On Sunday night, the left-hander from Baton Rouge did the next best thing, and did his part to propel the 2009 New York Yankees into the World Series.

The Yankees haven’t been to the Fall Classic since 2003. That year marked Pettitte’s last season with the team that signed him as an amateur free agent in 1991. After being allowed to leave (or was pushed out, depending on who you talk to), to Houston for three seasons, he came back to the club in 2007. After going 14-14 a year ago, including a poor second half to the 2008 season, his returning this year was up in the air as well.

It was only after the Yankees had made their high-profile signings that they addressed bringing Pettitte back, which they eventually did. The team is fortunate they did so, because they are going back to the Fall Classic because Pettitte limited the Angels to just one run over 6 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking just one to earn his 16th postseason win, the most in baseball history.

There were 50,173 fans vociferously booing Joe Girardi when the skipper jogged to remove Pettitte in the top of the seventh, but it was quickly turned to a thundering standing ovation, as the tall southpaw tipped his cap to the largest crowd to see a Yankee game this season.

Mariano Rivera made things interesting in the eighth, when he allowed a two-out RBI single to Vlad Guerrero. It was the first earned run he had allowed at home in the postseason since Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

But in the ninth, Rivera’s margin for error was expanded, as the Yankees scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to some sloppy defense by Los Angeles. He made short work of the Angels in the ninth, retiring the side in order to earn his 37th postseason save, also the best in MLB history.

The Yankee offense took advantage of the Angels in the fourth. After Derek Jeter worked out a walk to load the bases, left fielder Johnny Damon stepped up to the plate. It was Damon, as a member of the Red Sox and in all of his grizzled glory that quieted old Yankee Stadium in the second inning with a grand slam on Javier Vazquez’s first pitch in Game 7, 2004. He had failed in his first attempt with the bases loaded earlier in the night, but delivered in this at-bat, driving in two runs with a base hit up the middle.

Mark Teixeira hit a ball far enough in the hole that shortstop made Erick Aybar’s throw to second base a shade late to force Damon at second base. Then, Alex Rodriguez, whose first year in the Bronx was that miserable 2004 season, and who has been trying to make up for that and several other postseason failures since, drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 3-1.

It was all the offense they needed.

***

There were three “Yankee Stadium” signature moments before the game, the first being a loud roar from the crowd when Tino Martinez was spotted in a luxury suite and shown on the immense HD screen in center field.

The second eruption came when Bernie Williams was announced as the thrower of the ceremonial first pitch.

The third was the thundering sound of “Welcome to The Jungle” played through the Stadium’s sound system, sending the Bronx into a frenzy.

Then Pettitte took over.

***

CC Sabathia was named the ALCS MVP, and will face Phillies’ left-hander Cliff Lee in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday. The two pitchers were teammates on the 2007 Cleveland Indians, a club that blew a 3-1 ALCS lead over the Red Sox.

More at BaseballDigest.com.

Yet, there’s the other side.  While some guys can’t wait to get away from their well-paid group of “friends” who either weren’t paid enough or weren’t worth their paychecks, hence the going home after game 162, there are some guys who don’t want to go home.  Why?  You’ve heard phrases like Life begins at 40, right?  For ballplayers, Live begins at home once the season ends.  In other words, the responsibility of thinking basically only about yourself every day ends abruptly.  Now you need to think about the wife or live-in girlfriend and the kids.  The younger guys might end up going home to where their parents live; maybe not the same house, but likely the same town.  Since most kids aren’t buddy/buddy with their folks, and since most Thanksgiving dinners are not the stuff of a Norman Rockwell painting, most MLB kids do not look forward to seeing Mom & Dad every day for the next 5 months.

