vivaelpujols, it might be time to update…“That was possibly the worst thing I’ve ever read. Not even kidding.”
But you fit all the models. You are from the Dominican Republic. You are an older player. Older players don’t get better. You’ve had injuries consistent with steroid use. You showed up on the list from 2003. You fit all the formulas.
“[Expletive], I’m a human being just like everyone else,” said Ortiz. “You can get worse or you can get better. One or the other.’’
While the [Milwaukee-Minneapolis American Association] game was bad enough in itself, the fight between [Brewers manager/third baseman Harry] Clark and [Millers shortstop Dave] Altizer was one of the most disgraceful ever witnessed on a Milwaukee ball field. Sliding into third base in the seventh inning, Altizer deliberately cut Clark down with his spikes, leaping high in the air and planting both feet on Harry’s anatomy. The Brewer leader…jumped onto the runner ...
The secret trick that led to accusations of Boston Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz throwing a spitball has an ancillary benefit: It prevents skin cancer, too.
Two veteran pitchers and one source close to the Red Sox told Yahoo! Sports that about 90 percent of major league pitchers use some form of spray-on sunscreen – almost always BullFrog brand – that when combined with powdered rosin ...
Wonder if OJ will offer a congratulatory phone call…
The former five-time All-Star was known for getting into trouble in the past. In maybe the most publicized case, he was charged with guaranteeing payment for a $200,000 cocaine shipment. He was, however, acquitted of drug conspiracy charges in June 2000.
“I feel like that was a long time ago,” Guerrero said. “I wasn’t charged; I walked free. I feel like I was set up for some reason. I don’t like to look back. I hit 15 home runs in June of ...
The higher deck seats will be off limits starting with the Marlins next home games series which starts Tuesday. That will reduce the attendance capacity by about 10,000 . . . The team may consider closing the upper bowl for remaining weeknight games this season, but has yet to determine if it will do so. Fewer than 500 people own season tickets in the upper bowl, and those fans are being moved — with no additional charge — to seats in the lower bowl for all Monday-through-Thursday games.
Will the Angels somehow get swept by the Astros?
Will the Athletics come after Angel Martinez with torches and pitchforks?
Will Dickey or Price finally find their groove?
A’s infielder Adam Rosales hit a heroic game-tying solo home run in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday against Indians closer Chris Perez, stunning the crowd at Cleveland’s Progressive Field and injecting new life into an Oakland club that has hit a few road bumps since the calendar flipped to May.
Except Angel Hernandez and his umpiring crew blew the call … twice.
Joe Girardi insists he’s not trying to reinvent the game with his off-beat lineup Wednesday night. He’s just trying to get the most out of what he has.
Girardi batted starting pitcher David Phelps eighth in the batting order against the Rockies, dropping catcher Austin Romine into the No. 9 slot.
The manager pointed to the fact that Colorado has a pair of lefties in its bullpen as one of the primary reasons for the decision, as his two biggest threats off the ...
“Garvey was a huge run producer nevertheless.” Fixed/Neutered.
In the seven-year stretch from his MVP season of 1974 through 1980, it could be argued that there wasn’t a better hitter in baseball than Garvey. No one had more hits during that period… not Rose, not Rod Carew, and not George Brett. Only Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt had more RBIs (732 to 730), and as far as first basemen are concerned, only Carew (another Hall of Famer) comes close to Garvey’s ...
Baseball scouting is an inexact science. Just ask Mike Schmidt.
Schmidt is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and widely considered the greatest third baseman ever after a career in which he hit 548 home runs and drove in nearly 1,600 runs. But in 1972, he was a just a minor leaguer who struggled at the plate in a brief late-season stint with the Philadelphia Phillies.
And scout Steve Vrablik wasn’t too impressed, writing in a report that the young Schmidt’s bat was “a question mark.” Oops.
The blueprint has worked once again. Cabrera and Fielder are putting up another elite season. Hunter is thriving, Austin Jackson is still getting on base at a .350 rate, and the supporting cast of Andy Dirks, Omar Infante, and Jhonny Peralta are performing well. The offense ranks in the top four in every offensive category. They are doing so while Victor Martinez continues to shake the rust after a year layoff.
The Tigers are not without their flaws. Defensively, they rank ...
• Francona loves the willingness of veterans such as Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds and Mike Aviles to move between multiple positions without complaint. He says of the effervescent Swisher, “Just when it seems you need a little encouragement, he’s standing right there.”
• Designated hitter Adam Dunn on the White Sox, who entered Tuesday ranked last in the AL in runs per game (3.47), last in on-base percentage (.283) and next-to-last in ...
For a second there, I thought he had his Wood’s confused and was going to call in Arthur Koehler.
Even Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood was stunned when he heard what manager Dale Sveum said about him after Wood threw another gem in helping to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, on Tuesday night.
“He’s the best starter in baseball pretty much,” Sveum said bluntly.
That might be overstating the case, but with a 2.33 ERA for the season and 6⅔ innings of one-run ball Tuesday, Sveum might not ...
Although several members of the Naps and Red Sox bore slightly bruised and chipped faces as a confirmation of the report that a free-for-all fight had taken place between both teams following Wednesday’s game, not a player could be found Thursday who would directly admit that a scrap had taken place.
...
It waged for at least 10 minutes. Tris Speaker emerged with three spike marks on his head.
...
Both Manager Birmingham and acting Manager Wagner professed to know ...
IN A WORLD where it’s Wednesday, 15 games give us hope, dreams and entertainment. King Felix goes against Pittsburgh, Jordan Zimmermann tries to steal the Astros’ lunch money from the Tigers and Clayton Kershaw takes the mound in the lone 10 PM game.
