MLB.com: The Dodgers are making extensive upgrades to Dodger Stadium, and I have to say that it all sounds awesome.

The most obvious upgrade — and the one senior vice president of planning and development Janet Marie Smith mentioned first — is the replacement of the scoreboards located above the right- and left-field pavilions with larger, 1080 high-definition LED boards, as well as replacement of message boards, including ribbon boards at the Loge level and outfield wall.

The rectangular one that has been in left field since the last All-Star Game is being returned to the hexagon shape of the original. The boards will be 22 percent larger with an active viewing area 66 percent larger, allowing for more video and statistical information to be displayed.

A new, sharper sound system comes with it, designed to direct sound to each seating section and minimize echoes.

Worried that it’ll look too modernized and lose its charm? Don’t. The changes are actually quite subtle and they aren’t gaudy or ridiculous.

Responding to complaints from fans, a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi and cellular antenna system will go live to support cellphone and Internet connectivity.

There also is major work being done to widen concourses, expand and renovate restrooms, enhance food service, build new entry plazas and create bullpen overlooks for standing-room views of the game. Restrooms will be installed under the outfield pavilions and more wheelchair locations will be created.

The Wi-Fi has long been a complaint among people covering/attending Dodger games, so I’m guessing this will be a welcome fix.

For the players, a new clubhouse is being installed, along with an expanded weight room and underground batting cages.

“That was a hot-button issue for Mark [Walter, chairman],” said Kasten. “He wants the finest training center in all of sports.”

For the on-the-field product, this is the one improvement that could actually have an impact, so at least it isn’t all superficial.

Playground areas will be created for children in the pavilion and Reserve Level that will include life-size bobbleheads.

Smith said the franchise’s history will be celebrated by displaying retired uniform numbers at the Top of the Park, giant World Series rings representing the six World Series championships and a display of Gold Glove, MVP and Cy Young Awards at the Dugout Club as “an inspiration to fans and players.”

Like most things the new owners have done so far, it all sounds great, so hopefully the honeymoon ends up lasting.

Los Angeles Times: Bill Shaikin has an update on the ongoing Dodgers television contract negotiations.

Whether the Dodgers keep their television broadcasts on Fox Sports or move them to Time Warner Cable appears to be a “50-50″ proposition, according to a person familiar with the team’s TV negotiations but not authorized to discuss them.

The Dodgers’ discussions with MLB center on whether all of their guaranteed television revenue should be subject to baseball’s revenue-sharing program. At issue in a $6-billion deal: whether the team’s contribution to the program would be about $1 billion or about $2 billion.

The league believes — and there are indications the court might agree — that the Dodgers must take some element of risk with any money not subject to revenue sharing.

The Dodgers must contribute 34% of the annual rights fee to baseball’s revenue-sharing program. The team plans to launch its own regional sports network, in part to avoid the prospect of Fox or TWC paying a much higher rights fee.

However, in order to get dividends from a regional sports network, the league believes the team should be required to take the accompanying risk of ownership. The Dodgers are looking at other ways to structure a deal that would shield that money from revenue sharing and satisfy MLB as well.

I feel more uncomfortable now than before, when it was basically reported as a done deal with FOX, but it does appear that the team will be getting their due windfall at some point, regardless.

Of course, none of this will likely affect 2013 anyway, but if the team is asked to take on extensive risk or if there’s a $1 billion difference in revenue from what the owners thought they would get out of the deal, I would have to think it would affect payroll somewhat.

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Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness: Somebody has to hit leadoff … right?

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FanGraphs: HGH testing in baseball? Public relations.

So what we see here appears — to my admittedly skeptical self, at least — less MLB and MLBPA joining hands to do what is right and rid the game of a great evil and more an appeal to doping fears and the court of public opinion. Personally, I just hope its intrusion into the game is minimal.

The public thinks HGH is a big deal, so why wouldn’t the MLB do testing and appear concerned as well? That way the MLB can beat their chest about being serious on PEDs, even though it makes basically no impact at all.

It’s an idiot test to me anyway, as I’m not sure why an athlete would waste their time with it. Placebo effect, I guess.

FanGraphs: David Laurila with the quotes of the year that he’s gathered. An interesting read.

Former Dodger closer Eric Gagne released a biography in French recently, called “Game Over: The Story Of Eric Gagne“, and within that book he estimates that 80% of his Dodger teammates used PEDs, though the story is more than a bit light on specifics.

Gagne, who set a major league record while converting 84 consecutive save chances, admits that he used human growth hormone over five cycles in a three-year period toward the end of his career.

