Yardbarker: Major League Baseball

MLB Stock Market - July 23rd Edition

Los Angeles Dodgers — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:19:45 -0500

Screaming Sports' Phil Yoon runs down several baseball Bulls and several baseball Bears in the latest edition of Stock Market. Robinson Cano? Oh yea, he's definitely a bull. Huston Street? Ehhhh ... not so much.

PRESS AVAILABILITY with MANNY RAMIREZ

Boston Red Sox — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:01:59 -0500

The Mannyiac explains where all the monies have gone.

If Only Joe Had A Brain

Los Angeles Dodgers — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:01:07 -0500

Despite the fact that Juan Pierre has had ample time as a Dodger (1026 Plate Appearances) to prove how worthless he is to the team, Joe Torre seems hell-bent on having him leadoff anyway. "'He doesn't give us the power that Kemp gives us, but he knows how to lead off,' Torre said of Pierre." Well that's just dandy then isn't it? If that...

The Duplicity of J.D. Drew: Is He Nancy Drew, or Drewwww?

Boston Red Sox — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:32:40 -0500

**This is a special feature written by site contributor Alex Ubeda*** After the first half of the season last year, J.D. Drew was commonly known by Boston Red Sox fans as "Nancy Drew." He earned the nickname once Boston fans witnessed for themselves what the Cardinals, Braves, and Dodgers fans already knew — Drew is [...]

CHEAP HEAT: BROOKE READY TO BARE ALL IN PLAYBOY?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:19:14 -0500

by Matt Loede, Let's Wrestle

It's of no shock at this point that the name "Hogan" is not as innocent or squeaky clean as we all once thought. From the messy divorce that has been in the headlines between Hulk and wife Linda for months, to the reckless accident by son Nick that has landed him in prison for the next few months, no more can Hulk with a straight face tell us to "say our prayers and take our vitamins."

This is why this latest story is not much of a shock. With her "music" career, and I use that term lightly after one song that got moderate play on the radio, daughter Brooke Hogan is now being rumored to be the next WWE lady (despite never being in a ring) to be doing Playboy. The rumor hit about a week ago, and this week it has picked up steam as the NY Daily News has confirmed that she has been approached about baring it all.

If you've seen Brooke more than once lately on your TV, it's due to the fact she's trying to push her new, awful, unwatchable TV show - "Brooke Knows Best," an unnecessary and sad take-off of "Hogan Knows Best," a popular reality show on VH-1 that actually was amusing, even more know with the extreme trouble the Hogan family in real life is having.

One of the main storylines in the "Hogan Knows Best" show centered around how daddy Hulk protected and basically sheltered Brooke for most of her youth, trying to keep her out of harms way, mostly meaning away from horny boys, for most of her teen years. Hulk's plans have clearly backfired, as Brooke not only used her "assets" to pose already for FHM magazine, but also her TV show seems to be about the young adult, her gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) roommate, and childhood friend roommate going to South Beach clubs to pick up guys.

Now the Playboy hotline is calling, complete with the WWE's likely backing if the Hogan daughter wants it. No better way to get Hulk in the fold for WrestleMania 25 in Houston than to have his naked daughter in Playboy and the WWE pushing it like they have for the past few years around Mania with Divas like Torrie, Ashley, Candice and last year's Maria.

With her "career" nothing more than hanging onto the coat tails of her father and sad attempts to be another peppy pop-star, I wouldn't doubt for a moment that the world will get to see ALL of what Hulk and Linda produced in the coming months in the most famous nudity magazine of them all.

Jose Reyes must read my blog

New York Mets — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:45:32 -0500

Yesterday, I told the Mets to burn this image into their memory. I told them to use it as motivation for their games against Philadelphia and beyond. Well after Jose Reyes hit his three run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Mets in the lead for good, Reyes showed his rebuttal to Jimmy Rollins' celebration.

