…Former slugger Jose Canseco has been charged with misdemeanor drug smuggling in Federal Court on Tuesday. This was in relation to trying to bring a illegal fertility drug across the border from Mexico to the United States. If found guilty he could face a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

…Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell will undergo surgery for a torn labrum in his hip on Monday. The Sox will be without last years World Series MVP for the remainder of the playoffs and potentially the World Series.

“I’m kind of relieved, in a sense, just to get it over,” Lowell said in the dugout Tuesday. “I think I was hanging onto something that wasn’t really realistic. Once it was pretty clear I’d be a long shot to be on the World Series roster, it was just a matter of how soon could we do it”

…Speaking of the Red Sox, they wont be holding spring training in Sarasota. According to the USA Today the city and county have ended negotiations with the club in a effort to get them to move from Ft. Meyers to Sarasota.

…With only getting minimal playing time in the Hawaii Winter League the San Fransisco Giants have moved #1 Draft Pick catcher Buster Posey to their Arizona Instructional League. Since moving back to Arizona Posey has been playing everyday, just as the Giants want with their star catcher.

…The Colorado Rockies 2007 #1 Draft Pick pitcher Casey Weathers will be lost for the 2009 season with Tommy John surgery. Apparently it happened with one pitch during Arizona Fall League play last week, that pitch tore his UCL in his pitching elbow.

Here’s what Marc Gustafson the Rockies Director of Player Development had to say.

“You just never know,” Gustafson said. “the MRI when he came into the system showed a healthy arm, and it looks like the ligament popped with one pitch. The good news is the success rate for this type of surgery is very high. He’s young and he’ll be good for many years.”

…The Tampa Bay Rays will be removing the tarps on seating at the ‘Trop for either Game 6 of the ALCS or Game 1 of the World Series, the ticket demand is high and the Rays are ready to capitalize on it.

“This was our decision and based on the input and feedback from the fans,” Rays president Matt Silverman said, according to the Tampa Tribune. “We want as many people as possible to be able to enjoy this.

Joe Maddon announced on ESPN’s First Take this morning that he’s shuffling his ALCS rotation and will move Game Two starter Scott Kazmir ahead of James Shields.  Kazmir will get the ball in Game Five on Thursday at Fenway Park.  It was a move he’s been contemplating for a couple of days.

And now, given the Rays 3-1 series lead, there are myriad reasons this move makes sense.

First, Shields has historically struggled in Boston.  It’s a small sample size, but he’s made three starts at Fenway and has a 10.12 ERA in 10.2 innings.  He did fine in one start there last year, but in two this summer he’s pitched only 4.2 innings and surrendered 11 runs.

To paraphrase Norman Dale, the distance from the rubber to home plate is still 60 feet, 6 inches.  The batter still has to stand in the box and he has to swing the bat.  In other words, it shouldn’t make a bit of difference where he’s throwing, but if Shields isn’t comfortable at Fenway, he’ll have plenty of opportunities over the next several seasons to chase away those demons.  Let him work it out in May instead of October.

Second, the home plate umpire in Game Six is scheduled to be Derryl Cousins, whom Kazmir clashed with back in June.  According to the St. Petersburg Times, that’s when Kazmir began to struggle.  I’m not sure I buy that, but like with Shields and Fenway, if Kazmir is more comfortable without Cousins calling balls and strikes, more power to him.

Third, Kazmir is struggling no matter where he’s pitching or who will be umpiring home plate.  By moving his start up by a game, Maddon is hedging his bets in a way.  If Kazmir gets bombed in Fenway, the Rays head home with a 3-2 advantage and two opportunities to close the deal in St. Petersburg, where (as we all know) they won 57 games.  But if Shields loses a Game Five start, there’s a little more of an, “Oh, crap!” factor with Kazmir on the mound for Game Six.

It also means that if Kazmir struggles and Maddon has to go to his bullpen early in Game Five, a day off for travel prior to Game Six means his relief corps should be recharged and ready if needed when the series returns to Florida.  It would be a different story if Maddon has to go to his bullpen early in Game Six.

If it appears I’m assuming Kazmir will struggle, it’s because I am.  He hasn’t pitched into the seventh inning of a ballgame since July, and in two post season starts, has totaled only 9.2 innings.  During that time, he’s shown an alarming habit of racking up the pitch counts.  In those 12 starts, he’s averaged just 5.1 IP but 99 pitches.

Maddon will have to use his bullpen - probably earlier that he would like - whenever Kazmir starts.  By moving him up a start, the Tampa manager is giving his team the best chance to win.

You my recall that I chatted with right-hander Dirk Hayhurst over at Ducksnorts during the final weekend of the regular season. What’s happened since then? Oh, not much. He’s married and now pitching for the Blue Jays; otherwise, it’s business as usual… Well, as usual as the business of baseball (and life) ever is.

