Tag: baseball

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MLB General

Odds and Ends for Mon May 15 2006: The myth of steroid testing

There’s an excellent piece in the Charlotte Observer today by Stan Olson about why the major league steroids policy is a sham. Olson contends that if steroids testing were working, then home runs should be down. Instead, home run totals are the highest they’ve been since 2000, the “heart of what we now believe to have been the steroid era”.

Why? Because the best performance enhancer is HGH, which can only be detected in a blood test. So despite MLB’s recent tough penalties on minor league players, it’s all a joke. Major Leagues know that they only have to pee in a cup… and so the homers go on.

In other news…

[SwanShadow]: Doug Flutie calls it a career

[Tom Bejamin’s NHL weblog]: Why the Ottawa Senators screwed the pooch

[Chicago Sports]: Azumah taken to the cleaners

[HockeyDirt.com]: As if low ratings for hockey on OLN weren’t enough, the USHHOF closes

[Detroit Free Press]: Need4Sheed blogger gets some love

[Jes Golbez]: There’s nothing better than irrational hate for a team

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Thu May 11 2006: Did the Royals play a minor league team?

1. Royal Flush: The Kansas City Royals seemed destined to be one of the worst teams in the MLB from the time the season started. They fulfilled their destiny for a while, but now, they aren’t the worst team anymore! KC completed a sweep of the Indians on Wednesday, with a surprise offensive outburst of 10 runs and 12 hits. We didn’t know the Royals offense was capable of this kind of production, as they scored a combined 24 runs on the series. Kansas City was balanced throughout the lineup, as each starter had an RBI. Jake Westbrook was their main victim, allowing 8 runs in 5.2 innings. The Royals now own the Indians, as their season record against the team is 5-1. Their overall record is now a game better than the Marlins.

2. The 77 year old battle: The Yankees-Red Sox game last night featured some of the best oldie pitchers in the majors. Mike Mussina and Curt Shilling were the starters, but Shilling was clearly outpitched as the Yankees won 7-3. Shilling gave up six runs and fell to 5-2 on the year. Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, and Jorge Posada went yard off Shilling for the Yanks. And despite David Ortiz’s 4-4 with a homerun performance, Mussina (6-1) held the Sox to 3 runs in his 6 innings. Now the two teams are tied for the division lead again. Whoever wins tonight will take a one-game lead.

3. Un-der-rated!: Quick–name the best pitcher in the MLB so far this season. Martinez, Shilling, Maddux? No, it’s Arizona starter Brandon Webb, a Cy Young candidate who has established himself as one of the game’s best pitchers. He improved to 6-0 on the season last night, defeating Pittsburgh with six strong innings. His ERA is 2.30, and he is the league leader in innings pitched. In speaking of underrated, Arizona closer Jose Valverde earned his 10th save of the season. His ERA is 2.70. Oh yeah, Arizona got some offense too. Chad Tracy went 4-4, and the suddenly quiet Shawn Green drove in 3 runs. `Zona is in second place in the NL West.

4. Opposite directions: The Astros and the Cardinals were very close in the standings a week ago, but now the teams are on opposite streaks. While the Astros (19-15) have lost 6 in a row now, the Cards (22-13) have won 5 of their last 6. Last night Albert Pujols hit his 18th homer of the year for St. Louis, becoming the fastest to reach 18 homers since 1923. His 2 RBIs gave him 43 on the year, and he is on pace for over 200 in this category. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies, 7-4. Meanwhile, Houston fell to Los Angeles, 9-6. Lance Berkman (12) hit a three-run homerun, but the Dodgers got two round-trippers of their own from Rafeal Furcal and Jeff Kent. The Dodgers have won five in a row.

