Category: MLB General

mlb-general

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Rooks come up big

Give him a cigar: Mets Rookie Alay Soler followed up fellow Cuban Orlando Hernandez’s complete game victory over the suddenly hapless Diamondbacks with a shutout of his own. Soler handed Brandon Webb his first loss of the season, giving up only two hits in a 5-0 victory. It was the first shutout by a Mets rookie since 1994. The Diamondbacks have fallen fast; going 0-6 (including a 15-2 drubbing Sunday) since the Grimsley affair and dropping into second place behind the Dodgers in the NL West. The Mets, meanwhile, have increased their lead over the Phillies in the East by 5.5 games. If Hernandez and Soler can provide consistent starts at the back-end of the rotation, the Mets might wrap it up by Independence Day.

Rookie what we have here: Soler wasn’t the only rookie to turn in a brilliant performance over the weekend. Seattle Mariners phenom Felix Hernandez put together his best outing of the season, a complete game four hitter over the baffling and punchless Angels. Hernandez had nine strikeouts, no walks and retired 17 straight batters at one point. In D.C., it was a battle of rookie hurlers as the Nationals Shawn Hill outshined the Phillies Cole Hamels. Hill allowed only two hits over seven innings to earn his first victory since 2004 (he missed the entire 2005 season with an elbow injury) as the Nats defeated the Phils‘ 6-0.

Believe the hype (finally): The Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer has finally begun living up to the promise of being the top draft pick. The 2001 no. 1 overall has been on a tear, raising his batting average over a eighty points in the last month. Mauer was hitting .305 on May 10. Going into today’s action, he is leading the league with a .386 mark. He is hitting ..528 in June while slugging .778; and has failed to reach base in only two of the last 31 games. In fact, it is believed (according to the Elias Sports Bureau) that Mauer is only the third player in Major League history to reach base four times in five consecutive games.

That’’s entertainment: The Chicago White Sox have been one of the most entertaining teams during the first half. They didn’t disappoint this weekend with a wild series against the Indians. On Friday night, Jermaine Dye homered late to give the White Sox a 5-4 win. On Saturday, the Indians bullpen melted down again (causing a reported locker room shouting match between Bob Wickman and Paul Byrd), allowing another late-inning rally as the Sox won 4-3. On Sunday, the Indians jumped out to a 10-2 lead before giving up six runs in the ninth as another Chicago miracle came up just a little short.

Did that just happen?: The Royals have won only 16 games this year, but on Sunday they etched themselves into baseball lore positively (for a change) by turning one of the most unique triple plays in baseball history. With nobody out and runners on first and third, Tampa’s Russell Branyan hit a shallow fly ball to center field. Aubrey Huff tagged up from third and apparently scored when the throw from center was wild. Pitcher Scott Elarton was backing up the play and alertly threw out Rocco Baldelli trying to advance to second. In a bizarre twist, the Royals felt that Huff had left third early and appealed the tag up. The umpire agreed that Huff did take off a step too soon and called him out. Did you get all that? Just your ho-hum 8-1-6-1-5 triple play. “I’ve never seen any triple play quite like that,” Royals manager and master of the obvious Buddy Bell said. The Royals, however, stayed true to form and lost the game 8-2.

Categories
MLB General

Jason Grimsley is no snitch



photo from NY Daily News

Jason Grimsley was asked to wear a wire to gather evidence against Bonds but he refused. (The Diamondbacks play San Francisco next week.) His attorney also denied that Grimsley sold out any of his ex-teammates and (former) friends and that the court documents merely included names of people that federal investigators questioned Grimsley about.


They asked him specifically about Barry Bonds, and Jason said he didn’t know Bonds well and didn’t know if he did or didn’t use drugs. Grimsley refused, Novak said, and told investigators “baseball players don’t go around talking about who is using and who isn’t.

So far, the only two players named, either by investigators or Grimsley, are Bonds and Lenny Dykstra. Is there any baseball story that comes out without Bonds being mentioned in it? Is there anyone left who doesn’t think he has used steroids?