For some players, there’s surgery.  Read the Notes section a day or two after the last game of the season and you’ll see this player and that player are suddenly scheduled for some sort of surgery, ranging from minor to Six Million Dollar Man rebuilding, the kind that you’ll hear about as spring training begins and ends and our Six Million Dollar Man is wearing jeans every day instead of a jock.  If you’ve ever had surgery, any kind of surgery, it’s not fun.  Some guys know already they’ll have to go under the knife the first or second week of October.  Some guys know but are in denial about it, just like they’ve been in denial about how bad their team is, and will continue to be, in order to get to this point in the season.  Some guys just think they’re sore right now and are in for quite a surprise once they take that exit physical.  And then the fun of the off season, of not having to travel all the time or live in a hotel half the time or hang out with a band of jerks most of the time or get badgered by the media the times when you screw up doesn’t really matter because you’re going to spend much of your upcoming time rehabbing.  If you lust for the upcoming 5 months, surgery is like a cold shower.

The upcoming off season isn’t really an off season for some players.  Some are going to fly to Arizona or Hawaii or Mexico or Central America and keep playing.  There’s the Arizona Fall League for the game’s more elite prospects and the Caribbean League for those who either come from that part of the world or need to get better at their game.  Some will keep playing because they simply love to play baseball.  They grew up playing ball all year round.  Why stop just because they’re adults?  Others live for the Caribbean League because they are stars down there.  Even if they’re not big shots in the States, they may be legends-in-the-making south of our borders.  There are always fans willing to pay to scream your name.  There are always ladies will to whisper your name in your ear.  There is always the pull of fame and its perks.  When the MLB season ends, the fun for some has just begun.

Finally, there are the guys who are going to spend the entire off season either being courted by teams and sponsors – your elite free agents – or guys doing the courting – your 25th man free agents.  These are the guys who will feel the stress of looking for work starting 15 days after the last game of the World Series.  Some guys will love the process.  It’ll be their Caribbean League equivalent, getting loved and cheered by front office executives, media personnel and fans in cities you could love if the money is right.

Other players will hate the process.  There’s either the stress of squeezing as much money as possible in a bad economy from the winning bidder and then living up to your new billing as The Next Big Thing or there’s the stress of your phone not ringing.  There’s that stress of knowing your agent is working to get 28 other guys jobs before he gets to you.  Which means the available jobs won’t be as lucrative as you had dreamed, or the city you’ll have to settle for isn’t on a coast, or you might be insulted by not getting any offers until Christmas and New Year’s and MLK Day and Valentine’s Day pass you by.  There’s the stress of waiting and wondering why you skipped playing in Puerto Rico this off season when you could have been showing off your skills instead of protecting yourself from possible injury.  Add in that you potentially don’t like your wife (or she doesn’t like you), your parents bug you every day, and, quite frankly, you don’t have anything to do and suddenly miss the camaraderie of hanging out with a bunch of jerks all the time and you’ll begin to long for the end of the off season.  Soon enough, you’ll find yourself telling people you can’t wait for 2010, when The New Season Cometh and you can get away from the reality of a cold winter without baseball.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

In the film, the owner wanted to move to Miami not as much as she felt they had a better chance to win there, but because she was a former nightclub dancer and thought Miami was a nicer place to live than Cleveland (she inherited the team after her husband died).  She is the story’s villain, but, as owner of her team, she had the right to desire to move it.  Losing every game possible was her wish and, even though it was opposite of what the Cleveland players and fans wanted, her right as owner of the team.  Whether her reasons were exactly dignified don’t matter.  An owner of a team has a right to do what he/she wants.

In real life, team movement is a rarity in MLB, even though we just saw the Montreal Expos move to Washington DC not too long ago.  But if you follow the money, as any team owner wants to do, you’ll see wins and losses correlate.

Which brings us to a quandary for a team like the New York Mets.  Should they win or should they lose?  They are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.  The purpose of the team winning more games this year would be to keep fans coming to a brand new stadium, Citifield, giving them hope for next year, thus leading to, at the least, flat ticket sales with 2009.  Plus, if you’re into psychology, a 10-game September winning streak could help this year’s players who will be on the team in 2010 believe more in their personal and team abilities to win it all next season.

