Valley Sports

Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez, who is is serving a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test, is fourth among National League outfielders in the first round of voting for the All-Star game.
There’s a chance that Ramirez, who is trailing the New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran by just 34,000 votes, could be voted in as a starter, which no doubt would thrill commissioner Bud Selig.
Am I surprised? Of course not.
Did the faithful in San Francisco turn on Barry Bonds when they learned he had become a human pharmacy? Are Yankee fans booing Alex Rodriguez when he belts a game-winning homer?
Voting Ramirez into the All-Star game will simply confirm what we’ve known for a long time: Fans don’t care what their heroes put into their bodies as long as they’re smacking 400-foot home runs or throwing three-hit shutouts.
Morality isn’t the issue. Winning is.

Chris Young’s game-saving catch Tuesday against the San Diego Padres was a perfect illustration of why Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch shouldn’t have taken him out of the game on a double switch in the eighth inning of Monday’s game.
I understand Hinch’s reasoning. Young had made the last out in the seventh inning, and Hinch hoped reliever Jon Rauch could get through the inning and pitch the ninth without having to be lifted for a pinch-hitter. Considering how taxed the bullpen was, the thought process behind the move was sound.
But where Hinch erred was removing Young, his best defensive outfielder, instead of first baseman Chad Tracy, who had made the second out in the seventh inning. He could have lifted Tracy, moved Mark Reynolds to first and put Ryan Roberts at third. That way, his infield defense wouldn’t have suffered and he’d still have Young in center.
As it turned out, rookie Gerardo Parra couldn’t catch up to a Drew Macias fly ball to right center that dropped in for a three-run double. Young probably catches that ball, snuffing the rally.
Lesson learned for the young D-Backs manager: You don’t lift your best outfielder when you’re trying to protect a four-run lead.

According to ESPN’s Mike Sando, Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin has fired agent Drew Rosenhaus.
What this means - other than the fact we don’t have to monitor Rosenhaus’ Twitter every day for Boldin updates - is still unclear.
Boldin might have fired Rosenhaus because he felt the agent and the Cardinals didn’t have a good enough working relationship to get a new contract done. Then again, Boldin might have been upset that Rosenhaus hasn’t been able to push a trade through.
It will be interesting to see who Boldin selects as his new agent. Will it be someone who has worked well with Cardinals GM Rod Graves in the past - thus lending credence to the idea that the wide receiver wants to stay - or will it be a hard-nosed agent who will make even more noise about Boldin’s contract than Rosenhaus did?
Stay tuned.

A.J. Hinch has been on the job for less than two weeks, but the new Diamondbacks manager has already had his share of difficulties to deal with.
– The team is just 2-6 since he took over for Bob Melvin, who was fired.
– There was a confrontation with pitcher Doug Davis that both sides later blamed on miscommunication.
– And now former pitching coach Bryan Price has chimed in on the decision to hire Hinch, calling it a “poor decision” and “a slap in the face to anybody who has actually managed or coached in the past.”
The D-Backs have acknowledged that Hinch was an unconventional choice because he had no professional coaching or managerial experience. Price took it one step further in an interview with the Marin Independent Journal, saying Hinch has “no credibility.”

“To me it was a slap in the face not only to Bob but to (coaches) Chip (Hale) and to Gibby (Kirk Gibson) and to anybody who has actually managed or coached in the past,” said Price, who resigned after Melvin was fired, out of loyalty to his good friend. “I thought it bypassed people who were more prepared to finish out the year.”

Price, who has since found work as a special assistant with the Philadelphia Phillies, added:

“A.J. has worked hard to get his credibility in the business in that (player-development) side of the game, but he doesn’t have any credibility between the lines as a manager. That, for me, just wasn’t going to work.”

Hinch, to his credit, didn’t get into a war of words with Price.

“I’m not shaken by it,” Hinch said, according to mlb.com. “I have confidence in my abilities running a game and being in this position. We have a job to do, and I think for me to spend a lot of time thinking about the different reactions that are going on out there is negative energy.”

It’s interesting that players haven’t exactly been rushing to Hinch’s defense. Part of that is due to their loyalty to Melvin and the reality that their poor showing led to his firing. But it wouldn’t surprise me if many of them feel the same  as Price.

Hockey great Wayne Gretzky could be removed as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes if Jerry Reinsdorf is able to buy the team and keep it in Glendale, according to a story in the Toronto Sun.

The Sun reported that Reinsdorf wants nothing to do with paying a coach five or six times the league average coaching salary. Gretzky is set to earn $6.5 million next season and $8 million the following year. His salary reportedly includes money to secure his ownership stake in the Coyotes franchise.

The Coyotes have not made the playoffs in four seasons with Gretzky as coach.

When I read of Wayman Tisdale’s death from cancer Friday at the age of 44, the first thing I thought about was his smile.
No one smiled like Tisdale. He had the Grand Canyon of smiles, broad and deep and beautiful. But the best part of his smile was that it never took a day off.
During his three seasons with the Suns – 1994 to 1997- Tisdale smiled more than Miss America. He had been rescued from basketball purgatory in Sacramento, and playing in Phoenix alongside Charles Barkley and Danny Ainge, Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle, was heaven in hightops.
“He was such an upbeat, positive person,” said former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, who signed Tisdale as a free agent after the 1993-94 season. “I’m not sure he ever had a down day.”
Tisdale was a complementary player for the Suns – he never averaged more than 10.7 points and 19.6 minutes per game – but he quickly became a favorite in the locker room and in the community. Even fans who thought he should have been a better rebounder or defender couldn’t help but like the man.
“He was a great teammate and someone I enjoyed having a relationship with as a player,” Colangelo said. “He was a terrific guy.”
Colangelo saw Tisdale at the NBA All-Star break in Phoenix in February. Six months earlier, Tisdale’s right leg had to be amputated because of the disease. But the loss of a limb didn’t crush his spirit.
“Even under those circumstances he still had that great smile,” Colangelo said.