“It was sufficient to ruin my health, tarnish my reputation and throw a shadow over the extraordinary performances of my career,” Gagne says in the French-language book, titled “Game Over: The Story of Eric Gagne.”

In the book, Gagne does not provide any names of players he says used PEDs. Baseball began stricter testing in the spring of 2006. Players are subject to HGH testing during spring training and in the offseason, but not during the season.

“I was intimately aware of the clubhouse in which I lived. I would say that 80 percent of the Dodgers players were consuming them,” Gagne says in the book.

Just reading Gagne’s words from the book excerpts, it appears as though he’s talking solely about HGH. And while I would like to trust the way that sports journalists have written the story and assume that Gagne referred to all PEDs at some point, when it comes to PED-related coverage, they generally tend to lump everything together into one gigantic PED ball like they’re all the same thing.

Case in point, in the article titles, MLB.com just says “PED”, Los Angeles Times says “performance-enhancing drugs”, HardballTalk says “steroids”, and on Twitter, ESPN Los Angeles says “HGH”. Just an example of what I mean by my confusion as to what exactly the book excerpts were alluding to.

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Now why does this matter to me? Certainly not because it would help or hurt my case to moralize over it (I have never particularly cared if athletes use), like others have been using the allegations to do. Rather, I primarily want to know the specifics so that I can make intelligence judgments on the Dodger teams in question and performance judgments in regards to HGH.

I care because if it was just HGH use, as it seems Gagne’s saying, then that makes the Dodger players who allegedly used complete idiots for risking their health for minimal benefits beyond the placebo effect.

Human growth hormone doesn’t work when it comes to enhancing athletic performance, according to an extensive review of studies by a team of 11 Stanford University researchers, Stanford announced Monday afternoon.

The use of human growth hormone (HGH) by professional athletes to enhance performance has been the subject of a national investigation and Congressional hearings for baseball players.

But the Stanford researchers say HGH doesn’t improve athletic performance and may in fact reduce an athlete’s stamina.

“Growth hormone is reported to be extensively used for illicit enhancement of athletic performance, both for its anabolic and endurance effects,” the authors wrote.

“However, our review of the published literature suggests that while growth hormone may alter body composition it has minimal effect on key athletic performance outcomes and may, in fact, be associated with worsened exercise capacity.”

The study concluded that HGH, popular with body builders, does alter body mass but “it did not result in gains in biceps and quadriceps strength.”

There’s lots more documentation here and here, but they all basically come to the same conclusion: that growth hormone does increase muscle size (hence the “growth” part), but it does so by making everything else bigger, and the athletes don’t get a strength benefit to go along with that size.

In other words, HGH might be useful for bodybuilding, but athletics? Not so much.

Therefore, if Gagne’s simply saying that 80% of his teammates were using HGH like him, nobody should care about this story because HGH doesn’t work. It’s the PED equivalent of calling Eugenio Velez a “hitter”. Hell, maybe the whole problem to begin with was that those Dodger teams were using HGH by the gallons while everybody else was using designer steroids. Wouldn’t that just be a perfectly fitting revelation for this franchise and that era?

Heck, even if he’s just talking about general PEDs, the team must have been doing it wrong. Gagne’s Dodger career lasted from 1999 to 2006. In that time span, one of the marquee franchises in baseball averaged
84.75 wins and 77.25 losses. They made the playoffs twice, winning the NL West once and the NL Wild Card once. That’s it.

So much for enhancing performance.

MLB and the MLBPA recently agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement that will ensure labor peace through 2016. In light of the recent troubles of the NBA and NFL, this seems like a welcome change of pace. However, with this CBA comes a lot of changes to the MLB, and I don’t think all of them are positive.

So while both the MLB and the MLBPA tout to everybody how proud they are of themselves for avoiding a labor dispute, everybody from the mainstream media to the basement bloggers seem to be in agreement that there is significant reason to worry about what has just transpired.

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Draft

2. The current system of draft pick compensation will be replaced with the following
system:

A. Only Players who have been with their Clubs for the entire season will be subject
to compensation.

No more trading for Type A and Type B players with the intent of offering them arbitration and getting compensation picks when they hit free agency.

I always thought these types of moves awarded the intelligent and creative GMs, so this is a definite loss in my mind.

B. A free agent will be subject to compensation if his former Club offers him a
guaranteed one-year contract with a salary equal to the average salary of the
125-highest paid Players from the prior season. The offer must be made at the
end of the five-day free agent “quiet period,” and the Player will have seven days
to accept the offer.

Draft pick compensation is no longer associated with performance at all, which is a welcome switch given the stupidity of how players attained their Type A and Type B designations.

