Tag: MLB

Categories
Cleveland Indians

Scott Sauerbeck is trying out for COPS



Quick! In the bushes!

In a scene straight out of Cops, Scott Sauerbeck was arrested this morning at 5:00 AM for wrongful entrustment for allowing the woman he was with to drive, and obstructing official business, which means he fled the car and attempted to make a run for it.

Police spotted a car being driven recklessly and attempted to pull it over. Two people then fled the car and the police found them hiding in a bush. The driver, Lily Miller, had a BAC of three times the legal limit, or at least .30.

No word on whether Sauerbeck was wearing a wife-beater and barefoot at the time.

Links:
[Cleveland.com]:

Categories
Chicago Cubs

Odds and Ends for Fri May 26 2006: Barrett gets 10 game suspension

Michael Barrett was suspended for punching A.J. Pierzynski in the jaw after a home plate collision. Most major leaguers would give Barrett a bonus for punching A.J., one of the most hated athletes in sports but MLB decided a 10 game ban was in order.

In other news…

[ESPN]: Amare to change jersey number from No. 32 to No. 1

[Reuters]: Timmy Smith (most rushing yard in a Super Bowl) gets 2 1/2 years in jail for selling cocaine

[Lingering Bursitis]: Liveblogging the disappearance of integrity [both ESPN’s and my own]

[XM MLB Chat]: Bonds fatigue: Even the Giants’ local market cares 37% less than it did 2 years ago

Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for May 26 2006

The Tigers and the White Sox vie for MLB Power Ranking supremecy but not much has changed in a week in the top 10. Except for the Dodgers. The other team from LA have won 7 in a row, most recently sweeping the previous Top 10 team the Rockies. It only takes a hot streak to reach or fall out of the top 10, which is why the White Sox and the Tigers (?!) are so impressive.

Here are your Major League Baseball Power Rankings by top sites this week.

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

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Fri May 26 2006: There actually is crying in baseball



…it’s only Nats wasteland

1. This really shouldn’t be that emotional: Frank Robinson was crying after Thursday’s game despite his Nationals’ 8-5 victory over the Astros. This was because he had to use an extremely rare move–benching a catcher in the middle of an inning. It’s not like this move was unjustified either–backup catcher Matthew LeCroy had allowed 7 stolen bases and made two throwing errors. “I feel for him,” Robinson said, “And I hope fans understand. I just appreciate him hanging in there as long as he did.” What is this, a little league? LeCroy didn’t care as much. “Hey, he’s doing his job, just like I would do if I was in his position. Yet Robinson still cried, in the process becoming the Dick Vermeil of baseball. By the way, has anyone noticed that Jose Vidro is leading the NL in hitting? He had a homer and 4 RBIs on the day.

2. Simply unfair: The Tigers-Royals matchup the past few seasons has been a laughable affair between the worst two teams in baseball. Well, it’s laughable as well this year, but in a different way. The Tigers, already up 3-0 in the series, won 13-8 despite being down 6 runs after the first inning. Tigers starter Mike Maroth, who was 3rd in the AL in ERA coming into the game, had possibly the worst game any starter has pitched this season. He recorded one out, allowed 6 earned runs, 6 hits, and 3 homeruns before getting pulled. And the Royals still couldn’t win the ballgame, as Detroit’s offense rocked their weak pitching staff. Ivan Rodriguez homered and drove in 5, Craig Monroe went 4-4 with 4 runs scored, and Marcus Thames hit two balls out of the park. The win increased the Royals losing streak to an unbelievable 13 in a row, and the team has yet to defeat the Tigers this year in 8 tries.

3. Your typical AL West game: The AL West division is kind of like the PAC-10 of baseball. The games always seem to be a little crazier than games from other divisions. Thursday’s Rangers-A’s matchup was no different, as Texas stormed to an 8-7 victory. Despite being down 7-0 after five innings, the Rangers scored all of their runs in the last four innings to win the ballgame. Mark Teixeira hit a homerun (surprisingly only his fifth of the season), and Phil Nevin hit a game-winning, walk-off shot in the 9th. Texas, at 24-23, commands the division lead.