There’s a reason why losing could help the team.  A big reason.  If the Mets continue to lose games at the rate they’ve been losing in the second half, they’ll have a strong chance at “earning” a Top 5 amateur draft pick next June.  Put aside the (strong) possibility that they’d make a bad choice with that pick.  The fact is, a Top 5 pick in Round 1 (and subsequent rounds) could help infuse an ailing farm system with (again, if they pick well) top talent, either creating inexpensive talent for the big club in a few years or quality talent to trade for established stars (i.e. the 2011/2012 Roy Halladay equivalent).  Losing games now gives the organization more flexibility down the road.

So should they win or should they lose?  Let’s follow the money and see if it makes the decision for us.

Losing every game now has a payoff, but its years down the line.  While the team could, in theory, reap the benefits of top minor league talent from the draft, they’d have to pay for it next year.  Is hope worth $3 million to $5 million for an 18 or 21-year old Top 5 ”prospect”?  Suppose the prospect doesn’t live up to expectations talent-wise or gets hurt before making it to the big leagues or getting traded.  That’s money down the tubes.  That’s the end of your hope.

Losing now doesn’t help the now or the next season.  Losing now will bring further media criticism on the entire organization.  With ownership not known to be a group of men with thick skins, can GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel survive a 5 and 14 slide in the final 19 games?  Unless the team can completely turn around in 2010, neither man will be around when next year’s Top 5 draft pick bears fruit.  There’s no incentive for these two to want to lose.  They’re going to make every effort to go 19-0 before their season ends.

Ownership is in the quandary.  They have suffered through an embarrassing year, both on and off (Madoff, Bernazard) the field.  There were championship dreams when Citifield was unveiled at the end of March.  Those dreams still exist, just not for this year.  If you owned the Mets, what would you want?  It’s not an easy decision.

Built into the decision-making process is not just the psyche of the fans and players now and the need to sell as many tickets as possible next year, which would bring in more concession revenue, more SNY network (through commercials) revenue, more merchandise sale revenue.  But those future revenues are based upon next season’s team.  The budget for next season has to be made and enacted before a dime of revenue for 2010 is earned.  Based upon this season, do you cut next year’s budget (rumor has it they will)?  Do you keep your budget flat?  Do you increase the budget for minor league operations, allowing for the increased expected expenditures for higher draft picks?  If you do this, is it at the expense of the parent club, the one fans pay to see?  Are you hurt even more if your team loses so much in September that you’re forced to fire your GM and manager to save face, continuing to pay their contracts in 2010 while bringing on new individuals to run the field operations?  And are you realizing that, with the firing of manager and GM, you’re also firing a coaching staff and many of your GM’s “guys”?  Does that mean your new hires will be hired based more on their paychecks than talent?

It’s not a simple decision.  For ownership, there’s always a balancing act between now and the future, between making money and winning games.  For a team like the 2009 New York Mets, losing now may bring in incrementally more revenues in a few years.  But since there’s no Major League option of moving the team to Miami, they’re going to have to get through 2010 and 2011 first.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

Baseball really is a game about anticipating.  Yes, it’s great if your outfield coach knows where to position Torii Hunter when Joe Mauer is at the plate, based upon the tendencies of where Mauer usually hits balls off certain pitchers in certain game situations.  It’s important for a manager to anticipate what another manager will do if he brings in a lefty to face a lefty late in the game.  Will there be a counter-move?  What move should be made to counter the counter-move?  On the field, knowing what’s going to happen before it happens can set one team apart from the others.

It’s the same off the field from both a team and player perspective.  No decision is made by a baseball team without first thinking about the corresponding reaction to a certain initial action.  Think of when a team trades for a player just to keep that player from getting traded to a rival.  Don’t make the trade and the rival gets the player and beats you senseless down the stretch in September.  Making the trade certainly keeps the player away from hurting you, but what about the players you traded?  Will you pay the price down the line for giving up too much too soon?

