Roger Clemens' Downward Spiral to Federal Indictment 'Self-Inflicted'
by A.J. Perez
Roger Clemens' precipitous descent from one of the game's top power pitchers to landing under a multi-count federal indictment "was completely self-inflicted," former Congressman Tom Davis told FanHouse on Thursday.
"He got caught in a speed trap like a lot of other ballplayers found in the Mitchell Report," said Davis, former ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform where Clemens testified in February 2008. "Most of the others offered up an apology and many of them did just fine. He didn't want to do that. He wanted to clear his name and we offered him a forum."
This forum, however, came with a caveat: the seven-time Cy Young Award winner had to go under oath with no promise of immunity. That public relations move fully backfired Thursday as United States Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Shawn Henry, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Washington field office, announced that Clemens would face one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury.
Clemens, whose appearance in front of the committee was completely voluntary since he was not subpoenaed, faces a combined maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, although he would likely only serve 15-21 months if convicted on all six counts under current sentencing guidelines.
Read Full Federal Indictment of Roger Clemens (PDF Download)
by Josh Alper
Pedro Feliz has played for three of the last eight National League pennant winners, which must be the reason why the Cardinals traded for him on Thursday.
Some might say that it is because they need to upgrade their production at third base. David Freese is out for the rest of the season and Cardinals third basemen have a miserable .337 on-base percentage and a .358 slugging percentage for the season overall.
That does spell a certain need, but it isn't one that the Pedro Feliz of 2010 can fill.
Feliz's own on-base percentage is a laughable .243 and his slugging percentage is just .311, which gives him the kind of batting line that would make some pitchers feel embarrassed about their ability to swing the bat.
He wasn't much better than that in 2009 and, at 34, it would foolish to imagine there's a big turnaround coming before the end of the season. 
by Tom Krasovic
Now that five ace pitchers have been traded in the last 13 months, one of the early trades, the stunner that sent Jake Peavy to the White Sox last summer, somehow is even more incredible.
Comparisons between the price paid for Peavy and the prices paid for Cliff Lee (dealt three times in that span), Dan Haren, Roy Halladay, or Roy Oswalt are a waste of time, because there's no comparison. The White Sox swallowed all of the $56 million guaranteed Peavy at a time when no other club was calling for the right-hander, who had full no-trade powers, a bum ankle that likely will require surgery and a violent delivery to go with a history of DL-level shoulder and elbow ailments.
Willing to eat money and accept a case of Old Style beer from Chicago in lieu of actual talent, the Padres instead moved all of the contract and obtained four pitchers led by left-hander Clayton Richard (9-5 with a 3.60 ERA for $424,000 this year).
Aside from freeing up San Diego's payrolls in 2011 and 2012, the salary relief helped the Padres to sign three above-slot draftees and later starting pitcher Jon Garland (who correctly realized that San Diego's extreme pitchers ballpark is best for him), and retain stars Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell for this year when Peavy's $15 million salary would've put the club well over budget.
o. Speaking of the $38-million Padres, they are exploiting the "Winning Is Secondary" market inefficiency.
"Winning is the only thing that matters to every guy in this clubhouse," said David Eckstein, a second baseman whose two World Series championship rings reinforce the message.
Don't tell the Little Leaguers, but winning is secondary to a lot of big leaguers.
"You know why the Cardinals have such a good clubhouse?" Eckstein told FanHouse. "Because winning is all that matters to the best player on that team (Albert Pujols)." 
by Ed Price
There was a good deal of trade buzz surrounding Astros starter Brett Myers the last few days, but the veteran didn't leave Houston -- and it turns out he won't for awhile.
The Astros officially announced a contract extension for Myers Sunday that will keep him in Houston through 2012, and also includes a mutual option for the 2013 season.
FanHouse via Myers' agent, Craig Landis, was first to report the terms of the deal.
The deal solidifies Myers' status as the de facto leader of the post-Roy Oswalt pitching staff in Houston. The pitcher's current deal included an $8 million mutual option for 2011 that could have been bought out for $2 million.
Myers will now receive a guaranteed $21 million over the next two seasons if the 2013 option is bought out. If he winds up staying for a third season, the deal will be worth $28 million and could reach $29.5 million in value if he reaches certain performance bonuses.
Myers, 29, is in his first year with the Astros after signing with them as a free agent last winter. He has been their best pitcher, going 8-6 with a 3.10 ERA, and has pitched at least six innings in all 21 of his starts this year. Numbers like that are a big reason other teams were calling about him after Oswalt was dealt, and of course the primary reason the Astros want to keep him. 
by FanHouse TV
The balance of power in the National League shifted on Thursday with the Phillies acquisition of Roy Oswalt from the Astros.
With three top flight starting pitchers in their rotation, the Phils seem primed to go deep into the postseason.
But, as FanHouse TV's Steve Phillips reports, the biggest problem might be just getting to October.
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