5. Moving backward: While the NFL’s labor situation received plenty of attention recently, the MLB’s labor situation could turn out to be just as improtant. If they cannot agree to a new labor contract by August, the MLB will scrap the 2006 drug policy and use the 2005 policy. This year’s drug policy mandates a 50 game suspension for the first offense, 100 for the second, and a lifetime ban for the third. The 2005 plan is much weaker: it gives 10/30/60 suspensions instead and doesn’t include testing for amphetamines. Of course, this doesn’t make Congress very happy. Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis sent a letter to commissioner Bud Selig stating that the issue raises “congressional concern.” This could get very, very interesting…

Categories
MLB General

Odds and Ends for Wed May 10 2006: Game of Shadows authors could face jail time



Lucky Jake

The two guys who wrote Game of Shadows, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, could face jail time if they don’t fess up to their sources. Of course, this is a time honored tradition of journalists refusing to name sources and courts threatening them with contempt… blah blah blah. In the end, the journalists and first amendment rights usually win out.

In other news…

[SignOnSanDiego]: Pink bats for mothers day. How sweet.

[US Weekly]: Another snowboarding medalist lands a celeb. This time, Gretchen Bleiler and Jessica Alba. Oh wait, that’s just a fantasy. It’s Gretchen and that Brokeback guy.

[Screwballs!]: Billy Wagner makes more friends in Philly

[The Hater Nation]: Phil Mickelson really should be the spokesperson for Victoria’s Secret sports bras

[Lakers Blog]: Kobe vs Sir Charles in text message wars

Categories
Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals: adding insult to insult


It’s not easy being in the Royals front office these days. First, a longtime fan sells his Royals fandom for $278 and now a minor league team thinks they can win more games than you. Oh, and the fact that your team is 9-22.

The Brockton Rox of the Canadian American Association thinks they can win more games than the Royals despite playing only 92 games compared to the Royals 162 games. The Rox president contacted the Royals to set a bet — $500 vs $5,000 to be donated to the local YMCA. The Royals VP of communications said he had no response to that.

Sure, it’s a publicity stunt but it’s still insulting.

Links:
[Kansas City Star]: Independent team throws down gauntlet

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Wed May 10 2006: 50 game suspension for Young

1. 50 is enough: Delmon Young, now possibly the most famous minor league player ever after throwing his bat at an umpire (video), finally received his suspension for the incident. 50 games without pay — which seems like enough for this incident. The guy is losing $145,000 because of this, and he also needs to do 50 hours of community service. Though Young didn’t join Ron Artest and earn a season-long suspension, this incident will certainly go down as one of the worst in baseball history.

2. 3 runs and 3 errors: That is what the Yankees’ stat line looked like after Tuesday’s humiliating 14-3 loss to rival Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett completely outpitched Randy Johnson, but Johnson didn’t get much help from his defense. Though Johnson allowed a horrific total of 7 runs, only two of them were earned as the Yanks committed 3 errors (two by A-Rod). The bullpen didn’t do much better, allowing a total of seven runs to the prolific Red Sox offense. Manny Ramirez hit his 6th homerun, and even Alex Gonzalez went yard for Boston. Beckett pitched well, allowing three in 7 innings, two of the runs on a homerun by Jason Giambi (11). This gave the Red Sox a game lead in the divisional race, though the Yankees could easily make that up sometime during the three-game set.

3. The Other Rivalry: Though the Yankees-Red Sox will get all of the attention, the Mets and the Phillies should be an excellent matchup this year. The Braves have struggled against both teams (though they crushed the Marlins last night 10-2), making this the rivalry that could decide the NL East. On Tuesday, the Phillies won the first game of the season series. Brett Myers outdueled Pedro Martinez, but this game came down to the ninth inning. Though the Phillies came into the 9th with a 4-2 lead, Carlos Delgado helped to erase that with his 2-run blast. But the Phillies scored on a crucial error, winning the game 5-4. Now they are only 3 games back of New York for the division lead.

4. ALCS Rematch? No contest: Coming into this year, you might have thought that the three series between the White Sox and the Angels would be the most competitive games in the AL. Scratch that–the searing White Sox have defeated the Angels four times already on the year after last night’s 9-1 domination. LA scored in the first inning but never again, as Freddy Garcia (5-1) pitched a gem, allowing only that one run through 8 innings. Jim Thome did the damage offensively for Chicago, hitting his 14th homerun and driving in 4. The win pushed the White Sox to a major-league best 23-9, as they are the only team with single digits in the loss column. The Angels, a perennial playoff contender, are in last place.