4. Just who they were looking for: The Boston Red Sox signed Josh Beckett in the offseason to be their ace, and so far it has looked like an excellent decision. Beckett beat the Devil Rays last night to improve to 7-1 on the season, allowing no runs in 6 innings. Before last night, Boston was only 3-3 against the D-Rays this year. But last night’s win preserved their one-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. By the way, Tampa Bay is still in last place, but they do have more wins than the LA Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago Cubs, among others.

5. A collection of no-names: Usually the batting average leaderboard is filled with current and rising stars. This year, it’s more about the `rising’ stars. The top two hitters of the year have been Alex Rios and Casey Blake. Shea Hillenbrand, another Blue Jay, is fifth. Florida’s Hanley Ramirez, a rookie, is eighth at .335. Brad Hawpe, a previously unknown catcher from the Rockies, is 11th overall. In fact, only about 8 of the top 20 batters are known by the casual fan. What a season.

Categories
New York Yankees

A-Rod doesn’t pimp his balls

We’re as sick of the media East Coast bias and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry as anyone but you gotta admit that it’s pretty funny when two teams start arguing about hitters staring at home run balls too long. After Manny Ramirez admired his homer off Scott Proctor (he did show him up by the way), A-Rod has been accused of doing the same thing to Tim Wakefield.

A-Rod denies that he would ever do something like that.


First of all, I’d never want to embarrass myself, so I wouldn’t pretend to embarrass myself by saying I didn’t see it if I had. Especially with someone like (Tim) Wakefield on the mound, who I respect as much as any pitcher in the game.

I’ve hit a lot of homers and I’ve never pimped one or tried to embarrass myself, my team or a guy like Wakefield or the Red Sox, who I respect so much. I don’t celebrate homers, it’s not my thing. All you have to do is look at my track record.

Meanwhile, Joe Torre said, “There’s a lot of things that go on today that the old-time pitchers wouldn’t put up with. The game has changed a lot. It’s not only Manny Ramirez.” Sounds like Torre wants a beanball at the head of Manny to clear a few things up. We’ll root for anything that results in a bench clearing brawl. And, if somehow, AJ Pierzynski could get socked in the jaw in the deal, that’d be even better.

Links:
[NY Daily News]: A-Rod sez charge an injustice

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Wed May 24 2006: Marathon

1. Time for extras: It was the longest game of the season when the Mets and the Phillies faced off at Shea Stadium. The game went to extras and then just kept going as it lasted 5:22. While the contest had been high-scoring in regulation as it was tied 8-8, no one could score in extras until the 16th inning. That was when Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer to finally win this game for the Mets. David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Cliff Floyd went yard earlier in the game for New York, who improved to 27-17 on the season. The Phillies, in a hugely disappointing loss, fell to four games back of the Mets. This was the longest major league game since the Houston-Atlanta 18 inning showdown in last year’s playoffs.

2. The Empire Strikes Back: Coming into Tuesday’s game at Fenway, the Yankees had lost four of five to the Red Sox on the season. But they weren’t going to let the Red Sox take a 4 game lead in the division, so the Yankees defeated their hated rival 7-5. New York won off of homers from Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez, as well as five scoreless innings from Jaret Wright. Though the Yanks were up 7-1 in after 7, Manny Ramirez did all he could to bring the Red Sox back, driving in four runs over a two-inning span. But it wasn’t enough, as Mariano Rivera decided not to pitch as terribly as he has been lately. The victory puts New York within two of the Sox as they look to win the division yet another time.

3. Everyone else is doing it: Apparently the homerun leaders in both leagues decided to distance themselves from the rest of the pack on Tuesday night. Almost every significant player homered, including league-leader Albert Pujols. Pujols hit his 23rd big fly of the season and continues to keep a record pace. In the AL, leader Jim Thome of the White Sox went yard for the 18th time this season. The hitting rubbed off on his teammates too, as Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye each hit their 12th homer. In the Nats victory over the Astros, both Alfonso Soriano (16) and Morgan Ensberg (15) hit shots. And Vladimir Guerrero rounded the bases, giving him 12 blasts of his own on the year. The homerun race in both leagues this season will definitely be a fun one.

4. Calling all Angels: Where have the LA Angels been so far this season? If you said last place in the MLB’s weakest division, then you’d be correct! For some unknown reason, the Angels have not been able to duplicate their success from the past few years despite no significant personnel changes. However, last night brought only good news to the Angels, as they defeated division leader Texas while Seattle and Oakland both lost. John Lackey pitched well to lower his ERA to a respectable 3.50, and struggling Felix Rodriguez picked up his 11th save of the season. The Angels are still five back of the Rangers in the West.

5. At least he didn’t get hurt: Kerry Wood has frustrated just about every baseball fan with his incredible talent marred by nearly constant injury problems. Last night, in his second start of the year, he was unable to defeat the pitiful Marlins. Wood allowed 3 runs in only 5 innings pitched, though he left the game with a 4-3 lead. It was Ryan Dempster who denied Wood’s quest for his first win in 10 months, as he blew a save chance in the 9th inning. The Cubs’ record against the Marlins has fallen to 2-3 on the season, which is rather pitiful considering the Fish are 13-31.

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Tues May 23 2006: Reds resurgence

1. How bout them Reds?: Has anyone noticed how good the Cincinnati Reds have been this season? After winning last night they improved to 26-19 on the year, one of the best records in the National League. The Reds victory came as it usually does–through excellent hitting. Adam Dunn’s 16th homer and Griffey’s 3-run shot highlighted an 15-run barrage against the Milwaukee Brewers. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, who leads the NL in ERA, pitched well again. He only allowed one run, decreasing his earned run average to a stellar 2.29. Meanwhile, the Brewers are just one game above .500 after being in second place for a while in the Central.

2. The Other Series: After a series with the Mets that was more exciting than 24’s finale, the Yankees series against the Red Sox just seems like any other rivalry. Obviously it will still be pretty intense, though last night’s 9-5 Red Sox blowout wasn’t the usual battle we expect from these two teams. The Sox won behind Curt Shilling, who picked up his seventh win of the season and no. 199 on his career. Shilling allowed just one run through 8 innings, though reliever Keith Foulke nearly ruined the game. Foulke allowed 4 Yankees runs in the 9th, including back-to-back homeruns by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada. A-Rod’s homer proved once again that he is masterful at going yard in pointless, blowout situations. For the Red Sox offense, it was the usual suspects. Manny Ramirez homered and had 3 RBIs, while David Ortiz drove in three runs of his own. The Red Sox lead in the AL East increased to 2 games after the win.

3. Glory Days: Frank Thomas had an excellent career for the Chicago White Sox before moving on to Oakland for this season. But in his first return to Chicago, he provided fans with a remembrance of the past. Thomas hit two homeruns for the A’s, but they still couldn’t take down the mighty White Sox. While Oakland had a 4-0 lead after Thomas’ second homer, the bullpen couldn’t hold it. The game eventually went to extras, where Pablo Ozuna’s bunt single scored the winning run for Chicago. But this contest was all about Frank Thomas, who now has an impressive 9 homers and 22 RBIs on the year despite an awful .195 batting average. Thomas is actually on pace for 39 and 96 in the power categories, which would be an unprecedented stat line if his average also holds. Meanwhile, the White Sox are still a game back of the Tigers in the Central.

4. Outlasted: Jake Peavy pitched about as good as any pitcher could in a loss. He pitched 7 innings of two-run ball, which seems just average, but he also had 16 strikeouts. Every inning Peavy pitched produced at least two K’s, including two innings in which he struck out the side. He completely dominated Atlanta expect for one pitch, that Ryan Langerhans took out of the park. The Braves ended up winning 3-1, leaving both teams with a 23-22 record.

