Only integrity is revealed

He has already sat down with his 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son and explained that their daddy might be going to jail. This is the part that cuts hardest at San Francisco Chronicle reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada, but he has pledged to endure it to preserve the integrity of his work.

``Yes, the family issue clearly has been the most difficult part of all of this," said Fainaru-Wada, who along with fellow Chronicle reporter Lance Williams faces up to 18 months in jail for refusing to give up the sources that leaked them grand jury testimony in the Barry Bonds/BALCO case, information they used to write some of the most significant stories the sport has ever seen and the best-selling book ``Game of Shadows."

``My wife and I did sit down with the kids," said Fainaru-Wada. ``It was a very difficult conversation. We just tried to tell them that I made a promise that I felt was really important to keep and that I might have to go to jail because of that. But we also said that not everybody who goes to jail is a bad person."

Many of us who make our living in sports journalism look upon Fainaru-Wada and Williams with great admiration for uncovering what appears to be rampant steroid use in baseball. Because there have been hundreds of deaths associated with steroid use in young athletes, the awareness brought forth by Fainaru-Wada and Williams has likely saved lives.

And their reward? Prison time. Meanwhile, the man accused, Bonds, moves closer to breaking the most sacred record in baseball.

Here's what doesn't make sense. At a White House gathering, President Bush told the two reporters they had performed ``a public service." And now that ``public service" may land them in prison, pending an appeal of US District Court Judge Jeffrey White's sentencing last Thursday in San Francisco.

The story goes beyond baseball and has as much to do with journalists' rights to protect confidential sources. There's a movement in Congress to write a federal shield law that would protect reporters. Many individual states already have such protection.

``I agree completely with what Mark said in his statement to the judge: No one is above the law. But at the same time, this is exactly the kind of journalism that the First Amendment was designed to protect," said Mark's older brother, Steve Fainaru, an investigative reporter for the Washington Post. ``President Bush looked Mark and Lance in the eye and told them they performed a public service. I think it's hypocritical for the government to applaud that work and reward it with prison."

Fainaru, a former baseball writer for the Globe, has received acclaim of his own for his account of Orlando Hernandez's escape from Cuba, and last year he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories on his 18-month stay in Iraq.

Fainaru read drafts of ``Game of Shadows" and offered editing suggestions, even while he was moving cautiously from place to place in Iraq. He knew long before the rest of us that his brother and Williams had hit a grand slam.

``It's clear from their reporting that Bonds's accomplishments are fraudulent," said Fainaru. ``The idea that Mark and Lance conceivably could be sitting in jail, watching him hit his 755th, is like a Kafka parody. But it speaks to how weak [Bud] Selig, the Giants, and MLB have been on this issue."

Fainaru-Wada said he and Williams have asked to speak to Commissioner Selig about their work -- which triggered an independent steroid investigation by George Mitchell, as directed by Selig -- but have always been directed to other Major League Baseball personnel.

``We have no sense that they are appreciative of the work in any way," said Fainaru-Wada.

Fainaru has offered his support and expert advice to his younger brother, and he's amazed at Mark's strength given what's at stake.

``I really don't think I have words that can adequately describe how proud I am of my brother," said Fainaru. ``It's not just that he and Lance broke the biggest sports story of our lifetime. It's the way they have conducted themselves with humility, grace, and total integrity.

``It's just an indescribable feeling to have so much admiration for someone as you watch him go through this very public and very difficult ordeal, and for that person to be your brother and best friend."

Fainaru-Wada now waits for the appeal date, with no regrets about what he's written or the manner in which he pursued the story.

And one more thing: He will never give up his sources.

Boston is in Hunter's range

A few questions for Twins center fielder Torii Hunter, who is waiting to hear whether the team will pick up his $12 million option for 2007, buy him out for $2 million, or negotiate a new long-term deal. Wonder what Coco Crisp thinks of this.

Q. Boston was originally on your list of teams you would not be traded to. You recently had Boston removed from that list. Why?

TH: ``It was just the corner [the Fenway triangle], you know, the outfield. I don't know if I'd have a chance to rob home runs out there. That's what I like to do. That was the only thing, the only reason. Other than that, David Ortiz is my favorite guy and that's who I want to play with. David is the man. That's why I got rid of the no-trade clause."

Q. Will Ortiz try to recruit you?

TH: ``He's been doing that already. He wants me to do it. I have to see whatever fits for my family. They play a big part in this, and if my kids want to go, we're gonna make it work."

Q. It sounds like Boston would be your preference if it doesn't work out with the Twins.

TH: ``I can't really say that now. I would let everybody know if the Twins don't pick up that option."

Q. Given that the Twins have been so successful and are a rising team, it would seem as though they would want you to stay and continue to grow with this team.

TH: ``I really have no idea. None. Nobody has spoken to me, and in a way I'm glad because I'm going to try to worry about winning the World Series, and when everything is over with, we'll sit down and see if we can get something done.

``I have been surprised that there have been no talks, but my goal is to play this game right now. Don't worry about this contract or the money. My goal is to go out there and try to win the World Series.

``We have a good shot, and that's all I'm worried about right now."

Maybe 2007 will be the year for a classic reunion

Just the fact that Roger Clemens is scheduled to come back on three days' rest tonight against the Cardinals after nursing a groin injury tells you one thing: He's far from done.

But whether he wants to hang it up finally at age 44 and not deal with nagging injuries remains the question -- a question that his longtime agent, Randy Hendricks, doesn't want to address until November.

