I took a whole lot of Spanish in high school and college, and got to the point at the end of my freshman year where I was even starting to think in Spanish. Everyone told me that what I needed to do at that point was spend the summer in an immersion program in Mexico or someplace and then I’d be good to go. What did I do? I went back to Beckley, snagged my old job at the radio station for the summer and watched Braves games. Since 1992, almost all of the Spanish has slid out of my head, to the point where I’m no better off than a really obsessive Sesame Street viewer. Abierto? Cerrado!
The point is that I had to wait around to find someone to translate this for me before I could post about it:
Una fuente cercana al jugador asegura que todo apunta a que Magglio se quedarà en Detroit
The upshot: a source close to Magglio Ordonez is saying that he’s probably staying in Detroit.
I love the AL Central arms race, by the way. Minnesota: you’re on the clock.
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It turns out that Francisco Liriano‘s stint as a reliever won’t even last three weeks. On the heels of Anthony Swarzak being knocked around for six runs over just 3 1/3 innings last night against the Tigers, the Twins will move Liriano back into the starting rotation Wednesday against the Athletics. Liriano was removed from…
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Austin Wates‘ over-the-wall catch earlier this month was pretty incredible, but this one may have topped it. That’s Derrick Salberg of Lower Columbia College. While the catch is impressive enough on its own, it’s even more remarkable given the context. Salsberg’s grab was with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and prevented…
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Things got a little tense between Cliff Lee and Shane Victorino last night
May 26, 2012, 12:22 PM EDT
AP
The Phillies defeated the Cardinals 5-3 in 10 innings last night thanks to a go-ahead two-run homer by Hunter Pence. The big takeaway is that the Phillies have won three in a row and now sit one game over .500 (24-23) on the year, but the game featured an interesting moment after Shane Victorino was…
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Matt Kemp to begin brief minor league rehab assignment tomorrow
May 26, 2012, 11:02 AM EDT
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Matt Kemp remains on track to return from the disabled list when he’s first eligible Tuesday, but he’ll have to make it through a brief minor league rehab assignment first. Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times reports that Kemp is scheduled to play rehab games with Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday and Monday. The 27-year-old…
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Chipper Jones‘ left calf injury hasn’t gotten any better over the past couple of days, so the Braves have decided to place him on the disabled list. The team has yet to make a corresponding roster move, but they are likely to call up a catcher after David Ross left last night’s game against the…
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Joe Maddon calls throwing at Luke Scott “a weak, cowardly effort”
May 26, 2012, 9:47 AM EDT
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Benches cleared in the top of the ninth inning of last night’s Rays-Red Sox game after Franklin Morales hit Luke Scott in the leg. No punches were thrown and no players were ejected, but Rays manager Joe Maddon was pretty incensed after his team went on to win the game 7-4. According to Marc Topkin…
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Another night, another disappointing performance for Tim Lincecum. The two-time Cy Young Award failed to get back on track last night against the Marlins, giving up six runs over 5 2/3 innings as part of a 7-6 loss. Lincecum allowed just one run over the first five innings — a long solo blast by Giancarlo…
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AP
It’s just Ryan Dempster‘s luck: he allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings versus Pittsburgh on Friday and then fell to 0-3 anyway. The Cubs racked up 10 hits tonight, yet lost 1-0 to drop their 10th straight game and fall to 15-30 on the season. They were the first team since the Dodgers last…
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After Franklin Morales drilled Luke Scott in the top of the ninth — apparent retaliation for a plunking of Dustin Pedroia earlier — benches cleared in Friday’s game between the Rays and Red Sox at Fenway Park, which Tampa Bay went on to win 7-4. Some bad blood likely carried over from last week’s series…
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AP
Josh Hamilton‘s home run drought is finally over. And yes, I write that with tongue firmly planted in cheek. After Aaron mentioned this morning that Hamilton hadn’t homered in nearly two weeks, the Rangers’ slugger went deep in the bottom of the second inning tonight against the Blue Jays. His solo shot off right-hander Carlos…
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AP
Tonight is Dustin Ackley bobblehead night at Safeco Field. However, Ackley isn’t playing. Manager Eric Wedge said he’s resting his second baseman, even though the Angels are throwing a right-hander. Which is just plain stupid. Ackley should be playing tonight regardless of the bobblehead matter. He’s a left-handed hitter who has hit righties far better…
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Jhoulys Chacin diagnosed with pectoral injury after getting second opinion
May 25, 2012, 8:55 PM EDT
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UPDATE: Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that Chacin was diagnosed with an injury to his pectoral minor muscle involving a nerve entrapment. This rules out an injury to his biceps, shoulder or elbow. The injury can be treated through rest and exercise, but Chacin isn’t expected to resume throwing for at least another…
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Yoenis Cespedes wasn’t ready to return from the disabled list when he was first eligible on Tuesday, but he could rejoin the Athletics’ lineup next week. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, Cespedes took 28 swings in the batting cage today without pain and is scheduled to take full batting practice tomorrow. He hopes to…
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Diamondbacks and Miguel Montero agree to five-year, $60 million extension
May 25, 2012, 7:37 PM EDT
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Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Diamondbacks and catcher Miguel Montero have agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract extension. The deal is expected to be officially announced at a press conference tomorrow. Montero was due to hit free agency this offseason, but he’ll now be signed through the 2017 season. The new…
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It just hasn’t been Brandon Guyer‘s year. He’s still facing a $5 million lawsuit because a drunk Matt Bush was driving his vehicle at the time he nearly killed a guy, and now he’s going to require shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season. Guyer, a 26-year-old outfielder, had been in the majors…
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AP
That’s the way it’s working in both the American and National Leagues to date this year: AL East vs. AL Central: 37-20 – .649 AL East vs. AL West: 29-22 – .568 AL West vs. AL Central: 33-29 – .532 NL East vs. NL Central: 45-33 – .577 NL East vs. NL West: 34-25 –…
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Reuters
Chipper Jones has been teammates with future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz and he got to see plenty of Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Kevin Brown during their heydays. Stephen Strasburg, though, might outclass them all: “He has the best stuff, the best repertoire of pitches that I’ve seen on…
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After watching Ramon Hernandez perform poorly while playing through tendinitis in his left hand for most of the season the Rockies have placed the veteran catcher on the disabled list. Hernandez played well enough for the Reds in 2010 and 2011 that the Rockies gave him a two-year, $6.4 million contract at age 37, but he’s…
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Curt Schilling’s company told employees it was selling their homes; didn’t
May 25, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
Reuters
Not only did Curt Schilling’s company go belly-up and lay everyone off, it allegedly boned some of them via a relocation program that apparently didn’t do what it was supposed to do: Some of the hundreds of 38 Studios employees laid off yesterday were hit with a second round of bad news this week when…
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AP
Earlier this week Juan Carlos Oviedo reportedly received his work visa, but then it turned out he received a pardon from the U.S. State Department that’s necessary before getting a visa but hadn’t gotten the actual visa yet. Now he has both, with Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reporting that Oviedo has finally been…
