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Rockies Manager Makes His Case for Instant Replay 2007-05-09 14:09:00 Baseball forever has been defined as a sport that once a call is made - it's made. The sport does not have anything do to with instant replay, which of course puts all the more pressure on the umpires to get it right. About the only time you hear about the umps is when they don't get a call right, and twice over the last few days that has been a complaint of Rockies
manager Clint Hurdle. The Rockies skipper says that two blown calls in three games recently cost the Rockies a pair of homers. He spoke to the MLB office on Tuesday to express that maybe it's time for the league to take a look at instant replay to take some of the pressure off the umps that sometimes do miss a call here or there.Hurdle was thrown out of Mondays game after he argued a call that appeared to be a homer for Rockie Troy Tulowitzki. The hit was ruled a double, and Hurdle got into it with the ump that he felt missed the call. Tulowitzki did score the tiebreaking run but Colorado lost anyway 3-2 to the Car
Current Players Go Back and Forth on Bonds 2007-05-09 02:43:00 All the talk about Barry Bonds
and his eventual breaking of Hank Aaron's HR record is only going to get worse as he gets closer - but what is already getting old is players coming out either in defense or taking shots at Bonds. First on Monday we had David Ortiz, who took Bonds' side, saying that people should basically lay off. The words from Ortiz seemed to be somewhat stale, and it almost seemed like he was just trying to defend a fellow ballplayer.Now we have another Red Sox, this time outspoken pitcher Curt Schilling coming out, and he is taking the other side against Bonds. Schilling was on WEEI radio on Tuesday, and took a shot at Barry. "He (Bonds) admitted he used steroids. There's no gray area," Schilling said. "He (Bonds) admitted cheating on his wife, cheating on taxes and cheating on the game." I can only guess that as we get closer to Bonds hitting that eventual homer, more and more players are going to chime in on their thoughts on if Bonds should be hailed as Read more:Current
, Players
, Forth
Yankees Better Not Think Clemens is Enough To Win East 2007-05-07 16:14:00 Everyone will have their opinion about Sunday's announcement that Roger Clemens
is going back to New York to pitch for the Yankees
. Some think it is a great move that right away puts New York back in the hunt in the AL East, while some think it is just a player past his prime trying to make one big splash before calling it a career.Whatever the case may be, Clemens has the baseball world talking today, and that is exactly the kind of impact that he and the Yanks wanted the announcement to have. It had to be one of the most dramatic scenes in recent history at Yankee Stadium, and to think it took place OFF the field is just amazing in itself.So what kind of impact will Clemens have in the Bronx? He'll make more money in a month of pitching than most of us would make in 20 years at a regular job. He'll get the royal treatment and likely not have to go on each road trip if he chooses not to. He'll have every advantage known to man given to him by the Yankees. So does that transl Read more:Enough
The Rocket Set to Make His Decision This Month 2007-05-06 02:13:00 So let the debate of where Roger Clemans will end up begin. There is little doubt in many peoples minds that Clemans will pitch in 2007, but where that will be will once again come down to three teams - the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros. Randy Hendricks, the agent for free agent pitcher stated on Monday that the decision for Clemans will come down sometime this month, and right now the front runner one would think would be the Yanks.New York is so desperate for pitching right now, that you would think they would have to throw quite a bit at money at their former pitcher to try and get in shape to come in and save the staff for the second half of the season. Clemans is the type of pitcher that can come in right away and create a spark, and that is exactly what New York will need the second half of the season. 10 wins for the Rocket could mean the difference for New York making the playoffs.On the other hand, Clemans' home town team of the Astros is off to a very slow start, and if he Read more:Month
Ricciardi's Lie About Ryan A Mystery 2007-05-06 01:58:00 I think it is wrong for teams to lie about injuries, and in the case of the Toronto Blue Jays, I think something should be done about their recent admission that they lied about the injury to closer B.J. Ryan. This all came out as GM J.P. Ricciardi revealed in a radio interview that the injury to Ryan was his elbow, not his back as they first stated it was.The GM stated that they lied to the fans and media so that "we could have a bit more time." In other words, the misguided GM for some odd reason tried to keep from the Jays fans and media that the injury was worse than it was, possibly to avoid backlash for the outragous contract that Ryan carries? I mean, for what other reason would you have to lie about an injury. It's not like the team pushed him and caused the injury themselves. We all know that injuries are a part of the game, so why not just be upfront about them?The team at first stated that Ryan had a back injury that kept him off the field for about 14 days. Then, it w Read more:Mystery
St.Louis Suffering On and Off the Field 2007-05-03 14:08:00 The World Series Champion St.Louis
Cardinals are having a very tough time right now with trying to deal with the grief of losing a teammate, as well as trying to right a ship that just seems out of sync from the moment they got their World Series rings about a month ago. The Cardinals on Wednesday were swept by the first place Milwaukee Brewers, losing 4-0 in what ended up being their first series after the death last week of relief pitcher Josh Hancock. The Cards have lost five in a row, and now head to what they hope are the cozy confines of New Busch Stadium this weekend to host another team that has had their struggles in the NL Central - the Houston Astros. Manager Tony LaRussa, who had his own off the field troubles during spring training after getting caught driving drunk, knows that his squad is going through a difficult time. "You've got to fight through it," he said after Wednesday's shutout loss. "This club's proven it'll fight, that is why I am confident we'll imp Read more:Suffering
, Field
MLB Power Rankings Week of 5/1 2007-05-02 16:23:00 Now with some time passed as we enter the second month of the season, it's time for us to put together our first power rankings of the season. Starting next week will have the previous weeks rankings next to the team name if that team was ranked. So here we go with our Week 1 Power Rankings
Top 10----------1. Milwaukee 17-9 - You have to love how this young group has come together this fast. This team will not go away quietly.2. Boston 16-9 - Made an early season statement with taking five of six from the struggling Yankees.3. Cleveland 15-8 - Indians looking like the team that won 90 games two seasons ago. 4. Atlanta 16-10 - Braves going to give the Mets all they can handle in the NL East.5. Los Angeles Angles 16-11 - Overcame a tough start, are already 11-3 at home and playing well.6. Los Angeles Dodgers 16-11 - Started fast but have dropped 6 of their last 10.7. New York Mets 15-10 - Will have much tougher time this year trying to capture the NL East with the Braves playing well
Hughes' Hammy Another Cruel Joke on Yankees 2007-05-02 16:11:00 Whether you like the New York Yankees
or not, you have to feel for rookie pitcher Phil Hughes
, who in just his second Major League start had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning. Then his hamstring gave out. In one of the most heart wrenching moments of the season so far, Hughes was great as he was dominating the Rangers and holding them without a hit. Then, as the prized prospect continued to flirt with history, it was all over in a blink of an eye.The injury came when after Hughes threw an 0-2 breaking ball to Mark Teixeria with one out in the 7th. He grabbed the back of his left thigh in pain and had to leave the game. The Yankees were sailing along, up 9-0, and Hughes had thrown just 83 pitches. Clearly it looked as if the prospect was in line to attempt to finish the no-hitter, but fate would not allow it on this night. The worst part about the injury is that Hughes will miss four to six weeks. So in the end, the Yanks pitching injuries go from bad to worse. The 20-y
The Boss Stands Behind Torre, Cashman - For Now 2007-05-01 12:54:00 You have to wonder how long "The Boss" will sit back and allow the $195 million dollar New York Yankees to occupy the basement in the American League East. Yes, for now, George Steinbrenner is in the corner of both manager Joe Torre
and GM Brian Cashman, but you have to think that before its all said and done, that heads are going to roll if the Yankees continue to underachieve. The Yankees just completed a 1-5 stretch against arch-rival Boston, and the team sits at 9-14, last place in the East and 6.5 games behind the Red Sox.George released a statement, giving his support to his men, but made it clear that things had better change - soon. "The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans," Steinbrenner said in the statement. "However, Brian Cashman, our general manager, Joe Torre, our manager, and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly. "I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to
Brew Crew Off to a Hot Start 2007-05-01 12:40:00 It's been a long time since there has been something to root about in Brewer Country, but this year's version of the Milwaukee Brewers may change all that. After years of working to try to make the team competitive again, the Brewers are showing signs of the hard work paying off. Through 25 games, the Brew Crew are 16-9, and currently lead the National League Central Division by 3.5 games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sure the Brewers have the benefit right now of playing in the worst division in the National League, but they are taking advantage of it with big hits and solid pitching.Players like Kevin Mench, Geoff Jenkins and Johnny Estrada lead a core of young talent, and if you haven't heard of shortstop J.J. Hardy, take notice. The 2nd round pick of the Brewers in 2001 has been solid, hitting 6 homers and 17 RBI in his first 24 games, while hitting .282, well above his career average. A lot of eyes are also on Prince Fielder, son of former slugger Cecil Fielder. After hitt Read more:Start
Hancock's Death Puts Baseball in Perspective 2007-04-30 12:52:00 Baseball and sports in general took a step back on Sunday with the announcement that Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock
was tragically killed in an auto accident early on Sunday. The 29-year-old died on impact after his SUV hit the back of a parked tow truck that was assisting a disabled vehicle on Interstate 64. The death is even more of a blow to the Cardinals, who just few years back lost pitcher Darryl Kile to a coronary artery blockage. He was found dead in his hotel room in Chicago in June of 2002.Losing a young man like Hancock makes all the problems we face in the world as well as all the time and effort that is spent on sports in general really take a back seat. Surely when Hancock got into his vehicle on Saturday night wherever he was going, he never thought that he would not be around for the Cardinals game vs the Cubs Sunday night. But that is the point, that as fast as you enter the world, it is that fast that you leave it, and you should embrace life a little more and treat e Read more:Perspective
Tribe Coming Alive to Lead AL Central 2007-04-28 20:19:00 Don't look now, but the Cleveland Indians have jumped out of the gate as one of the more solid teams in the American League after the first month of the season. Cleveland, which had a bizarre start after their first four games were snowed out, and they then moved three home games to Milwaukee, have won 13 of their first 20 games, and have won six straight and are 1.5 up on Detroit in the American League Central
.Cleveland has some exciting young players, the biggest may of which be Grady Sizemore, who the team got in the Bartolo Colon deal a few years ago from the Expos. Sizemore got off to a hot start, and has already as a leadoff hitter has popped out five homers to go along with 11 RBI, 22 runs scored and 7 steals. Friday night he was the difference as the Indians trailed 1-0 to the Orioles at home, then got a two-run single from Josh Barfield, but then it was Sizemore, who hit a three-run, inside the park homer to give the Indians a 5-1 lead as they held on to win 5-4.Other player Read more:Tribe
, Alive
Early Season Woes Have Astros Behind Already 2007-04-26 14:02:00 It's as if we have seen this story before - Houston, we have a problem. The Astros
that is, have a problem, and that is they simply cannot seem to get over the hump of the early season blues. It happened last season, one year after they reached the World Series, getting swept by Chicago. By the time old man Roger joined the pitching rotation mid-way through the season, the Astros were chasing, and yes, they did almost catch the eventual champion Cardinals and took it to the last weekend of the season, but if they had only gotten off to a better start.The same thing appears to be happening this season. While only 20 games into the season, the Astros look like a repeat of 2006 is already taking place. Falling and getting swept by the Pirates is a sure indication that things are bad in Houston. Wednesday the Astros fell 4-3 to Pittsburgh in 16 innings. The maddening thing about the loss is that the game seemed to be theirs for the taking three times, as they left seven runners on base be Read more:Early
, Season
Will A-Rod's and Bonds' Homers be Enough to Carry Their Teams? 2007-04-24 13:41:00 The stories of Alex Rodriguez being the fastest player ever to 14 homers and Barry Bonds
closing in on Hank Aaron's homer record are the two biggest in baseball so far in 2007. The one thing that is going unforeseen about the two teams that these two players play for is that they are on teams that right now are not exactly tearing it up on the diamonds. The Yankees have been in a slump ever since A-Rod crushed a Joe Borowski pitch on Thursday afternoon that led to a stirring come from behind 8-6 win over Cleveland at Yankee Stadium. They have lost four in a row, three of which came at the hands of rival Boston.The Yankees are a team that has always been clutch when they needed it most. But over the past few days, they have made numerous mistakes, and the pitching staff has been downright awful. Chase Wright, a band-aid in the starting rotation while others are on the DL, was punished by the Red Sox Sunday night as the Sox pounded four consecutive homers off of him in the 3rd inning. W Read more:Enough
, Carry
Red Sox Get Measure of Revenge on Yankees 2007-04-23 17:08:00 It may not mean anything come August, but the Red Sox
sweep of the Yankees
this past week at Fenway Park was a measure of revenge the Sox had long waited for. If you recall, it was last August when the Yankees rolled into Fenway, and won not just three, not four, but FIVE straight in one of the most stunning sweeps in baseball the past decade. The sweep cemented the Yankees as the best team in the AL East, and all but eliminated the Red Sox from postsesaon contention.While this past weekends three games did not mean as much, what it did do was send a message back to New York that the Red Sox are still a team that will have to be dealt with in the AL East. Sunday's display of power from Boston, hitting four straight homers, showed that it can match power with the Yankees game by game. Then it was the pitching and defense that led the way from there.The sweep also gave the fans a lift in Boston, as the largest crowd since World War II crammed into tiny Fenway to watch their heros battle Read more:Measure
, Revenge
It's Too Bad Bonds' Homers are Mostly Ignored 2007-04-22 02:32:00 So Barry Bonds
' homer on Saturday was the lone run of the game as the Giants improved to 8-8 with a 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks in San Fran. It is amazing as this countdown continues for Bonds, who is now at 739 homers, and will surely pass Hank Aaron this season, how people around the country simply don't really care. It is as if anyone outside of San Fran, and I am sure that even some there do, know that Bonds has basically cheated his way to the record, and once he breaks the record, all that people will look forward to is the next person to break the record. It's not a good sign that even Major League Baseball is not going to honor the record that Bonds is certain to set. Major League Baseball is great at honoring those that deserve it. Just look at what took place last weekend around the League with the whole Jackie Robinson celebrations. That was done exactly right. And they did it to honor a man that paved the way for others to be able to play the game of baseball. Robinso
Love for Rodriguez Swells in New York 2007-04-20 12:56:00 Becoming the "King of New York
" is not an easy thing to do these days, but for Yankees third basemen Alex Rodriguez
, he is quickly becoming toast of the town in the city that doesn't sleep. A-Rod's heroic homer with two-out in the bottom of the ninth Thursday lifted the Yankees to an improbable 8-6 win over the stunned Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. The homer was stunning in that it came after New York trailed 6-2 entering the 9th, and it came after Indians closer Joe Borowski retired the first two Yankees and seemed well on his way to notching the save.Then the wheels came off, and after a couple of runs came across for New York, and Borowski allowed runners on second and third with two outs up 6-5, he was faced with taking on Rodriguez, who had homered in the previous two games vs Cleveland. A-Rod had been having a rough day to date, with an error in the field and going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, but he more than made up for it by taking a Borowski meatball, and placing it
Buehrle's No-No as Good as it Gets 2007-04-19 14:37:00 You got that sense last night as the hitters just kept going away one by one that White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was on to something. The way that he was able to just keep mowing down the Rangers inning by inning, it came to no shock to look up and see that with three outs to go, Buehrle was on cruise control, and if it were not for one small measly walk, he would have been not only going for a no-hitter, but also a perfect game.So when Gerald Laird hit a slow grounder to third that was easily dispatched for the final out, it didn't shock many as it showed just how great Buehrle was on this cool night in Chicago. It seemed like it didn't come to much of a shock to Buehrle, as he was quoted after the game that a "perfect game would have been nice too." The only miscue the pitcher made all night was a walk to Sammy Sosa in the fifth. Just as fast as Buehrle gave up the walk, he quickly made up for it by picking Sosa off of first base to end the only base runner of the night for Texas.B
Who Needs Pitching? Not this Yankees Lineup 2007-04-18 14:46:00 Of course while we all sit here and feel sorry for the New York Yankees
and their depleted pitching staff, one has to remember that this team is stacked in offense, one reason why they can throw a guy like Chase Wright and win on most nights. That fact was evident on Tuesday, as the Yankees rolled out six runs in the second innings, using the long ball in pounding the Indians 10-3 in the Bronx. Little do we quickly forget that this team still has the ability on most nights to score 5-10 runs, with power from players like A-Rod, who already has gone deep 8 times this season. Let's not forget that this team plated more runs in 2006 than any other, making them as dangerous as anyone in the American League.When you have a lineup like Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, A-Rod and Jason Giambi in your 1 though 5 holes, you can afford to be a little lack in the pitching department. Tuesday night they got more than enough from Wright, making his first pro start. He ran into trouble in inn Read more:Needs
Cubs Rocky Start Continues with Soriano Injury 2007-04-17 14:20:00 The Chicago Cubs had high hopes for the 2007 season with a new manager and new players, but possibly the key of those new players will now have to sit and watch for awhile. Alfonso Soriano injured his hamstring last night as the Cubs improved to 5-7 with a 12-4 route of the San Diego Padres. Soriano left in the 5th inning of the game and had a pretty heavy limp as he left the locker room in Chicago after the win."I don't like to get hurt," Soriano said. "I know that I'm not going to be able to play tomorrow, so it's sad for me because I like to play everyday. We'll see how I look tomorrow." Don't look for him to look much better than yesterday if that limp is any indication of how the injury is improving. For the Cubs, the loss of Soriano takes away their biggest free agent signing of the offseason, and a dynamic player that was to add instant offense to the Cubs lineup.He will have an MRI today, and the first diagnosis is that it is a strained left hamstring. The only good news f Read more:Start
, Rocky
, Injury
Yankees Could Be in Trouble if Offense Doesn't Step Up 2007-04-16 15:00:00 When describing the Yankees
starting rotation right now, only one word comes to mind - thin. That comes after Sunday's putting of yet two more starting pitchers on the DL - Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano. That means that when the Yankees open up a home series tomorrow night vs the Cleveland Indians, they will throw out basically three pitchers that if it were not for injury would not be making starts in pinstripes. While the Yankees sit at 5-6, there has to be some real concern about three starting pitchers being on the DL this early in the season. Of course Yanks manager Joe Torre is not letting on that anything is wrong: "We're above water, we're holding our own. We're going to get healthy."How long the Yanks can stay "above water" with Mussina, Pavano, and Chien-Ming Wang on the DL is anyones guess. Sure they can sit back and think that by getting those pitchers back everything is going to be OK, but what if they already are sitting behind two or three teams in the division, like Read more:Trouble
, Offense
MLB Should Not Allow Whole Teams to Wear #42 2007-04-15 18:46:00 The game of Major League Baseball will go out of its way today to honor Jackie Robinson and all that he did for the game. Games around the league today will have players, and some whole teams wearing the number 42. While I agree that players that wear the number today are doing the right thing in honoring the legendary Robinson, I think that whole teams wearing #42 are going a bit overboard. While it's a nice jesture, I think those teams that are doing it - the Pirates, Dodgers, Cardinals, Phillies and Astros, should really downsize it to just a few key players.There was more than a few players that spoke out about the whole team wearing Robinson's number thing - one of which was Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia. "It kind of waters it down," CC said. "I could see the Dodgers since that was his team, but not everyone else." In this case, I agree with CC, the Dodgers, they should get a free pass on this one, but the Pirates? Torii Hunter was another player that spoke out about whole teams Read more:Allow
, Whole
Why The Disparity? 2007-05-12 20:11:00 Two Athletes,Two different Sports. One Athlete was known as a model citizen on and off the field during his playing career. He was heavily involved in charities, protecting abused children. He was admired and respected by his peers, and management. Fans got caught up with his accomplishments on the field, and was said by many pundits, that he may have brought his sport back from the dead. The other Athlete, was also an exemplary player on the field, however, his playing days were filled with controversy. Allegations were made that this Athlete, was involved with drugs, hung out allegedly with unsavory characters, and at times looked as if he would end his career in infamy. Both Players were eligible for their respective sports Halls of Fame recently. One made it in his third year of eligibility, the other, now looked at as a pariah, didn't get close to being inducted. Of course the two men I am talking about are former Slugger Mark McGwire, and former Dallas Cowboy great Michael Irvin
Schilling Has The Right to Be Upset 2007-05-11 23:04:00 Can't say I blame Curt Schilling
one bit for his ranting at the collected media after Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne made the ludicrous statements that he did Wednesday night, during the broadcast between Baltimore and Boston. In case you have been in another dimension over the last couple of days here is the story.Thorne, on Wednesday night told his audience that Curt Schilling's bloody sock that got so much attention during the 2004 ALCS, was actually a public relations move, to make Schilling seem more heroic. Thorne claimed that he was told this by Red Sox backup catcher Doug Mirabelli. Now on Thursday, Thorne takes to the airwaves, and says it was all just a misunderstanding.He says he did not realize that Mirabelli was being sarcastic, when he "allegedly" made the comments. But the damage had all ready been done, Thorne had needlessly sullied two players reputations. Schilling on his website released a blog entry, here in part is what he said " If you haven't figured it out b Read more:Right
, Upset
Ready For A New Home Run King? 2007-05-11 18:34:00 In spite of Major League Baseball's lack of enthusiasm he's going to do it. And this time it's for real not just for second place. Yes, in the not too distant future San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds will be the record holder for career home runs as he eclipses Henry Aaron's mark. I could never really understand all the hoopla when Bonds passed Babe Ruth, at 714. It was for second place, it was irrelevant it no longer mattered, Henry Aaron had surpassed that record when I was a senior in High School. Since when in American society are we concerned with second place? I don't remember too many libraries being built for Michael Dukakis, Walter Mondale, or Robert Dole do you? We celebrate winners in this society, not runners up! To make a big deal over Bonds passing the Babe was just ludicrous, and in saying that I am in no way diminishing the Bambino's importance to the game. He is the man who saved baseball after the Black Sox scandal, and as I have stated in a previous article, he w Read more:New Home
Schilling Takes Back Comments Concerning Bonds 2007-05-10 20:08:00 As stated here before, everyone is now weighing in on the whole Barry Bonds
issue. First we had David Ortiz saying leave the poor guy alone, and then we had his teammate, Curt Schilling
, making some comments quite the opposite about how he thinks the situation that the league commish and others will not attend when the record is broken speaks for itself. Well, now just as fast as people are making their feelings known about the subject, Schilling is just as quickly taking his comments back.For some reason, Curt threw out a public apology to Bonds on his blog - 38pitches.com. "Everyone has days and events in life they'd love to push the rewind button on, yesterday was one of those days," Schilling stated on the site. "Regardless of my opinions, thoughts and beliefs on anything Barry Bonds it was absolutely irresponsible and wrong to say what I did. I don't think it's within anyone's right to say the things I said yesterday and affect other peoples lives in that way. As someone w Read more:Comments
MLB Power Rankings Week of 5/14 2007-05-16 14:21:00 Time again for our second set of Power Rankings
for the 2007 season. Below is our current top 10, and if that team was in our last rankings on May 2nd, the position they were in will be next to the team name. Here we go!1. Boston 26-12 (2) - Sox move up to one after impressive start including winning 14 of their first 20 games on the road.2. Milwuakee 25-14 (1) - Brew Crew still playing well, showing many they are for real. 16-5 at home and 17-8 in division games shows they are playing focused.3. Detroit 24-14 (9) - The Tigers are starting to play to the level they did last season when they shocked baseball with an outstanding season. The scary thing is they will get better when Kenny Rogers returns and Gary Sheffield starts hitting better.4. Atlanta 25-14 (4) - Atlanta continues to give other teams fits with solid starting pitching and clutch hitting. How long though can they hold off the powerful Mets in the NL East?5. Cleveland 22-14 (3) - A 4-6 road trip should have been bette
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