Clemens (7-5, 2.37 ERA in 17 starts, 89 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings) was content this year pitching in Houston, where he's beloved, but it didn't work out the way he wanted. The Astros, barring a miracle, won't make the postseason.

A friend of Clemens's reminded me the other day that a deal with the Red Sox at the trading deadline was very close to happening, only to be squashed by Astros owner Drayton McLane. The friend said, ``Roger would have loved to have come to Boston, but it wasn't something he could have campaigned for because Houston is his hometown. If he had come, you wonder if the Red Sox would have stayed in it for at least a longer period of time.

``There are a lot of people around him who want him to go to Boston and really finish it up next year -- even if he goes for a couple of months, like he did this year. None of us think the Astros are going to want to pay him the big money they did this season, even though he's still one of the top five pitchers in the National League."

And the Red Sox, according to team sources, would love to accommodate him, even if it is from July on.

Clemens will again weigh a decision in the offseason. He'll also watch son Koby play in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League. Koby, a third baseman, hit .229 with 5 homers and 39 RBIs in 91 games this year for the Lexington Legends, a Single A affiliate of the Astros. The Astros still believe the 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pounder is a prospect who will get better as he gets older.

Etc.

Apropos of nothing: 1. While the Red Sox may be about to invest $50 million into a NASCAR team, deer breeding might provide a better return. Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn invested $50,000 in a share of a deer named Tonto for breeding purposes. Tonto is now worth $150,000, according to Washburn; 2. Indians general manager Mark Shapiro is caught in the middle of this Jets-Patriots feud. His sister is married to Jets coach Eric Mangini, and Patriots vice president Scott Pioli is his best friend; 3. Multiyear contracts are rare for Red Sox coaches, but no one deserves one more than hitting coach Ron ``Papa Jack" Jackson, whose contract expires Oct. 31. Jackson's success can be measured in two words: David Ortiz; 4. Love this line by Ozzie Guillen on Frank Thomas: ``If Frank gets a base hit, it takes five hits to score him."

If the Braves hadn't picked up John Smoltz's $8 million option, a source close to Smoltz said, the Tigers and Red Sox would have been high on his list.

Don't feel bad about Luis Gonzalez's Diamondbacks career being over. The Orioles, Tigers, Rangers, and Cubs are already considering him as a DH and/or left fielder for next year.

Fox Sports analyst Lou Piniella made a case for Ortiz as MVP on XM's ``Baseball This Morning" Friday. Said Piniella, ``Is it his fault that Boston has had all these injuries, especially to the pitching staff? The answer is no. He's done his job. Just because Boston has fallen off and won't make the postseason, this shouldn't deter voters from seriously considering him for MVP." It appears Piniella will be managing somewhere next season. While reports persist that manager Mike Hargrove and GM Bill Bavasi will return in Seattle, Piniella is still hugely popular there, and team president Chuck Armstrong is a big Piniella booster. Piniella also could be hot in Washington, where Frank Robinson could hang it up, or in San Francisco, where Felipe Alou might walk away. But Piniella might think twice about dealing with the Barry Bonds headache in San Francisco.

Marlins rookie righty Anibal Sanchez has had quite a start to his major league career (9-3, 2.80 ERA in 16 starts ), including a no-hitter against Arizona Sept. 6. But one of the most impressive things he did was walk into a hostile Shea Stadium last Thursday night and beat the Mets and Pedro Martínez. Sanchez gave up seven hits and two runs in a 5-2 win. Said one scout in attendance, ``You can reason that being in that Florida environment where there's no more than 10,000 people in the stands might not be a great indicator of this kid's ability and readiness. But when you're 22 and you walk into Shea and shut down the best team in the league with that lineup and beat one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game, that shows [what] this kid has."

Dr. Jim Lackritz , associate dean for academic affairs in the college of business administration at San Diego State University, figured that the probability of hitting four home runs in one inning -- as the Dodgers did in the ninth last Monday night against the Padres -- was 1 in 250,000. Prior to that memorable inning, the Dodgers had hit their 138 homers in nearly 6,000 plate appearances. The probability of four consecutive homers was 1 in 3.3 million, according to Lackritz.

Hanley Ramirez is the first National League rookie to steal 50 bases and score 110 runs, according to Stats Inc. The Elias Sports Bureau determined that the Marlins are the fifth team since 1900 to amass 3,000 at-bats in a season by rookie hitters.

Carl Pavano has been a poster child for bad behavior since the Yankees signed him two years ago, but the former Red Sox farmhand took a big step toward changing his image late last week when he hired Gregg Clifton as his new agent. Pavano, who rejoined the Yankees in Tampa over the weekend, has been assured he will not be traded and will compete for a job in the rotation next season. Clifton, who represents, among others, Tom Glavine and Mark Mulder, once represented former Sox prospect Brian Rose, who was one of Pavano's closest friends in the system. Clifton advised Pavano to be up-front with the media about his past off-field issues and to repair his image by getting back to work and becoming the pitcher he was in Florida. ``Carl is determined to make this work and show his teammates how much he cares about being a part of it," said Clifton. ``He knows he has a lot of work to do, and he wants to be that pitcher again."

In a division where Detroit will be able to attract free agents and add payroll, where Twins GM Terry Ryan said he will be able to add because of strong attendance, whither the Indians? ``Yes, we will have the ability to add a meaningful amount of payroll," said Shapiro, but he added, ``The bigger issue might be, will we be able to spend it? There's a very slim [free agent] market, with the majority of major league teams in a strong buyer's mode. There will be a lot of surprising deals this offseason. Both in contracts and trades."

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.