Andruw Jones Now Officially a Ranger

Well, sort of anyway.

The former superstar slugger signed a deal that pays him $500K if he makes the team, with a chance to earn an additional $1M if he reaches certain incentives...like not striking out 76 times in 200 at-bats, as he did in 2008, with a 37 OPS+ on the year.

Just think, he was halfway through a deal worth $36M when he was released.

For $500K he was worth a flyer for the Mets in my opinion.

Ok amigos...tell me this hasn't been the strangest off-season ever???

A-Roid: It's Positive

SI is reporting that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003.

Truthfully, does this come as a shock to anyone?

Newsday has the story as well. We'll be hearing a lot more on this story, but here is a link to Davidoff's piece.

In it he says:

Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two illegal performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, SI.com reported this morning.

Rodriguez, then with the Texas Rangers, won the American League Most Valuable award in the 2003 season. According to the SI.com report, which cited four sources, A-Rod tested positive for testosterone and an anabolic steroid known by the brand name Primobolan.

2003 marked the first year that major-league players were tested for illegal PEDs, but the test was conducted as a "survey," with no disicplinary measures installed. Because more than five percent of the players tested positive -- a total of 104 -- a disciplinary system went into effect in 2004. The test results were supposed to remain anonymous, but federal agents seized the test results in a raid on one of the laboratories storing the results, as part of the government's investigation into the BALCO case.

The SI.com report also states that A-Rod received an advance tip from Players Association COO Gene Orza in September 2004 that he would be tested.