Barry Bonds Found To Not Be An Outstanding Citizen

In a turn of events that no one saw coming.....

Barry Bonds has been found to have taken steroids.

"The court documents unsealed by a federal judge Wednesday in the government's criminal case against Barry Bonds included the results of 26 blood and urine tests. Prosecutors contend five are positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Three of the results were seized from BALCO and did not include Bonds' name; the government said it determined they belonged to Bonds through a BALCO log. The other two were taken by Major League Baseball. One later was retested by the government, which is when it came up positive." -ESPN.com

Alright, so maybe we had an inkling that this day may come. So, now we come to the million dollar question... does Barry Bonds belong in the Hall of Fame?

30 Teams in 30 Days: Minnesota Twins

Much like the White Sox, the Minnesota Twins came out of nowhere last year to compete in the AL Central. Personally, I think it's written in the by-laws somewhere that if the White Sox are good that the Twins must fuck with them.

The Twins play in the insufferable Metrodome. It's also commonly known as the worst fucking baseball stadium in America. Luckily, this is the last year the team will play in the dome before moving to their new swanky outdoor shit hole. I mean really, who builds an outdoor baseball stadium in Minnesota? Have fun getting snowed for the first month of the season, assholes.

On to the roster...

SP- Francisco Liriano
SP- Scott Baker
SP- Nick Blackburn
SP- Kevin Slowey
SP- Glen Perkins
CL- Joe Nathan

C- Joe Mauer
1B- Justin Morneau
2B- Alexi Casilla
SS- Brendan Harris, Nick Punto
3B- Nick Punto, Brian Buscher
OF- Denard Span
OF- Carlos Gomez
OF- Delmon Young
DH- Jason Kubel

The Twins feature plenty of exciting young talent; especially in their pitching staff. Questions remain about the left side of their infield and their lack of power.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Kansas Shitty Royals

I'm not gonna say much about the Royals cause they will suck again and have virtually no chance at making the playoffs. 23 years and counting since KC was in the postseason.

Projected lineup and rotation

C-John Buck

1B-Mike Jacobs

2B-Alberto Callaspo

SS-Mike Aviles

3B-Alex Gordon

LF-David DeJesus

CF-Coco Crisp

RF-Mark Teahen

DH-Billy Butler

SP-Gil Meche

SP-Zack Greinke

SP-Luke Hochevar

SP-Brian Bannister

SP-Kyle Davies

CL-Joakim Soria

30 Teams in 30 Days: Chicago White Sox

30 Teams in 30 Days is a preseason feature to highlight the significant changes to each of the major league teams. It's meant to get everyone up to speed before our pre-season predictions in mid-March.

Going into the 2008 season I made the prediction that the White Sox would finish around the 85 win mark. Mendoza told me I was out of my mind, but fuck him, he also told me the Pirates were going to be better than the Rays. Breakout performances from Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks propelled the Sox to the division crown.

Gone are Orlando Cabrera, Nick Swisher, Joe CREDE!!!!, Ken Griffey Jr, Juan Uribe, and Javier Vazquez.

C- AJ Pierzynski
1B- Paul Konerko
2B- Chris Getz
SS- Alexei Ramirez
3B- Josh Fields
LF- Carlos Quentin
CF- Jerry Owens
RF- Jermaine Dye
DH- Jim Thome

SP- Mark Buehrle
SP- Gavin Floyd
SP- John Danks
SP- Bartolo Colon
SP- Jeff Marquez
CL- Bobby Jenks

The White Sox were often criticized in 2008 for being a station to station team. The infusion of young talent along side heavy hitting veterans gives the Sox high hopes entering the season. Only time will tell if GM Kenny Williams will find gold again in his unproven youth.

Get To Know A Prospect: Rick Porcello

Get To Know A Prospect is an ongoing feature highlighting top prospects from teams around the league. Players discussed are generally close to breaking into the big leagues and tend to have been bad ass mother fuckers in the minors.

Tigers prospect Rick Porcello was the 27th pick in the 2007 draft. That's a bit misleading though, as he would have been a top 5 pick if not for his bonus demands and Scott Boras. In the end Porcello ended up with a four year-7 million dollar contract (with a 3.5 million bonus). Porcello went 8-6 with a 2.66 ERA in 2008 as a 19-year old in High Class A. He'll start out at AA Erie in 2009 and I wouldn't be suprised if he is in Detroit by the end of the year.

The righthander can throw in the mid-90's consistently and has a good slider, change, and curve. BaseballAmerica has ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in the Tigers system the last two years and had him as the No. 21 prospect in all of baseball last year.

As a White Sox fan i'm still pissed that the Sox went cheap and passed on him in the 2007 draft.

Cubs trade Rich Hill

To Baltimore for a player to be named later. It's amazing how a guy can go from being a decent starter to a complete suckfest in just one year. Good thing the Cubs didn't trade him, Felix Pie, and a bunch of other garbage for Brian Roberts last year!

30 Teams in 30 Days: Detroit Tigers

When Detroit acquired Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria last winter, everybody gave them the World Series title. Well, things didn't work out so well, and the Tigers finished in last place. Yes, the Tigers finished behind the fuckin Royals.

Detroit should be better in 2009, but that's not saying much. Justin Verlander, who lost 17 games in 2008, should bounce back, and the Tigers will score runs. The rotation has a chance to be decent with the addition of Edwin Jackson and a healthy Jeremy Bonderman.

Projected lineup and rotation
C-Brandon Inge
1B-Miguel Cabrera
2B-Placido Polanco
SS-Adam Everett
3B-Carlos Guillen
LF-Marcus Thames
CF-Curtis Granderson
RF-Magglio Ordonez
DH-Gary Sheffield

SP-Justin Verlander
SP-Jeremy Bonderman
SP-Armando Galarraga
SP-Edwin Jackson
SP-Nate Robertson
CL-Brandon Lyon

The AL Central is wide open, and who knows if things work out the Tigers could be in contention late in the year.