Logan Morrison files grievance

NEW YORK—Florida Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison has filed a grievance against his team for what he believes was a wrongful demotion last month.

Morrison, 24, was sent to the minors Aug. 13, shortly after hitting third in the batting order in a game that night. At the time, the Marlins told Morrison the demotion was for baseball reasons—citing his “.240s” batting average as the reason for the demotion.

But hours before the game, Morrison had skipped a team meet-and-greet with ...

Rosenthal: Ozzie: Going, going . . .

How rapidly is Ozzie Guillen’s situation deteriorating with the White Sox?

Two weeks ago, a source with knowledge of Guillen’s thinking estimated that the manager was 95 percent certain to return to the White Sox next season.

Over the weekend, the source dropped the odds to 50-50. And on Thursday, he reduced them further, to 10 percent.

The White Sox have not acted on Guillen’s desire for a contract extension. Guillen, meanwhile, was sharply critical of his players after a 6-5 loss to ...

Kernan: Move Rivera ahead of Mantle on Yankees’ all-time list

GOINK! I haven’t laughed this hard since Curly Joe DeRita said The New 3 Stooges (w/ Mousie Garner and Frank Mitchell) were better than the original 3 Stooges!

Mariano Rivera is much more than the greatest closer of all time. Put him right up there with the greatest Yankees of all time. This is baseball’s most hallowed ground, and Rivera is part of the Yankees’ Fantastic Five in my all-time record book.

You have to start with Babe Ruth; forever he will be No. 1. The Iron Horse Lou Gehrig, ...

Reds Opening Day conflicts with Good Friday

Traditions will collide in Cincinnati on April 6, 2012.

That’s Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds, a longstanding unofficial holiday here when offices empty and Reds-clad baseball fans rejoice in parades, optimism and ballpark hot dogs.

It’s also Good Friday, when the 19-county Archdiocese of Greater Cincinnati marks the solemn day when Christ was crucified by praying on the steps of Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mount Adams, going to services and fasting.

“That cuts out ballpark ...

Polito: Yankees’ Mariano Rivera is second only to Babe Ruth in franchise history

Just when I thought O’Connell’s Hoffman’s 600-saves weren’t legit or something would top the day…along comes…

One set the standard for any home run hitter to follow. The other has done the same for the modern closer. If true greatness is the ability to separate one’s self from everyone else, then no two players in Yankees history have done that better than the slugger and the closer.

Joe DiMaggio was great. But so was Mickey Mantle, the man who replaced him in the Yankee Stadium outfield. ...

Daugherty: What is the vision of the Reds?

“If thine eye offends thee… pluck it out!”

By the way, what is the vision for tomorrow?

It doesn’t involve Renteria, Hernandez and quite possibly Willis. It might involve Francisco Cordero. It might not. It could involve Alonso and Joey Votto, one or both. It might include Heisey, it might not.

It could mean Aroldis Chapman resurrecting his career as a starting pitcher, after a wasted year in 2011. It might include Scott Rolen, invaluable last year, invisible this year. Can the Reds ...

MLB.com: Johnny Cueto exits early against Cubs with injury

Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto made an early exit from his outing vs. the Cubs on Wednesday with a strained right lat muscle and will be examined again [Thursday].

During the top of the fourth inning, Cueto was rubbing his right arm after retiring leadoff batter Carlos Pena on a line out to second base.

...

“He just said he felt a little something but was OK,” said Baker. “Then I saw him grimace a couple of times after he threw a couple of pitches. He threw one 94 to Soriano and then a ...

Breaking Down the Struggles of Tyler Matzek

A mechanical look at the young Rockies prospect…

There are a few of noticeable differences — the hand placement at the start of the wind-up, the arm action, the stride…but the change that jumps out at me the most is how Matzek has turned from a pitcher with a fast tempo — defined as the number of frames from the top of a pitcher’s leg lift to the point of release — to one of a deliberate, slow pace — painfully slow in fact.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 9-15-2011

Toledo News-Bee, September 15, 1911:

Battle Creek probably for the first time in league records had not one paid admission to Thursday’s Jackson-Battle Creek game.  It was called off “on account of rain.”  It did not rain nor was the dust even dampened, but a mile and a half away, where fans waited to take the trolley cars a miniature cyclone threatened.

I think it’s safe to say it was so quiet at the ballpark you could hear Crickets chirping.

Dodgers’ starter Kershaw, Mattingly ejected

Is that even parralegal?

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw and manager Don Mattingly have been ejected from a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Kershaw was tossed in the sixth inning Wednesday night after his inside pitch struck Arizona’s Gerardo Parra on the right elbow. Mattingly rushed out of the dugout to argue with home plate umpire Bill Welke, while Kershaw and catcher Rod Barajas joined the verbal fray.

Kershaw left the game with a 2-0 lead, having allowed one ...

Hyde: A word for the new Marlins: Pujols

Had me until “very underrated Emilio Bonifacio”...when some welcome Severe Gluteal Discomfort rose up.

And this isn’t a cry for the Marlins to sign any big star. It’s this particular star. It’s what Pujols brings to the table that no one else does. Let’s go down the list:

1. He’d anchor a lineup that would suddenly look imposing with Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison and the very underrated Emilio Bonifacio.

2. At 32 next year, he’d bring the veteran professionalism this team ...

McKeon irked with Nolasco after loss to Braves

Flips seven-day pill box hat!

He directed his more pointed comments toward starter Ricky Nolasco (10-11). He held the Braves scoreless on two hits through six innings only to watch them come back for a 4-1 victory, largely on ex-Marlin Alex Gonzalez’s three-run homer.

...“You can’t let .220 hitters take care of you all the time,” said McKeon, who watched Gonzalez go 8-for-11 in the series. “That’s what’s killed us. You have to be able to close those guys out when you got two strikes. And the ...

AL West race: September 14, 2011

TEX 85-64 [8-4 in SEPT]
LAA 82-67 [9-4 in SEPT] (3 GB)

MLB.com: Eight-run fourth helps Rangers maintain lead

The Rangers scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and cruised to a 9-1 win against the Indians at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Wednesday.

MLB.com: Trumbo helps Halos keep pressure on Texas

Mark Trumbo hasn’t exactly embraced the charms of the Oakland Coliseum this season, but he vented in constructive fashion on Wednesday in steering Angels ace Jered Weaver toward a ...

AL Wildcard: September 14, 2011

BOS 86-62 [3-10 in SEPT]
TBR 82-66 [8-5 in SEPT] (4 GB)

MLB.com: Bard’s struggles continue in loss to Jays

[Daniel Bard’s] recent woes continued as the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays, 5-4. Bard came on with a 4-2 lead in the top of the eighth, and the Jays stormed back for three runs, two of which were earned.

MLB.com: Rays miss chance to gain in Wild Card race

Chris Davis put the Orioles in front with a three-run homer off Rays starter Wade Davis in the fourth, and the O’s went on to beat the ...

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: K-Rod doesn’t back off comments

A day after telling a national baseball columnist that “he wasn’t fine” with the lack of save opportunities he’s had since the Milwaukee Brewers traded for him in July, Francisco Rodriguez didn’t back off his comments when asked about them earlier this afternoon.

“I wasn’t lying,” he said. “There’s been plenty of save opportunities, and I’ve pitched once in the ninth inning and it wasn’t a save. I’m not happy. That’s the bottom line for me. They told me one thing; they haven’t done ...

Alfonzo suspended 100 games for PED use

Rockies catcher Eliezer Alfonzo became the first player to receive a 100-game suspension for a second positive test under Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, the Commissioner’s Office announced Wednesday.

Alfonzo, 32, was suspended for 50 games on April 30, 2008, while a member of the Giants. At the time of that suspension, Alfonzo said he did not knowingly take a performance-enhancing substance, but took medicine for bronchitis in his native Venezuela.

WADA ...

Bay Area Sports Guy: Giants’ win overshadowed as executive committee forces out Bill Neukom

  Neukom’s own falling-out with the Giants’ executive committee, say the baseball sources, began over how to spend the additional millions that flowed into team coffers following the World Series championship. For example, one source says that beginning last October, the Giants’ merchandising revenue alone has increased by $1.5 million to $2 million per month over previous years. Ticket sales also boomed. The Giants have effectively sold out every game this season.

  Neukom, it is ...

Pro baseball (in Korea) turns 30 with record 6 million fans this season

Confucius called a man aged 30 to be in “time for independence in study.” If pro baseball, which marked its 30th anniversary this year, were humans, it would be time to establish the base for independence in study.

At this juncture, the league ushered in the era of six million fans for the first time.

A cumulative 5,996,278 people went to baseball stadiums this season through Monday, just 3,722 shy of six million but the mark was expected to be set Tuesday.

This figure represents a ...

Moviefone: ‘Moneyball’ Writer Michael Lewis Reviews Keith Law’s ‘Moneyball’ Pan

Why don’t you just tell me the name of the movie you selected?

“Billy [Beane] called me and said Keith Law had sent him his review. I looked at it and I thought, What’s he talking about?” Lewis told Moviefone earlier on Wednesday. “It’s very weird that he’s on this. He’s intellectually dishonest, and I don’t know to what purpose.”

In his review, Law comes down hard on what the film cites as “Bill James bullsh-t” (James was the father of sabermetrics, the statical engine that drove Beane during ...

Posnanski: The Meaning Of 600 Saves

Damn…just as I’ve been working on Dotel: The Meaning Of 400 Blows Saves.

I don’t think so. I really do think baseball has been dramatically altered by a statistic invented by a perturbed sportswriter. Let’s end this thing with one more thought about Rivera. He is the best relief pitcher who ever lived. But he’s also a failed starter. Baseball is such a fickle game. When I think of Rivera setting the save record, I think about how PERFECTLY he fits his era, his space, his team, his role. ...

Rays rookie dress-up - the picture is the story

As hellodes points out…“Imagine these guys snapping at your heels, their hot breath on your necks.”

It’s hard to add any words to explain this, as the Rays had their rookies (and a few others who hadn’t spent a full year in the majors such as Sam Fuld) get dressed up in costumes for today’s trip to Baltimore. From the left, that’s Brandon Guyer, Jose Lobaton, Cesar Ramos, Russ Canzler, Jeremy Hellickson, asst. trainer Mark Vinson, advance scout Mike Calitri, Sam Fuld, Desmond Jennings, ...

NL Wildcard race: September 14, 2011

ATL 86-64 [6-9 in SEPT]
STL 81-68 [9-4 in SEPT] (4.5 GB)

MLB.com: Braves rally past Fish; magic number at nine
MLB.com: Cards keep pace in Wild Card chase

Yahoo: Phillies clinch playoff spot behind Halladay

Roy Halladay pitched his 20th career shutout and the Philadelphia Phillies became the first team to reach the playoffs this season with a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

The NL East leaders clinched at least a wild-card berth and will appear in the postseason for the fifth straight year.
..
The Phillies said this week there would be no champagne celebration for wrapping up the wild card, and when Halladay finished off Houston he and his teammates barely cracked a smile… ...

Tigers fans see sparks fly on foul tip, but catcher Alex Avila does not

Just when you think you’ve seen it all- this is pretty cool.

When Avila was asked about it after the game, he had no idea what media members were talking about. Avila said he never saw the sparks, which shot in several directions as a foul ball slammed into his mask…

It is unclear whether the ball hitting the mask or the ball forcing two parts of the mask to rub caused the sparks to fly.

Leskanic arrested on DUI charge

Leskanic, 44, who lives on Alaqua Drive in west Seminole County, had a blood-alcohol level of .331, more than four times the legal limit of .08, according to an arrest affidavit. The level was so high that he had to be checked out at a hospital before being booked into the Seminole County Jail.

.331 is higher than his career worst BABIP! Also:

He was found passed out at the wheel of his pickup truck on State Road 436 at Ronald Regan Boulevard with his 5-year-old daughter asleep, and ...

Big 2012 RNC-opening party will be at Tropicana Field, Rays’ schedule confirms

Will be odd to see people in the seats of Tropicana Field….

A few weeks ago we told you there was Buzz that organizers of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa are planning to hold the big, opening media party at Tropicana Field.

Today the news is confirmed by—the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2012 schedule— which includes a rare Sunday off day on Aug. 26—to accomodate a Republican National Convention event. Our colleague Marc Topkin broke the news on The Heater blog.

The Rays will play a ...

MLB.com: Castrovince: 2012 Baseball Schedule Makes Avoiding November Baseball Problematic

The No. 1 takeaway from the schedule release, from my perspective, is that it ends on Oct. 3, with an intent again on wrapping up postseason play before the calendar flips to November. But it’s going to take either a five-game World Series or further condensing of the postseason schedule to make that intent a reality.

Thanks to the elimination of some unnecessary off-days, this season’s postseason schedule, which begins on Friday, Sept. 30, can last up to four weeks total, if the World Series ...

International Baseball Update: Rosters for Baseball World Cup start arriving

The Baseball World Cup, the second most prestigious tournament in international baseball competition, will be later this year in Panama. Some (at least preliminary) rosters are starting to be released.

Japan’s is made up of players from the Industrial and College leagues. NPB players generally only play in the WBC, (formerly) the Olympics, and maybe the Asian Games.

Australia’s includes former big leaguers, and all of the roster has at least some professional experience, either in North ...

NYT: In the Belly of the East

The glass case in the lobby of the Toronto Blue Jays’ executive office holds World Series trophies from 1992 and 1993. Between them is a small stand, just a few inches high, with a $1 coin. Cito Gaston, the manager of those teams, gave the coin to the receptionist for good luck when he retired two years ago. She displays it as a placeholder for the next trophy, because the coin is dated 1993.

Oh, for those days at the SkyDome, when every night was a party. The Blue Jays averaged more than ...

Keith Law: Moneyball

I’m sorta reminded of the time Effin’ Stink Lad (non-LOSH) cruised a dump on D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage because he was too close to the action.

Moneyball, the movie, is an absolute mess of a film, the type of muddled end product you’d expect from a project that took several years and went through multiple writers and directors. Even good performances by a cast of big names and some clever makeup work couldn’t save this movie, and if I hadnt been planning to review it, I would have walked ...