5. The Badminton League: Jason Kendall seems pretty upset that he is being suspended four games for charging the mound on May 2. Actually, VERY upset. After multiple sources said Kendall wouldn’t get his suspension reduced, he dropped his appeal and ripped the MLB. Kendall said the MLB has `turned into a badminton league’ and it is `embarrassing’ that you `can’t defend yourself.’ Kendall’s actions likely deserved the suspension, as he charged the mound and wrestled pitcher John Lackey to the ground. His point, though, was that Lackey should have been further punished because he verbally provoked Kendall into charging the mound. Whatever really happened, we can’t wait for the next time these two face each other in a game.

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for May 9 2006: Who are people I couldn’t pick out of a lineup



Name this player

1. Who dat?: Some of the names atop the leaderboards this season are in unfamiliar territory. The AL batting leader so far is…drum roll…Alex Rios! He is hitting .384, exactly 100 points higher than his career average. While usual stud Edgar Renteria leads the National League in batting, the next three in this category are Brad Hawpe, Brad Ausmus, and Brian McCann. Who??? And while the NL homers and RBIs lists feature a lineup of past and present superstars, the AL lists feature a certain Tampa Bay duo. Johnny Gomes is second with 12 homers and Ty Wigginton is also second with 30 RBIs. If anyone outside of Tampa Bay has heard of these two before the season started, you are probably a writer for the Baseball Encyclopedia. Actually, considering Tampa’s fan base, I don’t think anyone in Tampa has heard of them… By the way, the Yankees probably wish they had kept Jose Contreras, who is 5-0 with a league-leading 1.41 ERA.

2. Time for a Holliday…: The Rockies and Cardinals might seem like one of the biggest mismatches in the NL, but actually the teams have identical 20-13 records. When the two teams met in front of another sellout at Busch Stadium, the Rockies prevailed, 6-2. Behind strong pitching from Jeff Francis, who allowed one run in 7 strong innings, the Rockies were able to shut down Albert Pujols and company. Francis is 2-2 this year with a 3.16 ERA, production the Rockies haven’t seen in a while from a starting pitcher. The offense was powered by Matt Holliday, who hit two solo homeruns to give him 9 on the year. More good news for the Rockies: Todd Helton was back in the lineup on Monday night (though he was held to 0-5).

3. …and for a Halladay: On Sunday, Johan Santana took a no-hitter through seven innings. Yesterday, it was Roy Halladay’s turn, as he allowed his first hit in the sixth inning in a complete game performance. On the night, Halladay allowed one run and only 4 hits, leading the Blue Jays to a 4-1 win over the Angels. The win gave Toronto a 3-1 series win over the struggling Angels (14-19), who are nearly last in the AL West. Meanwhile, some of those offseason acquisitions have helped Toronto to a decent 17-14 record, only two games behind the deadlocked Red Sox and Yankees.

4. San Diego…Super Padres: After a down start in which their pitching was as bad as Ron Zook’s coaching, the San Diego Padres are back in the hunt for the NL West division lead. After an 8-3 win over the Cubs last night, they have won 9 in a row. They are still behind the Rockies and Diamondbacks for the division lead, but that is expected when you start out a horrendous 8-15. Brian Giles and Mike Cameron drove in 3 runs apiece against the Cubs, and Dave Roberts even swiped 3 bases. Greg Maddux, everyone’s darling after a 5-0 start, was hit with his second straight loss after allowing 7 runs in less than 4 innings pitched. The Cubs (14-17) are back at 5th in the loaded NL Central.

5. Bonds sits, Giants win: The Giants didn’t need a Bonds homer to power them on Monday, as they were just fine without the slugger in a 7-5 win over the Astros. This game wasn’t even supposed to be played; it was rescheduled due to two earlier rainouts in the season. Pedro Feliz hit a homer and 3 RBIs. Bonds will have to wait for upcoming series against the Cubs and Dodgers (both at home) to get 714 or possibly 715.

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MLB General

Baseball franchise… Get your own baseball franchise here


There’s a new baseball league coming in 2007 and it’ll only cost you $100,000 for your own franchise. Imagine being the George Steinbrenner of… Lawrence, KS.

