as any to post this: Tommy John surgery is a possibility for Strasburg: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5502866 The story mentions a "significant tear on the ulnar collateral ligament." I'd be interested to see Will's take, but my sense is that won't be on the site anytime soon.

The Mitchell Report mentions Brown. That, combined with his personality, probably dooms him with the historically closed-minded HOF voters. That may changes as the voting population changes (i.e. when Keith Law, Christina, and others get votes), but I think he has a tough go of it at this point. That has nothing to do with his performance, but as we've seen with the HOF (Jim Rice, Andre Dawson), obviously performance is only part of the criteria.

Good stuff Mike. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite reads, as the reliever market is so volatile that it's difficult to stay on top of things. I've had Huston Street all season as one of my closers, so I've been constantly on the lookout for someone a little more consistent. Collin

Thanks Christina. As always an interesting and thoughtful take on the situation. At the end of the day I think Hamilton wins, when you factor in his stats and the story behind his comeback from drug abuse. I'm not sure why his comeback is any more noteworthy than Cabrera's. But, it's received more positive attention, and that's what will matter for purposes of the vote. That said - I think it's interesting that Mauer's WARP3 score is so high, when everyone is talking about him having a down season.