The left hander addressed a huge gathering of reporters outside Legends Field saying that the time in the wake of the Mitchell Report had been a very difficult time both for him as well as his family. This is the first time Pettitte has commented publicly since his testimony played a huge part in the showdown between Roger Clemens- Brian McNamara last week.

Pettitte was lauded for his honesty by the Congress and said that he would attempt to be as forthcoming in the future as well. 

“I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and to the Houston Astros organizations and to their fans and to all of my teammates and to all of baseball’s fans for the embarrassment I have caused them,” Pettitte said. “I also want to tell anyone that is an Andy Pettitte fan that I’m sorry, especially any kids who might look up to me.

“Since graduating high school, I have spent my life working with young kids at my church and in my community. I never want a young person to do what I did.”  

HE admitted that he had used HGH twice in 2002 and also once in 2004 when he was recovering from an injury. He admitted the first two occasions soon after the Mitchell Report on 13^th December but he didn’t reveal the third until he signed an affidavit on the 8^th of February provided for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in lieu of an in-person appearance to testify

Pettitte said that he hoped this would not change the way he was perceived. He has a career 201 game winner and has been a member of the Yankees’ last four World Series Championship rosters.

Pujols had been considering getting his elbow operated upon but then decided against it. He said that he will try to manage with it like he has for the past 5 seasons until something goes wrong. He said that he intends to go about his work as usual until an operation become necessary.

Over the off season several options were made available to Pujols including a significant surgical procedure that would sideline him for several months, a minor surgery which wouldn’t really address the root problem and continuing the ongoing course of rest, rehab and management.  He said that if he got to a point where he needed surgery he would get treated.

Pujols who was voted as the 2005 National League Most Valuable Player became quite a cause of worry to manager Tony La Russa who believes that the injury lowered Pujols’ performance in the last season when his power dipped. Pujols scored a career low in home runs and his average of .568 in the slugging category was 52 points below his career average.

Once he arrived at the camp Pujols took to the field and went on with his normal workout. Pujols is now entering his 8^th season with the club and has made the team more seasons in a row than any other Cardinal.  He said that he was remarkably blessed to be with the Cardinals and hoped that he could stay forever.  So for now looks one of the league’s best hitter is back.

Though the Bedard deal has been going on for some time now and has seen various twists and turns, it is expected to be finalized in the coming few days.  Adam Jones was initially tagged to replace Jose Guillen this season but instead it seems that Wilkerson will get to play during the Spring Training.

Wilkerson said that it was a great spot for him and that he would get a chance at the everyday job. He said he could go to Spring Training if he had to but since the Seattle opportunity came to him he would seize it.

Wilkerson was also pursued by the Red Sox and one other team offered him a longer term than one year.  This deal however allows him to make $ 2 million extra in bonuses, based on plate appearances. He brings with him more versatility to the team after Ben Broussard was traded to the Rangers earlier on.  He has spent the last two seasons with the Rangers and recorded his third career 20-homer season in 2007.

He has been certified fit after a physical exam conducted by the Mariners’ staff after battling shoulder and hamstring injuries. He said he was very excited about the opportunity and hoped that he would be able to give it his best shot. With the team line up looking strong eyes will be on the Mariners to see what they pull out.

Pena who was the American League comeback player of the year agreed to a $ 6 million, one year contract that allowed the Rays to meet a self-imposed deadline to sign him on before the matter of salary went into arbitration.

Pena, 29 underwent the test on Thursday as the final step towards completing the deal through which he will earn $ 8 million in 2009 and $ 10,125,000 in 2010. He scored career highs of 48 homers and 121 RBIs in the past year and set a season franchise record for homers and finished with the fourth highest in the major league after Alex Rodriguez, Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard.

The year also yielded a career best average of .282 for the slugger and a team high of 99 runs and he became the first person to hit 40-plus homers in the season after being released by another team. He had signed on with the Rays after leaving Boston and the New York Yankees whom the played for in the minors in 2006.

These signings have come along with the signings of free agents Troy Percival and Cliff Floyd and show the willingness of the ownership to increase the payroll from $ 24 million to $ 40 million. This is seen as a move to improve the image of the team which has taken quite a beating in baseball circles.

Hopefully the effort from the team management will pay off in the near future.

Cabrera along with pitcher Dontrelle Willis joined the Tigers as a part of the trade with the Florida Marlins in December.  The Florida team received six players including two much talked about prospects left hander Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin.

In the 157 games that the played for the Marlins in 2007 Cabrera hit .320 with 91 runs scored, 38 doubles, two triples, 34 home runs and 119 RBI. He has a batting average of .313 after five seasons with the Marlins.

The Detroit Tigers have also acquired five- time All Star Edgar Renteria  after a trade off with Atlanta and entered into a one year contract with pitcher Bobby Seay worth $ 780,000. 24 year old Cabrera can become a free agent after the 2009 season but the Tigers hope that he will stay on.

