Bobby Estalella isn’t just a pretty face with an armband tattoo. The former Phillies catcher, who has been out of baseball since 2004, has agreed to become a government witness is the federal perjury case against Barry Bonds. Estalella, who played with Bonds on the San Fransisco Giants in 2000 and 2001 is expected to provide first hand knowledge of Bonds steroid use.
Estalella first made news in 2003 when he testified during the BALCO investigation. In his leaked testomony he stated he knowingly used the “cream” and “clear” as provided to him by Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson. Estalella was also mentioned in the Mitchell Report. In 2003 the Los Angeles Dodgers were weighing their options for a backup catcher and referred to Estalella as a “poster boy for the chemicals”.
While physically he may be a poster boy, but steroids didn’t give Estalella the edge he needed. In his nine-year major league career he batted .216 with 48 home runs and 147 RBI’s.
Another former Phillie, …
Pitcher Tom Gordon is on the verge of signing a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The three-time All-Star spent the past three seasons with the Phillies. The marriage started out great, but went downhill fast.
In 2006, Gordon was an All-Star and saved 36 games. Age, injury, and ineffectiveness then caught up to Flash. His 2007 campaign (3-2, 4.73), was filled with injury and disappointment as Gordon eventually lost his closers job to Brett Myers. In 2008 he had high hopes, opening the season as the set up man for Brad Lidge, but his arm again gave him trouble. He didn’t see any action after July 5th due to shoulder and elbow issues. He finished the season 5-4 with a 5.16 ERA.
Gordon had surgery on his ulnar nerve this past October and will be ready by Opening Day. Gordon has expressed interest in returning to Philadelphia, but reports are the Phillies informed him the feeling isn’t mutual.
If Gordon has any gas left in the tank, this might …
Despite having two years left on his existing contract, Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb has made it very public that he wants to sit down with the team’s front office this offseason to work out a new deal.
“Everyone knows that,” McNabb said. “You guys know it and you’ve talked about it. We’ll just leave it behind closed doors.”
McNabb is set to make $9.2 million next season, and $10 million the year after that. His contract is currently set to expire after the 2010 season. While his discussions with coach Andy Reid and team President Joe Banner are expected to largely center around money, there are other issues that McNabb wants to discuss.
“The contract deals with a lot of different things and I’ll kind of leave it at that,” McNabb said. “I want things to get taken care of and then I won’t have to answer whether I’ll be back the next year. I’ve had to answer 20 weeks this year about coming back and last year as well. It’s tiresome, but I’d rather have people asking …