On his way out of San Diego, Dirk was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer more of my questions. As always, he is candid with his opinions. Here’s one of my favorite bits:

Baseball can’t tell you who you are. If it does, you’re in trouble. Baseball has a tendency to tell you you’re a failure more often than not. Untrue. You can be a poor baseball player and a fantastic human being or a fantastic baseball player and a terrible human being. I’m sure you can cite some individuals? My advice: Work on being a fantastic human being while doing your best at baseball.

Seems like pretty good advice to me…

Fenway Park resembled Dodger Stadium in June as the fans rolled toward the exit after a one, two, three sixth inning that saw the home team behind 11-1.  In the end, the Rays shocked the Red Sox with back-to-back blowouts in Boston with a 13-4 win and Tampa Bay is now one win away from shutting down the Nation for good in ‘08 and their first World Series in franchise history.

The rout started early with back-to-back home runs by Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria in the first inning as the young Rays got to Tim Wakefield, the oldest pitcher to ever start an ALCS game, early and often.  Before his exit in the third, Wakefield gave up a third home run and helped his Red Sox to a 5-0 hole.

Justin Masterson slowed the bleeding for the Sox but the Rays opened up the wound again in the sixth after they shelled Manny Delcarmen for five runs to push the lead to 11-1.  Tampa Bay cruised to the 13-4 win and a step away from the World Series.

“It was tough,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona.  “Sitting through that wasn’t a whole lot of fun.”  Francona’s Sox are now in the same hole they saw themselves dig out of last year against the Cleveland Indians in 2007 but have to win two of the next three in Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.

“I know a lot of times in these moments you’re always going to draw the parallels of comparisons, et cetera, but every situation is unique into itself,” said Rays manager Joe Maddon.  “So for me I prefer to continue playing our game and not worrying about what’s happened in the past.”

Maddon did elaborate on Carl Crawford’s performance following the game.  Crawford went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI including two doubles, a triple and two steals. 

“This guy is coming off surgery,” said Maddon.  “You have to understand that.  It’s not just an injury that he was on the DL rehab.  He actually had surgery.” 

Crawford who tied an ALCS record with five hits came back earlier than expected from hand surgery that caused him to miss most of the last two months of the season.  “Last night was nice,” said Crawford.  “But tonight was better.”

Now, the Rays get a shot to end the series in Boston on Thursday.  James Shields is slated for the first series clincher against Daisuke Matsuzaka, the only Red Sox pitcher to beat the Rays in this ALCS.

NOTES:  Willy Aybar started in place of Cliff Floyd and went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, a run scored and five RBI… Evan Longoria’s two errors on one play in the second were the first two postseason errors by the Rays… Mike Timlin made his 25th appearance in the ALCS which tied a Major League record… Crawford was a home run short of the cycle… Longoria’s fifth postseason home run broke the rookie record for home runs in a postseason previously set by Miguel Cabrera in 2003… Boston’s Kevin Cash homered in his first postseason at-bat.

—————-

RAYS’ THREE KEYS (From Series Preview)

• Manufactured Runs

The long ball served them well early but the Rays really opened up the game with a five-run sixth and the runs scored on three singles, a walk and a ground out.

• Have Wheeler Step Up

For the second straight game, the Rays did not need the services of their back-up closer.  But think back to Game 2 and where the Rays might be had Wheeler not turned in the 3-1/3 inning performance that extended the game long enough for Tampa Bay to win in extra innings.

• Play Beyond Their Experience

This is a young, inexperienced team?  Someone needs to tell the Rays that.

RED SOX’ THREE KEYS

• Safely Get From Starter to Papelbon

The starting pitching was bad but the relief pitching was bad, too.  The Red Sox offense has the ability to come back from a 5-0 deficit but very few teams can climb out of a 10-run hole that the Red Sox bullpen dug on top of Wakefield’s deep hole.

• Get a Quality Start from Beckett or Wakefield

The knuckler was no match for Tampa Bay and the veteran turned in the shortest postseason outing by a Boston starter since Bronson Arroyo in Game 3 of their ALCS with the Yankees.  The good news is that the Red Sox recovered and won four straight to eliminate the Yankees that season.  It’s doubtful they’ll do it to the Rays without a quality start from Beckett, though.

• Make Rays’ Starters Work

Andy Sonnanstine needed only 97 pitches to get into the eighth inning.  In a normal situation, Maddon may have hooked him a little earlier in the eighth but gave up an extra run trying to stretch him out further.  At that point, the game was well out of reach.

STAR OF THE GAME

Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays

Crawford went 5-for-5, knocked in two, scored three, stole two bases, added two doubles and a triple.  In a game full of big performances by the Rays’ offense, Crawford turned in the biggest.  Crawford’s five hits in a game tied an ALCS record.

Fellow BDD writer Craig Brown says there’s nothing “Cinderella” about Tampa.  Let’s get this out of the way:  the story of the Tampa Bay Rays is more “Cinderella” than any team forced to wear the tag along with their success in sports history.

