BBTF 2014 Softball Game

Time again for Softball!

Diamondbacks call up former elite prospect Andy Marte

He better not do anything, 2010 is when I released him.

Once upon a time Andy Marte was one of the best prospects in baseball… But wait, his story may not be over quite yet. Marte is now 30 years old and has spent this season playing at Triple-A for the Diamondbacks, who just called him up to the majors for his first big-league action since 2010.

Marte was having a great season at Triple-A, hitting .330 with 13 homers and an .898 OPS in 102 games.

Miklasz: Mozeliak sets off a loud wake-up call

This was a baseball trade, yes. Mozeliak dumped the unproductive Craig’s salary and essentially filled out Matheny’s lineup card by clearing the RF spot for hotshot prospect Oscar Taveras.

Mozeliak sacrificed Kelly’s talent and future growth potential in exchange for a hardcore veteran competitor with vast big-game experience that includes 16 postseason starts, 104 postseason innings, and two World Series-clinching wins.

But this was also a move that attacked the team’s creeping lethargy.

...Read More...

Mike Emeigh Posted: August 01, 2014 at 10:32 AM | 6 comment(s)
  Beats: cardinals

OT: Politics, August 2014: DNC criticizes Christie’s economic record with baseball video

As Gov. Chris Christie prepares to cap off his trip to New Hampshire tonight with a fundraiser at a minor-league baseball game, the Democratic National Committee has released a online video taking a swing at the Republican governor’s handling of New Jersey’s economy.

The clip is modeled after an old-time newsreel — the kind that would have been shown in movie houses when Babe Ruth ruled the baseball diamond in the 1920s.

It notes that under Christie — a possible candidate for the ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 8-1-2014

Chicago Eagle, August 1, 1914:

One of the luckiest home runs on record was registered at Newark recently when Deininger was given credit for one on a fly ball that was actually caught by an outfielder and held…Willie Zimmermann [sic] backed up against the low left field fence to take a drive from Deininger. As he froze onto the ball he fell over the fence. He held on to the ball though rendered unconscious, but the umpire couldn’t see it, and permitted the home run.

I imagine that would have ...

OMNICHATTER 8-1

The OMNICHATTER was not traded at the deadline.

Mariners notebook: Zduriencik fires back at critics | Mariners Insider - The News Tribune

“I wasn’t willing to do it. That’s just the way it is. We’ve put too much into this. Our fans have suffered too much for 10 years (for us) to try to get to a point where we’re competitive. We are now, and we’re going to get better.

“This group of kids will get better. We’re not finished. We’ve got Paxton coming back. We’ve got Taijuan eventually. We have a lot of nice pieces. It isn’t just a couple. I think that’s very important.”

Ranking The Prospects Traded At The Deadline - BaseballAmerica.com

Baseball America gives snapshots of the prospects who were recently traded.

The anatomy of a rare Yankees-Red Sox trade « Bombers Beat

How Stephen Drew ended up in New York.

» Column: Nothing at all? Seriously? DK on Pittsburgh Sports

Someone is not happy with the Pirates standing pat at the trade deadline.

Strauss: Mozeliak moves to fix two problems : Sports

Nice rundown of the motivations behind the Cardinals deals.

Amaro says Phils didn’t overvalue players at Deadline | phillies.com: News

The players the Phillies have aren’t very appealing.

“Not disappointed,” Amaro said. “More surprised that there wasn’t more aggressive action from the other end. We have some pretty good baseball players here.”

But there seemed to be a clear difference of opinion there. The Phillies look at a roster with Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, A.J. Burnett, Marlon Byrd, Antonio Bastardo and others and see players who can help contending teams. That might be true, but other teams looked at those players ...

Wild deadline day sends shock waves throughout baseball | FOX Sports

Rosenthal’s take of yesterday’s trading frenzy.

Playoff contenders load up on dizzying Deadline day | MLB.com: News

A nice recap of all the deals.

Cliff Lee Re-Injures Elbow

Press on, Lee.

