On this day in 1994, the Major League Baseball Players Association went on strike. I believe you know what happened after that.
- On his radio show on WGNU on Friday, former Cardinals first baseman Jack Clark said that "I know for a fact" that Albert Pujols used steroids during his time in St. Louis.
- Albert Pujolsangrily denied Clark's statement, calling it "irresponsible and reckless" to "falsely accuse me of using PEDs." Pujols says he will sue. Additionally, the trainer whom Clark cited as the person who told him that Pujols was using PEDs denied ever having any such conversation with Jack Clark and says he'd bet his life that Pujols never took PEDs.
- In that same radio show, Clark also speculated that Justin Verlander was having a down season because he could no longer take PEDS. Verlander called such comments "moronic" and said his velocity wasn't down this year at all.
- So on Saturday, Jack Clark and his co-host were fired from their radio show.
- So now Clark's co-host, Kevin Slaten, has now said he's going to sue. Clark made a vague statement about doing "something." In the end, the lawyers will get rich.
- Speaking of Verlander, Alex Rodrigueztook him deep on Sunday for his first home run since last September. The RBI allowed ARod to pass Stan Musial for fifth on the all-time RBI list. I can't imagine why MLB didn't hold a celebration over that.
- And that's the perfect segue to report that the Yankees fined Rodriguez $150,000 for not informing the Yankees that he was seeking a second opinion and for missing the minor league rehab game of July 12.
- And BALCO founder Victor Conte, who was at the center of the Barry Bonds steroids scandal, said that MLB contacted him about meetings he had with Rodriguez. Conte said that Rodriguez only wanted advice about legal supplements.
- Diamondbacks closer Brad Ziegler fills in for Buster Olney and writes a column about why MLBPA head Michael Weiner is such a wonderful person as well as a great union boss. As you probably know, Weiner has inoperable brain cancer and is expected to step down this off-season.
- The Phillies are in a deep slump, and manager Charlie Manuel thinks the young players on the team lack confidence, although Jimmy Rollins disagrees.
- Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Brookover thinks the Phillies owe it to the team and Charlie Manuel to fire him now and replace him with Ryne Sandberg rather than let everyone dangle in the wind for the rest of the season.
- Bill Baer takes a look at the Nationals and asks "What happened?"
- Speaking of the Nationals, Astros manager Bo Porter says he's "100% entrenched" with the Astros and is not interested in returning to Washington next season as their manager. There had been some speculation.
- Mets third baseman David Wrightmay miss the rest of the season with a strained right hamstring.
- With all the chaos in the NL East, the Bravesare having a great time on and off-the-field. Yeah, it's easy to have fun when you've got a 14.5 game lead. It's funny, but the only other team in the NL East not in chaos is the Marlins, and that's only because they're just plain old bad.
- The Rangers got Alex Rios from the White Sox for Leury Garcia. Jon Heyman thinks the deal makes sense for both sides.
- The Royals got Jamey Carroll from the Twins. Hard to believe Carroll got through waivers.
- Jerry Crasnick says it feels good for the Royals to be relevant again. They're still 4.5 games out of a wild card spot, but maybe they can pull it off. And wouldn't a Kansas City/Pittsburgh World Series make everyone happy? Well, not FOX, but FOX not being happy would just make everyone else even happier.
- The Rays retired the DodgersJuan Uribewith the hidden ball trick. Oh Joe Maddon. You're such a rascal. The Dodgers still swept the Rays.
- Josh Reddick's five home runs in two days puts him in some elite company. He's only the 25th player to do this in baseball history. Two Cubs have done it and shocking to me, neither one is named Sammy Sosa. One of them is Billy Williams and the other is Dave Kingman.
- Adam Joneshad a banana thrown at him at AT&T Park. Disgusting.
- Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. takes time to honor the St. Louis Browns. Turns out, he has a history with the Browns as his dad owned the team before selling to Bill Veeck. And when Eddie Gaedel needed a jersey, Veeck borrowed the one owned by nine-year old DeWitt Jr. Sometimes the Cardinals just infuriate me with how hard they make it to hate them.
- Jim Leyland thinks that his star slugger Miguel Cabrerais "a little mind-boggling."
- Top Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaertshas the power necessary if he has to make a move from shortstop to third base.
- Rockies manager Walt Weiss is still happy with his team's effort despite all the losses. He also says he's not worried about his job despite being on a one-year contract.
- The Orioles hired Phil Niekro to teach the knuckleball to three of their minor league pitchers.
- Curt Schillingreveals he suffered a heart attack in 2011.
- Cuban slugger Jose Abreu has defected. Abreu has been one of the top players in Cuba over the past several years. Don't expect the Cubs to get in on this one as he's a major league ready first baseman and the Cubs already have that position covered.
- Finally, the Mariners inducted Ken Griffey Jr. into their Hall of Fame. Ichiro Suzuki made a touching video telling The Kid how much he meant to him and thanking him for being both his idol and teammate.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.