Basically, draft pick compensation is now determined by how much his current/former team wants him back. I like it.

C. A Club that signs a player subject to compensation will forfeit its first round
selection, unless it selects in the top 10, in which case it will forfeit its second highest
selection in the draft.

D. The Player’s former Club will receive a selection at the end of the first round
beginning after the last regularly scheduled selection in the round. The former
Clubs will select based on reverse order of winning percentage from the prior
championship season.

If I’m understanding this correctly, the team that signs a compensation player pays a higher price than the team losing the compensation player receives. Quite frankly, I don’t agree with the subtle message this is sending to teams. Basically that the MLB prefers that you let marquee free agents go over signing them to improve your club.

e. Rule 4 Draft

1. The draft will continue to be conducted in June, but the signing deadline will be moved
to a date between July 12 and July 18 depending on the date of the All-Star Game.

Love the deadline switch, because now drafted players can get into their team’s system earlier and actually play ball.

2. Drafted players may only sign Minor League contracts.

There has been a lot of complaining about only being able to sign minor league contracts, but I have personally never understood the incentive to sign these contracts from both the team and player’s perspectives. For the team, it occupies a 40-man roster spot for a relatively unknown talent. For the player, the team rushing them to the major leagues because they are taking up a 40-man roster spot is a detriment to their overall development.

3. Signing Bonus Pools

A. Each Club will be assigned an aggregate Signing Bonus Pool prior to each draft.
For the purpose of calculating the Signing Bonus Pools, each pick in the first 10
rounds of the draft has been assigned a value. (These values will grow each year
with the rate of growth of industry revenue.) A Club’s Signing Bonus Pool equals
the sum of the values of that Club’s selections in the first 10 rounds of the draft.
Players selected after the 10th round do not count against a Club’s Signing
Bonus Pool if they receive bonuses up to $100,000. Any amounts paid in excess
of $100,000 will count against the Pool.

B. Clubs that exceed their Signing Bonus Pools will be subject to penalties as
follows:
Excess of Pool Penalty (Tax on Overage/Draft Picks)
• 0-5% 75% tax on overage
• 5-10% 75% tax on overage and loss of 1st round pick
• 10-15% 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st and 2nd round picks
• 15%+ 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st round picks in next two drafts

Up until now, nothing has been too bad, but this is one of the major changes that makes me dislike the new CBA.

Capping draft spending ends the financial incentive for many two sport talents and high school talents to take baseball up as a profession. I just find it depressing for the sport as a whole because the financial advantage was the biggest advantage that baseball had to lure talented athletes with multiple options into the sport.

The current excuse for this going around the internet is that there aren’t an exorbitant amount of two or three sport athletes in every draft class, so this will affect a clear minority. Even assuming that’s true, which it seems to be, the thought of losing even one Matt Kemp or one Zach Lee (for purely Dodgers related connections) is too much for me.

Of course, that doesn’t even address the high school talents who are now increasingly likely to opt for college baseball over starting their professional career early. Now there’s little doubt that this CBA is wonderful for college baseball and the NCAA, but I honestly have absolutely no interest in providing more talented indentured servants to the NCAA overlords so that they can make increasingly more money off the backs of those players. As you might expect, that aspect is a huge negative for me as well.

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On the bright side, there are rumors that the draft cap will be set anywhere from $4 million to $11 million depending on team market size and team performance, so there’s potential for this to not be disastrous. However, I believe the concept behind capping draft spending is a significant loss for the MLB, not to mention the amateur athletes who are the ones that truly get the shaft.

5. Competitive Balance Lottery

A. For the first time, Clubs with the lowest revenues and in the smallest markets will
have an opportunity to obtain additional draft picks through a lottery.

B. The ten Clubs with the lowest revenues, and the ten Clubs in the smallest
markets, will be entered into a lottery for the six draft selections immediately
following the completion of the first round of the draft. A Club’s odds of winning
the lottery will be based on its prior season’s winning percentage.

C. The eligible Clubs that did not receive one of the six selections after the first
round, and all other payee Clubs under the Revenue Sharing Plan, will be
entered into a second lottery for the six picks immediately following the
completion of the second round of the draft. A Club’s odds of winning the
lottery will be based on its prior season’s winning percentage.

In theory, this is supposed to be a good thing because it gives extra picks to poorer teams. Like baseball welfare. However, with the new draft spending rules, I have to question how much of an impact these extra picks will actually have, if anything significant at all.

