Archives › 2012 › May › 09
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Seemingly motivated by the April 27 incident in which home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg had to step in and tackle a fan on the field, the Orioles have beefed up security at Camden Yards by hiring private security guards, CSN Baltimore’s Rich Dubroff reports. The guards will work in tandem with Baltimore City police officers…
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Yadier Molina expects to return to Cardinals’ lineup Friday
May 9, 2012, 9:54 PM EDT
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was removed in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game against the Diamondbacks after getting crossed up with reliever Mitchell Boggs and taking a pitch off his left hand. Molina is not in Wednesday’s lineup, but X-rays taken late Tuesday night ruled out a fracture and MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch says the 29-year-old…
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Catcher John Jaso is hitting leadoff for the Mariners against the Tigers and Drew Smyly on Wednesday. It’s the first time since 1978 that a Mariners backstop has found himself atop the order. Larry Stone of the Seattle Times points out that Bob Stinson was the only previous catcher to lead off for the Mariners,…
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A’s center fielder Yoenis Cespedes hasn’t played since Sunday, isn’t in the lineup Wednesday night, and might be out for a couple more games. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, the 26-year-old Cuban has been diagnosed with a strained muscle in the back of his left hand. X-rays and an MRI taken Wednesday morning ruled…
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From MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli comes word that the Orioles have scratched Jason Hammel from his scheduled Thursday start against the Rangers with what is being termed “right knee soreness.” An MRI taken Wednesday on Hammel’s knee revealed only inflammation and fluid buildup — with no structural damage. So the Orioles are confident that he’ll be…
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Averaging a cool 99.1 mph with his fastball, Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera has taken over as the league’s hardest thrower since being called up last month. Here’s the top 10, according to Fangraphs data: 99.1 – Herrera 98.6 – Andrew Cashner (Padres) 98.4 – Henry Rodriguez (Nationals) 96.8 – Nate Jones (White Sox) 96.8 –…
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When the Cubs beat the Braves 1-0 on Wednesday, they did it sending a total of 26 men to the plate. It was the first time since 2007 that a team had won a nine-inning game without every spot in the order getting three plate appearances. Of course, to pull off such a feat a…
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Given that Mariano Rivera indicated he had already made a decision about his status for 2013 going into the spring, most assumed 2012 would be his last year. He wasn’t willing to reveal anything publically at the time, but speculation was that he’d announce his retirement in July. We know that won’t happen now, as…
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Zack Greinke knocks the Reds down, but John Axford lets ‘em back up
May 9, 2012, 5:50 PM EDT
Zack Greinke pitched eight shutout innings against the Reds this afternoon. He allowed only two hits. He struck out 11. That’ll get you a win most days. But not today. That’s because Johnny Cueto pitched seven shutout innings himself and had better help from his bullpen and the Fates. The Reds beat the Brewers 2-1.…
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Fake Outrage Alert: Bobby Valentine doesn’t like Josh Beckett playing golf
May 9, 2012, 5:28 PM EDT
Fried Chicken? Pfft! That’s yesterday’s faux scandal. Today’s Red Sox Nation tempest-in-a-beer keg is golf: According to 98.5 the Sports Hub, Beckett went out for a round of golf last Thursday, just two days before he missed a scheduled start against the Orioles because of back stiffness … It’s a development that has predictably become fodder…
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Tampa Bay seemingly didn’t have much need for Hideki Matsui when they signed him to a minor-league contract last month, but it turns out the price was low enough that it doesn’t really matter. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has the details of Matsui’s contract and reports that he’d earn just $900,000 if…
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Ugh, the saddest news for a voice you’ve probably heard but likely never knew: Carl Beane, the public address announcer at Fenway Park has died after a car crash in Sturbridge. Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early says the 59-year-old died in a one-car crash on Holland Road Wednesday afternoon. He had the P.A. job since 2003.