Links:
[MSNBC]: Steroid investigator wants to interview Bonds
[NY Daily News]: Grimsley tale growing wild

Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Fri Jun 9 2006

The experts are all over the place this week — White Sox on top, Yankees on top, Dodgers on top? It’s going to take some hot and cold streaks to sort this all out.

Here are your MLB power rankings by major sites this week.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox Yankees Yankees White Sox Dodgers
2 Tigers Mets D’backs White Sox Tigers Tigers
3 Mets Yankees Tigers Red Sox Yankees White Sox
4 Red Sox Tigers White Sox Tigers Cardinals Blue Jays
5 Yankees Blue Jays Red Sox Mets Red Sox Mets
6 Cardinals Red Sox Dodgers Cardinals Mets Rangers
7 Blue Jays Reds Blue Jays Blue Jays Blue Jays Giants
8 Dodgers Cardinals Mets Rangers D’backs D’backs
9 Reds Phillies Reds Reds Dodgers Indians
10 D’backs D’backs Cardinals D’backs Rangers Yankees
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Tigers stay on top


1. Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood: The Tigers were about to lose the division lead they had worked so hard to obtain. They had lost two in a row in their pivotal series against the White Sox, but Kenny Rogers wasn’t about to let them get swept. Rogers allowed a Paul Konerko homerun in the first but shut down the White Sox the rest of the way, going seven innings and striking out 5. He improved his record to 8-3 on the year, as the Detroit offense gave him plenty of support. Placido Polanco and Marcus Thames each homered in the Tigers’ 6-2 victory, and Detroit stayed atop the division standings. Chicago will take on divisional foe Cleveland next, while Detroit plays an under-the-radar Blue Jays squad.

2. That’s crazy: The Kansas City Royals, as usual, are the worst team in baseball, but yesterday they defeated a divisional leader in the least likely way possible. Facing the Rangers, the Royals came back from an 11-4 deficit to win 16-12. The game marked the highest-scoring effort in the majors this season, and featured 12 combined runs by both teams in the 3rd inning. Both starters pitched awfully, as Texas’ Kameron Loe allowed 8 runs and KC’s first-time starter Kyle Snyder allowed 9. For the Royals, David DeJesus had 3 RBIs, 3 runs and a homer. Mark Teahen went 4-4, and Doug Meintkiewicz and Matt Stairs each had 3 RBIs. Everyone in the Royals lineup got a hit and a run, and all but one drove in a run. The Rangers might have won had they not stranded 17 baserunners over the course of the game. They still have control of the AL West by 3.5.

3. El Duque returns: Orlando Hernandez was a Diamondback this time a month ago, and on Thursday he gave the team some second thoughts about trading him. El Duque, now with the Mets, pitched a complete game and allowed just 1 run against his former squad. This was Hernandez’s first good start of the year, as even afterwards he still has a 4-5 record and a 5.48 ERA. Anyway, the Mets’ 7-1 win featured offense too, as Carlos Beltran hit his 15th homer of the year. Beltran, after vastly underperforming last year, is proving why the Mets signed him to that huge contract. He is on pace for 47 homers, 127 RBIs, and 31 steals. The Diamondbacks have now lost four games in a row, and they hold a narrow 1-game lead in the tough NL West.

4. Red tide: Watch out National League, as the Cincinnati Reds are on a tear. The club won their 8th game in a row after a 7-1 blasting of the Chicago Cubs. Reds ace Bronson Arroyo improved to 8-2 after allowing just 1 run in seven innings. Arroyo is a top candidate for the NL Cy Young this year, as so far he has a 2.31 ERA and 68 strikeouts. The Reds offense was led by Ryan Freel and Brandon Phillips homeruns, and the club took an outright lead in the Central. Meanwhile, the pitiful Cubs are only two games ahead of the Pirates.