Beyond that, there are other decisions a team makes where they should anticipate.  Think about public relations.  In his glory days, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner would fire off statements to the press about the performance of a team or a manager.  Steinbrenner knew it would create headlines and stories.  But he also knew that, in most cases, it would cause a certain reaction from the player or manager, presumably a reaction to help the team win more games.  It was Steinbrenner’s anticipation of how a situation would play out that would determine what he said in his statement and when it was said.  It didn’t always work in Steinbrenner’s favor, but his words weren’t created and spread in a vacuum.

If only the New York Mets had watched the way Steinbrenner used to work.  While in the same town as the Yankees, you can understand how different these two organizations are just by the events of the past week.  Scathing articles comes out about someone in the front office.  GM responds publicly, but speaks poorly (and shows up an hour late for the press conference).  After more negative stories break, the team fires the front office exec but fails with the message by lashing out at the reporter who broke the story that started the whole mess.  The story gets bigger rather than smaller.  Now not only does the GM look bad but ownership appears weak and petty.  The team disappoints on the field and it seems to travel throughout the entire organization on an upward slope.  All while the Yankees go 9 and 1 on their most recent homestand, expanding a first-place lead in the AL East.

The problem with the Mets was their failure to properly anticipate.  By showing up late and appearing to not be prepared, by letting emotion dictate responses to questions rather than coming in with prepared answers to anticipated questions, Mets GM Omar Minaya looked bad.  Never considered a great public speaker, his reputation in that realm took another negative hit.  And then, in the press conference announcing the firing of the front office executive, Tony Bernazard, the Mets didn’t anticipate what the reaction would be to the personal attack on the writer who broke the story.  They didn’t realize how vindictive they’d look.  They didn’t realize how the media would rally around their counterpart and attack the organization with all of their might.  The Mets found themselves with a surprising 3-game winning streak on the field but a 1-week losing streak off of it.

Players make the same mistakes.  Did Alex Rodriguez and “his people” properly anticipate the reaction to his admission to not one, but three years of steroid use and then his subsequent attack on Selena Roberts after she broke the story?  Did Wade Boggs, back in the 1980s, anticipate when he started having an affair on his wife that the girlfriend would go public?  Did Darryl Strawberry anticipate his life falling apart and out of control by signing with the Dodgers in 1991 instead of staying in New York with the Mets?  Was Randy Johnson using his skills of anticipation when demanding a trade to the Yankees from Arizona earlier this decade?

If you see Johnson was traded back to Arizona almost exactly 2 years to the day later, the answer is a resounding No.  If you know Strawberry found himself released by the Dodgers within 3 years and the Giants less than a year after that, the answer is No.  If you remember Boggs going to court after getting sued by his former paramour for not paying her for the four years she traveled with him on the road, then we know Boggs thought with one part of his body when that whole thing started, and it wasn’t his brain.  If you remember Thurman Munson and Cory Lidle dying in plane crashes, crashes where they were at the controls of the planes, you wonder if they ignored what others anticipated happening.  Did Bret Saberhagen think about public reaction before throwing bleach at reporters or firecrackers at the feet of fans?  Did former pitcher and current announcer Rick Sutcliffe anticipate the public apologies that had to be made by his employer after appearing drunk on camera?  Lack of anticipation behind the plate is the same as in front of it.  If you don’t think about where the ball, or your life, is heading, your battle can get even harder.

The game is all about knowing what’s going to happen next.  Some of it is common sense.  If you cheat, on the field or off, you’ll likely get caught sometime.  How do you keep from getting caught?  Better yet, how do you respond when the inevitable occurs?  Anticipation can solve much of that future emotional distress.  Whether you’re in the front office, in the bedroom, or hugging the third base line in a close September ballgame anticipating the next play, your next move is paramount to succeeding in the Big League Life.  Because if you don’t, you can lose a lot more than baseball games.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

Asadoorian was the first round draft pick (17^th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in the 1999 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.  The First Team All-American centerfielder from Northbridge High School was getting the opportunity of a lifetime: To play for his favorite boyhood team growing up, the Boston Red Sox.

