Anyway, a judge in Phoenix is set to rule on the case today. Even if he rules in favor of the AP, don't get too excited: The appeals process will surely draw out the process of revealing the names anyway.

Remember, the Los Angeles Times reported that two of the names in the document were Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. They both angrily denied being in the document, but if it turned out that they were ... well, that would shift the conversation a little bit, now wouldn't it?

Judge Set To Rule On Grimsley Affidavit [Lion In Oil]

Anyway, yesterday, in his First Big Public Move, Mitchell ... asked for the medical records of some old Baltimore Orioles. And some of these names will SHOCK YOU: Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, David Segui, Jason Grimsley ... seriously! Those guys!

Investigators have looked deeply into the Orioles, among other organizations. Mitchell's staff has interviewed at least nine members of the Orioles' front office and training staff, and has searched at least six of their personal computers for evidence relating to performance-enhancing drugs, the official said.

You know, at this rate, by 2011, Mitchell could end up getting a hold of a guy who once glanced at Barry Bonds' medical records while waiting in line to pee in a cup. Go get 'em, George!

Sosa And Palmeiro Cited In Steroid Investigation [New York Times] (via Steroid Nation)

I tend to believe him, if only because it seems like a guy who was abusing HGH as a performance-enhancer should've been a little bit better than David Segui (although that forearm is Michael Pittman-huge). He says that tests indicated that his natural levels of HGH were "off the charts low," and that, for him, HGH was a medical necessity. He even produced a doctor's prescription in his chat with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap. Of course, there are doubters, such as Deadspin reader Kyle, who wrote in with the tip:

Sounds really fishy to me, as a guy that is good enough to make it to the majors probably doesn't need HGH. I'm not a doctor, but I've heard many of them say that nearly no one needs HGH and a professional athlete has no reason to take it (outside of not having a pituitary gland).

Well, for me, this is the final straw. Steroid-related suspicions about Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmerio, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds... fine. I can handle those. But when a cloud of suspicion hangs over David Segui, then there's just nothing left for me to believe in. Mickey Mantle getting a hummer in Yankee stadium, David Segui using HGH... when will it all stop?

Update: Kyle clarifies his position on Segui and the HGH.

Transcript: David Segui's interview with ESPN [ESPN.com]
Mickey Mantle, God Among Men [Deadspin]

Anyway, we've been digging though the angry emails — our favorite was "I hope you get the clap from your cheating wives" — and we're not sure what much more we can tell you here. If our source is wrong and Mihlfeld isn't named in the document, we won't use the source again and you can feel free not to listen to us anytime we quote someone on a steroid name. (Despite the now-established Milhlfeld-Grimsley connection.) If our source is right and Milhfeld is in the document, it's anything but proof that he's ever supplied anyone with HGH or anything like that. It just means he's in the document.

There has been talk of a rush to judgment, and we suppose that's fair. But no matter what, these names will come out — all of them — and we will all know just how deep everything goes. It's just a matter of time.

KC Trainer Responds, Denies Affidavit Cameo [Deadspin]
Rushing To Judgment [Bleed Cubbie Blue]
Grimsley's MLB Diary [MLB.com]

First off, in the biggest news of the day, trainer Chris Mihlfeld has denied our source's report that his name is in the document. (In multiple places.)

"I just don't want my name to be part of this," Mihlfeld said. "It's not fair to me. It's not fair to my family. It's not fair to the other players I work with. It's not fair to the kids I work with ... They've got the wrong name on that deal.

"I know Jason Grimsley very well. And I have only two statements to make. One, Jason Grimsley is still my good friend. And two, I've never been involved in any illegal steroids, amphetamines or HGH activity. Period."

Mihlfeld also said Jason Grimsley's lawyer told him he wasn't in the affidavit either. Our source stands behind his/her story, so we have no choice but to do so ourselves. After our report yesterday, there's all kinds of business blowing up out there. The Boston Herald has dragged the tortured soul of Chuck Knoblauch into this. Meanwhile, someone dug up an invite Mihlfeld sent out about the opening of his training faciity. (Thanks to The Sports Frog on this one.) To quote:

We also have more important dates to announce Mike Sweeney from the K.C. Royals will be there on Jan 14th 06 to do a camp with Chris Mihlfeld. Also Albert Pujols will be back in early Feb for a hitting clinic, and Jason Grimsley will be there at the end of January for pitching clinics.

By the way, we feel obliged to — once again — clarify our initial report. A few facts:

• There is no claim that Albert Pujols has taken HGH.
• There is no claim that Mihlfeld was in any way a distributor of HGH, or steroids.
• There is a source — whose confidence has always been rated at "80 percent" — who says Mihlfeld's name is in the report. Mihlfeld has denied this, and we, as always, hope he's right. As anyone who has ever read this site knows, Albert Pujols is our favorite player. We own four different pieces of merchandise with his name on it. We are out to get no one, least of all him.