I don’t have two daughters like Mr. Brown.  And maybe after seeing “Cinderella” for the 50 millionth time, Craig has dumbed down the “Cinderella” legend to “success is an accident.”  Heck, some women right now are seething at the suggestion that marriage equals success but that’s a discussion for the next A-Rod article, not this one.  Instead, “Cinderella” is a story of overcoming oppression and triumphant reward for persevering.  The pieces are all there in the Rays’ “Cinderella” season.

“Cinderella” had evil stepsisters to outdo, the Rays had the evil Empire and Red Sox Nation.  Even though “Cinderella” was beautiful, hard working, kind to animals and even sings well — if Walt Disney is to be believed — but was still not invited to the ball.  Isn’t that the same thing the ‘08 Rays are?  A tough team that never quits with all of the pieces of a winning team that no one even cared to notice at the beginning of the season.  Maybe they can’t sing but they are from Florida — same place as Disney World — their home field houses a live Ray exhibit and my bet is their fans are nowhere near as annoying as a Fenway Park “Sweet Caroline” sing-a-long.

Even with all these great qualities, “Cinderella” needed a little help and a confidence boost.  Enter her Fairy Godmother who hooked Cindy up with some hot threads and a regal entrance brigade.  The Rays had great qualities, too.  But it took a positive influence like manager Joe Maddon to revolutionize this cellar dweller — same place Cindy lived — into a team on the doorstep of a World Series berth.  Maybe Maddon didn’t turn mice into horses, a pumpkin into a carriage and tattered rags into a gown but he did turn a young, inexperienced squad into a formidable foe for all of the other playoff — baseball’s ball — “guests” to envy.

The clock even struck midnight for the Rays in Game 1 of the ALCS.  The defending champion Red Sox made them look like the young, inexperienced club everyone thought they were as late as August when some writers dared to say the Yankees still had a chance and the Red Sox were bound to knock the Rays out of the top spot in the East.  Even after the coach turned back into a pumpkin and the glass slipper fell off, this Rays’ team bounced back and won three consecutive games including two at Fenway Park and are now just one win away from knocking off their evil stepsister from the East for the American League tiara.

Mr. Brown adds that calling the Rays a “Cinderella” story is an insult to the efforts to the men who put together this winner.  Instead, what Craig fails to realize is that the Fairy Godmother didn’t chose some overweight, lazy, single chick who spent her days at home watching Judge Judy and eating Bon Bons to make over, either.  You see, Cinderella always had it in her.  The moral of the story is that sometimes beauty is hidden and it takes a little nudge to get people to notice.  But beyond her beauty, Cinderella was gracious and special and more than just your average girl that got all the right breaks thanks to a little magic.

Comparing the Rays to Cinderella isn’t an insult.  Comparing a 14-seed with a losing record with no business at a shot at a title is.  The Rays journey was, indeed, magical.  It looks like it isn’t going to end at the ALCS, either.  They broke through the deep freeze of the East, climbed out of the cellar and gave hope to every other ordinary small market team in the country.  Not much different than Cinderella has done for every young girl who dreams of living happily ever after.  There is no insult in the comparison between the Rays and Cinderella.  Both were good, few knew it and it took some special circumstances — a Fairy Godmother and a ball in one and Joe Maddon, a talented roster and an amazing playoff — for people to take notice.  Once they did and all the dust settled and smoke cleared, even in the face of adversity, those who took notice realized that not only were the Rays good, they were special.  And so was Cinderella.

As most of you know by now, we announced earlier today that Baseball Prospectus has purchased Baseball Digest Daily and I have agreed to become the Chief Financial Officer for Prospectus Entertainment Ventures (PEV). So…what does this mean about the future of BDD?

It only means good things as far as I’m concerned. For the forseeable future, BDD will continue to run as its own separate entity. In addition, 1) We will have much greater exposure as a subsidiary of BP, 2) We will have the opportunity to leverage BP’s resources and provide additional technical capabilities while limiting cost, 3) And…several new doors will now be open to us…including additional relationships with people at BP, MLBAM, MLB, and across professional baseball.

I will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of Baseball Digest Daily, and you will continue to see the same quality group of writers as always. We’ll publish articles, post blog entries, update stats, broadcast a spectacular radio show with Eric, and remain immersed in baseball. Our relationship with Seamheads.com will go on, and we’ll begin recruiting even more writers for our core site very soon.

What does this mean for me? I’ve already stated that I will remain in charge of all BDD’s activities. I will not be leaving my position at M Booth. Instead, my wife Christie who is also an accountant, will handle the day-to-day activities and monetary transactions for PEV. I, in turn, will be responsible for overseeing all PEV’s financial activities, from preparing financial statements, establishing budgets, and complying with tax regulations to recommending initiatives, investigating growth opportunities, and making sure the organization remains on strong financial footing. In general, my objective is to help steer the company in the right direction.

That about sums it up. This is an exciting time for BDD and BP together, and I’m extremely happy to be a part of this new relationship.

Thank you for your continued support!

Joe