Former major leaguer Jay Johnstone is the face for the new Continental Baseball League, which will launch a 6-15 team league next year. (The CBL should not be confused with the Continental League, the proposed third major league in 1959.) The CBL will have a salary cap of $120,000, or about what A-Rod makes in 3 at-bats. Players would make between $4,000 and $10,000 a year, or about what A-Rod makes while applying mascara before the game.

The mission of the CBL is to bring affordable baseball to small communities. Ticket prices will be between $5 and $12 and all concessions will be kept under $3.50… except beer. Dang. Why can’t we have $3.50 beer?

The league is going to have one gimmick though. (No, not He Hate Me.) In the seventh inning, all home runs by the trailing team will count double. So a grand slam could be worth 8 runs. Seems kinda hokey, like the 10 point basket on MTV. Just give us $3.50 beer and we’ll do without the gimmicky homers, thanks.

Links:
[SignOnSanDiego.com]: This wacked-out idea is a 7th-inning stretch
[LJ World]: Lawrence on list for startup baseball league

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Mon May 8 2006: Babe hears you knocking



713*

1. Bonds blasts no. 713: Barry Bonds always has a knack for hitting homeruns in dramatic situations. So it wasn’t surprising when he hit his 713th career homerun on Sunday Night Baseball against the Phillies. His round tripper–in the sixth inning off Jon Leiber–traveled an estimated 450 feet to left and nearly went into the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park. This was one of many Bonds shots when you could tell it was gone the moment it left his bat, and it left him only one homerun away from tying Ruth on the all-time list. Of course, Bonds being Bonds, refused to sign the ball for the Air Force serviceman who caught it. Number 714 could come on the Giants’ upcoming homestand, in which they play Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles over the next week.

2. Just what they needed: The Atlanta Braves have been struggling lately to say the least. After losing divisional series to New York and Philadelphia last week, they fell to nine games off the Mets’ pace coming into Sunday. But in their last game in the series against the Mets, they ran over the first place team like an 18-wheeler crushing a Kia. Mets pitchers Jose Lima and Bartolome Fortunato combined to allow all 13 of the Braves runs in the loss, including Fortunato’s 8 in only 1.1 innings. Every player in the Braves lineup contributed, with Jeff Francoeur and Brian Jordan hitting homers and John Smoltz even knocking in 2 runs. Smoltz pitched well too, striking out 8 in 6 innings. The Braves’ 13-3 domination proved that they could still defeat the Mets (many have been doubting), but they are still 8 games back of their heated rivals. While the Mets play Philadelphia next week, the Braves play the divisional weaklings in Washington and Florida.

3. Back in form: Johan Santana, after struggling through his first three starts, now appears to be in his top form. The ace won for his third start in a row against the Tigers, and even took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. He eventually allowed four hits–and two runs–but Santana proved that he can still be the dominating starter that he was in ’04 and ’05. Mike Maroth, the Tigers’ surprising new ace, was hit with the loss after allowing four runs through five innings. The Twins won the series over the second-place Tigers, but they are still 9 games back from the White Sox for the division lead.

4. THE Yankees win (for the 1,000th time): The Yanks completed a series sweep of the Rangers on Sunday, and gave Joe Torre his 1,000th win as manager of the Bronx Bombers. This places Torre fourth on the list of all-time Yankees managers, and it pushes him closer to 2,000 overall wins as a manger (combined with stints in Atlanta, St. Louis, and the Mets, Torre has 1894 wins). Torre’s team breezed through the Rangers 8-5 behind Hideki Matsui’s fifth homer of the year and Chien-Ming Wang’s excellent pitching. They are tied with the Red Sox for first place at 18-11.

5. Pitching problems: Many pitchers were injured over the weekend. The Mets’ Victor Zambrano is out for the season after tearing a tendon in his elbow. This led to bringing up Jose Lima from minors, who didn’t do too well in his first start. Elsewhere, Cardinals pitcher Sidney Ponson left the game against Florida because of problems in his elbow. The Cards still completed a sweep of the Marlins. Also, Ben Sheets, Milwaukee’s ace, missed his scheduled start against LA because of shoulder stiffness. Man, what is going on with these pitchers?