I’m not into Twitter, so I don’t spend my mornings checking the account of agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents disgruntled Cardinals Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett.

But it seems Rosenhaus is Tweeting about his clients nearly every day, saying he expects them to be traded or how Boldin isn’t asking for $10 million per year or how Dockett is worth a first-round draft pick.

I’m not sure what game Rosenhaus is trying to play, but I do know this: The Cardinals don’t respond well when their business becomes public fodder. Rosenhaus is doing his clients a disservice if he thinks he can Tweeter the Cardinals into doing something they don’t want to do.

Former Diamondbacks’ manager Bob Melvin, as you might expect,  took the high road Friday when speaking to the media about his firing.

Melvin said he held no ill-will to anyone in the organization and that he treasured his time with the Diamondbacks.

“These have been the best days I’ve had a on a baseball field,” Melvin said. “It’s been a joyous run for me here.”

Melvin seemed to be handling his firing well. He joked with the media, opening his press conference by saying, “My key card still worked.”

Melvin made a passionate defense of his often-criticized coaching staff, saying they worked harder than any group he’s ever been around. He also used an interesting choice of words when he said, “There was a plan every day. If we didn’t execute that plan, it’s my fault, not the coaches’  fault.”

Melvin seemed to be responding to  team president Derrick Hall telling KTAR (620 AM) Thursday that the team didn’t seem to have a “game plan.”

But Melvin insisted he didn’t take exception to Hall’s remarks, explaining “I just want to have my coaches’ back.” He became emotional when talking about pitching coach Bryan Price, who resigned after learning Melvin had been fired.

“What he did, I have a hard time even talking about,” Melvin said.

Melvin said he wasn’t surprised by his firing. Nor did he complain about losing his job just 29 games into the season.

“That’s the way it goes,” he said … “Early on (this season) you could sense people were not happy with the way we played,” he said. “I don’t blame them. I wasn’t happy either.”

Melvin said he’s not sure what he’ll do next, other than spend a summer with his family for the first time in nearly three decades.

He leaves the Diamondbacks as the winningest manager in team history (337-340) and the bench coach for the 2001 team that won the World Series.

“I personally prefer the purple uniform,” Melvin said with a smile.

That’s as close as he came to a zinger.

Is it possible Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Manny Ramirez is telling the truth when he says he never took steroids, and his 50-game suspension is for a medication his doctor gave him?

Sure. Anything is possible.

Do I believe Manny? I can’t. We’ve heard the lies so often, from so many players, that it’s impossible to buy Ramirez’s story. As to his assertion that he passed 15 drug tests over the last five years, what does that prove? He wouldn’t be the first player to turn to steroids later in his career.

The only way Ramirez will come off as being truthful  is to provide specific details about the medication and have the doctor back up his story. What was the drug? Why was he taking it? How could he be unaware it was on the banned substances list? Even then, the public will be skeptical, but at least it would sound more plausible than the generic denial he issued through the players’ union.

What does Ramirez’s suspension mean for the National League West?

Well, the Dodgers certainly won’t be the same team. Ramirez made every hitter in that lineup better. Now, Orlando Hudson, who bats second, won’t see as many fastballs, and Andre Eithier, who hit behind Ramirez, won’t have as many runners on base. Suddenly, L.A.’s younger players will feel more pressure to perform, and we’ve seen what those types of expectations have done to the Diamondbacks’ kids.

Arizona now has the opportunity to make a dent in the standings. Is it possible the D-Backs just aren’t good enough and will continue to play sloppy, uninspired baseball?

Possibly.

But here’s guessing Ramirez’s suspension will be the jolt the team needed. The Diamondbacks have to feel like they’ve been given a second chance. Sometimes, that kind of hope can carry a team a long way.

Coyotes coach and minority owner Wayne Gretzky would stand to make as much as $22.5 million if the bankrupt team is sold, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

If the Coyotes are sold to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie for $212.5 million under terms of the team’s bankruptct filing, the Journal reported that Gretzky would receive $8 million as deferred compensation that is owed to him. In addition, Gretzky could make an additional $14.5 million if he exercises an option in his contract to resign due to a change in ownership, according to court documents.

Gretzky , however, would be a huge draw should he stay on board if Balsillie buys the team and moves it to Ontario. Gretzky is still wildly popular in Canada, and was born just outside Hamilton, Ontario. Gretzky’s father, Walter, is also a fixture in the area. Balsillie has reportedly told Gretzky that, if the move is approved, he would build a new hockey arena in southern Ontario and name it after Gretzky’s father.

It’s a shrewd move for Balsillie, who owns Research in Motion — which makes the BlackBerry wireless device. He has already been rebuffed twice before by the NHL in attempts to purchase a team and move it to Canada. If he’s going to be successful in his third try, having Gretzky on your side goes a long way.