Early Morning Madness: Numero uno edition

New York Mets — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:32:14 -0500

Bob Raissman has quotes from Fred Wilpon where he admits to screwing up the Willie Randolph firing. From Raissman: Fred Wilpon said he learned something from firing Willie Randolph. And it is this: The next time he fires a manager he'll do it in the light of day, when reporters are not sleeping. --- "I said (to Omar Minaya) 'When are you going to do this?' He said 'After the game (Mets-Angels, June 16).' I wasn't smart enough to say, 'And cut the New York press out of it?' I didn't even think of it," Wilpon said. "I screwed up." Great. Wonderful. Super. It took two months for this? I think this just makes the team look even worse than before. We knew you handled it poorly, you knew you handled it poorly, so coming out and saying it two months later makes you look like even bigger buffoons than before.

Bugs and Cranks Top 30: Week 17 - Advice For All

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:42:42 -0500

It's advice week here at the Bugs and Cranks Centre (located in Canada, note the spelling) for Astrophysiological Studies and Their Relationships to Sports (or the BCCASTRS for short). All 30 teams will get one piece of advice; one nugget, that if followed, will make this season so much less boring. A random sampling of [...]

Bonds Vs. Ruth Part IV: The Final Five Seasons

Barry Bonds — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:42:42 -0500

Back in February, Ed Valentine and I got into a debate over who was better — Babe Ruth or The G-POPE Barry Bonds. In a four-part series with the help of WhatIfSports.com, Bugs & Cranks hopes to add new perspective to the debate…. The idea is to switch these two all-time greats in time — what [...]

Never Cry Wolf

San Diego Padres — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:42:40 -0500

You have to love Houston Astros GM Ed Wade - even with the Astros further out of first place than the Padres (Houston is 13 games back entering play on July 24th, San Diego is 12 1/2 out) and needing to leapfrog four teams in their own division to enter into Wild Card consideration, he [...]

Kenyatta Jones' Year Is Getting Worse

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:20:01 -0500

Former NFL player Kenyatta Jones is having a year to forget. First, he was arrested in March for battery on a law enforcement officer. Jones was being escorted by security from a nightclub for attempting to piss on the dance floor when he shoved an officer into a wall and was eventually tasered. Jones, who [...]

Sox sweep thanks to Seattle’s shoddy fielding

Boston Red Sox — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:31:23 -0500

Red Sox 6, Mariners 3 (12) WP:Papelbon (4-3) LP: Green (2-3) SV: Hansen (2) HRs: BOS-None; SEA-Ibanez (14), Vidro (6) Summary: Mike Lowell rapped a two-run single immediately following center fielder Willie Bloomquist's critical error in the top of the 12th, and Craig Hansen survived a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the inning to secure the Sox [...]

Billy And Some Buzz

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:21:11 -0500

After the game Billy Wagner spoke with the press. Wagner literally laughed off the possibility of Shane Victorino "running him over"..."I can't even get hurt without being thrown under the bus," Wagner said. "I tell you – [the columnist] comes in here, you might see something. Tell me I'm dogging it? I know right now I didn't say I changed my mind and wished I'd have pitched yesterday after seeing the bullpen get slapped around. I know I didn't say that quote. He's going to stand right in front of you guys and this team and apologize. … You can tell me I suck, that's fine, but you ain't going to do this."

Futures Watch: Week 17

Los Angeles Angels — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:17:32 -0500

Oakland, 100:1 (VIP, Matchbook)
Current Record: 52-48
PECOTA Playoff Odds: 18.4%
Tampa Bay, 11.5:1 (5Dimes)
Current Record: 58-41
PECOTA: 78.6%

Tampa beat Oakland today, 4-3.

I think it's time to stop including Oakland every week. PECOTA still thinks they have a shot, but that's not particularly meaningful at this point. Not only have they traded away 2/5 of their rotation, but PECOTA was seemingly overrating their chances to begin with. The A's are available at 18-1 to win the division at Matchbook right now, and nobody is biting.

That's not to say that PECOTA was wrong about Oakland, or that their preseason odds (17-1 to win the division, at BetUS at least) weren't worth betting on. Their 4.5 game lead on the Angels in the Adjusted Standings indicates that things simply haven't broken their way; they could very easily be a few games up in the division, rather than 10 out. And if that were true, it's likely that Harden and Blanton would still be in their rotation right now. Things just didn't quite work out. It happens.