“I can’t explain it,” said Asadoorian.  “Just imagine being a Yankees or Cubs fan getting drafted.  Those are the teams that everyone is passionate about and that’s how it is in Boston.  To grow up and say all of a sudden that you’re going to play for them, I didn’t know what to say.”

Though the sixth ranked prospect in the Red Sox organization in 2000, according to Baseball America, never could pan out and struggled to find a groove in Single-A.  After just two seasons, the Red Sox traded Asadoorian to the St. Louis Cardinals in a package deal for Dustin Hermanson.

Asadoorian believes that getting out of Boston was the best thing for his career.  It took away a lot of the pressure that was on the 20-year-old’s shoulders.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself trying to be the next big thing for the Red Sox.  Especially because not only was I trying to help my career, but I was a fan,” said the Whitinsville, Mass. native. “You have to be able to separate the two, and at the time I didn’t know how to do that.”

The trade was just the beginning of an unknown future for the slugger.  It was the first of what would be four different Major League organizations that tried to use Asadoorian as either an outfielder or designated hitter.  Asadoorian’s best season would come in 2004 at Frisco (AA, Texas) of the Texas League.  He posted a career high .288 batting average with 66 hits and 28 runs.

Ironically, Asadoorian ended up in the Texas Rangers organization via a trade for Esteban Yan, a current member of the Bridgeport Bluefish pitching staff.

“Of course he doesn’t remember, but I remember, that’s for sure,” said Asadoorian.  “He was a decent name back then.  He was a pretty dominating pitcher in the big leagues.  It was a cool experience seeing my name on SportsCenter about the trade.”

On July 5, 2006, Asadoorian’s career took a new shift, this time as a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization.  Playing in left field for Chattanooga (AA, Reds) against West Tenn (AA, Seattle), Asadoorian was called upon to pitch in the 12^th inning after the Lookouts relief core had pitched six innings.  Surprisingly, the left fielder struck out five batters and gave up two hits in two innings to earn the victory.

It was not as shocking to Asadoorian because he had actually pitched every now and then all the way up until his senior year of high school.  During his senior year, his team had plenty of pitching and he had just wanted to focus on being a center fielder.

Asadoorian pitched in another two games in 2006, remaining stellar, and the Reds moved him to the bullpen fulltime in 2007.

“I did the outfield and hitting thing for a pretty long time and I just feel like pitching is a fresh way for me to get a new love for the game,” said Asadoorian.  “It was just one of those things that I needed at the time.  I was getting bounced around here and there as an outfielder.  I wanted some stability.”

On the mound, Asadoorian soared through Sarasota (A, Reds) easier than he ever had as an outfielder.  It took him just 12 games to get to Chattanooga (AA, Reds) where he went 1-1 with a 3.59 ERA in 52.2 innings.  He fanned 48 Double-A batters as well.

Asadoorian had his biggest taste of big league ball last year when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was invited to big league camp.  He struggled at Jacksonville (AA, Dodgers) though and eventually ended up pitching for Somerset of the Atlantic League the rest of the year.

Instead of being the batter walking back to the dugout with his head down after striking out, the righty is now sending batters away frustrated.  His “still-developing” pitching repertoire of a fastball, a split-finger, a changeup, and a slider has helped him post a 4.38 ERA in a limited amount of opportunities this season for the ‘Fish.

The Bluefish starting pitchers have been lasting deep into games this season and with a large bullpen, it has been tough for Asadoorian to get work.

“I try to continuously work on my pitching,” said the 28-year-old.  “Basically, I will try to get the work done before the game, after the game or whenever I can to keep myself ready.  You want to be ready to do well when given the chance.”

Asadoorian has not given up on his dream, even if it has taken a new path. “The ultimate goal for everybody growing up is to play in the big leagues.  The talent that’s here in this league makes it a realistic goal to get back into affiliated ball,” said Asadoorian.

