John Bonnes

The June 4, 2012 edition of Sports Illustrated had a story by Tom Verducci where he attempts to document... well, he's a better writer than I'll ever be, so let's let him tell you... “This is a story about the real cost of steroids in baseball -- not the broken records, not the litigation, not the talk-show drone about the elite players who juiced and how to weigh their Hall of Fame candidacy. This is a story about the hundreds, even thousands, of anonymous ballplayers whose careers and lives were changed by a temptation that defined an era. It is also a story about the secrets we keep and the casualties we create when we allow the corrupt to go unspoken -- especially when the corrupt is something far more horrific than steroids.” The story is especially interesting to Twins fans because it is mostly about Dan Naulty, a reliever from the Twins from 1996-98 who came up through the Twins farm system. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It compares his career to those of three similar Twins pitching prospects from the 1994 Fort Myers Miracle. Because of offseason steroid use, Naulty added about 60 pounds to his frame, 10 mph to his velocity and carved out a four-year career as a reliever. None of the other three made the majors, topping out in AAA, and the piece tries to focus on how a generation of clean players were cheated in their attempts to reach the majors, sometimes by teammates like Naulty who were covertly injecting steroids. But is also documents the costs to Naulty and this is the most comprehensive part of the story. It talks about why Naulty turned to steroids - how desperate he was and how few options he felt like he had. It also mentions personal challenges he had faced from childhood, including episodes of being sexually abused. It follows his major league career, which turned into an addiction cycle between performance-enhancing amphetamines and alcohol. It talks about him hitting rock bottom the night after winning the 1999 World Series and talking about suicide. And it talks about his recovery, his honesty in the Mitchell Report, and his new career as a pastor. Tangentially, it talks about the Twins organization at the time, but Verducci refrains from pointing any fingers. There are some details that probably make Twins officials cringe a bit. Verducci points out that of the six players from the 1994 Fort Myers Miracle who made at least $500,000 in their MLB careers, at least three (Naulty, Matt Lawton and Dan Serafini) are know PED users. However, especially in the naïve 90s, it's certainly feasible that Twins officials didn't recognize that Naulty’s offseason gains were due to drug use. His fellow pitchers certainly didn't. Brett Roberts, one of the fellow prospects that Verducci followed, reacted to the news about Naulty: "I guess I should have been suspicious. How can a guy go from 85 miles an hour to 95 in three or four years? As I look back on it, it's so clear and obvious that I can't believe I was that naive and incredibly stupid. All the signs were there." Roberts, who made it as far as AAA but no further, talks later about how cheated he feels. “’It's cheating,’ says Roberts, who bristles at the steroid users who made it. ‘It sticks in my craw because I know how hard I worked. Was I going to be a guy with a five- to 10-year career? Probably not. But I know I could have been there.’" That is another point of the story – how thin the line can be between making the majors and not making the majors, and how tempting it can be to do whatever it takes to cross that line. Later in the article, Verducci talks about how Naulty joined a Yankees prayer group that included Andy Pettitte, Mike Stanton and Jason Grimsley – all of whom found their names in the Mitchell Report. Nobody was immune. It’s a thorough, well-researched story and worth the half hour it will take you to read it. If you’re ready to dive into a depth beyond the effects steroids have on the record books, check it out. You can find the on line version here. ~~~ Twins Daily already has a lively discussion on this story. You can add to it here.

I don’t want to trade Justin Morneau. I don’t want to be rational about it. I want to clutch onto his comeback, keep it for my own, separate it and gaze at it among the dreck that this (and probably next) season has become. I’ve waited for this, I’ve craved it, and dammit, now I want it. We’ll see if I feel the same way in a couple of months, because that’s when the decision will need to be made. For there to be a decision, Morneau needs stay healthy, and he needs show the same kind of production occasionally that he’s shown this week. Those are two huge “Ifs.” And even then, would there be a market for his $14 million/year contract that goes through 2013? I think so. A quick look at the standings and depth charts show a few teams that might be interested. Let’s count down the top four that jump out at me…. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] #4 – Pittsburgh Pirates – I doubt that the Pirates, who only have a $51 million payroll, would be willing to take on Morneau’s $14 million salary. I also don’t know if they view themselves as in contention, sporting a .500 record. But right now, they are just three games back of the Reds in a very weak NL Central. And their first base situation is a complete disaster: right-handed hitting Casey McGehee is hitting .184 and left-handed hitting Garret Jones is hitting .189 this May. If the Pirates find themselves close to contention at the end of July, their will be a lot of pressure to do something to boost their anemic offense, and it should start at first base. If the Twins can help the Pirates with the Morneau’s salary, one would think they could be compensated with some decent prospects. #3 - Cleveland Indians – This is a developing situation. First baseman Casey Kotchman has been ineffective. They also have Matt LaPorta, who is raking in AAA, but has a career line of .238/.304/.397 in the majors. Plus, at 27 years old, it’s not like he’s really a prospect any more – more like another option. Their big left-handed bat, Travis Hafner, is just coming back from an injury, and his health is always a question mark. And all bets are off if Carlos Santana has his own concussion problems. But with there are enough ingredients here to keep a watchful eye. Their first base situation is terrible. They’re contending. Hafner’s salary comes off the books next year. They showed last year they’ll be aggressive when it comes to trades. With the right mix, they could be very interested in acquiring, even overpaying, for Morneau. #2 Toronto Blue Jays – I don’t know if Toronto, who is a game over .500 but in fourth place in their division, really views themselves as being a contender. But if ever they were going to make a push, it might be a good idea to do so in a year that there are two wild card teams and the Red Sox are busy imploding. Their initial first base solution, Adam Lind, was demoted to AAA. Morneau’s left-handed bat would look pretty nice with the right-handed bats of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Oh, and I don’t know if you’ve heard this or not, but Morneau is from Canada. #1 Miami Marlins – Here’s the right mix of contention, spending and frustration. The Marlins trail the Nationals by just a couple of games. They have certainly signaled to the baseball world this offseason that they aren’t afraid to spend some money in their new ballpark. And 24-year-old prospect Logan Morrison is declining in his third major league year, hitting just .233 with a .323 slugging percentage. Finally, their lineup is desperately in need of a strong left-handed bat to balance the right-handed bats of Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton. The NL East looks like it’s going to be a bit of a mess all year, and winnable by any number of teams. (In fact, I could probably add a fifth team from that division – the Mets – to this list if I thought they were for real.) A pickup like Morneau is the kind of puzzle piece that GMs in that situation can get awfully excited about.

Aaron and John talk about Justin Morneau's resurgence, the Twins' options with the No. 2 pick, Jason Marquis' departure, Francisco Liriano's move back into the rotation, the best baseball movies of all time, first impressions of Cole De Vries, their PickPointz MVP picks, Johan Santana's return to greatness, and why Anthony Slama can't catch a break. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes