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August 15 in Sports History: The Other Babe Ruth


In 1915: George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns pitched a complete game, but lost 1-0 to the Cleveland Indians. Sisler came into the big leagues as a promising young pitcher in 1915. He won five games, including two against Walter Johnson. Much like Babe Ruth, however, his bat was too good to keep out of the weak Browns’ lineup, and he was converted into a first baseman. He hit .340 for his career (including over .400 twice), held the record for hits in a season with 257 (broken by Ichiro in 2004), and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

In 1993: Paul Azinger won the PGA Championship at Inverness Club in Ohio with a 272. Azinger defeated Greg Norman, who once again failed to capture a major on U.S. soil, in a sudden-death playoff. After helping the U.S. win the Ryder Cup, Azinger would be diagnosed with cancer. He returned to golf quickly, but didn’t win again until 2000 in Hawaii.

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August 12 in Sports History: MLB goes on strike


On August 12, 1994: Major League baseball players went on strike. The collective bargaining agreement had expired, and the owners and players were miles apart on the issue of a salary cap, revenue sharing (why Bud Selig didn’t just show the players an NFL logo) and the owners withholding $7.8 million pension payment to the players . The strike would last 209 days and over 900 games would be washed out. Worst of all, the World Series went uncontested for the first time since 1904. It was the fourth work stoppage in 23 years, and it wiped out a possible record-setting season by Ken Griffey Jr. (41 home runs), a triple crown-type year for Jeff Bagwell (.368/39/116) and a possible .400 season for Tony Gwynn . The biggest losers might have been the Montreal Expos, who had a comfortable division lead over the Atlanta Braves and were considered a World Series contender. They haven’t had a winning season since, and moved to Washington in 2005.

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The Full Count: The White Sox remind us who the champs are


1. Remember us?: It seemed as though Detroit had captured the AL Central division title. After all, they were leading at 10 games at one point while their main foe, the White Sox, weren’t looking too good. In fact, many thought Detroit’s main challenger would be the red-hot Minnesota Twins. Not anymore. The Sox just swept up Detroit like they were the last place team of years past. They won their 70th game by defeating the Tigers yesterday. Freddy Garcia picked up his 11th win while Bobby Jenks closed the door for the 33rd time. Now, as the Tigers have lost 5 straight, the White Sox are just 5.5 games back, their lowest deficit in about a month. Minnesota still looms 8 games back.

2. Sunday Night Duel: Last night’s Sunday Night Baseball featured one of the best pitching matchups of the season. The Giants’ Jason Schmidt took on the Dodgers’ Greg Maddux in a memorable affair. Neither pitcher allowed a run and both pitched 8 innings, though they got there in remarkably different ways. Schmidt threw 115 pitches and struck out 9. The high pitch count isn’t unusual for him; he has averaged 110 pitches per start this season. Maddux was much more efficient in achieving the same result. He threw in mere 68 in his outing, 50 for strikes. He allowed just 2 hits and no walk in his third straight gem start since being traded to LA. Both of these pitchers were so brilliant, but both walked away with no-decisions. The ninth inning didn’t decide anything either, as the shutout continued for both sides. But in the bottom of the 11th, the Dodgers’ little-known catcher Russell Martin stepped up to the plate, and ended the game with a solo shot. That gave the first-place Dodgers their 4th straight win and 15th of 16, while the Giants were sent home with their fourth-straight loss.

3. Watch out: The Cleveland Indians, the consensus most disappointing and most inconsistent team of the year, have won their 6th game in a row. They swept up the Kansas City Royals in four games, including a 13-0 demolition yesterday. The Tribe showed what their offense is capable of, putting up 11 runs in the first inning. KC starter Luke Hudson, who recorded only one out, was charged with all 11. His outing was easily the worst of the year by a starter, in fact in was the worst in over 100 years. Hudson became the first pitcher since 1897 to allow 11 runs in the first inning of a ballgame. The scoring that inning was capped off by a Travis Hafner grand slam, his 6th of the year. That ties a major-league record for most grand slams in a season. Hafner, who has the highest OPS in the American League, is on pace for 49 homers and 145 RBI.

4. How wild: The Cincinnati Reds, at least for now, are still in first place for the NL Wild Card. They escaped 7-5 yesterday over Philadelphia in an 11-inning game. Juan Castro and Ken Griffey drove in runs in the 11th to seal the deal. The Reds also got back-to-back-to-back homers in the 6th inning, including Adam Dunn’s 35th. They won despite another big-time effort from Ryan Howard, who hit his NL-best 41st homer and tied the game in the 9th with an RBI single. Still, the Reds won and are ahead of second-place San Diego by a half-game. The Phillies are just four games back.

5. What a year: Can you say 8-0? Jered Weaver can, because he has accomplished that record this year for the Angels. The only significant undefeated pitcher left in baseball, Weaver was on top of things yesterday as the Angels cruised to a 5-3 win over the Yankees. Weaver struck out 8 in six innings of work, and he has been a part of the Angels’ major league best class of rookies. Howie Kendrick is hitting .319 after a 3-5 effort yesterday. Catcher Mike Napoli has 12 homeruns on the year. Both, of course, are rookies. The Yankees, after losing their second consecutive game, now only lead the Red Sox by one game and have a worse record than the Wild Card leading White Sox.

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The Full Count: Red Sox Swept by a AAA team?


1. A Royal Sweep: What has happened to the Boston Red Sox? The team, once dominant over the AL East, has lost five straight games. They have fallen from first place to 3 games back in that span, and they are just not looking good right now. The Kansas City Royals of all teams just hammered the Sox in a three game sweep. Yesterday they prevailed 5-4, despite an incredible 8th-inning single by David Ortiz that many national columnists are calling “clutch.” Anyway, the Royals got three hits and two RBIs by vet Reggie Sanders, and a decent start by Runelvys Hernandez, who had allowed 17 runs in his previous two outings. For the Red Sox, Curt Schilling allowed an uncharacteristic 11 hits and 5 runs to one of the league’s worst offenses. Until the Red Sox can figure out what’s going on, the Yankees have a chance at dominating the division.

2. Different Sox, different story: Ready to take some more blame, Alex Rodriguez? The Yankees slugger, who had been relatively quiet for like a week, made a costly throwing error against the White Sox. His errant throw let Jermaine Dye score, and four runs total crossed the plate that inning. So with those runs and a Scott Podsednik RBI, the White Sox won to take the series of three. Javier Vasquez walked six but struck out 8 and Bobby Jenks closed the door for his AL-leading 31st save. With that Chicago was able to re-pass Minnesota for second place in the division. The 76-38 Tigers, who were off yesterday, still loom large in first.

3. Back to the normal: The Earth rotates, the sky is blue, and the Houston Astros are in Wild Card contention. Those are the facts of life these days. The `Stros, who have won the Wild Card and advanced to the NLCS for two consecutive seasons, are now two games back after sweeping the Pirates. Roger Clemens pitched last night to close out the series, with his 4th win of the year. Incredibly the Rocket has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his 10 starts. So now the Astros, despite an underwhelming record of 56-58, trail the leading Reds by just 2.5 games. In the American League, their record would put them 11.5 games out.

4. One game changes everything: San Diego had the NL West lead when they woke up on Thursday. Now, after they lost and the Dodgers won, the Padres find themselves tied for second. SD lost to El Duque Hernandez of the Mets, who after early struggles has won four straight decisions. The Dodgers, meanwhile, defeated the Rockies despite an ace performance by their starter Jason Jennings. Underrated youngster Andre Ethier hit his 11th homerun for LA. They lead both the Padres and the Diamondbacks (who were off) by a half-game. With how crazy this division is, however, the Dodgers could find themselves in third place by tomorrow.

5. Don’t believe it Phillies fans: The Fightins might be 3 games out of Wild Card contention and starting a series against the Cincinnati Reds who lead the WC race but don’t get your hopes up. This is, after all, the Phillies. They will break your hearts every time. Even worse so because they give you some hope. Just move it along. Move it along to football and the Eagles. This has been a public service announcement from Sportscolumn blog.

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The Full Count: Liriano hits the DL


1. Unlucky Liriano: The Twins just put 12-win ace Francisco Liriano on the 15-day DL. Liriano reported forearm stiffness and had his worst start of the season on Tuesday. He will be temporarily replaced in the rotation by another young stud, Matt Garza. In five Triple A starts Garza has reported a 1.89 ERA and .79 WHIP. So the second-place Twins might be one of the only teams in baseball that has the luxury of replacing one rookie ace with another. But the important thing for them is the severity of Liriano’s injury. Will he stay on the DL for more than 15 days? Let’s just hope he’s not another Kerry Wood or Mark Prior.

2. DeRosa sparks a DeRout: The list of former Braves performing well just keeps getting longer. The Rangers’ Mark DeRosa, who played his first seven seasons with Atlanta, has elevated himself to the level of best utility man in the game. Yesterday he led a 14-0 Rangers defeat of Oakland by hitting 2 three-run homeruns. His four hits upped his average to .327, good for 4th in the American League. DeRosa has played almost every position on the field, and he has excelled in all of them. Among the other Rangers to perform well yesterday, Carlos Lee had 4 hits, 4 runs, and his first homer in a Texas uniform. Texas is still 5.5 games back of Oakland for the West lead.

