Vintage David Ortiz, even if only for one night, that’s the Big Papi I remember.
Archive for the 'Baseball' Category
27
Aug
09
Things that Just Look Right
I would happily be willing to be paid $20 million a year. I would be even more overjoyed to receive such a salary for playing baseball. While I might be a dallier, for that kind of money, I’d be pretty willing to make sure I’m staying in shape and taking care of myself. Clearly, Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano and I disagree.
On the DL for the last fortnight for back spasms, Zambrano told reporters yesterday that the biggest hurdle to his return is himself.
“My problem is I’ve been lazy,” Zambrano said. “There are things in life that you don’t like but you have to do. I don’t like to do abs, but I will have to start doing my abs every day and be serious about my abs.”
Then again, this is also the same player who once went on the DL with shoulder soreness from using his laptop too much…
Can you believe the Cubs haven’t won a World Series in 100 years. Personally, I’m shocked.
[ESPN]
Adrian Beltre is in his free agent year and his expected contract push was just starting to heat up when his season was tragically derailed. In Wednesday’s game against the White Sox, Beltre took a one-hopper straight into his junk.
Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu after the game told reporters that Beltre is out indefinitely and may require surgery due to BLEEDING inside his testicle.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Terrifying.
Beltre was “walking stiffly with his legs far apart” before yesterday’s game with the Yankees, which he obviously didn’t participate in.
“[The trainers] don’t want him doing anything, just sitting and resting and icing,” Wakamatsu said, “They say if it’s a major surgery it could be at least a month, maybe more, so there’s a chance of that. … It’s healing already, it’s just a matter of whether they’re going to have to go in and fix it surgically. We’ll know shortly.”
Beltre told reporters in 2008 that he doesn’t wear a protective cup when he plays. “I hear that a lot, that I’m crazy, stupid. [The other players] might be right. There is some stupidity to it.”
And now he has a bleeding testicle. Ow. OW OW OW OW OW OW.
14
Aug
09
Public Enemy #1 is CAPTURED!
At last, we can sleep peacefully now, thanks to an active campaign to track him down, the dastardly Chicago Beer-Tosser has been CAPTURED!
After Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino pressed charges for getting a beer tossed on him from a previously anonymous Cubs fan, the media blitz was ON to find the culprit.
Johnny Macchione, the fan in question, turned himself in yesterday to Chicago police where he was booked and released on bond after being charged with a count of battery and a count of illegal conduct within a sports facility. He’s now the second-most infamous Cubs fan.
“I’d like to apologize to Shane Victorino. It really was nothing against him,” he said. “The Chicago Cubs, I’m sorry I disgraced you.”
Wow, disgracing the Cubs is a hard task, and yet, Johnny feels he did. And in some ways he has, in others he merely threw a beer on someone in a cowardly manner. As Victorino was saying yesterday, “[The fan] i’s probably at home thinking, ‘I got away with it.’ I hope he gets the understanding, hey, you can’t do stuff like that. I mean, if it happened in the streets, I don’t think you’d be walking too far (without a reprisal). It’s just not something you do.”
Bronson Arroyo has never been the brightest bulb. Hell, even in baseball which is populated with plenty of dim bulbs, Bronson’s burns among the dullest.
For instance, last week he said that he’s probably on the 2003 list of positive tests for his many supplements, but he hasn’t changed his practices at all. MLB has told all the players that before they take ANYTHING, even over-the-counter stuff that they should check with MLB first to make sure that it is allowed. Seems reasonable, after all, something you bought at GNC is not worth getting suspended over, or having your public image marred. Unless you’re Bronson and your public image already sucks.
“I have a lot of guys in [the locker room] who think I’m out of [my] mind because I’m taking a lot of things not on the [MLB-approved] list,” Arroyo said, “I take 10 to 12 different things a day, and on the days I pitch, there’s four more things. There’s a caffeine drink I take from a company that [former Boston Red Sox teammate] Curt Schilling introduced me to in ’05. I take some Korean ginseng and a few other proteins out there that are not certified. But I haven’t failed any tests, so I figured I’m good.”
Great! And going back to 2003 when he was taking andro amongst other supplements, Bronson had these choice words to say, “Man, I didn’t think twice about it. I took androstenedione the same way I took my multivitamins. I didn’t really know if this was a genius move by Mark McGwire to cover up the real [stuff] he was taking, but it made me feel unbelievable. I felt like a monster.”
Don’t worry, he’s not done, Bronson also gave the USA Today this great quote regarding the potential health risks from the supplements and vitamins and such:
“It might be dangerous,” he said, according to the report, “but so is drinking and driving. And how many of us do it at least once a year? Pretty much everybody.”
Yeah, not everybody. Some people try and act responsibly and make good decisions. But obviously Bronson wouldn’t know ANYTHING about that. This is the man who thought cornrows would be a good look for him…
[ESPN]
12
Aug
09
Welcome Back Chris!
As part of some organizational restructuring, the Milwaukee Brewers sent struggling shortstop JJ Hardy to Triple-A, released third baseman Bill Hall and fired pitching coach Bill Castro. Having been with the big league club since 1992, through multiple anemic managers, Castro had outlasted everyone, until today. He’ll be replaced on the bench by Triple-A pitching coach, former Brewer “great” and owner of one of the more improbable no-hitters in MLB history, Chris Bosio.