5. The Sheff stops cookin’: What started out as bad news for the Yankees has gotten worse, as Gary Sheffield’s injury is actually more severe than expected. Sheffield, who tore a ligament in his wrist after an April 29 collision, will undergo surgery. He is not expected to return until September, which means the Yankees will be without him and Hideki Matsui for most of the regular season. Sheffield will be replaced by Melky Cabrera, who has hit .277 in limited action this year.

Categories
MLB General

The Grimsley fallout

You knew it was only a matter of time before someone in baseball was caught with steroids and started squealing. While everyone is trying to figure out what names were blacked out on the affidavit, Jeff Nelson spoke out. Clearly, Grimsley is persona non grata in any clubhouse in the country.

You just take care of your own back yard and go about your ways,” said Nelson, who predicted Grimsley’s fate would be similar to that of Rafael Palmeiro, who hasn’t returned to baseball since testing positive for steroids last summer.

“I don’t worry about guys in the past. I just worry about what I have to do on the field. If everyone else would do that, none of this stuff would have happened, and Jason Grimsley naming guys wouldn’t have happened either.

Why he did it, I don’t know. Maybe he was facing a bunch of criminal chargers and tried to protect his own [rear]. That’s all I can see.

Jason Grimsley was also the guy who climbed through a duct to retrieve Albert Belle’s corked bat from the umpires’ room. Hmmmm… would that make Albert Belle a “close acquaintance”?

Links:
[ChicagoSports.com]: Guillen, Nelson enraged by Grimsley’s revelations

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Going Going Gone

1. A Grim Goodbye: Jason Grimsley, who has pitched 17 major league seasons, now finds his career over after the huge drug bust yesterday. Grimsley was released by the Diamondbacks a day after authorities searched his home and found evidence of drug use. Grimsley’s admitted drug use includes human growth hormone, amphetamines, and steroids. While the MLB bans all three, they don’t test for HGH, which according to Grimsley is widely used across the MLB. You need a blood test to find evidence of HGH, while the MLB only uses a urine test. We think it’s time to do both.

2. Tied up: Anyone who expected the Reds and the Cardinals to be tied 59 games into the season would have been thought crazy before the year started. But now, that is just where the teams stand after a dominant Reds sweep. They won the series by a combined score of 22-11, including a 7-4 win last night. Ryan Freel had two hits and two runs, Felipe Lopez stole his first base in almost a month, and Rich Aurilia went 4-5 with 5 RBIs. St. Louis starter Sidney Ponson had his worst start of the year with 5 runs allowed in five innings pitched. The Cardinals lost despite 2 RBIs and 2 hits each by Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. Rolen’s average on the year now stands at an impressive .343. Both teams face weak divisional opponents in their upcoming series; the Cardinals play the Brewers while the Reds try to take first place outright against the Cubs.

3. We’re here: The White Sox have been trying to catch up to the division-leading Tigers for almost a month, and now they have finally arrived. The Sox won last night 4-3, an identical score to the night before. Jim Thome and the red-hot Jermaine Dye each homered for the Sox, while Game 1 hero Alex Cintron stole 2 bases and drove in a run. Starter Jose Contreras, after his worst start of the season, pitched well and earned the victory. Tigers starter Justin Verlander pitched his second straight bad start, allowing all four Sox runs in a loss. The Tigers only lead by a half-game over Chicago now, with a slight 37-22 to 36-22 advantage. But with a win tonight the White Sox can take the outright division lead for the first time in a long time.

4. Coming back: While the LA Angels still stand at last place in the AL West, they have been playing better recently and have won 6 out of 9 games. Last night they defeated the Devil Rays 6-2, and will look for a series sweep tonight. Though MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero went 0-5, the Angels offense still put up 2 homers and 6 runs. Stud 23-year-old Jered Weaver continued his dominance and earned his third straight victory, allowing 2 runs in six innings. Carl Crawford homered for the Devil Rays, but it simply wasn’t enough for the victory in front of the 9,517 fans at Tropicana Field. The Angels stand at 27-32, improved considering they were once 21-29, but they are still 5.5 out in the West.

