“I think the Yankees are a bunch of whiners if they blame the season on injuries. Others teams have this problem too. Given their $200M payroll, there's no excuse. Look at the Rays.”
"One of life's great truisms is to finish what you start. It's what you tell your kids, your surgeon, your contractor. This once applied to baseball, with precision, but now there's a new law: Just quit. Let somebody else finish the job. You did your part, now go be a cheerleader ... Pitch counts have destroyed not only the elements of pride and accomplishment among starting pitchers, but the art of winning." - Mike Doeff via Bookmarklet
"Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday... For now, video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence, whether potential home runs were fair or foul and whether there was fan interference on potential home runs." - Mike Doeff via Bookmarklet
"the Cubs, who swept a season series from the Braves for the first time in franchise history, while Atlanta's Mark Kotsay became the fifth player in Braves history and the first player since Albert Hall on September 1987 to hit for the cycle" - zach chisholm via Bookmarklet
"The New York Post is reporting that lower deck seats will range from $125 to $479 a piece. Overall ticket prices will go up 79%. I guess the days of the $10 upper deck seats to a "bronze" game are over. According to the NY Post story, "Reserved seats in the upper deck at Citi Field, called the Promenade, will average $19."" - Rob Safuto via Bookmarklet
The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired slugging outfielder Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds for a minor-league pitcher and two players to be named later on Monday. The 28-year-old Dunn was batting .233 this season for the Reds with 32 homers, tied for tops in the majors. - Mike Doeff via Bookmarklet
"The Red Sox traded embattled slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers late Thursday afternoon, SI.com has learned." - Mike Doeff via Bookmarklet
i like this deal. jason bay is a strong hitter (rookie of the year in '04, and a career *OPS+ of 130). better-than-average fielder, too. - Sean O'Hanley
True, Ramirez's time was done in Boston and they got a decent return for him long term, but short-term, I don't see how this makes them better this season... especially with Tampa Bay and the Yankees in the same division. - Chris Reed
"The Angels have won the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes. First baseman Casey Kotchman and Class AA right-hander Stephen Marek are headed to Atlanta in exchange for the power-hitting first baseman." Massively huge trade for the Halos... For so long, they've lacked that second big bat with Vlad... Now they have it. They've already locked up the West, and I have to wonder if this makes them the absolute favorite to take it all. - Chris Reed
"Bartman friend Frank Murtha says that Bartman won't accept an offer of $25,000. For the money, all Bartman would have to do is attend the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont and autograph a photograph of himself tipping a foul ball that seemed destined for Cubs outfielder Moises Alou's glove during a 2003 playoff game with the Florida Marlins." - Chris Reed via Bookmarklet
Does that guy still live in the Chicago area? If so he's pretty brave. - Rob Safuto
"He's baaack! It cannot be a fluke at this point. Oliver Perez has worked something out and has become the most dominant pitcher in the Mets rotation." - Rob Safuto via Bookmarklet
New York area teams are well represented with Omar Minaya and A-Rod on the list. Roger Clemens is currently the top vote getter on the poll at http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/s.... As they say in Chicago, "Vote early. Vote often." - Rob Safuto
"Dodger Stadium will serve as host of the semifinals and finals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Thursday." - Chris Reed via Bookmarklet
By no means a hall-of-famer, but Nomo blazed a trail for Japanese players to move on to the Majors. He also introduced sushi and ramen to the Dodger Stadium concessions, which was much appreciated. - Chris Reed via Bookmarklet
Confessed drug supplier Kirk Radomski has provided documentary evidence to the government showing that he shipped drugs to the Texas home of Roger Clemens, who is under investigation for perjury after telling Congress he never used steroids or human growth hormone. - Rodfather via Bookmarklet
Evidently Roger Clemens is the only one who doesn't know that he used HGH. I hear one side effect of HGH is that it wipes out short term memory. - Rob Safuto