Also, the Angels try to stop the bleeding against the Astros, because, wow, that is a lot of bleeding.
A simply horrifying turn of events in Tuesday night’s Toronto-Tampa Bay game: Jays starter J.A. Happ was wheeled off on a stretcher after being struck flush on the side of the head by Desmond Jennings’s line drive. The play occurred in the second inning. Please be warned that the following footage will be disturbing for some:
Moments after impact, Happ appeared to be bleeding profusely from his ear or the area around his ear. He was attended to on the field for several minutes ...
I’ll get to this fun…as soon as I’m done playing this round of Pin the Duragesic Time-Release Patch on an Unsuspecting Ass!
That intangibles notion is murky, of course, and complicated. Jeter played in an era when everyone was suspected of PED use. For those choosing to believe the shortstop that he was, is and always has been a clean ballplayer, the monument to his fidelity and greatness lies in his old-school bona fides. Jeter, along with possibly Ken Griffey Jr., is the only player in the ...
It seems that more and more of these old scouting reports are beginning to surface on the Internet, and I’m all for that. It’s rather cool to see what scouts thought of future big-leaguers when they saw them play for the first time.
And here is the report on a 22-year-old player for Auburn by the name of Vincent Edward Jackson. We know him as Bo Jackson:
Anyone who commits to the Cubs should be committed.
Stewart just finished a rehab assignment with the Iowa Cubs for a left quad injury that has plagued him since early in spring training. The maximum time a player can spend in the minors in that situation is 20 days, making last Friday his final day of rehabbing.
But because he was hitting .091 the Cubs decided to keep him there by officially sending him down after his rehab stint was complete. He didn’t need to clear waivers, so Stewart ...
You Think You Know About A-Rod’s Dreams… You Know Nothing!
In fact, there are people who think A-Rod has been breaking the rules since his rookie year – even as far back as high school – and has never stopped. That’s why Rodriguez’s detractors in the game think he’s doomed: not because his hips may or may not function efficiently any more, but because of his psychological dependence on PEDs.
If Rodriguez returns to 24-7 scrutiny, and if he knows can’t use PEDs any longer, what ...
The Philadelphia National League team…protested [the May 5] game with St. Louis, claiming that Umpire Klem “took undue advantage of the rule which provides that the ball must be thrown by the pitcher within 20 seconds after it has been called for by the umpire.
...
Pitcher Seaton had two strikes and one ball on Wingo in the seventh inning and was waiting to receive his signal from the catcher when Klem called the second ball, which later forced Seaton to ...
Take it from Joe Mauer, as studious and selective as they come.
It’s different out there.
“The game has evolved,” Mauer said. “This is my 10th year. My first couple years in the league, if you were a sinkerball pitcher, you were a sinkerball pitcher. Now, they throw a sinker, a cutter, a four-seamer. So you’re looking for three fastballs instead of one or two.”
It’s working, and Mauer is the perfect example of how well it’s working.
With the Angels tying their worst start in franchise history—an 11-20 record matching the futility of their 1961 inaugural season—manager Mike Scioscia’s future with the club has come into question.
A fired-up Scioscia wants to make it clear—he’s not interested in bailing out.
“I’ve never quit, given up or anything else like that in my career,” the Halos’ manager said after an 8-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. “I’m certainly not going to ...
My kind of stadium, Wrigley ain’t
My kind of freeloaders, too
Toothless ushers who smile at you
There is something ghastly about watching the St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field akin to watching the prom queen dance with Quasimodo in a fetid alley.
Busch Stadium is a modern, clean facility with excellent views of the playing field, wide inner corridors, easy access to vendors, large restrooms, plentiful parking and compelling views of a vibrant downtown.
The Houston Astros have designated outfielders Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez for assignment and reinstated outfielder J.D. Martinez from the disabled list.
Houston also selected the contract of outfielder Trevor Crowe from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday and recalled infielder-outfielder Jimmy Paredes from their top minor league team. Infielder Brandon Laird was also optioned to Oklahoma City.
Not every day you see a team get rid of their leader in slugging percentage.
PREVIOUSLY ON MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Matt Harvey took the world by storm, Jordan Zimmermann stepped took a step up to ace status, and the Astros had their lunch money stolen by the Tigers. Oh, and Big Papi has been hitting a lot.
TODAY: Harvey pitches against the Red, Zimmermann tries to steal the Astros’ lunch money from the Tigers, Ortiz goes for 27 and the Astros try to cure the Angels of what ails them because, honestly, if a series against the Astros can’t, what can?
Maury adds…“And when I’m talking “plunge” I’m not talking Loria’s neckline.”
As of today, the decline would be 31 percent below what the club ended with last season. But, they are currently averaging 18,864. As of May 5 of last season, they were averaging 30,681, down 11,817 from the previous year, or a decline of 39 percent.
So, it’s very possible the Marlins could end worse than the Rays. It’s early, and anything could happen, but odds are good the Marlins aren’t going to get any ...
I began thinking of this often this week as I was watching local high school teams play the game. Specifically, Michigan City and La Porte.
I became frustrated watching these players, particularly at the plate. In my opinion, too much first-pitch swinging is going on, which flies directly in the face of stats like on-base percentage, who many people - myself included - feel is a greater indicator of batting success than the more popular batting average.
Using Richard Goodwin-Shares…this rates very highly as a political speech.
Johnson is a proven leader, and I’m not referring to his career wins and losses or three World Series championships.
I’m talking about a man who was bold enough at 19 years old to challenge former Texas A&M baseball coach Tom Chandler for telling him he’d get a full four-year ride when the scholarship contract only promised him one guaranteed year at the school.
I’m talking about a man who was savvy enough to create a ...