3. Shocked: The Tigers won Game 1 of their three game set against the Twins, but they dropped the second game on Tuesday. Then yesterday, the Tigers put themselves in the best position possible to win. They led the Twins 3-2 going into the eighth inning, with stud reliever Joel Zumaya in. But then Minnesota’s best hitter stepped up. Justin Morneau, who is having is somehow quiet yet monstrous season, hit his 30th homer to win the game for the Twins. Morneau, and all-around machine of a first baseman, is hitting .323 and is second in the AL with 101 RBIs. Even though teammate Joe Mauer has hit .369 and earned himself a Sports Illustrated cover, it is Morneau that is more valuable to the team. With the win the Twins passed Chicago and now lead the Wild Card race.

4. Back in town: In Mike Piazza’s second game back at Shea Stadium since leaving the Mets for San Diego, he showed fans once again why he will be a Hall of Fame catcher. Piazza hit two solo homeruns for the Padres, both off Pedro Martinez. He drew a curtain call after his first homerun, a rarity for a player on the road. But despite Piazza’s efforts, San Diego couldn’t stop the Mets. Jose Reyes stole his 48th base of the season and drove in a run. Reyes, though he has drawn criticism over the years for his somewhat low on-base percentage, has a career-high .350 OBP and contributes greatly in terms of runs scored (92, second in the MLB). Both teams are still in first place in their respective divisions.

5. Roundup: There were many more important happenings in the MLB yesterday. The Cardinals-Reds series had an exciting game that featured 7 homeruns by both teams. The Reds won on a Dan Ross walk-off two run shot. New York led Chicago 7-0 after six innings but barely inched by them 7-6. Bobby Abreu hit his first homerun in two months and is now hitting .412 as a Yankee. Back to the NL: the Astros crushed the Pirates 14-1, with 6 RBIs and two homers by Aubrey Huff. Starter Roy Oswalt also homered and picked up the win. Finally, the Dodgers lost at last, ending their 11-game winning streak.

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Federal Judge: Greedy MLB can suck it


A federal judge yesterday ruled that baseball player names and stats were part of the public domain and that fantasy sports games operators could use them free of charge. MLB and the MLB Players Association tried to argue that players’ indentities and statistics were part of their intellectual property and they were entitled to licensing fees. CBC Distribution and Marketing was turned down for a licensing deal and filed suit against the league. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler found for CBC.


The undisputed facts establish that the names and playing records of (MLB) players as used in CBC’s fantasy games are not copyrightable and, therefore, federal copyright law does not pre-empt the players’ claimed right of publicity,” wrote Medler in her 49-page ruling issued in St. Louis. Even if players have a claimed right of publicity, she added, “the First Amendment takes precedence over such a right.

Chalk this one up for the little guys. This is just another example of a greedy corporate entity trying to squeeze more money out of smaller businesses which would eventually be passed on to the consumer. We like our information free, thank you very much.

Links:
[USA Today]: Fantasy leagues can use baseball stats

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MLB General

The Full Count: Dodgers chugging along


1. The wins keep on coming: The LA Dodgers have been the most inconsistent team in baseball for the last month. After losing 12 out of 13 games, the team has now won 11 in a row. Last night they won 4-2 over Colorado, with former Braves Rafael Furcal and Wilson Betemit hitting homers. Greg Maddux, in his second start with the team, pitched well but got a no-decision. Los Angeles is suddenly a half-game back of the slipping Padres for the NL West lead. They have the best offense in the division, while inexplicably the Rockies have allowed the fewest runs in the NL.

2. Blown away: The Yankees-White Sox series looked entertaining on paper, and last night’s kickoff game didn’t disappoint. New York, via a homerun by Alex Rodriguez, was leading 5-4 going into the ninth inning. Of course they put in Mariano Rivera, but he faltered by blowing his third save of the year. Rivera allowed a homerun to Paul Konerko, sending the game into extras. The White Sox won on Jermaine Dye’s RBI single in the 11th, giving them the AL Wild Card lead once again. The Yankees, due to a Boston loss, are still two games ahead in the AL East.