Cabrera is one of the world’s top sluggers and joins an already strong lineup that boasts the likes of Magglio Ordonez, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Guillen, Ivan Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco.

The debate is also on about how much Cabrera is worth and how much the Tigers could have paid to have entered into a long term contract with him.

Commissioner Bud Selig said that the Department would be extremely important to the protection of integrity of the sport. He said that Major League Baseball would continue to function as per the recommendations in the report as part of the effort to prevent the use of drugs in the system. The new department will be independent of the teams and at the top will be Dan Mullin a former New York Police officer who is the vice president of security operations and along with him will be George Hanna baseball’s director of security investigation who happens to be an ex- FBI officer.

It is believed that under the leadership of these two men any allegations of illegal use or possession of drugs would be dealt with strictly. The department will join forces will law enforcement authorities to further its investigations as required and will also operate a telephone hotline so that any violations aware to club employees are made known.

Hopefully the coming into being of this new department will root out the problems of drug and substance use in the system which has been made public after the entire Clemens controversy. While new things are coming to light, hopefully the department will act as a deterrent and any violators are dealt with in the strictest manner possible by the concerned authority.

When the affidavit became public in 2005, the names of the players he implicated were blacked out. Hearst then went to court praying that the entire affidavit be made public. This was opposed and in September the District Court declared that there was no public right in the names.  On the 20^th of December, a week after Mitchell’s report was released, the government asked them to unseal the affidavit which was then done so.

Earlier the government said that the affidavit should remained sealed so that they secure the cooperation of certain parties, but later on had it unsealed themselves. Both Hearst and the Major League Baseball Players Association are miffed at not having got a chance to respond to the motion which wanted the affidavit to be unsealed. The MLBPA says that there are issues of privacy and confidentiality which have been breached.

Hearst wants the case sent back to the district court and seeks answers as to why the government did not give notice of its motion to unseal and that the district court conduct proceedings appropriately.

Clemens’ lawyer said that they were investigating all the possibilities and he said that the report published information without researching properly and talking to people whom they should have.

McNamee was Clemens’ personal trainer and he claims that he administered drugs to Clemens while he was with the Toronto Blue Jays and then later when Clemens was with the New York Yankees. Clemens and his attorneys are very confident that the report is inaccurate and baseless and Clemens also released a video where he denied his guilt to all the allegations made against him. McNamee’s lawyer however is confident about his client’s chances and said that the reason behind the report was not to get a baseball icon into the theatre but that he wanted to come out with the truth.

McNamee still stands by the statement he made to Senator George Mitchell and said that it was necessary that Clemens’ come out with the fact that he used performance enhancing substances. While both parties have firmly stuck to their side of the story only time will tell the end of this.

This is not the first situation in competitive sport where a player has been accused of using substance enhancing drugs. There may never be a victorious party but surely most authorities have sat up and taking notice of the situation with regard to steroids.

Now at first glance, one might not think that the Tigers actually need a shortstop. Carlos Guillen, their shortstop from last year, was an All-Star too. But Guillen, while an excellent hitter, committed 24 errors at the shortstop position last season. Far too many for a contending team to swallow. And Guillen can still play first base, an easier position to field, for the team next season.

On the other hand, Edgar Renteria has won two Gold Gloves at the shortstop position and only committed eleven errors last year. He should shore up any defensive problems that the team might have had last year. In addition, he adds a bigger bat to the lineup than former first-basemen Sean Casey ever did. Renteria batted .332 last season with twelve home-runs and fifty-seven RBIs. He should flourish in the Detroit line-up.

All in all this was an excellent trade for the Tigers. Their already potent line-up just got better and they should be better defensively as well. But is Edgar the final piece? Probably not. The team still has major pitching issues, especially in the bullpen, and will need to spend more money to become a contender again.

He can’t go back to the Yankees. Hank Steinbrenner already said his goodbyes. And why would the Red Sox want him when they have a cheaper option in Mike Lowell, a player that just won World Series MVP? And the other New York team, while certainly interested, has nowhere to put A-Rod. How could Mets management justify moving Jose Reyes or David Wright? Would A-Rod be able to play second or first?

Some teams, like the Cubs, Angels, and Dodgers seem like they might be willing to dish out to make a splash. But all three teams have already expressed no interest in engaging in a high-priced bidding war for A-Rod. The Tigers might want him, but they already added Edgar Renteria and have an excellent batting line-up. Intuition tells us they may opt to spend their money on pitching, especially after Joel Zumaya was injured in the California wildfires.

So whose left? The San Fransisco Giants? The Texas Rangers? Who has thirty million dollars per season to burn and needs a marquee player like A-Rod?

For Rodriguez to get the full potential of his next, and possibly last, big contract, he would need a bidding war to ensue. He would need a couple of teams who were willing to pay anything to get him. But that fantasy just doesn’t exist right now. Look closely and you’ll see teams coming up with reasons not to sign A-Rod, not the opposite.