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We now know what the “complication” was in Mariano Rivera‘s exam the other day: he had a blood clot. Here’s how we know this: I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that they’re all standing next to each other, in Rivera’s presence, looking kinda funny tweeting all at once. Hopefully they’re still…
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Daniel Hudson took the mound yesterday for the first time since being placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, throwing a 30-pitch bullpen session. Hudson, who’s been on the DL since April 21, told Tyler Emerick of MLB.com that he “felt good” and “wanted to keep going.” He’ll likely need to complete a…
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Quote of the Day: Ozzie Guillen colorfully avoids a Fidel Castro question
May 9, 2012, 3:32 PM EDT
Ozzie Guillen was asked by a reporter if the furor over his Fidel Castro comments has died down. Of course Ozzie isn’t going to touch a Fidel Castro question with a ten foot pole these days, so he dodged it. Smart! Even better: he did it by making sure he stayed firmly in his comfort zone:…
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Blue Jays ditch Francisco Cordero as fill-in closer, turn to Casey Janssen
May 9, 2012, 3:15 PM EDT
Sergio Santos is still a few weeks from returning from a shoulder injury, but Francisco Cordero‘s time filling in for him as the Blue Jays’ closer is over now. Cordero’s latest ugly outing last night involved blowing his third save in five tries, leaving him with a 9.53 ERA, and the Blue Jays have stripped…
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White Sox’s new closer Chris Sale has a sore elbow, still wants to be a starter
May 9, 2012, 2:14 PM EDT
White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Jim Bowden of XM Radio that Chris Sale will undergo an MRI exam on his sore left elbow. Last week the White Sox cut short Sale’s transition to the rotation and moved him back to the bullpen as their new closer, with manager Robin Ventura saying he’d fill…
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The Phillies made it official a few minutes ago: Cliff Lee has been activated. To make room for him on the roster they have sent down Michael Schwimer to Lehigh Valley. Lee will be on a pitch count tonight — 80 pitches. So the Philly pen will get another chance to work the magic it has…
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Out since April 21 with what the Royals termed a left rib stress reaction, Greg Holland began a minor-league rehab assignment at Double-A yesterday. Holland allowed one run in one inning, throwing 19 pitches, and thanks to technology Royals manager Ned Yost watched the outing live on MiLB.tv. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the…
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Yoenis Cespedes was scratched from yesterday’s lineup due to some sort of hand injury. It was thought that he hurt it during batting practice. This morning Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle spoke with Billy Beane. There’s no word yet on Cespedes condition, but the hope is that the injury is not serious. He will have…
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Here’s some good news for Blue Jays fans who watched Francisco Cordero blow another save last night: Sergio Santos has been cleared to resume throwing after sitting out the past three weeks with shoulder inflammation. There’s no word yet on when he might be ready for a minor-league rehab assignment, but Santos is working out…
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Shockingly, Rob Dibble is just fine with Cole Hamels throwing at guys
May 9, 2012, 1:00 PM EDT
You know what I do whenever a controversial topic comes up? I ask myself “I wonder what Rob Dibble thinks of all of this?” Haha, actually, I don’t do that at all because that would be insane. But CBS Radio in Philly did, and they asked him all about the Cole Hamels/Bryce Harper thing. Dibble,…
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Last week when Yuniesky Betancourt got hurt and the Royals replaced him with career minor leaguer Irving Falu rather than 24-year-old prospect Johnny Giavotella it seemed … well, let’s be nice and say odd. And now Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals have decided to call up Giavotella after all–apparently…
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A couple of weeks ago, Dontrelle Willis left the Orioles. He says he did so with permission. The Orioles said he was AWOL. The team put him on the restricted list. Willis filed a grievance and his agent went off on the Orioles. That relationship looked to be over. But cooler heads have prevailed: Jerry…
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Ryan Dempster leads baseball with a 1.02 ERA … and has zero wins
May 9, 2012, 12:16 PM EDT
Ryan Dempster threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Braves last night, which actually raised his MLB-leading ERA to 1.02. He’s gone at least 6.2 innings in all five of his starts, allowing 1, 2, 0, 0, and 1 earned runs … and has zero wins to show for it. Hopefully most HBT readers…