“I’ve played in both Double-A and Triple-A.  Coming here every day and playing in the Atlantic League is just as good as playing in those leagues.  I’m fortunate, and everyone is fortunate to have this league here.”

We can all guess as to who’s in that lot.  Maybe Roger Clemens.  Apparently, Barry Bonds was not part of that group.  How about Jason Giambi, who’s been caught and apologized before?  Andy Pettitte?  Jason Grimsley?  Remember, he’s the one who gave The Mitchell Report investigators loads of info after getting caught for ordering performance enhancers and having them delivered to his house.  Could Rafael Palmeiro be in there?  Paul Byrd?

We just don’t know who those 103 players are.  Yet.  Do they know?  Did A-Rod know he was one of the 104 before the Sports Illustrated piece told us?  Did he know in 2007 that damning evidence existed to refute his testimony when Katie Couric asked him if he’d ever used and he said no?

If the balance do know they’re part of this historical grouping, are these 103 players walking on eggshells today?  Are they wondering when their names will somehow leak out?  What would you do if you know you were on the list?  You have options.

1.  Denial

Here’s the worst option an MLB player who has been caught using performance enhancers can choose.  The only one being convinced is yourself, which is bad because that means nobody believes you.  Already in a hole, you are now digging it deeper.  Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens chose this route.  So far, the results have not been favorable to either man.  A risky move, especially if you did do some form of steroids, the only way out is to somehow have enough evidence to absolutely prove you did do them, which is hard because you did do them and the evidence exists.  Here’s where the risk can prove fatal: When you try to bring others down with you.  Maybe a trainer.  Or a doctor.  Or your father.  Or a friend.  Or aliens who injected you on some barren Arizona highway and you don’t remember a thing.  You become convinced that you were set up and somebody else is doing all of the lying.  You need an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the people you bring in and all of the statements you make about them and their friends and the lies you begin to toss around like a new Rawlings ball in spring training.  Denial.  Choose this one and expect the worst.

2.  Huh?

Huh? means you admit you took something but didn’t know what it was.  Bonds has used this.  Gary Sheffield too.  Rafael Palmeiro combined his Huh? defense with the Denial defense.  He now lives a secluded life in a shack deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, typing manifestos all day on a broken typewriter.  It’s not just a coincidence that the Huh? defense can be misread by the human eye as the HgH defense.

3.  A Sorry Silence

This is the option most all of the minor leaguers who get caught use.  This is generally an involuntary choice, because these guys were most likely using because they needed an edge.  Their natural skills couldn’t get them to the big leagues, so they felt they had to use performance enhancers.  After being caught, we see their names in a short Baseball Notes blurb in the Sunday paper or at the end of your favorite team’s game recap.  And we don’t hear from them again.  Not enough people cared when you were using.  And now that you’ve been caught, you are branded as a cheater and, unless some scout with loads of organizational pull sees you’re a future no-doubt All-Star, you’re back home in the Dominican months later, playing baseball for a dollar a day; the hopes of your family ever dragging itself out of poverty lost for another generation.

4.  Admission

Andy Pettitte used this successfully in 2008.  After his inclusion in The Mitchell Report, he spoke about how and why he used performance enhancers.  Because he had always been considered a “clean” player and was respected in the league and by fans, this worked for him.  Sure, he suffered some embarrassment and his family became involved in his and the Roger Clemens scandal, but by mid-season, it was mostly a footnote to his career.  He was believed and that was that.

Paul Byrd took the same approach during the 2007 ALCS, when the news broke that he had used HgH, his name found in some seized records.  That same day he took on the media.  He wrote about his use in his book, Free Byrd, and he spoke to me about it candidly as well.  Paul will be the first to admit that he was never a Roger Clemens-type pitcher, with an incredible pitching resume and massive fame.  But he had been successful enough to make headlines when “caught.”  And he explained his side of the story.  Like Pettitte, it was largely forgotten as the 2008 season wore on.

