Former Senate Majority Leader (and current Boston Red Sox director) George Mitchell just announced the results of his 20-month, $20 million investigation into allegations of widespread steroid usage in baseball. The long-awaited, 409-page Mitchell Report (document here) identifies more than 80 current and former players as being linked to using performance-enhancing drugs. While the report casts blame on the lack of institutional control within baseball as much as the players themselves that cheated, what everyone cares about are the names. more ›

Alright, let's take a look at this Zito signing after we've all had a day to absorb everything. First, more details of the deal has been released. The key thing is that Zito will make only $10 million this year as he agreed to backload some of his salary to help the Giants and their budget. Which is another way of saying "have money left over for the other Barry." The signing should come soon. The Giants budget this year will be $92 million, their highest yet and about $12 million more than their standard $80 million. This all sounds well and good-- we like teams that spend to win, but one wonders what would have happened if they decided to break the bank earlier. Like, oh, resigning Jeff Kent. Or going after Vlade. Or another good starter to back up Jason Schmidt. more ›