Milwaukee, +300 to win the NL Central (Carib)
+250 to win the NL Central (BetUS, Sportsbook)

These are just ridiculous. The Brewers are -180 to not win the division at Matchbook right now. They're one game back of the Cubs (assuming Chicago doesn't blow their current 10-3 lead against Arizona). Milwaukee's chances of winning the division are probably closer to 50-50 than 1 in 4.

How this discrepancy came to be is pretty obvious. A week ago, Milwaukee was five out, and in third place. They've since won six in a row, including three against the Cardinals (they've actually won seven straight overall, but they started the streak before the ASB). They're now three games ahead of an inferior St. Louis team in the loss column, with Sheets going against Wellemeyer on Thursday night.

Mat Gamel (Brewers Farm) No. 1 in MLN FAB50 Baseball 2008 Movement, Talent Rankings

Milwaukee Brewers — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:10:48 -0500

Fifty in-depth feature stories with huge photos and many with video of the hottest top prospects in baseball. Not your usual boring ranking system. Some very unconventional takes, but it has been more right on than the BA list because they take all of the factors of the player's movement, including depth chart, emotional and personal adjustment, etc. into account. A must read!

Bartman offered $25K for charity to sign photo of infamous play

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:50:14 -0500

Cubs' fan Steve Bartman simply can't escape. Now, the National Sports Collectors Convention and SportsBuy.com have offered him a $25,000 fee to sign the photo of his attempted catch of a foul pop in the 2003 NLCS. The publicity stunt may not be enough to lure the poor guy into the spotlight, but the offer is generating a buzz.

Tom Henke's Army: Back For More Blood

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:46:49 -0500

These days, young athletes growing up with vision problems can look to corrective laser surgery for relief, or simply stick little pieces of plastic on their eyeballs to solve the problem. That wasn't always the case.

Years ago, the near and far-sighted struggled with their dilemma. Would their dreams of being a professional sports star be swept aside simply because they couldn't read the giant 'E' on the eye chart? They needed a hero. A leader who could bring them together as one and instill in them the confidence to achieve their dreams despite looking like they would be more at home at a comic book convention than on a baseball field.

That leader was Tom Henke. His weapon of choice was a 90+ mph fastball and a $15 pair of glasses from Pearl Vision. He made people believe that four eyes really were better than two. If your corneas tried to puss out on playing sports, Henke was there to call them out.

And like any great leader, he had an army behind him. It's time to meet Henke's newest recruits.

As always, before the recruits, we pay our respects to the leaders of the Army...

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The new blood...

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Don't let your eyes be a hindrance. Make General Henke proud.

_

Tom Henke's Army: The New Blood

Tigers Minor League Wrap 7-23-08

Detroit Tigers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:05:38 -0500

Toledo 6 Rochester 9Freddy Guzman went 3 for 5. Timo Perez had 2 doubles. Mike Hollimon went 2 for 4 with a walk. Anastacio Martinez was knocked around for 9 runs on 11 hits, including 3 homers. Francis Beltran struck out the side in one inning of work. Erie - PPD Lakeland 11 [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Tigers Minor League Wrap 7-23-08", url: "http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2008/07/tigers-minor-league-wrap-7-23-08/" });

CC blanks Cards with 3-hitter

Milwaukee Brewers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:54:05 -0500

CC was the trade the Cards could've tried for, and tonight, CC showed them why.

Keith Hernandez Likes Him Some Kitty Cats

New York Mets — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:44:29 -0500

This was from Tuesday night, and I'm sorry for not posting on it yesterday, but it's worth a look see. During the sixth inning of the Mets-Phils game a cat decided to run onto the field. Listen as Keith Hernandez goes nuts over the pretty kitty. From TSB via The Fightins....

"OMG!!!!1! Did YOU SEE those white pawz?!!1? Sooooooo cute!" White Mittens Keith? Seriously???