Of course, Jose Canseco is the one who has influenced MLB and its surrounding worlds of fans, media & agents when it comes to admission to using performance enhancers.  While he’s considered a joke when it comes to his lifestyle and attitude, he broke the Clubhouse Rule of telling stories and naming names, especially his own.  While he reasons for doing so were not pure; he wasn’t trying to better society and save the lives of kids, since he needed the money from the sales of the book and movie rights, his legacy will be that of someone who gave legitimacy to the allegations players, lots of players, used performance enhancers.  Love him or hate him, Canseco admitted and has reaped benefits for doing so.

5.  Surprise Admission

This has not been used yet.  This is what a guy like A-Rod could have done months ago, or years ago, and been praised for.  Let’s say you are one of The Unnamed 103.  It’s just days before spring training begins.  You know time is short when it comes to your anonymity.  You know, as we all do, that someday, maybe next week, maybe next year, those names are all going to come out.  You can still take control.  The message will be delivered.  Before the world hears it, you can be in charge of the delivery method.  Let it leak.  Let Bud Selig release the names, with union approval (and public & government pressure), formally.  Or stand up now and admit you believe, or you know, you’re on the list.

This cannot hurt you.  You can appear respectable.  When you are inevitably asked if you know who the now Unnamed 102 are, you honestly say that it is not for you to say.  You can say you may know, or have some idea, who a handful of them are, but you can say it’s not your place to name names.  “The only name I feel I have the right to reveal is my own.”

Suddenly, you have character.  You came out and spoke the truth.  And you didn’t pull a Canseco and bring down others with you.  Instead, you are now instantly compared to Clemens and Bonds and Giambi.  And you are looked at as a stand-up guy.  People will respect you for telling the truth about yourself.  And they’ll respect you more for not being a tattle-tale when it comes to others.

The natural reaction of someone when they are caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing is to say, “I didn’t do it.”  Look at politicians.  Look at people who cheat on their spouses.  The mind’s first defense is to lie and deceive and hope that tact works.  But, in the public forum of the early-21st century, you are guilty until proven innocent.  This is based upon so many people actually being guilty and just not admitting to it.  Maybe if there was more truth-telling from the outset, there would be more forgiveness as well.  While we wait for these Unnamed 103 players to be dragged through the mud, maybe the smart move for some of them would be to come clean now.  If you’re going to get caught, you might as well tell us on your own terms.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.   Visit  Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others, giving new perspectives on this great game we call Baseball.  Go now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Shea Hillenbrand and Eric Valent.

According to the report numerous sources told SI, A-Rod tested positive for two banned substances during a test in 2003.

Rodriguez’s name appears on a list of 104 players who failed a drug test for anabolic steroids during the season.  He reportedly had tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone while playing for the Rangers.

As a member of the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. (Pete Borriello/NYSD)

Sports Illustrated caught up with Rodriguez working out in a gymnasium in Miami where he resides in the off season and he declined to comment on the report.  “You’ll have to talk to the union,” he told a reporter.

Although Major League Baseball said it was “disturbed” by the news it could not comment on it, because of player confidentiality.

MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said, “Because the survey testing that took place in 2003 was intended to be non-disciplinary and anonymous, we cannot make any comment on the accuracy of this report as it pertains to the player named,”

According to additional reports the player’s association refused to directly address the truthfulness of the report as well.

In a public statement the union said, “Information and documents relating to the results of the 2003 MLB testing program are both confidential and under seal by court orders.

“Anyone with knowledge of such documents who discloses their contents may be in violation of those court orders,” the union added.

Rodriguez was interviewed on CBS’ 60 Minutes in 2003, three days after George Mitchell’s report became public and he denied ever using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.

“I’ve never felt overmatched on the baseball field. … I felt that if I did my, my work as I’ve done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn’t have a problem competing at any level,” he said.

A-Rod began his career with the Seattle Mariners in where he played six seasons before moving to Arlington, Texas to play for the Rangers.  In 2003 He won the first of three MVP titles as well as the AL home run title with 57 home runs.  It was while a member of the Rangers A-Rod signed the then richest contract in baseball history when he inked a 10-year, $250 million deal.