Cliff Lee walked off the mound during his start against the Nationals today, indicating that he was dealing with elbow discomfort. The veteran has experienced the same injury that just cost him two months — a flexor pronator strain — according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki…

Lee is owed $25MM next year and his deal includes a $27.5MM club option for 2016 (with a substantial $12.5MM buyout).

The District Attorney Posted: July 31, 2014 at 08:40 PM | 27 comment(s)
  Beats: cliff lee, injuries, phillies

The Dark Side of Booming Local TV Deals

But who wants to watch Astros games anyway?

It turns out that big local TV contracts aren’t always good news for teams either. That has turned Selig’s mood quite sour.

When a regional sports network agrees to pay millions of dollars to an MLB team, that RSN has two principal ways to recoup that investment: (1) sell ads during the game broadcasts; (2) charge a carriage fee to the cable and satellite operators in the region who want to carry the RSN. But what happens when the cable and ...

Minnesota Twins sign Kurt Suzuki to two-year contract extension

Apparently hoping no one will notice…

On a busy non-waiver Trade Deadline day around Major League Baseball, the Twins took care of some in-house business.

The team announced Thursday afternoon that it signed catcher Kurt Suzuki to a contract extension through the 2016 season with a vesting option for ‘17.

Suzuki will earn $6 million in 2015 and ‘16.

Mariners acquire outfielder Chris Denorfia from Padres

I prefer to call him Abe “The Alien” Almonte.

A Mariners team looking for an offensive boost acquired Padres outfielder Chris Denorfia on Thursday in exchange for two Minor Leaguers about two hours before the non-waiver Trade Deadline.

Seattle sent outfielder Abraham Almonte, who opened the season with the Mariners, along with right-handed reliever Stephen Kohlscheen to the Padres…

Denorfia has hit .275/.335/.397 over parts of nine seasons with the Reds, A’s and Padres. Denorfia is earning ...

Orioles acquire left-handed reliever Andrew Miller from Red Sox

Package him and Maybin for Cabrera?

The O’s acquired left-handed reliever Andrew Miller from the Boston Red Sox, a deal that adds a solid piece to the back end of the bullpen. But it also cost them one of their top pitching prospects in left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez..

A free agent at season’s end, Miller has a 2.34 ERA and has struck out 69 in 42 1/3 innings this season. The 29-year-old has held righties to a .180./.279/.258 line and lefties to a .150/.203/.217 line…

Rodriguez missed more than ...

Cubs deal Emilio Bonifacio, James Russell to Braves

Hey, sounds even, they’ve got the same batting average.

The Cubs dealt… left-handed reliever [James Russell] and infielder Emilio Bonifacio to the Braves on Thursday in exchange for 20-year-old catching prospect Victor Caratini, who was batting .279 at Class A Rome.

Russell, 28, has been a workhorse for the Cubs the last three seasons, and had appeared in 44 games this year with a 3.51 ERA…

Bonifacio, 29… who has played second, third and center field, was batting .279 in 298 plate appearances. ...Read More...

The District Attorney Posted: July 31, 2014 at 07:17 PM | 21 comment(s)
  Beats: braves, cubs, emilio bonifacio, james russell, trades, transactions, victor caratini

Brewers acquire outfielder Gerardo Parra from D-backs

gerardo parra
@88_gparra

Les’t go @Brewers

The Brewers like [Gerardo] Parra’s defense at all three outfield positions and his left-handed bat, so they parted with a pair of Minor League prospects to pry him from the D-backs on Thursday, about two hours before the non-waiver Trade Deadline…

Headed to Arizona in the Parra trade was Double-A Huntsville outfielder Mitch Haniger, who was ranked No. 8 on MLB.com’s list of the top Brewers prospects before the deal, plus 20-year-old left-hander ...

Marlins acquire Jarred Cosart from Astros in six-player deal

Is that Hernandez thing like when you nickname a huge guy “Tiny”?