3. Red Tide: The Reds, after being crushed 13-1 in their series opener against the Cardinals, retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own. Ryan Freel had 3 of the Reds’ 17 hits, and also made a spectacular diving catch that saved a run. Adam Dunn and Rich Aurilla hit 2 hits and 3 RBIs apiece, while Eric Milton cruised through six innings. For the Cardinals, Jason Marquis was saddled with his 10th loss of the season. He only lasted 60 pitches and 2.2 innings, even though he only was charged with 4 runs. The loss put the Cardinals back to 3.5 games ahead of the Reds, who are still tied with Los Angeles for the Wild Card lead. Both teams have only 3 wins in their last 10 games.

4. Can you pitch?: The Braves have asked that question to numerous players this year, and few have worked out. Their bullpen troubles have been well-chronicled, though their starting pitching has been equally awful lately. Tim Hudson in particular has been mediocre; coming into last night’s game he had allowed 4 earned runs or more in 8 of his last 9 starts. But he finally was able to pitch well yesterday, allowing no runs in 7 innings against the Phillies. He struck out 8 as the Braves won 3-1, their least runs allowed as a team since July 23.

5. We knew it was a bad trade: Almost everyone was in agreement over the Reds-Nationals trade in mid-July: the Nationals got the better part of the deal. They received Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez for relievers Bill Bray and Gary Majewski. Now, after Majewski was placed on the DL, even the Reds’ GM is questioning the trade. According to numerous news sources, Wayne Krivsky called Nats GM Jim Bowden to ask why the team hadn’t told him about Majewski’s sore shoulder. Majewski had received a cortisone shot right before the transaction was made, and apparently the Reds didn’t know about it. Naturally, Bowden declined that he was even contacted by the Reds, and he claims that the Nationals provided all the medical information they were asked for. Krivsky might file a grievance over the deal, and this could get nasty.

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The Full Count: Cardinals open a can of whoop ass


1. One team show: The St. Louis Cardinals showed yesterday that they aren’t ready to give up their stranglehold over the NL Central division. Playing on the road against the second place team, the Reds, St. Louis blew them across the Ohio River. They won 13-1, knocking out Reds starter Elizardo Ramirez in two innings. Ramirez allowed 7 runs, while St. Louis starter Jeff Weaver had his best start since joining the team. Weaver had an 8.68 ERA coming into the game but held Cincy to one run. The Cardinals offense gave him all the support he could get. Scott Rolen went 3-3 with a homer, while Pujols added three runs and two RBIs. The rout extended the Cardinals lead to 4.5 games, and their overall winning streak to 3 games after an eight-game losing streak crumpled the team.

2. One man show: For some reason, the Giants’ Jason Schmidt just knows how to defeat the Diamondbacks. After getting the win last night over Arizona, he is now undefeated in his last 15 starts against the team. The streak dates back to 2003. Last night Schmidt improved to 9-7 while hitting his first homer of the season. That was one of 5 dingers on the night for San Fran, including two by Pedro Feliz and one by newly acquired Shea Hillenbrand. The loss for Arizona coupled with a Dodgers win knocked them back to third place in the NL West, while the Giants are still in last. It’s worth noting that LA has won 10 straight games while the rest of the division is on snooze control.

3. Make it double digits: Somehow, someway, the Tigers just keep finding a way to win. The team even could beat Francisco Liriano of the Twins. Liriano had allowed two earned runs or less in 11 of his 13 starts on the season, but the Tigers got to him and knocked him out in four innings, his shortest start of the year. In all fairness, “Fan”-cisco was hurt. He missed his last scheduled start due to forearm soreness, and he said that he wasn’t feeling well by the second inning. Either way, Detroit ousted their divisional rivals 9-3, while the White Sox lost again. Chicago is now 10 games off their divisional rivals’ blistering pace.

4. Road-sick: Who has the worst home record in the majors, you might ask? Is it the Royals? Nope. The Pirates? Na. The Cubs? Wrong again. It’s the Braves, whose struggles at home have highlighted their downfall from divisional power. They are 22-29 at Turner Field after losing there last night to the Phillies. The Royals (23 wins) and Cubs (25) are both slightly better than Atlanta at home winning. The Braves are now tied for 9th in the NL Wild Card standings, and after a hot end-of-July run they have stumbled back to their June struggles. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has looked very good as of late. They have won 7 of their last 10, and last night Ryan Howard hit his 39th homer and 101st RBI. Both lead the National League and are just off David Ortiz’s major-league best pace.

