Archives › 2012 › September › 19
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Padres starter Andrew Cashner was shelled for six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings last week against a weak Rockies lineup. He did not look right. And he apparently wasn’t feeling right either. From the San Diego Union-Tribune comes word that Cashner has experienced more problems with his troublesome right lat muscle and is…
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Unfortunate bit of news here for the Athletics. According to Jane Lee of MLB.com, left-hander Brett Anderson was lifted in the third inning of his start Wednesday night against the Tigers after straining his right oblique while delivering a pitch. Oblique injuries often take more than two weeks to recover from and they’re typically prone…
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Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was shut down last Tuesday after complaining of shoulder fatigue and hasn’t pitched since. But his return is imminent. According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the hard-throwing lefty tossed a 25-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field without experiencing any problems with his shoulder. “It went real…
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That’s the speculation from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. While Terry Francona likes his ESPN gig, he’s expected to consider returning to the dugout as some team’s manager next year. The problem right now is that there don’t project to be many openings. Houston, obviously, but Francona probably isn’t a fit for what will surely…
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Mike Jacobs, the first athlete in North American pro sports to be suspended for failing an hGH test, is back in the majors for the first time since 2010 after being called up by the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Jacobs, 31, served a 50-game suspension last year after testing positive for human growth hormone while playing…
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With Rafael Soriano and left fielder Ichiro Suzuki combining to bail him out of an eighth-inning jam, David Robertson didn’t take his fourth loss in his last 10 appearances today in the first game of a doubleheader against the Blue Jays. He came pretty close, though. Robertson gave up hits to four of the six…
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Game Over: Eric Gagne is France’s pitching coach in World Baseball Classic
Sep 19, 2012, 5:20 PM EDT
Barry Larkin has signed on to be Brazil’s manager for the World Baseball Classic and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has news of another big name taking a WBC gig: Eric Gagne will be France’s pitching coach (he’s a French-Canadian from Montreal). My first reaction was to be amused, but that only lasted…
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Sorry folks, Melky Cabrera is still likely to be the NL batting champ
Sep 19, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
Bud Selig spoke to the press today and he dashed any hope that he’d cave in to the oh-my-stars-and-garters crowd when it comes to Melky Cabrera and the batting title. If he wins it, he’s gonna be the batting champ and those who find this scandalous will just have to make sure their fainting couches…
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Being a San Francisco Giants fan could be costly for 49ers quarterback Alex Smith
Sep 19, 2012, 4:40 PM EDT
49ers quarterback Alex Smith often wears a Giants hat to his post-game press conferences, showing support for another San Francisco team, but Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the NFL has threatened to fine him $15,000 if he keeps doing it: The reason: A Giants cap constitutes non-sponsored gear, and players must…
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Quote of the Day: Brandon Phillips “Honestly, I’ve been too busy winning”
Sep 19, 2012, 4:00 PM EDT
Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com spoke with Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips about the NL Gold Glove award. Which Phillips has won for two straight seasons and for three of the past four. Mr. Phillips, Mooney asks, what say you about Darwin Barney‘s errorless streak? Does he pose a threat to you? “Honestly, I don’t even…
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UPDATE: Acta wasn’t kidding about Hafner returning this week. He’s in tonight’s lineup, batting sixth for the Indians. ========== Travis Hafner has been out since August 5 with a back injury and has been limited to just 60 games this year, but manager Manny Acta said yesterday that he’s “optimistic” the 35-year-old designated hitter will…
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Andy Pettitte tosses five shutout innings in return from broken ankle
Sep 19, 2012, 2:51 PM EDT
Making his first start since suffering a broken ankle on June 27, Andy Pettitte returned to the Yankees’ rotation this afternoon with five shutout innings against the Blue Jays. Pettitte cruised through Toronto’s lineup, allowing just four singles and two walks while needing 75 pitches to record 15 outs. He struck out three. And with…
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UPDATE: Now Vizquel has doubled, passing the Bambino. 2:30 PM: Omar Vizquel singled to right in the top of the fourth of today’s Blue Jays-Yankees game. That’s, like, 90 small steps to first for Vizquel, but one giant leap for his all-time hitting numbers: with it he tied Babe Ruth on the all-time hits list…
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Ryan Zimmerman gets another cortisone shot, likely needs offseason shoulder surgery
Sep 19, 2012, 2:14 PM EDT
Ryan Zimmerman went from having a miserable season to being one of the best hitters in baseball after getting a cortisone injection in his injured right shoulder on June 24, but with the effects starting to wear off the Nationals third baseman got another shot today. Prior to the injection Zimmerman hit just .218 with…
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Yesterday Slate ran a story about the long rich history of ballpark organists playing “Three Blind Mice,” leading to ejections, league directives and very, very upset umpires. (1) there’s a lot more in there than the two instances I knew of where umpires ejected organists, one earlier this year; and (2) no matter how hard…
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It seems like the majority of people generally accept that the AL East is the best and/or toughest division in baseball, and rightfully so in most seasons. Not this year, however, as the combined division standings show: W L W% AL West 322 268 .546 AL East 378 357 .514 NL East 380 359 .514…
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Josh Hamilton is a fantastic baseball player who overcame serious drug addiction and whose body takes a greater physical beating than most non-catchers out there both by chance and by virtue of the way he plays the game. But by all means, let’s start calling him a big sissy. Jean Jacques Taylor of ESPN Dallas…
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Tim Lincecum isn’t quite back to being his old, Cy Young-winning self in terms of raw stuff or performance, but he’s bounced back from a terrible first half to quietly pitch very well for the past two months. At the All-Star break Lincecum was 3-10 with a 6.42 ERA in 18 starts. Since the All-Star…
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Ozzie Guillen wants his hitters to quit complaining about Marlins Park
Sep 19, 2012, 11:32 AM EDT
Marlins Park is playing big and Ozzie Guillen is tired of hearing it from his hitters. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post: “We’ve got to deal with the ballpark, and we’re going to be negative coming in here every day, ‘Oh, this ballpark is too big’?’’ Guillen asked incredulously. “We’ve got to play in…
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Jon Weisman, whose Dodger Thoughts blog is one of the best and longest-running around, has decided to call it quits after a decade writing about his favorite team online: To this day, I still have enough arrogance about myself to be surprised that no one has ever wanted to pay me a living wage to…
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Why the stats vs. scouts thing is a dumb debate? There are some things one of ‘em can do that the other can’t. Like finding a guy such as Red Sox pitcher Junichi Tazawa. A great story today by Alex Speier over at WEEI about how the Red Sox found and scouted this guy, involving treks up…
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With the World Baseball Classic qualifying round coming up in less than two months American-born Reds Hall of Famer Barry Larkin has been hired to manage the Brazilian team. Larkin was in Brazil earlier this year as part of an MLB camp for young players and according to the Associated Press his daughter “recently recorded…
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I had some fun with the Ted Williams post this morning, but I would like to make one observation about the upcoming MVP debates and awards season in general: they matter and they don’t. And that’s not necessarily a contradiction. Remember that time when the voters got the MVP vote wrong and we all died?…
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There’s been some speculation that the Tigers will fire Jim Leyland if they don’t make the playoffs, and yesterday the 67-year-old manager told reporters that he hasn’t talked about his contract status with the team and doesn’t want to until the season is over: Here’s more from Leyland, via Anthony Odoardi of MLB.com: I don’t…
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The Society for American Baseball Research does a lot of things, but one of the coolest things it does is to host the indispensable Baseball BioProject. These are no small bio-blurbs. They are painstakingly researched essays on the life and playing times of the game’s most significant players and events. And stadiums. Like the latest entry…