The Marlins announced shortly after the non-waiver Trade Deadline passed that they sent three prospects, including Colin Moran—their top pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft—and a 2015 Competitive Balance pick to Houston in exchange for Astros starter Jarred Cosart, utility player Kiké Hernandez and outfield prospect Austin Wates…

Outfielder Jake Marisnick and right-hander Francis Martes were also sent to Houston.

...Read More...

The District Attorney Posted: July 31, 2014 at 06:57 PM | 7 comment(s)
  Beats: austin wates, colin moran, francis martes, jake marisnick, jarred cosart, kike hernandez, trades, transactions

Nationals acquire infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from Indians

Wasn’t this guy supposed to be able to field? That was weird.

The Nationals solved their second-base problem by acquiring infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the Indians for infielder Zach Walters on Thursday about an hour before the non-waiver Trade Deadline…

The Nationals made this move after learning that third baseman Ryan Zimmerman would be out for at least the regular season because of a Grade 3 hamstring injury. Anthony Rendon will continue to serve as the everyday third baseman.

Walters, ...

Yankees land infielders Stephen Drew, Martin Prado at Deadline

Welcome to succeeding Derek Jeter, Stephen Drew. Hope you survive the experience!

With the Red Sox taking part in a full-scale roster makeover on Thursday, the Yankees took the opportunity to get in on the action and upgrade their infield, completing their first trade with Boston since 1997.

Stephen Drew will suit up in Fenway’s visitors’ clubhouse when the American League East rivals meet on Friday evening, having been acquired by the Yankees in exchange for infielder Kelly Johnson.

The ...

Ruben Amaro Jr., on standing pat at deadline

Ruben and the Jets had more movement on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts.

There was less than a half hour remaining unit Thursday’s trade deadline and Ruben Amaro Jr. remained attached to his phone. He continued to talk through scenarios with teams.

But 20 minutes later, he sat on the bench in the visiting dugout at Nationals Park and explained why, for the second straight year, he stood pat.

“Our goal all along was to try to improve the club,” Amaro said, “and there really wasn’t a ...

Jim Bowden Caught Stealing From Fake Twitter Account, Deletes Everything

Bowdense strikes again!

Jim Bowden, former MLB executive, has fashioned himself a second career as a baseball pundit for ESPN and SiriusXM radio. Today, baseball’s biggest day for movement, trade deadline day, Bowden appears to have gotten caught stealing a scoop without attribution. We know because he unwittingly stole it from a fake account.

At 1:48, someone impersonating the New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted that the Yankees have acquired Marlon Byrd from the Phillies. It is a fake ...

Tigers To Acquire David Price

The Tigers have agreed to acquire David Price from the Rays, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal is a three-way trade between the Tigers, Rays, and Mariners.

Austin Jackson will go to the Mariners, per a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, with Nick Franklin and Drew Smyly heading to Tampa, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter).

Cardinals Acquire John Lackey

My mouth is open in shock!

The Cardinals acquired John Lackey from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Athletics, Twins Swap Tommy Milone, Sam Fuld

Is “guys who read Moneyball” the new market inefficiency?

The Twins have acquired lefty Tommy Milone from the A’s in exchange for outfielder Sam Fuld, the teams have announced.

Milone… lost his rotation spot with the Athletics earlier this month when the team acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel… Milone had pitched to a solid 3.55 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 38.4 percent fly-ball rate in 96 1/3 innings this season. He owns a 3.84 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and 36.8 percent ...

A’s Acquire Lester, Gomes For Cespedes

Cespedes for Mabry???

The Athletics have acquired Jon Lester from the Red Sox, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (Twitter links). In what will be a blockbuster deal, Jonny Gomes and Yoenis Cespedes will head to Boston. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported that Lester had been traded to an unknown club.

Passan tweets that Oakland is also sending a competitive balance draft pick to the Red Sox in the trade, and Boston is sending cash to Oakland. The A’s landed the second pick in Comp ...