Archives › Drew Silva
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Craig ran a story in October explaining why current Diamondbacks manager and former Dodgers legend Kirk Gibson is selling several pieces of his personal memorabilia. Gibson basically said that the memories of his playing career are locked in his head and that he doesn’t need bats and batting gloves on display at his home to…
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Sad news out of the Pacific Northwest tonight. According to Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald, longtime Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus passed away from a heart attack this afternoon at the age of 75. Niehaus was awarded the job of play-by-play announcer before Seattle’s inaugural season in 1977 and remained in that role through the…
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A major trade on November 10? Good stuff. According to the A’s official Twitter feed, Oakland has acquired outfielder David DeJesus from the Royals in exchange for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and minor league left-hander Justin Marks. DeJesus has been involved in trade rumors for a couple of seasons now and the Royals, aiming to form…
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Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune tweeted earlier today that the Cubs have been “kicking around” the idea of swapping outfielder Kosuke Fukudome in a package for Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka. If the Cubs have indeed been exploring such a deal, they should stop now. Whether you prefer MLB Network’s Peter Gammons, the Boston…
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Must-click link: Giants fans remember the good and bad times
Nov 7, 2010, 5:02 PM EDT
Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News put together a piece in Wednesday’s edition chronicling 52 agonizing years of San Francisco Giants fandom. That agony, of course, was broken this year when the Giants defeated the Rangers to win the franchise’s first World Series title since making the move to the Bay Area. Steward’s…
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Brad Penny gelled immediately with pitching coach Dave Duncan this year in St. Louis and posted a solid 3.23 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in his first nine starts for the Cardinals, but he went down with a lat injury in late May and never resurfaced due to injury setbacks. He’s back in the news now,…
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The Orioles have hired a pitching coach. According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, the O’s agreed to a contract last week with Mark Connor, a 61-year-old veteran of the pitching coach profression. He is good friends with manager Buck Showalter and the two worked side-by-side for the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers during the…
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Bailey Stephens of MLB.com has an update from our baseball friends overseas. The Chibba Lotte Marines defeated the Chunichi Dragons 8-7 on Sunday to win the Japan Series — a series that featured the longest game in the league’s history. The Marines and Dragons battled to a 2-2 tie* after six hours and 43 minutes…
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Adam Dunn boasts one of the only legitimate power bats on the free agent market this winter and he should be able to cash in. But it sounds like he’s not going to be back with the Nationals, at least not at their current offer. Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that the Nats have had…
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The Phillies have already made it known that they have little desire to re-sign veteran lefty Jamie Moyer this offseason. But it might not matter anyway. According to Dionisio Soldevila of Tiempo de Juego, Moyer suffered an injury to his throwing elbow while pitching Saturday in the Dominican Winter League. It’s the same injury that…
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Cliff Lee will listen to offers from Nationals, probably all teams
Nov 7, 2010, 10:15 AM EDT
It is officially hot stove season and, courtesy of MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, we officially have one of our first ridiculous hot stove items. In September, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo expressed a desire to pick up a front-end starter this offseason. Then on Thursday ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer wrote that the Nats are “a potential sleeper in…
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Single-A Brooklyn manager Wally Backman was interviewed Saturday in San Diego for the Mets’ managerial opening. He had a three-hour sit-down meeting with new Mets GM Sandy Alderson and, according to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, it went smoothly. “I thought it went very well,” Backman told the Daily News Saturday night. “But…
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As Saturday turned to Sunday last night, MLB’s free agency period officially kicked off. It’s hot stove season and we’ll be digging up and dissecting rumors all winter long here on Hardball Talk. In the meantime, HBT’s own Matthew Pouliot has ranked this offseason’s Top 111 Free Agents. A refresher: 111-91 90-71 70-51 50-31 30-11…
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It’s now past midnight in the east and the deadline for teams to either exercise or decline options on players has passed. There weren’t a ton of surprises — if any — but it’s worth reviewing some of the bigger names that were involved in the early offseason decisions. The Cardinals got an easy call…
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This comes as a bit of a surprise. Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com reported Wednesday that the Rockies declined catcher Miguel Olivo’s $2.6 million option for 2011 and that the veteran would enter this offseason as a free agent. That report was apparently incorrect. The Denver Post’s Troy Renck just tweeted that Olivo has been traded…
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Staff ace Zack Greinke voiced concerns back in August about the Royals’ current rebuilding strategy, telling the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton that he’s not “excited” about the club’s crop of youngsters “because the chance of more than one of them making a major impact” during the duration of his contract is “pretty slim.” Not…
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Veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria played the hero this year in the Giants’ amazing run to the World Series crown, batting .412 with six RBI over the course of the five-game Fall Classic. But he’s probably not going to be back in 2011. The Giants declined Renteria’s $10.5 million option on Thursday evening, according to the…
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The Pirates’ search for a new manager is picking up all sorts of steam. According to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com, the Bucs interviewed Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle on Thursday in what could be the club’s final managerial interview. Hurdle enjoyed great success as the Rangers’ hitting coach this season, helping to lead that franchise…
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When it comes to matters of Derek Jeter, the Yankees and free agency, everyone seems to agree on one thing: it’s best that the negotiations do not turn ugly. Unfortunately, that may no longer be possible. Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner told a New York-based radio station Tuesday that Jeter is wanted back, but also…
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When Lou Piniella stepped down from his post as Cubs manager earlier this year, there was an assumption that Triple-A Iowa skipper and Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg would take over to start the 2011 season. Then Mike Quade stepped in, led the Cubbies to a 24-13 down the stretch and was awarded the full-time position…
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Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters soon after his club’s loss in the World Series that locking up manager Ron Washington to a multi-year contract was his first offseason priority. He wasn’t lying. The two sides will sit down on Thursday and work out the final details of a contract extension, according to MLB.com’s T.R.…
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The Giants’ official Twitter feed has the San Francisco batting order for Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday evening in Texas: 1. Andres Torres, CF 2. Freddy Sanchez, 2B 3. Aubrey Huff, DH 4. Buster Posey, C 5. Cody Ross, LF 6. Juan Uribe, 3B 7. Travis Ishikawa, 1B 8. Edgar Renteria, SS…
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The Rangers have released their batting lineup for Game 4 of the World Series against the Giants. From ESPN Dallas: 1. Elvis Andrus, SS 2. Michael Young, 3B 3. Josh Hamilton, CF 4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH 5. Nelson Cruz, LF 6. Ian Kinsler, 2B 7. Jeff Francoeur, RF 8. Bengie Molina, C 9. Mitch Moreland…
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Lil’ Ron Washington will be part of pregame at World Series
Oct 31, 2010, 3:35 PM EDT
This picture of a second grader dressed as Rangers manager Ron Washington got a lot of play on the worldwide web this past week. It also got the Rangers’ attention and they have invited the young man, seven-year-old Liam Roybal, to exclaim “Play Ball!” before Sunday’s World Series Game 3 in Texas. Leigh Munsil of…
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The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo does a bang-up job during hot stove season and he has an article today about 2010′s biggest breakout star, Jose Bautista. Bautista, 30, posted a stellar 995 OPS and 124 RBI this past season while leading all major leaguers with 54 home runs. He’s in line for a big payday…