Regardless of Mihlfeld's name in the report, the connection of Grimsley to Mihlfeld and Mihlfeld to Pujols is now officially established. When you read the full report, and read the full breadth of Grimsley's steroid/HGH/amphetamine abuse, the man who trained him back from a brutal Tommy John surgery is sure to remain under suspicion, fairly or otherwise.

Former Royals Trainer Denies Steroid Involvement [Kansas City Star]
Announcement [eTeamz]
Jason Grimsley Diary [MLB.com]

(Photo from Kansas City Star.)

How reliable are these names? We feel pretty confident in them, but we can't go 100 percent, since the information is secondhand. We'll say this: If Bud Selig issuing a press release naming the names is a 10, and picking a player at random out of the Baseball Encyclopedia is a 1, we're at an 8.

So. Let's do it then. Remember: Betting lines are for entertainment purposes only.

First: The person who told Grimsley about the positive test in 2003. That's former Royals general manager Allard Baird.

As many people have guessed, one of the "former players" who were sold out by Grimsley: Sammy Sosa. Our source(s) couldn't confirm if the other was Rafael Palmeiro.

Nothing new or exciting about that name. Then it starts to get interesting. We've heard amphetamine rumors of Miguel Tejada, but we can't confirm that. What we can confirm? The doozy.

Grimsley says that a former employee of [redacted] and personal fitness trainer to several Major League Baseball players once referred him to an amphetamine source. Later, this source — not the trainer — provided him with "amphetamines, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone." This trainer? His name is Chris Mihlfeld, a Kansas City-based "strength and conditioning guru." (And former Strength And Conditioning Coordinator for the Royals.)

Does Mihlfeld's name sound familiar? If it doesn't, he — and we assure you, this gives us no pleasure to write this — has been Albert Pujols' personal trainer since before Pujols was drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 draft. We have no confirmation that Pujols' name is in the affidavit ... but Mihlfeld's is. If you read the document, it doesn't say the trainer/Mihlfeld supplied all the HGH and what-not; it just says the trainer was the referrer.

Yeah. Sigh. We just report what we're told, folks. Ever hope your source is wrong? This is one of those times.

(UPDATE: OK, we've taken our head out of the microwave long enough to update you a bit. Here's a "diary" Grimsley wrote about his quick recovery from Tommy John surgery. (At MLB.com!) He thanks Mihlfeld for helping him with his recovery.

We repeat: We are not claiming that Pujols has taken HGH. We are simply pointing out that Milhfeld is reportedly mentioned in the affidavit, and that he has connections to be Grimsley and Pujols. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go back to our silent screams of pain.)

• Grimsley says he has used the various steroids "throughout his career," which spans 15 years.
• Since drug testing began in baseball, Grimsley has only used HGH, which is not tested for by MLB.
• Grimsley was also an "habitual" amphetamine user and said, "they work." Until last year, clubhouses had coffee pots labeled "leaded" for those that had greenies, and "unleaded" for those that don't.
• He said he got his greenies from "Latin players."

Then it starts getting fun, because, as noted by Double Play Depth, Grimsley starts going crazy and naming a TON of names. In the current affidavit, they're blacked out ... but it's only a matter of time until they leak too. (We're actually surprised they bothered blacking them out this time.) Grimsley has since said he will no longer cooperate, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Whether you think this steroid business is overblown or if you a "what about the kids?" type of guy, this is certianly not going away. We imagine Barry Bonds being happy; he would never talk to someone like Jason Grimsley. Takes some heat off him.

By the way, big Deadspin prizes and man-hugs to anyone who can figure out how to read the names under the black marker there. Any forensic scientists out there?

Pitcher Spills Steroid, Speed Secrets [The Smoking Gun]
Grimsley Just First Of Several Dominoes [Double Play Depth]

(UPDATE: Grimsley has asked for, and received, his release from the Diamondbacks.)

Yesterday, federal agents — presumably taking a break from "hey, we should probably teach somebody around here to speak Arabic, right?" training — raided the home of Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley to make a case against him for the distribution of human growth hormone (which, as we know, is not currently banned tested for by baseball, a tragedy, considering what it has done to Clay Aiken ... hey-yo!). It was the second visit by the feds to Grimsley's home; during the first, in April, they interrupted an HGH delivery. Grimsley supposedly named names of other HGH-enhanced players.

So, in other words, here we go again. As much amusement that we might derive out of Jason Freaking Grimsley being HGH's Patient Zero, we're not sure we're ready to go back through all the indictments and what-not again. Though we'll certainly try to do our civic duty, we guess, and boo Grimsley when he comes in to pitch ... though it's likely we won't even notice.

Feds Raid D-Back Hurler [New York Daily News]

(UPDATE: The Smoking Gun has the affidavit of the raid on their site. We're gonna read it and summarize it for you later today, but in case you can't wait that long.)