5. Who is worse?: Which team is the worst in the majors? The question usually is easy enough to answer, though this year is rather tough to decide between the Kansas City Royals and the Florida Marlins. Last week we likely would have said Florida because of their pedestrian payroll, awful attendance, and terrible play on the field. But this week the title goes to Kansas City, who has lost 10 games in a row after suffering an 8-0 blowout to Detroit yesterday. They rank last in the majors in most major categories, including team ERA and runs scored. Also, at 10-32, the Royals have the worst record in the MLB. Even more embarrassing, they have a third the win total of the division-leading Tigers. Now that’s bad.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

David Wells is a blowhard

How is it that the Boston Red Sox have two of the biggest blowhards in the game? Curt Schilling is the biggest media whore this side of T.O. and David Wells will open his big trap to comment on anything.

Last year, Wells blasted Selig on the steroid issue and now he’s dragging ex-teammates through the mud.

You see a little, bitty guy hitting 30 home runs… what, Dellucci, I guess? How many home runs did he hit last year? Twenty-nine. Has he ever done that in his career? How many has he hit this year? So, the numbers have gone down tremendously since all this has come up… I know Dave, I’ve never suspected him of doing them.

Delucci responded that his home run numbers are down because he’s now a bench player. David Wells is such an ass that Red Sox manager Terry Francona and Curt Schilling (there he is again) had to apologize to Delucci on behalf of the entire Red Sox organization.

Today, Wells attempted to sweep the issue under the rug by claiming he was just “making conversation”.


I’ve known David for a long time. I’ve been a teammate. The guy busts his [expletive] in the gym, and he works out hard. We were just making conversation.

I wasn’t accusing him or anything of the sort. So the [expletive] who did it, or the [expletives] who did it, I think they need to [expletive]. And you can quote me on that. [Expletives].

Hey, and you know, when we accused David Wells of being a fat blowhar, we were just making small talk.

Links:
[Philly.com Remarks prompt apology to Dellucci
[Boston.com]: Wells attempts to clear the air

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Mon May 22 2006: Recapping the Subway series

1. Playoff intensity in June: The Mets-Yankees was likely the most interesting series in this weekend of interleague play. While there were two other intercity rivalries, this was by far the most intense. The teams split the first two games of the series with two huge comebacks, but the third game was slightly less exciting. The Mets beat the Yankees to win the series, 4-3. The Yankees offense dominated during the first few innings, yet they were only able to put 2 runs up. The Mets quickly answered with 4th inning homeruns from Carlos Delgado and David Wright, both complete shots off Aaron Small. They produced 4 runs, which was all of the Mets needed to win this series. Tom Glavine, pitching in his 48th MLB season, went 6 innings and picked up his seventh win of the year. The Mets are up 3 in the East now, while the Yanks have fallen 1.5 back of the Red Sox. That could be resolved when the two teams square off each of the next 3 days.

2. King Albert: The Cardinals-Royals “rivalry” turned out to be just as one-sided as everyone thought. St. Louis disposed of the weakling Royals in a 3-game sweep, and Albert Pujols took advantage of KC’s weak pitching. Pujols homered in all three games to bring his season total to 22, which is on pace for 84. His 54 runs batted in also lead the majors. Why aren’t teams starting to give him the Bonds treatment? It’s beyond us. The Cardinals have now won 8 out of 10 to take a 4 game lead in the NL Central. Expect them to sweep through this division with ease unless the Astros can sign Roger Clemens.
 

3. Last place dominance: The Devil Rays may suck, but they can sure beat the other bad teams in the league. They swept the Royals earlier this season, and Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Marlins gave them another sweep. The pitching matchup was excellent for this highly unanticipated game. Dontrelle Willis and Scott Kazmir faced off, and Kazmir was able to add another win to his total. Kazmir struck out 11 and shutout the Marlins to improve to 7-2. Compare that to last year, when in 32 starts he went 10-9. He is quickly becoming the first ace the Devil Rays have ever had. Meanwhile, Willis’ struggles continued as he is now 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA. The Devil Rays now have a surprising 20 wins on the year.
 

