MLB Bullets Is Waiting For The Shoe To Drop

'Twas the night before Biogenesis suspensions, and all through MLB, not a shortstop was stirring, not even . . . oh, forget it. Nothing rhymes with "MLB."

• MLB is expected to announce suspensions in connection with the Biogenesis scandal, perhaps as soon as today, although Monday seems more likely. With that, the focus now is pretty much all on Alex Rodriguez, as reports are that other players have all agreed to plea deals that would suspend them for 50 games.
• Rodriguez, however, is looking at a lifetime ban as he's accused of going far beyond mere taking PEDs. MLB reportedly is charging Rodriguez with tampering with evidence, recruiting other players to PED use and lying to MLB investigators.
• Jon Heyman reports that Rodriguez's representatives and MLB executives are working on a negotiated settlement. But late last night, ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Andrew Marchand are reporting that the two sides are far apart.
• Buster Olney urges MLB to use restraint in suspending Rodriguez, lest they change the players opinion of him from one of scorn to sympathy. Rodriguez's case should be used to expand cooperation with the players union rather than to declare war.
• Rodriguez did an interview with Sports Illustrated, an excerpt of which can be found here. Rodriguez seems good at "departmentalizing" these events as he works his way back to the Yankees.
• Jen Floyd Engel believes that Rodriguez was doomed by mega-contract he signed with Texas in 2001. ARod chose money over happiness, believing that money equals "winning," an attitude she finds way too pervasive in 21st Century America.
• Joe Posnanski looks back at Rodriguez's career and traces the decline of ARod from superhero to arch-villan.
• While Rodriguez is getting most of the attention, Cliff Corcoran believes that a suspension of Nelson Cruz would have the biggest impact on this season.
• Orioles manager Buck Showalter is upset about a possible ARod suspension, arguing that the Yankees would use the money they saved to go on a spending binge, including his own catcher, Matt Wieters.
• Later on Thursday, Showalter seemed to regret his comments, saying that he thought they were off-the-record.
• Danny Knobler wants to talk about baseball, not biochemistry and legal issues.
• The Pirates wanted to make a deal for a big bat, but came up short in talks for Giancarlo Stanton or Mike Trumbo. The Marliins, however, said the Pirates never made an offer for Stanton because they weren't accepting any offers on the slugger.
• The Pirates took four of five from the Cardinals. And David Schoenfield thinks the Pirates have exposed weaknesses in the Cards.
• Dave Cameron notes that those, like himself, who expected the Pirates to "regress" to the mean are going to be disappointed as the Pirates just keep getting better.
• The Yankees tried to get Carlos Ruiz or Michael Young from the Phillies, but the told them that Ruiz was not for sale and that Young 's price was a lot higher than the Yankees were willing to offer.Because that's the way they roll in Ruben Amaro's office.
• The Tigers decision to acquire Jose Iglesias could pay off big in October.
• Jay Jaffe lists trading deadline winners and losers. Hint: One of the winners is a team that plays on a city on Lake Michigan and doesn't rhyme with "Sewers" or "Flight Locks."
• Speaking of the "Flight Locks," they seem to be having trouble executing a rundown lately.
• The Nationals are having a disappointing season with only a 3.5% chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus. So naturally they gave a contract extension to GM Mike Rizzo and gave him the new title of Team President.
• Despite criticism earlier in the week, Rizzo defended the team's handling of Drew Storen.
• Matt Kemp may be out until September.
• Yu Darvish struck out 14 batters for the fourth time this season.
• Evan Grant thinks Darvish's excellence has become "mundane," and he means that as a compliment.
• Gordon Edes has seen the future of the Red Sox, and his name is Xander Bogaerts.
• Speaking of the Red Sox, their short-season Class A affiliate Lowell Spinners were two outs away from a perfect game when Auburn Doubledays shortstop Cody Dent hit a bloop single. Yes, he's Bucky's (or as he's known in New England, [deleted]) son. It could have been worse. That bloop single could have gone over the Green Monster. Too soon? It's been 35 years, folks.
• Jason Giambi broke Hank Aaron's record, or at least the one where Aaron was the oldest player to ever hit a walk-off home run.
• Ever want to know why Iowa is in the Pacific Coast League? Frank Jackson gives a geography lesson about Triple-A baseball. There are seven teams in the Central Time Zone in the PCL, compared to only five in the Pacific Time Zone.
• Jon Paul Morosi tweets are one hundred times better when they're read in a dramatic voice. Even Morosi thinks so. Next stop, a one-man Off-Broadway show.
• Finally, if you're curious where I was last night, I was at the Fresno Grizzlies Taco Truck Throwdown. It was awesome. Duck a l'Orange tacos for two bucks at a ballgame is something I could get used to.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.