Place your bets on how Carl Pavano will injure himself in his first 2008 start for the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, as they square off against the O's.  Will he get into a car accident on the way Camden Yards?  Will he get slapped upside the head with Jeter's bat during batting practice?  Will a light tower come crashing down on him?  Will God strike him with lightening (please)?

After signing a 4 year deal with the Yanks for $3,995,000, Pavano has managed to squeeze in a whopping 19 appearances.  That's right, 19 appearances in 4 years.  He had 2 starts in April, 2007, but was then sent to the DL for a season-ending injury, and he hasn't been seen in the last 16 months.  Way to earn that paycheck, a-hole.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit career homerun #609 last night in Chicago, as the White Sox went on to slam the Mariners, 15-3.  Griffey is now tied with Sammy Sosa for 5th place on the all-time homerun list.  His 609th blast came in the 2nd inning and it was his first since being traded to Chicago. 

With one more homerun, Junior will take sole possession of 5th place on the all-time homerun list, trailing behind only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), and Willie Mays (660).  Junior is in fine company, indeed. 

Junior's reported salary for 2008 is $8,282,695.  The man deserves every penny of this.  Congrats Junior!

Hideki Irabu was arrested on 08/20/08 in Osaka, Japan for assualting a bartender, after drinking 20 mugs of beer.  Irabu allegedly became upset when his credit card was rejected, at which time, he pushed a bartender against a wall, pulled his hair, and then went on to smash at least nine bottles of liquor. 


AP Photo

After his short outburst, Irabu did eventually pay the bill, however, police were called to the scene, and Irabu allegedly admitted to the assault.

Irabu was signed by the New York Yankees in 1997, to a 4 year deal worth $12,800,000.  His major league career lasted six seasons, during which he pitched for the Yankees, the Expos and the Rangers.  In 2003, he signed a contract with Japan's Hanshin Tigers.

$12.8 million and you're credit card still gets rejected over a $100 bar tab?

Billy Wagner went on the 15 day disabled list on August 5th, for a strained elbow.  Reports now suggest that the injury actually worsened while on the DL.  See what too much free time can do for a man?  He is now indefinitely out, and in fact, the remainder of this 2008 season is now in question. 

Wagner has racked up 27 saves in '08, in 34 save opportunities.  He has a tidy 2.30 ERA to boot.  But you have to ask yourself, how much longer can the 37 year old Wagner hang on?  The Mets are paying Wagner $10.5 million for 2008, and with a current 1.5 game lead over the Phils for 1st place in the NL East, a star relief pitcher on the indefinite DL doesn't do your club much good.  Time for the chopping block?

Wow, a lot can happen in a month.  And a month it has been since the last update.  WTF?  Why?  Why did it take so long?  Rather than taking the time to explain everything, www.buyingachampionship.com will just continue to write entries and updates as if nothing happened.  As if a new post was going up every day over the last month.  www.buyingachampionship.com didn't miss a thing.  Nope.

So the season is half over as we arrive at the Summer "Classic."  Ha!  There is nothing "classic" about the All-Star game.  This is probably the most boring event of the season, which is exactly why MLB tried to spice things up a few years ago and claimed that the league who won the game would have home field advantage in the World Series.  This is an absolutely horrible idea, one which very few (if any) players endorse.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the 2008 All Star game is the fact that it will be played in Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built."  The entire country will get one last chance to see this museum as it plays host to the All Star game.  It will be interesting to know that the American League coach, Francona of the Red Sox, will step foot into Girardi's managerial office, as he takes the American League under his reign.  The left side of the infield will be filled with Yankees.  The right side with Red Sox.  Whoop-ti-frickin'-do!

All joking aside, it would seem the American League should win this game, considering the ridiculous unbalance of salaries paid between the American League and the National League, but who knows....anything can happen.

The former Mrs. Alex Rodriguez filed for divorce on Monday, alleging that A-Rod emotionally abandoned his family.   According to every article regarding this divorce found by www.buyingachampionship.com, the filings did not include any mention of Madonna, or any other specific names for that matter.  Cynthia Rodriguez claims the marriage is "irretrievably broken" because of Alex's "extra-marital affairs and other marital misconduct." 

Cynthia Rodriguez is allegedly staying in the home of rocker Lenny Kravitz with her two children.  A-Rod, meanwhile, is with the Yankees. 

Cynthia Rodriguez is allegedly seeking full custody of the couple's two daughters, Natasha and Ella.  If granted, A-Rod will be paying some hefty child support, as Cynthia is seeking to "maintain the existing lifestyle of the children."

Salary alone would provide A-Rod with approximately $450 million over his career.  Throw in endorsements and everything else, and A-Rod is easily clearing $500,000,000.  Any guesses as to what his monthly child support payment might be?

www.buyingachampionship.com was on a vacation for the last two weeks.  After a tedious 5 weeks of running this website, a much needed vacation was taken.  Hard work folks....

Tonight, the fans in Fenway Park will see what two men with a combined age of 85 can do against one another's team.  41 year old Tim Wakefield will take the mound for the Sox as they square off against 44 year old Randy Johnson and the rest of the D'backs.

This has to be one of the "oldest pitching match-ups" in baseball.  Both of these men could have retired several years ago.  Despite his age, Wakefield is still fierce.  His nasty knuckleball will fool hitters until he is well into his 50's.  Johnson on the other hand....well, he should have retired about 3 years ago and left the game when his name was still actually reputable.  Now, he and Roger Clemens make fans think of Viagra, for lack of performance on and off the mound.

Despite their age, these geriatric-like pitchers are still raking in the cash-ola.  Combined, they are brining in $19,100,546 in 2008.  Wakefield is earning $4,000,000 this year, while Johnson is earning $15,100,546.  Damn, they can buy a lot of Viagra with that much money.

The Seattle Mariners were in Queens, NY for a series against the Mets when Felix Hernandez and Johan Santana squared off against each other on Monday night.  In the top of the 2nd inning, Felix Hernandez came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs.  Santana delivered a 94 mph pitch to Hernandez who connected, sending the ball over the right field fence for a grand slam.

A few interesting aspects of this;

1)  Hernandez was the first AL pitcher in 37 years to hit a grand slam.  It was last done by Steve Dunning (Cleveland) in 1971.

2)  No other Seattle Mariners pitcher has ever hit a home run.

3)  Both Hernandez and Santana hail from Venezuela.

Unforuntately for the Man of the Night, he hurt his ankle three innings later and was taken out of the game.  Hey, at least he didn't hurt his ankle via Chien Ming Wang-style.

The 23 year old Hernandez is earning only $540,000 in 2008.