Archives › 2012 › June › 08
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The verdict is in on Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia. According to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, the young left-hander was diagnosed with a shoulder impingement Friday after paying a visit to Dr. Lewis Yocum in California. Surgery is not being discussed as an option, but Garcia will be shut down for at least the next four…
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Someone did in fact flirt with a no-no in the Bronx tonight, but it wasn’t Johan Santana after he threw 134 pitches last week in the first no-hitter in Mets history. Hiroki Kuroda held the Mets hitless for 5 2/3 innings Friday in the Yankees’ 9-1 victory. Santana, who had thrown back-to-back shutouts against the…
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It’s been a rough week for Stanford’s Mark Appel. On Monday night he fell to the eighth spot in the MLB Amateur Draft after being mocked by most experts to go in the top three. And he was selected by an organization (the Pirates) that he clearly isn’t thrilled about joining. Now his dream of…
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Update: Dejan’s tweet was a joke. My apologies for taking it seriously and using it to make a point. I don’t want to take the post down and I think my point still stands, but I want to make it clear that Mr. Kovacevic does not actually feel the way described below. /// At least,…
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From Jon Heyman of CBS Sports comes word that the Blue Jays “are expected to be among the teams targeting” Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin around this year’s July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Quentin is batting .481 with a 1.734 OPS, five home runs and nine RBI in eight games since returning from the disabled list…
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Yoenis Cespedes suffered a strained left hamstring Thursday in his seventh game back from the disabled list, but he doesn’t think a return visit will be required, he told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser on Friday. Cespedes said he expects to miss the entire series against the Diamondbacks this weekend, but that he hopes…
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Ralph Nader hates in-game ads on Yankees broadcasts, is completely ignorant
Jun 8, 2012, 5:33 PM EDT
Ralph Nader has done a lot of good in his life. I mean, if it wasn’t for him we’d probably all be driving boss-looking Chevy Corvairs right now but then dying in horrible wrecks later. So thanks, Ralph! But the dude has often been off-the-mark in his latter years. Today came another instance, and it…
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As expected, the Angels are using Albert Pujols at third base in order to get another bat into the lineup during interleague play in NL ballparks. Pujols, who began his career as a third baseman and started there four times for the Cardinals last season, is making his first Angels start at the hot corner…
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Buster Olney reports that the first round of bidding on Cuban free agent Jorge Soler are in — his agent wanted bids by yesterday — and that the Cubs, Yankees, Braves and Dodgers have been the most aggressive. The Cubs are not surprising given that they’ve been whispered about having strong interest in Soler and, in…
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Scott Rolen working toward comeback, but “no timeline” for return
Jun 8, 2012, 4:16 PM EDT
Scott Rolen has had so many shoulder problems over the years that the Reds placing him on the disabled list last month led to speculation that he might be finished. Rolen even had doubts about playing again, which were echoed by manager Dusty Baker, but for now at least he’s giving it a go. Mark…
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Every year Sports Illustrated takes a poll of as many players as it can — this year it got 227 of them — and asks them a bunch of questions they’d never answer with attribution. Most overrated this or that, worst umpire, etc. The list for the most overrated pitchers is out now (slide show;…
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Jaime Garcia to be examined by Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Lewis Yocum
Jun 8, 2012, 3:15 PM EDT
It’s never good news when an injured pitcher schedules a visit with Dr. James Andrews or Dr. Lewis Yocum, but what about when an injured pitcher schedules visits with both of them? Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Jaime Garcia will do just that after the Cardinals placed him on the…
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Good feature by Ken Rosenthal on Mets manager Terry Collins. The man who once had his clubhouse revolt against him and petition the GM to have him fired — the 1999 Angels were awesome! — is now a different kind of dude, who is well aware of his past faults: “I was not good. I…
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It’s not quite an out of nowhere power explosion like Jose Bautista in 2010 or even Jacoby Ellsbury last season, but Braves center fielder Michael Bourn has already set a new career-high for homers in a season. Bourn went deep yesterday for the sixth time in 57 games. His previous career-high was five homers, set…
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When is Manny Ramirez going to come to Oakland and help that offense? How about the 10th of never? Here’s Ann Killion: Ramirez was presented as a changed soul, a man who wanted a second chance and a veteran who could be an important mentor to young players like Yoenis Cespedes. Instead, he’s just been…
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Texas sent Derek Holland for an MRI exam after placing him on the disabled list yesterday with left shoulder fatigue and the team announced that no structural damage was found. In fact, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram the Rangers think “Holland is experiencing a lack of strength in the shoulder…
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Jamey Carroll’s hand is kinda gross, but he plays the game the right way
Jun 8, 2012, 1:30 PM EDT
The biggest reason to click this link is to see a picture and video of Jamey Carroll‘s hand, which is totally gnarled, mangled and gross from a decade of playing the infield. The second biggest is to ask yourself why it is that no one ever writes stories like this about non-white, non-short, non-scrappy utility…
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When Johan Santana takes the mound tonight for his no-hitter follow-up start he’ll be coming off back-to-back complete-game shutouts and working on two extra days of rest without a limited pitch count. And he’ll also be an underdog on the road against the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda. Las Vegas has set the Yankees as -145…
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Thanks to the new draft rules, Scott Boras (and other agents) have a pretty stark conflict of interest
Jun 8, 2012, 12:33 PM EDT
The other day Scott Boras called the new draft setup “a mockery,” and claimed that the capping of bonus payouts and the slotting for picks — with stiff penalties for teams who violate them — does nothing to distribute talent to those who need it (i.e. the purpose of the draft). I think he’s probably…
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We haven’t heard much about Carl Crawford‘s status lately, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that the Red Sox left fielder will begin a throwing program today as he works toward a comeback from wrist surgery and a partially torn elbow ligament. Crawford told Abraham that his surgically repaired wrist is “pretty much…
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We’re one-third through the season and the Marlins are on pace for their best record since the World Series team in 2003, yet their solid play after an offseason full of big spending and moving into a new ballpark haven’t boosted the team’s attendance nearly as much as hoped. Through 29 home games the Marlins…
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I saw that guys named Skye Bolt and Storm Throne were selected in the Rule 4 draft earlier this week. When I saw them my first thought was “Storm Throne rolls saving throw for curve balls …” But there were more ridiculous names than that! And Dayn Perry of CBS Sports.com catalogs them for us…
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Jeff Francis re-signs with Rockies, expected to start this weekend at Coors Field
Jun 8, 2012, 11:19 AM EDT
Jeff Francis asked for and got his release from a minor-league contract with the Reds and the 30-year-old left-hander has quickly returned to where his career started, signing with the Rockies. And now only that, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports that Francis will immediately jump into the Rockies’ rotation and start Saturday versus…
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Great Moments in Communication: Joba Chamberlain’s bullpen session
Jun 8, 2012, 11:00 AM EDT
Joba Chamberlain (60-day DL — near death experience) is rehabbing. Yesterday he tweeted thusly: Update for everyone!Bullpen tomorrow, 1 step closer!!Thank u for all the support!! — Joba Chamberlain (@Joba_62) June 7, 2012 And later Joe Girardi was asked about it: “‘That, I’m not aware of” Oh well. Welcome back to the land of the…
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Daniel Bard on demotion to Triple-A: “I’m just an employee here … obviously, I’m not thrilled with it”
Jun 8, 2012, 10:47 AM EDT
Lost in the speculation about how long Daniel Bard‘s demotion to Triple-A will last is the fact that the Red Sox right-hander wanted nothing to do with being sent to the minors. Bard is scheduled to make his Pawtucket debut tonight, so he spoke to the local media and made it clear to Mike Scandura…