Quite the interesting move for a team trying to contend for a playoff spot. Dropping a shortstop who has 50+ HRs over the last 2 seasons is quite a gamble, regardless of how well prospect Alcides Escobar has been playing.
Then again, this is the same team that appeared out of nowhere to grab CC Sabathia and fired their manager with only 12 games remaining in the season en route to their first playoffs appearance in 26 years. I guess, in Doug Melvin we trust?
Some news about an old friend from ESPN’s Keith Law, whose player evaluations I trust implicitly:
Arizona also signed 13th-rounder Patrick Schuster for a $450,000 bonus. He made news this spring after throwing four straight no-hitters in high school, but he projects as a good organizational pitcher and not a major league prospect.
If you don’t remember our earlier stories on young master Schuster, you can reread them here and here. Enjoy!
[ESPN]
12
Aug
09
Remember These Uniforms?
Of course, the White Sox shorts uniforms make this list, despite used for like 3 games, they remain one of the worst things to ever happen on a baseball diamond. I will say that I really like the old-school pillbox Pittsburgh Pirates hats and uniforms, but I think I’m in the minority there…
For the 10th year in a row, Baseballparks.com gave out their Ballpark of the Year award for the best new baseball stadium to open this season. Despite spending over a billion dollars each, neither New York team factored in the final verdict.
Taking into account the best combination of design, site selection and fan amenities, this year’s winner was, of course, the Huntington Park the new home of the triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, the Columbus Clippers.
“I think this year’s award is even more special than in the past,” said webmaster Joe Mock. “First, this is the tenth straight year we’ve presented this honor. Second, we’ve never seen so much competition for the award.”
Among the nominees were 3 spring-training parks, both New York stadiums, the renovated Royals stadium and five minor league venues.
“When you consider that the Mets’ and Yankees’ new parks were eligible and over two billion dollars were spent building those two, then it’s an understatement to say that there was stiff competition this season,” Mock noted.
This has to especially burn the Yankees since up until this season, the Columbus Clippers were THEIR triple-a affiliate, and this makes only adds to their recent lack of championships.
“To receive this award in a year when there were no less than a dozen new facilities brought on-line, and two of them major league facilities at that, is rather overwhelming and humbling,” said Ken Schnacke, President and General Manager of the Clippers. “This award is a tribute to all the outstanding partners who were a part of our design and construction team; and it was the complete cooperation of this team and our entire community that made our vision become a reality.”
Veteran ballpark reviewer Charlie O’Reilly of Rutherford, NJ has attended games at nearly 350 different pro ballparks, and he was anything but shocked to learn the news. “I can see why Huntington Park was chosen for this award. It has received rave reviews, and when I visited it, I was really impressed with how the designers created a very accessible space with great views from everywhere in the park, including windows to watch the game from the street a la AT&T Park in San Francisco. The removable batter’s eye is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s one of the many novel design elements in the park.” O’Reilly’s ballpark reviews can be found here.
The fans have noticed the delightful new ballyard, leading the minor leagues in attendance with a 9,487 per game average, with over 531,312 Clipper-maniacs passing through the gates with 14 games remaining in the season.
Past winners of this “coveted” prize include AT&T Park in San Francisco, Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, Petco Park in San Diego and last year’s winner, Arvest Ballpark, home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Alas, the success of the ballpark hasn’t translated to the product on the field; the Clippers are in last place with a .426 winning percentage and are 17 games back from the lead.
Fans in Minnesota love them some Bert Blyleven and it is a point of honor to get him to “circle” you with his telestrator during the game broadcasts. This one fan managed to get on TV, but probably didn’t deserve to be. I just hope her time in college helps her in the task of learning proper spelling…
She clearly spent a significant amount of time on the sign, yet NO ONE noticed before that she had a blatant misspelling? Or does she just have bad friends?
I think we can all agree that I’m a pretty good Red Sox apologist. However, I’m disappointed in Kevin Youkilis’ unnecessary and selfish charging of the mound last night. Not only did he look like an asshole, but Youk then got TOSSED by a 20 year old who weighs at least 20 pounds less than him. Add in Youk’s wussy throw of the helmet and you have the work of a full-grown asshole. I love Youk, don’t get me wrong, but he was wrong in this instance and should have just taken his base. Maybe it’s for the best though, since Porcello looked like he was DEALING!
And yes, I’m also partially mad because I benched Mike Lowell on my fantasy team because he wasn’t in the lineup and then gets in and hits 2(!) home runs.
11
Aug
09
Kenny Williams, Pay the Man
Fresh off bailing the Toronto Blue Jays out by taking the horrible contract of Alex Rios off their hands, the city of Seattle noticed White Sox GM Kenny Williams walking around and figured since he was so generous why not help out the city budget some too. In Seattle to see his team take on the Mariners, Williams was nabbed by the police for the horrible crime of jaywalking outside the stadium, something they also nailed Manny Ramirez for last season.
Exiting a cab and heading towards the stadium, Kenny crossed the street without using the crosswalk. Williams informed the officer who stopped him that in Chicago people cross the streets everywhere, not just at the crosswalks. The officer informed him that’s not how things are done in Seattle, handing him a $56 ticket and sending him on his way.
[Seattle Times via Deadspin]
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