Categories
Kansas City Royals

Royals loyalty is worth $278.47

It’s sad that 25 years of being a fan to the laughingstock of the league is worth less than an uneaten hotdog from the Seahawks-Panthers championship game. But we guess that’s why Chad Carroll was so willing to part with his KC Royals fandom.

The auction stated:


I am sick and tired of being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on or about April 7 of each year. So I am selling all rights to my loyalty to this organization. With your purchase you will accept all of the responsibilities of a true Royals fan. You will tell people (in public) that you actually like the Royals. You will tell them that we “won’t be as bad this year as we were last year”.

I will also include a Royals jersey with a 1985 World Series patch. There is no name on the back of the jersey, however. This will save you the money that I have wasted over the years on my Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye and Carlos Beltran jerseys. I will also include a letter of authenticity from my brother (certified Royals fan and Yankees hater) certifying my “fan status” and a letter of intent from myself to never again watch another Royals game, to remove all Royals memorabilia from my home, and to never divulge to another living soul that I am, or ever was, a KC follower.

You will also have exclusive rights to my new era of pain. You can choose my new team…the only team that is off limits is the New York Yankees.

A bunch of his friends won the auction but still haven’t decided his new team. If it were up to us, we’d pick the Philadelphia Phillies. 1) They’re one of the losingest franchises in the history of sports. 2) They beat the Royals for their last World Series title. That, my friends, is a lesson on how to be cruel.

Links:
[Kansas City Star]: Maryland man auctions off 25 years of loyalty to the Royals
[eBay]: My loyalty to the Kansas City Royals (jersey included)
Thanks to Fark for the story.

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for May 5 2006: Brotherly love for Bonds


1. Welcome to Philadelphia, enjoy the boos: Barry Bonds heads into Philly for a three game stay and if the only thing that hits him in that giant noggin of his is an errant baseball, he’ll be relatively lucky. As Ashley Fox puts it in the Philly Inquirer, “No matter what the Phillies do for security, or how many undercover cops are in the stands, or how many uncomplimentary signs are confiscated, someone is going to do something stupid.” Remember, Philly fans, we want clever, not stupid. Calling Bonds a steroided up freak is obvious. Throwing a syringe onto the field was clever. Now, we expect you to step it up and do something even better. May we suggest a huge paper mache Bonds head with planets revolving around it?

2. Can anybody stop these guys?: With their 4-1 win over the Mariners, the White Sox improved to 20-8 on the year. They became the first AL team to reach the 20-win mark, and look even more unstoppable than they were last year, when they won the World Series. Jose Contreras improved to 5-0 on the year, and dating back to last year he has won 13 in a row. Jim Thome’s 3-run homer provided most of the offense for the White Sox, and was his 11th shot of the year.

3. Big Unit gets ripped and still wins: Randy Johnson has probably had the best luck of any pitcher in the majors this year. Despite an ERA over 5, he is 5-2 on the season. On Thursday, he allowed 5 runs to the Devil Rays, but the Yanks still won the game. The Yankees were powered by homers from Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon on offense, and the bullpen was almost perfect in the win. New York remained in first place at 15-11, while the Devil Rays are at 11-18.

4. Winning away from home: The Royals, who have the worst record in the majors at 6-20, came into Thursday’s game against the Twins with an 0-13 road record. This tied them with the 1969 Astros and 1988 Orioles for the worst road record ever to start a season. After they edged the Twins 1-0 in Minnesota, the streak is now over. Four Royals pitchers combined to allow only 5 hits in the game, and Paul Bako hit an RBI single to provide the only score of the night.

5. Not used to being here: The Braves, after 14 straight division titles, are accustomed to being in first place in the NL East. After they lost to the Phillies last night 6-3, they dropped to third place, ahead of only the pitiful Marlins and Nationals. The Phillies completed a sweep of the Braves and won their 5th straight game. At 14-14, they only trail the Mets in the division. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins had homers for the Phillies on the night.