4. Return of the King?: The White Sox’s Jose Contreras had been the king among major league pitchers this season until he was put on the DL. Yesterday he returned to pitch against the Cubs, but the results were only so-so. Contreras pitched 7+ innings and allowed 4 runs, and he got a no-decision on the day. It was the White Sox’s bullpen that blew the game, as they allowed 3 runs to the lowly Cubs. The Sox lost 7-4 to end chances of a sweep against the other Chicago team.
 

5. When will 715 come?: It took Barry Bonds over a week to hit no. 714, which he did on Saturday against the A’s in case you were in a coma. So how long will it take him to hit 715? The Giants play at home against St. Louis the next three days, then they play Colorado for three in San Fran. We are just guessing here, but it would more likely come against the Rockies based on their crappy pitching. Either then or the Giants’ June 27-29 series against the Rangers, if Bonds waits it out like last time.

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Fri May 19 2006: What’s the best division?



No longer doormats

1. Divisional Wars: If you go solely by record, the NL West has been the best division in baseball so far this year. Every team in the West is over .500, and they are packed within 2 games of each other. However, this is by no means the most talented division, as the teams have won games beating up on each other. The best division in the NL would likely be the Central, as four teams have at least 22 wins. In the AL, the East once again looks super-competitive. The Red Sox and Yankees, as always, are battling for the division lead, while the Blue Jays have nearly caught up to both of them (they’re a game out). Honorable mention goes to the Central division, which houses the AL’s best two teams–Detroit and Chicago.

2. End of their run?: The Los Angeles Angels, who have dominated this division the past few years and made the ALCS last year, have looked abominable so far this season. With a 17-24 record, they are battling for 3rd place with the Mariners while the A’s and Rangers dominate the division. Last night, their struggles continued, as they lost to Toronto 8-4. Toronto’s Roy Halladay, who pitched two complete games last week, had a mediocre game in which he allowed 4 runs in 7 innings. The game was tied after 9 innings, but the Blue Jays put up 4 runs in the tenth to effectively end the game. Toronto is in third place in the East at 23-17.

3. Beginning of their run?: The Detroit Tigers, once the laughingstock of baseball, are now rolling through the AL. They have the best record in the entire majors at 27-13, and their pitching staff’s ERA leads the league. Last night, they defeated Minnesota 5-3 to extend a 7-game winning streak. It is the team’s longest winning streak since 1993. Kenny Rogers allowed no runs in almost six innings last night, improving his record to 7-2. Rogers is the first pitcher this year to record seven wins, and he has made the Rangers’ decision to dump him look stupid. If they can continue this at all, the Tigers have a great chance of making the playoffs. Who knows what will happen then…

4. Class of the NL: We knew that the Cardinals-Mets series this week would likely prove which is the best team in the National League this season. The Cardinals won last night 6-3, and they also won the series 2-1. Not even a day off for Albert Pujols could stop St. Louis, as they knocked out Mets starter Jose Lima in the 5th inning. Jason Marquis pitched decently, allowing 3 runs in 7-plus innings. The Cardinals, at 26-15, will likely stomp over the rest of the league again this year. They won the pennant in 2004 and fell just short last year. The Mets still lead the division at 24-16, though the Braves are starting to get on track.

5. DL time is over: Kerry Wood is quite used to being on the DL, as he is injured more often than he plays. Now that he is back off the DL, how many more starts can he give? It’s at least one, because he was uninjured in the Cubs’ game against the Nationals. Unfortunately, he performed poorly. Wood pitched only five innings and gave up four runs, all off of homers. Wood’s usual control problems were not present, however, as he didn’t issue a walk and threw 52 strikes in 71 pitches. Alfonso Soriano was among the many who homered for the Nationals, giving him a surprising 13 on the year. Both teams are still next-to-last in their divisions.