Mets Broadcasters Are Masculine (The Sporting Blog)
Shea Stadium = New York's Litterbox (The Fightins)

Myers Struggles In Return; Phils Still Eyeing Burnett?

Philadelphia Phillies — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:24:49 -0500

When his confidence grew after four minor league starts, Brett Myers set an ambitious goal of - I wish I were making this up - winning 10 games for the Phillies in the second half of the season. His quest for double digit victories was made even less likely tonight when he struggled in his return to the big club.

Texas Trade Winds Swirl As White Sox Demolish Rangers, 10-2

Texas Rangers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:59:34 -0500

Swirling trade winds underlie the Texas Rangers' latest blowout defeat at the hands of the first-place Chicago White Sox.

Closing The Book On Kason Gabbard

Texas Rangers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:55:18 -0500

Slamming the book shut on Kason Gabbard's horrific 2008 campaign.

What's up with Aaron Laffey?

Cleveland Indians — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:41:25 -0500

Tribe fans talk about next year's starting rotation and how thin it is. "We got Lee, Carmona and Laffey" they say. "After that who knows." Better put Aaron Laffey in the "who knows" category. On June 24, after holding the Giants to a run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings at the Jake, Laffey's ERA was 2.83. Five starts later, his ERA is 4.23, and he is 1-3 in those five starts. It's pretty difficult to add a run and a half to your ERA in five starts, but Laffey managed. Here's how: In the past five starts, Laffey has pitched 23 2/3 innings and allowed 22 earned runs. I don't even need my calculator to know that is darned near a 9.00 ERA. He has given up 38 hits and 12 walks during that stretch. Again, I don't need to my calculator to know that comes out to a WHIP of just over 2.00 and nearly 5 walks per 9 innings. Is his confidence rattled? Are his mechanics off? Has the league figured him out? That's hard to say sitting in my living room in suburban NY, but something is clearly out of kilter. So much so, that Tribe manager Eric Wedge wouldn't make any promises when asked whether Laffey might not be the guy to go down to Buffalo to get straightened out when Fausto Carmona comes back at the end of the week. After Laffey gave up 8 runs on 12 hits in just four innings plus in today's game in Anaheim, Wedge was non-committal when asked about the roster move coming up Friday - telling MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince: "We're not going to decide anything right now," manager Eric Wedge said. "We don't need to do anything until Friday night after the game, at the earliest. We haven't made any decisions just yet." Matt Ginter is the presumed odd-man-out, but he's put up two quality starts in two tries since joining the Tribe's rotation in what was supposed to be a cameo role. Jeremy Sowers, who has been a major disappointment this season could also go, but it is likely (at least I think so) that the Tribe - which has already farmed out Sowers this year for retooling - will want to keep him up in the hopes he can work things out on the big-league level between now and the end of September. Which brings us to the bullpen. I had planned to do a piece tonight about how the pen seems to be coming around and how it has been central to the Tribe's recent run of victories. An then today - and Tom Mastny and Jensen Lewis - happened. The duo combined to give up 6 runs over three innings in relief of Mastny, rendering moot any effort the Tribe's offense made to make a game of it. And that doesn't even count the 3 runs of Laffey's that Mastny gave up on a grand slam by Angel's catcher Jeff Mathis. In Mastny's defense, he last pitched 10 days ago. I've said it time and again this year and in the past, I don't know how Wedge expects his 4-7 relievers to be of any value whatsoever when he pitches them once every leap year or so. But still, Mastny was awful and Lewis wasn't much better. But the bullpen has been strong in the past 9 games before today - a stretch which saw the Tribe go 7-2. During that run, the pen has tossed 28 innings allowed 6 earned runs, 17 hits and 7 walks. That's an ERA of 1.92 and a WHIP of 0.86 (I'm not going to let the stats I dug up go top waste). Exclude one 4-run blowup by Juan Rincon, and the Tribe's bullpen ERA during the 9-game run is 0.64. Masa Kobayashi has 2 saves and Mastny, of all people, has the pen's lone win during the Tribe's recent hot streak. More importantly, a few key pitchers seem to be settling into roles. Raffy Perez, back firmly in the set-up role where he excelled last year, threw 7 innings in four appearances over the 9 games and did not allow a run. Kobayashi had the 2 saves and has pitched well in general since taking over the closer's role. Edward Mujica threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings during the stretch as he has begun to make a move toward the latter innings of games. The roles being established now though appear to be nothing more than an attempt to wrestle this season under control. While impressions will be made the rest of the way, it's doesn't appear as though anyone will be locking up their role for next season. In another piece for MLB.com, Castrovince reports that Wedge sees the bullpen situation as - shall we say - fluid. "The roles are wide open," Wedge said. "But I do see signs. We've got plenty of time to continue to look at these guys. They're going to have an opportunity to step up and figure out if they can play a prominent role in this thing." Still, in the same piece, Castrovince reports the Tribe doesn't think it will find its 2009 closer on its 2008 club, again quoting Wedge: "A lot would have to happen with the people we have down there now for us to not go out and get somebody," Wedge said. "Somebody would have to grab the role, really lock into it and prove that we can count on them. That's a lot to happen in two and a half months."

