Archives › 2009 › July

So, I’m mostly trade deadlined out after about 90 tweets and writing up all of the finalized deals over at Rotoworld, but I think I have enough left for a winners and losers blog. I’m focusing strictly on Friday’s action. Looking at the big picture, I’d say the Pirates and Dodgers would also figure into…

Twins acquire shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Athletics in exchange for minor-league infielder Tyler Ladendorf. Looking to shore up their middle infield, the Twins were also connected to second baseman Freddy Sanchez, but considering that the Giants gave up former first-round pick Tim Alderson to land him, this is a bargain by comparison, especially with…

Tigers acquire RHP Jarrod Washburn from the Mariners in exchange for LHP Luke French and LHP Mauricio Robles. Can’t blame the Mariners for this one. Realize that they gave up a 35-year-old southpaw with a 4.02 career ERA and 43.6% career flyball rate. He benefited greatly with the best outfield defense in the sport this…

Oh-boy. Here’s the big one. According to a post on Twitter, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says: The Red Sox are about to acquire Victor Martinez from Indians. – Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse confirms the Nightengale report citing a source that says a Martinez deal “looks good.” – In a post to Twitter, Joel…

Another deal! Even though our own Aaron Gleeman wasn’t a huge fan of the idea, the Twins have reportedly traded for shortstop Orlando Cabrera, acquiring him from the Athletics in exchange for minor-league infielder Tyler Ladendorf. Cabrera got hot at the right time, batting .373/.400/.500 with two homers, 16 RBI and nine stolen bases in…

The rumors are starting to fly fast and furious as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches. Here’s just a few of them: – According to FoxSports.com, the Rangers bid for Roy Halladay appears over. – In a post to Twitter, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo says “I’m hearing odds of Padres dealing Gonzalez are very low at this…

I missed this previously, but apparently home plate umpire Bill Hohn gave Marlins’ catcher John Baker the rock after the Florida-Atlanta game on Wednesday: Several Braves players said they were surprised and even “shocked” to see umpire Bill Hohn bump fists with Marlins catcher John Baker after the final out of the Braves’ 6-3 loss…

And now David Ortiz looks like one of the television evangelists who gets caught in a seedy motel with a hooker. – Dan Shaughnessy, bringing his usual brand of moderation and reason to the table in the wake of the Manny and Papi revelations.

Red Sox 8, Athletics 5: Before the game Ortiz said this: Today I was informed by a reporter that I was on the 2003 list of MLB players to test positive for performance-enhancing substances. This happened right before our game, and the news blindsided me. I said I had no comment because I wanted to…

Thursday was a rough day for the Red Sox and their fans, for reasons we won’t get into here. It looks like they will dominate talk in the final hours leading up to the trade deadline as well. Pick a big name sitting on the block, and Theo Epstein appears to be feverishly working behind…

As Aaron Gleeman attends the annual SABR Convention inside the beltway, I’ll do my best to pinch-hit in his absence. I’ll spare you my opinion on Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, instead pointing you towards our coverage on Circling the Bases. This is the time of year where the great majority of us would rather…

Breaking news! Lest we forget, we are almost 24 hours away from the non-waiver trade deadline. According to a post on Twitter, Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse cites a source as saying that Orioles closer George Sherrill has been traded to the Dodgers. Looking to fortify their pen, the Dodgers have been connected to Sherrill…

The news has only been out a couple of hours, but the blogosphere, she already rumbles: Tom Tango at The Book Blog: Redsox Nation will defend him, the others who want to fight will villify him, and even those Redsox fans who are bothered by it will simply hold their noses as they cling to…

As the blog’s resident Red Sox fan, this sucks. As someone who hates writing about steroids, this really sucks. The latest leak accusing both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz of being among the 104 major leaguers testing positive for PEDs in 2003 didn’t come as a huge surprise. I sort of made a case for…

I want to make one thing pretty clear. I’ve just about had it with this whole steroid controversy, what with it’s secret lists and tainted records and bloody syringes. I’m having a hard time even caring about it, because as Craig pointed out below, absolutely nothing surprises us anymore. We’ve become desensitized to it all.…

Cubs acquire LHP John Grabow and LHP Tom Gorzelanny from the Pirates for RHP Kevin Hart, RHP Jose Ascanio and INF-OF Josh Harrison. In Grabow, the Cubs get the lefty reliever they craved, but it will up to Lou Piniella to use him correctly. Grabow is no specialist, and he didn’t become a quality pitcher…

Dodgers acquire LHP George Sherrill from the Orioles for 3B Josh Bell and RHP Steve Johnson So much for the thought that the Orioles would have to be overwhelmed to move their closer. Sherrill can’t be considered an elite reliever when his career high for innings is 53 1/3, but he’s as effective against lefties…

Orlando Cabrera, after making two defensive mistakes yesterday: I suck. I don’t even know how to describe it. I suck. For real. I’m getting old, maybe. Maybe a day off is what I need. I’ll take it if there’s a spot they want me to do that. Normally I’d say that Cabrera is being overly…

Whenever major steroids news breaks, we can be assured of a few things: shock, outrage, overreaction, and moralizing. I don’t think anything I can say will head that off at the pass, but let me at least try. This is addressed mostly to the sports media, but let’s just make it a general “to whom…

Here we go. The New York Times reports that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were on that infamous 2003 doping list: Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who propelled the Boston Red Sox to end an 86-year World Series championship drought and to capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100…

* Grady Sizemore is hoping to come off the disabled list tomorrow after choosing to skip a minor-league rehab assignment for his injured left elbow. “My elbow feels good,” Sizemore said. “I haven’t had any setbacks, but we’re only going to find out how it really is by playing every day.” * Thanks to Albert…

“This is embarrassing. It’s like pitiful to watch. This is terrible.” Reds manager Dusty Baker, after rookie Mat Latos and two relievers combined for a one-hitter against his club on Wednesday night. The slipping Reds have dropped eight of their last 10 games and are currently nine games behind the first-place Cardinals. “I’ll definitely be…

At least I think so: Mets general manager Omar Minaya says he apologized to a beat reporter for his critical comments during a bizarre news conference. Minaya says he met with New York Daily News reporter Adam Rubin on Wednesday. But the GM was unclear when asked Thursday if he stood by his statements that…

Headline: “Cubs in search of a lefty bat who can play right” Could have been: “Cubs give up on Milton Bradley.” I mean after all, the dude plays right and is a switch hitter. Sure, the article says that they’d want him to still bat against lefties, but when you’re turning your three-year, $30 million…

Still nothin’ doin’ on Halladay, according to both the Toronto Sun and Olney. Robo and Morosi at Fox continue to beat the Victor Martinez-to-Boston drum. And it’s a good drum, because it makes so much sense, given both Boston’s needs, their young talent, and Mark Shapiro’s demonstrated desire to take less than anyone else for…