Instead of making smaller market teams jump through hoops to improve their squads via the draft, the MLB should have just left everything as it was, because many smaller market clubs had already been realizing that draft spending was one of the best methods to begin with. Now that angle is stripped from those smaller market clubs and the rules trying to force competitive balance ironically only limit the poorer clubs.

D. Picks awarded in the Competitive Balance Lottery may be assigned by a Club,
subject to certain restrictions.

If that means draft pick trading, I’m excited.

E. Top 200 prospects will be subject to a pre-draft drug test and will participate in a
pre-draft medical program.

Basically, the MLB is saying that they care about preventing drug use, but only to the extent that it’s financially viable for them to do so.

So if you suck, feel free to roid up all you want. Not that I expect these tests to catch any of the players with intelligent advisers.

International

f. International Talent Acquisition

1. By December 15, 2011, the parties will form an International Talent Committee to
discuss the development and acquisition of international players, including the potential
inclusion of international amateur players in a draft or in multiple drafts.

2. For the 2012-13 signing season, each Club will be allocated an equal Signing Bonus
Pool.

3. For each signing period after 2012-13, Clubs will be allocated different Signing Bonus
Pools, based on reverse order of winning percentage the prior championship season
(i.e., the Club with the lowest winning percentage the prior season shall receive the
largest Pool).

4. Bonus Regulation of International Amateur Players

A. Beginning in the 2013-2014 signing period (July 2, 2013 – June 15, 2014), Clubs
may trade a portion of their Signing Bonus Pool, subject to certain restrictions.

B. Clubs that exceed their Signing Bonus Pools will be subject to the following
penalties in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 signing periods:

Excess of Pool Penalty (Tax on Overage/Draft Picks)

• 0-5% 75% tax
• 5-10% 75% tax and loss of right to provide more than one player in the next signing period with a bonus in
excess of $500,000.
• 10-15% 100% tax and loss of right to provide any player in the next signing period with a bonus in excess of
$500,0000.
• 15%+ 100% tax and loss of right to provide any player in the next signing period with a bonus in excess of
$250,000.

I have the same problems here that I have with the draft spending cap, except it’s worse in this case because it could stunt baseball’s growth internationally, thus limiting the potential talent pool.

It’s not that I’m particularly worried about countries like the Dominican Republic and Cuba losing their love for baseball, but I do think it crushes the incentive to play baseball for many developing baseball nations, especially in Europe. Just seems dumb to limit the potential talent pool by taking away financial incentives.

5. All international amateur players must register with the Scouting Bureau to be eligible to
sign, and the top 100 prospects will be subject to a drug test.

Since players must now register centrally to be eligible, it reduces the need for teams to identify players because they must identify themselves. This will probably be a disadvantage for smart teams who want to gain competitive advantages from finding and signing players that lazier teams may not know about.

I suppose the registration itself makes everything about international signings less shady, but I don’t think throwing out the competitive advantage aspect of identifying the player first is worth it.

As far as the drug test goes, the same opinion from the draft drug testing applies.

6. The Office of the Commissioner and the Union will form a joint committee to assist
international players with their transition to educational/vocational programs after their
baseball careers are over.

Good.

Free Agency

III-a-3. Article XX(B) free agents signing minor league contracts who are not added to the Opening Day roster or unconditionally released 5 days prior to Opening Day shall receive an additional $100,000 retention bonus and the right to opt out on June 1.

This could be a double edged sword.

On one hand, it may benefit minor league free agent type players because it’s now cheaper to add them to the 40-man roster instead of just keeping them in AAA. On the other hand, it may hurt those types of players because it reduces the incentive to hand out those contracts, as there are limited spots on the 40-man roster and now it costs quite a bit to have them in the system.

b. Draft Pick Compensation

1. Starting in 2012, “Type A” and “Type B” free agents and the use of the Elias ranking system will be eliminated.

Outstanding. The hilarity of random relief pitchers and utility infielders gifting teams supplemental round draft picks and costing teams first round draft picks was one of the worst parts of the previous CBA. Worse yet, the Type A designations actually cratered interest for those players in certain cases.

Good riddance.

Postseason

a. Beginning no later than the 2013 Postseason, Postseason play will be expanded for the first
time since 1995. A second Wild Card will be awarded to the Club in each league with the
second-best overall record among Clubs that do not win a division. The two Wild Card Clubs
will play a single Postseason game, the winner of which will advance to the Division Series. A
decision on adding two Wild Cards for 2012 will be made no later than March 1, 2012.

I’m not going to get extremely worked up about it, but I do think it cheapens the result of the World Series a little. As it is, baseball is not meant to be played in short series because of the volatile nature of the results, so five game divisional matchups were already pushing the limit for me. Now though, putting in a one game wild card playoff just makes it all the more likely that a less deserving team wins the World Series with an inferior resume.