5. What happened to him?: Remember when Pirates starter Olivier Perez was dominant? In 2004 Perez had a 2.98 ERA and allowed a .207 average against. This year he has a 7.18 ERA and .308 average against, both among the worst totals in the majors. Last night he was torn apart in a loss to the Rockies, allowing 9 runs in only two innings. Colorado starter Josh Fogg did not do much better in a crazy game, as he allowed 8 runs of his own. But the Rockies still won 16-9, in one of the majors’ highest scoring games of the year. The Rockies had 4 players with multi-RBI games, and 5 who had multi-hit games. They scored in six of the eight innings that they hit in as well. However, both teams are still in last place in their respective divisions.

Categories
MLB General

Odds and Ends (6.7.06): Not quite Randy Johnson

In a AAA game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Durham Bulls, a seagul flew right into the path of a pitch by #23 of the Bulls. There’s no #23 on the Bulls official roster so we’re going to say it was Michael Jordon in disguise. The bird fell to the ground and fluttered around a bit before it was carried off the field by the Bisons’ backup catcher. It later flew away.

While interesting, this bird beaning doesn’t even come close to the poor bird that got in the way of a young Randy Johnson. (Video)

In other news…

[AZ Central.com]: From the completely not related to sports file: Woman finds live frog in her salad

[SI]: Sports Illustrated apparently has experts — and they’re picking the World Cup

[USA Today]: OLN averaged 611,000 households for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals

[BFLOBLOG]: Making the case for Andre Reed in the HOF

[The Purple Curtain]: Hope springs eternal in Ravens land as McNair heads to Baltimore

Categories
MLB General

Jason Grimsley spills the beans

Jason Grimsley is going to be the most hated man in baseball. The 15-year veteran not only admitted to using steroids but also started naming names of current players he suspects are on steroids or HGH, including some “close acquaintances”.

Among his disclosures were:


* Until last year, major league clubhouses had coffee pots labeled “leaded” and “unleaded” for the players, indicating coffee with amphetamines and without.

* Latin players are a major source for the amphetamines within baseball.

* Amphetamines also come from players on California teams that could easily go into Mexico and get them.

Amphetamines in baseball is nothing new. There have been countless books indicating that “greenies” have been part of baseball for the past 40 years and, of course, owners and managers have looked the other way. However, this is the first time we’ve heard of the “leaded” coffee.

Links:
[Arizona Republic]: D-Back admits steroid use

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Steroids don’t always work

1. The Grimsley Reaper: There was a huge steroid bust on Tuesday, from one of the least likely sources. Arizona reliever Jason Grimsley, after admitting the use of performance enhancing drugs, had his home searched by federal authorities. They did not say what they found, but they were looking for all evidence of contact with other people about the use of these drugs. The most important thing coming from this will be the list of players, according to Grimsley, that have used or distributed these drugs. The list has not been made public yet, but it will likely be extensive as Grimsley has played with 7 total teams dating back to 1989. He has used steroids, human growth horomone, and amphetamines, and is scheduled to be sentenced in August. Despite the use of these drugs, Grimsley is a marginal player at best, with a 4.77 career ERA.

2. The Battle Begins: The White Sox and the Tigers have played once before this season, but that was in early April before we knew that the Tigers were for real. Now they have started a three-game set, and in Game 1 the White Sox barely prevailed. After three solo Tigers homeruns, including one by the suddenly quiet Chris Shelton, the Tigers were up 3-1 entering the eighth inning. But then Alex Cintron, the former Diamondback, stepped up to the plate for the White Sox. With two runners on, Cintron hit a game-winning three-run shot to right, his first homer of the year. Chicago escaped with the victory, but they still trail the Tigers by two games in the AL Central division.

3. About Schmidt: San Francisco starter Jason Schmidt looks well on his way to another great season after a marginal 2005. Schmidt is 6-2 this year with a 2.53 ERA and a .204 opponent’s average. Last night he pitched his best game of the season, with 16 strikeouts and one run allowed in a complete game. The strikeouts tied the all-time Giants record and the major-league season high. Schmidt was named the NL pitcher of the month for May, and has now reeled off 6 straight wins. The Giants defeated the Marlins 2-1 and passed San Diego for 3rd in the NL West.