Rodriguez moved to the New York Yankees in 2004 and won a second MVP award in 2005.  In 2007, after opting out of his contract, A-Rod  e-signed with the Yankees by agreeing to a new 10-year, $275 million deal making him, far and away, the richest player in sports history.  He rewarded the club by winning a third MVP award to equal Yankee icons Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra who also have three MVP awards; although Mantle and Berra won all three with the Yankees.

In recent years Major League Baseball has come under great scrutiny, because of players allegedly using steroids and human growth hormone.  In the past 4 years heretofore legends such as Raphael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have fallen in the eyes of fans due to their proven or alleged use of illegal performance drugs.

In 2005, Palmeiro, pointed to congressmen looking into the steroid scandal and telling them he never took steroids, tested positive for stanozolol. Palmeiro was out of baseball shortly after the failed test became public.  McGwire, who originally broke Roger Maris’ home run record by knocking out 70 home runs during the 1998 season, told the same committee he wasn’t there to talk about the past. He, all but, inferred he used illegal substances.  McGwire retired in 2001 nagged by injuries.  He has failed in three attempts to enter the Hall of Fame with his garnering less and less votes with each passing year.

Both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens legacies are in jeopardy as well.  Bonds, in 2003, testified during the BALCO grand jury inquiry that he never knowingly took any form of steroids.  That testimony, plus evidence seized by federal investigators over the past couple of years has led to Bonds being indicted for lying under oath.  He goes on trial in March.

In 2007 Clemens’ name was the biggest name to become public out of the Mitchell Report when it was presented to Commissioner Bud Selig.  Clemens former trainer, Brian McNamee, told federal investigators during Mitchell’s investigation he injected Clemens with PEDs.  That launched Clemens into defense mode.  He went on 60 Minutes to be interviewed by Mike Wallace.  He categorically denied using anything illegal to better his performance and painted McNamee as a liar.  He sued McNamee for character assassination.  He also went before Congress and told them he wasn’t a drug abuser.

However, McNamee wasn’t through.  He told investigators he injected Clemens wife Debra, with human growth hormones so that she would look good for a Sports Illustrated cover shoot with her husband in 2003.  McNamee told authorities he did it in Clemens’ bedroom under Clemens’ supervision. Clemens denied every aspect of McNamee’s account.  Mrs. Clemens admitted she was injected, but according to Clemens she did it herself after hearing McNamee telling her the benefits of using it.

After the congressional hearing the case was given to federal investigators to looking into whether or not Clemens lied.  Recently investigators turned over their findings to a federal grand jury that is in the midst of determining if Clemens should be indicted for perjury.

We’ll all know that shortly.

Turning back to A-Rod, he is the just latest athlete to have his name dragged through the mud in the never ending steroid scandal.  Commissioner Bud Selig must have a lot of sleepless nights knowing that another icon’s name is going to come up.  A-Rod is just the most recent to appear, and you know he isn’t the last.

What makes this soap opera so laughable is that just when you want to feel sorry for the guy, because he was just trashed by his former manager in a new book he shoots himself in the foot again.  As it has been pointed out many times, A-Rod is a lightning rod for controversy.  The way this guys’ life is going he could be the solution to the energy crisis.

As this story unfolds, we will all learn more and more details.  The important thing here for A-Rod is history.  Will he learn from it and say “mea culpa,” and ask for forgiveness or will he repeat it and deny his involvement as others have done with not too great results?

I have my thoughts, keep yours and stay tuned.

The Yankees open the stadium on April 3rd and 4th for two preseason games against the Chicago Cubs. The first official home game is April 16th against the Cleveland Indians.

Click on the video to take a closer look.

The Mets open Citi Field for two preseason games against the Boston Red Sox on April 3rd and 4th and then the official opening day will be nine days later on April 13th versus the San Diego Padres.

Click on the video to take a closer look.