Arbitration

1. The percentage of players with two years of service who will be arbitration eligible will
be increased from the top 17% to the top 22% in terms of service.

2. All players tied at the 22% cutoff will be eligible for arbitration.

There’s now going to be more Super Two players hitting arbitration, which marginally reduces the value of team controlled players, but nothing significant.

Rosters

d. Active Roster limits will be expanded to 26 for certain regular or split doubleheaders.

Just curious to see what the specific circumstances are that will allow this move. In theory, it appears to be a solid idea though.

Ownership

VI.. DEBT SERVICE RULE

a. The Debt Service Rule will be maintained, but the default EBITDA multiplier has been lowered
from ten to eight, and from fifteen to twelve for Clubs incurring stadium-related debt in the first
ten years of a new or renovated stadium.

b. Debt of a Club’s owner or related party will be covered by the Debt Service Rule if the debt is
serviced, in whole or in part, using Club funds or assets.

c. Debt Service Rule certification process for new ownership has been modified.

The “We Hate You Frank McCourt” rule.

Performance Enhancing Drugs

X.. DRUG PROGRAM
Commencing in Spring Training 2012, all players will be subject to hGH blood testing for reasonable cause at
all times during the year. In addition, during each year, all players will be tested during Spring Training.
Starting with the 2012-2013 off-season, players will be subject to random unannounced testing for hGH. The
parties have also agreed on a process to jointly study the possibility of expanding blood testing to include inseason
collections.

In my opinion, this is nothing more than a move that makes the MLB and the MLBPA look good on paper but basically changes nothing in the realm of performance enhancing drugs except serve as an invasion of privacy of the players.

I’m not going to go over all the studies put out by doctors that say HGH doesn’t do much of anything for performance, but the fact that HGH is basically worthless without AAS makes it all the more apparent that this is purely a cosmetic change.

General

c. Waiting periods for life insurance and disability insurance for active players have been
eliminated.

d. Pension benefits and life insurance benefits for certain classes of retired players and widows
have been improved.

f. Access to health coverage has been improved for international players and their families.

g. Health care benefits have been improved while managed care initiatives have been introduced
to help with costs.

Personally, I’m surprised these weren’t already done.

VIII.. HEALTH AND SAFETY

a. Players, managers, and coaches will be prohibited from using smokeless tobacco during
televised interviews and Club appearances. In addition, at any time when fans are permitted in
the ballpark, players, managers and coaches must conceal tobacco products (including
packages and tins), and may not carry tobacco products in their uniforms or on their bodies.
Individuals who violate the policy will be subject to discipline. The parties also agreed upon an
extensive program of education and public outreach regarding the dangers of smokeless
tobacco.

Basically a “WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?!” move. Meh.

b. The parties agreed on a program of mandatory evaluation by a trained professional for Players
who are suspected of an alcohol use problem (including Players who are arrested for DWI or
other crimes involving alcohol), and for players who are arrested for crimes involving the use of
force or violence.

Sounds good.

c. The parties agreed that no new players will be permitted to use a low density maple bat during
the term of the agreement.

Based on the research I have read, it sounds smart.

d. By 2013, all Major League players will wear a new batting helmet developed by Rawlings that
protects against pitches thrown at 100 miles per hour. The new version of the helmet is
significantly less “bulky” than prior versions of the more protective helmet.

Let’s hope it’s normal looking by then.

a. Participation in the All-Star Game will be required unless the Player is unable to play due to
injury or is otherwise excused by the Office of the Commissioner. Players Trust will receive an
increased contribution and players will receive additional benefits.

“YOU WILL DO MY BIDDING!” – Bud Selig

b. All Players will be subject to a policy governing the use of Social Media.

R.I.P. Logan Morrison

d. The parties will agree upon a comprehensive international play plan in which Clubs and Player
will visit countries in which games have not been staged in the past.

Welcome to the Ivory Coast!

f. Instant Replay will be expanded to include fair/foul and “trapped” ball plays, subject to the
Office of the Commissioner’s discussions with the World Umpires Association.

Can they just expand replay to everything except strikes and balls already? God, if they can do it at the Little League World Series in a few minutes or less, I’m sure a system could be figured out for the MLB.

Everybody is happy with this concession, but it’s still less than it should be given the available technology.

h. The parties agreed to an improved process for challenging official scorer decisions.

Kevin Brown and Brad Penny don’t have to burst into the room screaming anymore.

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Phew, that’s all folks.