5. Comeback Nominees: The nominees for the MLB Comeback Player of the Year award were announced yesterday. The finalists ranged from the highly publicized to a few unheralded players. For the American League, Jim Thome, Corey Patterson, Magglio Ordonez, Curt Schilling, Frank Thomas, and perennial All Star Rafael Soriano were the nominees. Thome, who has 34 homers, 85 RBIs, and a .304 average, appears to be the far-and-away favorite. The National League finalists include Carlos Beltran, Nomar Garciaparra, Johnny Estrada, Edgar Renteria, Scott Rolen, and Joe Borowski. This one’s a little tougher. Beltran has blown everyone away with 33 homers and 97 RBIs, but Nomar had been among the batting average leaders the entire season. Don’t count out All Star selections Rolen and Renteria either. Our choice would be Beltran right now.

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The Full Count: Can Big Papi break the non-steroided HR record?


1. 40 down, 61 in sight?: David Ortiz continued his tear yesterday, hitting another homerun. It was his 40th on the season, as he became the first player of the season to reach that milestone. This is important as his homerun pace is now 59, meaning Big Papi is within reaching distance of 62. He might become the first player since 2001 and the first non-cheater ever to reach that mark. Ortiz continued his dominance at Tropicana Field, with his sixth homer there on the year and 13th since 2003. Ortiz now has at least 40 homers and 100 RBIs in three consecutive seasons, and is the only player besides Pujols to have a streak like that going. Oh by the way, the Red Sox lost to the Devil Rays in 10 innings.

2. Back to normal: The St. Louis Cardinals’ recent 8-game losing streak might have been an aberration. The team has looked fine in their last two games, both wins over the Brewers. Yesterday’s 7-1 victory included three hits by Albert Pujols and a homerun by Scott Rolen. Those players, both hitting over .315, are pivotal to the Cardinals success. Jim Edmonds, who has rounded out their 3-4-5 trio the past few seasons, has stumbled this year with a .263 average and only 16 homeruns (low for him). Thankfully, Juan Encarnacion has played better than expected with 62 RBIs. Anyway, the Cards will need all of their hitters to be in top shape for their next series. They play the Reds in a four game set. Right now St. Louis is up by 3.5 over the Reds, but they’ll play seven games over the next two weeks so that could change quickly.

3. Star pitcher out? No problem!: For most teams, the absence of a 14-win ace like Justin Verlander might result in a beatdown. Not the Tigers. They won 1-0 despite Verlander being out with an injury. That was due in large part to Wilfredo Ledezma, a spot starter who was able to shut down the Tribe. He barely outpitched CC Sabathia, who allowed just one unearned run in 7 innings. The strong Cleveland offense got on base easily enough but stranded 20 runners. I guess that’s why they’re 27.5 games back of the Tigers in the division.

4. Maine attraction: Who is John Maine, you might ask? He just has the longest scoreless innings streak in baseball. The rookie pitched his third start in a row–including a July 21st complete game–without allowing a run. Maine, who has been back and forth from AAA to the majors this season, proved another example of why the Mets are the best team in the National League. Even when a player is injured, they have the ability to fill in for him. And just like the Tigers, who do much of the same thing (see above), they have the largest divisional lead (13 games) in their league.

5. On and off: In an anticlimactic move that ended a complex situation, the Braves took Andruw Jones off waivers yesterday. Jones, who seemed perfectly happy with the team, was playing great, and helping the offense tremendously from the cleanup role, was inexplicably placed on waivers last week. One team claimed him, which gave the Braves two days to work out a trade with the team. But stop right there. Why would a competitive team trade probably their best offensive and defensive player? Jones led the majors in homers and RBIs last year and has 26 and 95 this year. Either way, the trade never worked out, the team who claimed him was never revealed, and now Andruw can stay with the team.

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August 7th in Sports History: Baseball Strikes Again



Hit #3000

In 1985: The two-day baseball strike–the seventh work stoppage since 1972– ended as the owners and Players Association signed a five year agreement. The main reasons for the strike were disagreements over player pensions, arbitration rules and mistrust of the owners over financial records. Commissioner Peter Ueberoth announced that the season would resume the next day. The owners would exact revenge, however. After the 1985 season, the owners colluded to not sign a single free agent player, thus keeping salaries down. They were found guilty and forced to pay over $280 million in damages to the players.

In 1999: Wade Boggs of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays became the 22nd player to reach 3,000 career hits in a game at Tropicana Field. Coming into the game three shy of the milestone, he singled twice and homered. Ironically for Boggs — a reknowned singles and doubles hitter — he was the first player to homer on his 3000th hit, and he kissed home plate as he crossed it. True to fashion, though, the Devil Rays lost to the Indians 15-10.

and in 2004: Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs won his 300th career game with an 8-4 victory in San Francisco over the Giants. Maddux became the 22nd and most recent pitcher to join the 300 win club.