4. The league’s quietest good team: They are one game back from their division leader, have scored the 4th-most runs in the NL, have one of the highest win totals in the majors, yet they still get no respect. Who are they? The Cincinnati Reds, who beat the Cardinals again last night and have earned the title of the majors’ most disrespected team. Yesterday Eric Milton pitched strong and their offense knocked out Chris Carpenter after five innings. Adam Dunn hit his 18th homer and drove in 3, and the Reds lineup featured six players with multi-hit games. The 7-0 shutout proved once again how valuable Albert Pujols is to the Cardinals, who featured several no-names in their lineup. If the Reds can complete their sweep of the Cards today, than the once-invincible Cardinals will be tied with the Reds in the Central.

5. Rocket takeoff: Roger Clemens pitched his first in a series of minor-league rehab starts on Tuesday, and the results were just alright. Clemens gave up a homer in the first inning, but didn’t allow a run the rest of his three innings pitched. He struck out six, threw 62 pitches, and allowed three hits for the Lexington Legends. Next he’ll go to double-A until he arrives June 22 in what will be the most anticipated mid-season free agent debut in history.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: No no-no

1. Denied again: Chris Young was twice denied a no-hitter in two excellent opportunities last week, and on Monday it was Carlos Zambrano’s turn. Zambrano, one of the majors’ most underrated pitchers, allowed no hits to the Houston Astros through seven innings. Then Preston Wilson broke up the chance at history, but the Cubs still won 8-0. The Cubs haven’t had a no-hitter since 1972, and this was likely the closest shot they’ll get in a while. Zambrano not only pitched excellently, but also homered and drove in four runs. The Cubs used two other homers to complete their rout of Houston.

2. Blasted away: The first game of the Red Sox-Yankees series could have developed into a pitcher’s duel, with Beckett vs. Mussina being the matchup. But the Yankees offense didn’t let that happen, scoring 8 runs in the first two innings and 13 in the first three. Beckett was removed after allowing 8 runs and only recording 4 outs. Jason Giambi and Andy Phillips both hit three-run shots in the second off Beckett to break the game open. Despite Derek Jeter not playing and sluggers Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield being on the DL, the Yankees offense rolled to their 12th straight game with at least 10 hits. That breaks their former franchise record. New York starter Mike Mussina didn’t have his best performance, allowing 4 runs in six innings, but he did strike out 8 and improved his record to 8-1 on the season. The two teams are virtually tied for first place now.

3. Around the world: Ken Griffey has been a great power hitter for a long time, and on Monday night he set another record. Griffey tied Fred McGriff for the most stadiums to homer in with 43. He has rounded the bases in every active major league park now. But that wasn’t even Griffey’s most memorable homerun of the night. That came when he hit a game-winning shot off of Jason Isringhausen. The 9th-inning homerun gave Cincinnati an 8-7 win, snapping a 5-game losing streak. St. Louis is now only two games ahead of the Reds in the NL Central.

4. Ready to roll: Roger Clemens is pitching again, but it’s not for a major league team. Clemens, who will take a few rehab starts before his return to the Houston Astros, will pitch tonight for the Lexington Legends. His son, Koby, will play third base for the Legends as the take on the Lake County Captains. This will obviously be the most anticipated game in Legends history, as seats were sold out hours after becoming available. Clemens will make two more minor league starts before his anticipated return on June 22.

5. On the clock: The Kansas City Royals need all the help they can get, and they will have an opportunity to nab a top prospect in tonight’s draft. The Royals, who have the number 1 pick, are projected to take pitcher Luke Hochevar in this mock draft. North Carolina standout starter Andrew Miller is considered the top talent in the draft, but the Royals won’t be able to afford his contract. Not many other teams could either, as Miller is projected to #11 (Arizona). The baseball draft is always a hit-or-miss extravaganza, as some #1 picks never make the majors while others become superstars.