Bonds Wags the Dog; Tribe Inks Peralta

In a baseball version of Wag the Dog, embattled slugger Barry Bonds appears to have decided to try to divert fans' attention from allegations of steroid use by trying to wrap himself in the flag. According to ESPN, Bonds told Rick Sutcliffe that he had decided to play for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic, if the team makes it past South Africa and advances to the next round. This comes as news to U.S. manager Buck Martinez, who has enough problems to deal with without adding this three ring circus to the mix.

Whatever challenges Bonds faces, Sportsfilter.com points out that he can count on the support of former Oakland A's executive vice president Stanley Burrell, better know as MC Hammer. Read all about it on Hammer's blog. No word yet from Vanilla Ice on the Bonds situation.

Back on planet Earth, the Tribe signed a deal with Jhonny Peralta to extend his contract through 2010, with a club option for 2011. Let's Go Tribe has an in-depth analysis of the Peralta deal. Hats off to Shapiro again. There's risk in these long-term deals for young players (think Carlos Baerga), but they're the only way a team like Cleveland can hope to stay competitive.

A lot of fans think these "Blueprint for Success" deals with young players are designed to protect the Tribe from free agency, but that's not the case. Peralta's deal will expire--except for the club option--the year that he will become eligible for free agency. As the Let's Go Tribe piece does a good job of explaining, the real reason for them is to avoid the unpredictability of salary arbitration, for which players are generally eligible after three years in the major leagues.