Pride or Money?

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:33:09 -0500

Everyone remembers the greatest scapegoat of the last decade-Steve Bartman. Ever since he interfered with that foul bal in game 6 he has been blamed for yet another Cubs collapse-despite the fact that they still could have closed out that game or even won game 7. But this is not why I am writing about Bartman. Many of us would have taken their 15 seconds of fame and found some way to cash in, but Bartman has repeatedly turned down interview requests, book and tv movie deals in recent years. He even turned down an offer to be completely relocated to FL free of charge. Well now the most intriguing offer yet has been made-though not the most lucrative. All he has to do is show up to Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois and sign a single autograph on a picture of the infamous play. Here is betting he turns this down to, and here is hoping that he does. I think that Steve Bartman is one of the single greatest Cubs fans ever. Lets not kid outselves anyone sitting there would have gone for that ball-but most of those people who have been hating on him all these years would have lept at. But Bartman has enough pride in himself as a Cubs fan not to cash in on one of the hardest moments in Cubs history. Now with all that said-I would take the money.

inGame: Mets 6, Phillies 3

New York Mets — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:10:53 -0500

There was no mystery whether Billy Wagner would be available for Wednesday night's game. Before the media could start asking questions, Wagner jumped in saying, "I'm going tonight," he told the media about an hour before the game. "Give you all something to write about." Then, with the Mets leading 6-3 heading to the ninth inning, like clockwork, the PA system cranked "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, the bullpen door opened and No. 13 sprinted through the gate.

WAGS THROWING HEAT !

New York Mets — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:03:53 -0500

Tonight was a great win for the N.Y. METS . What happened yesterday is now in the history books . Yep , back in first place . We had our closer and he was Throwing serious HEAT ! LETS GO METS ! Time to start another streak and create a little separation . METS WIN !

The Dark Knight - American League East

Boston Red Sox — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:39:43 -0500

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE DARK KNIGHT YET, YOU MAY WANT TO AVOID READING THIS DUE TO SPOILERS. With that being said, I've waited a few days to write this article to give as many of you as possible a chance to see the movie. After seeing this movie a weird thought popped in to my head at how this movie reminds me so much of the American League East. You've got a hero and a villain who are so evenly matched and understand each other so well. You've got a simple man who comes out of no where to become a very influential person in the city. And a slew of other characters that make the movie go. In all honesty, I could have made this article with all American League contenders there is just that many good compelling characters. But I decided to keep it simple so without further ado here is the cast for the The Dark Knight – American League East:

The Cubs are about to be tied with Milwaukee open game thread

Chicago Cubs — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:14:36 -0500

8:40, I think. Not sure what channel it's on.

Fantasy All Stars - 1988 to 1991

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:05:38 -0500

Razzball.com and FBHOF.com continue to recreate All Star teams of the fantasy era. In their fourth installment, the lean years of 89-'91 are reviewed.