Month: July 2009 (Page 16 of 59)

Rays pursuing Tribe ace Cliff Lee?

According to a report by Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.com, the Indians are apparently considering trading ace Cliff Lee to the Rays for a couple of minor league prospects. Who those prospects are, however, seem to be the sticking point in Tampa pulling the trigger.

The article reports that Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro is asking for multiple high-end prospects in return for Lee, and that Shapiro specifically has his eyes set on Class AAA Durham pitcher Wade Davis. But the Rays value Davis, who is 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA in the minors this season and has a fastball that reaches 95 mph.

Along with Davis, we’re also hearing rumblings that the Tribe want 22-year-old outfield prospect Desmond Jennings as part of the package for Lee. Much like some of the other outfielders (i.e. Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton) that have come up through Tampa’s farm system, Jennings is big, strong and incredibly fast, but he’s raw and he would need some more polishing in the minors before eventually making his major league debut.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Rays and Indians can come together on a trade for Lee and what the eventual compensation would be. Considering Scott Kazmir’s performance/injury troubles this season, Lee would be a tremendous addition to their rotation and could help close the gap between them and the Yankees and Red Sox.

White Sox’s Buehrle throws perfect game

With a ton of help from centerfielder Dewayne Wise, White Sox’s starter Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game Thursday against the Rays. He already had a no-hitter on his resume and the perfect game came after throwing 116 pitches and striking out six.

Wise (who was a defensive replacement that inning…nice work, Ozzie Guillen) made the play of the year in the ninth inning, racing back on a Gabe Kapler shot to left-center that looked like it was going to be a home run. Wise leaped up against the wall, robbed Kapler of the dinger and then hung onto the ball (while falling to the ground) barehanded after it popped out of his glove. If you haven’t seen this play yet, do yourself a favor and turn on ESPN News and check it out, because that catch is going to be talked about all season.

It’s amazing how much Buehrle’s perfect game parallels Giants’ starter Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter from a couple weeks ago. Sanchez had a no-hitter going into the ninth (he missed the perfect game after Juan Uribe booted a grounder at third) and after retiring the first batter in the inning, allowed a near-home run that centerfielder Aaron Rowand had to snag while crashing into the wall a la Wise.

Another similarity from the two outings is that catcher Eli Whiteside had never caught Sanchez before his no-hitter. Ironically, Ramon Castro had not caught Buhrle this season before his perfect game. One more: both guys did it in their home parks. Pretty cool.

What a phenomenal accomplishment from one of the more steady starters of his time. Jayson Stark of ESPN said it best (and I’m paraphrasing here): ‘Buehrle is what pitching is all about. He mixes his pitches so well and he doesn’t try and strike guys out – he pitches to contact.’

Well said. I’ll add that this guy doesn’t throw 95 mph (he doesn’t even throw 90 mph on most occasions), but he just knows how to pitch. He works the count, he works at a fast tempo and he’s incredibly smart. He’s been solid his entire career and young pitchers could certainly learn from this guy.

Surprises and Busts: Trying to predict the unpredictable in fantasy football

Most fantasy owners draft a running back in the first round and oftentimes their season depends on how that player fares. If he misses a few games with an injury and is bothered by it for a few more, his production will suffer and it will put his fantasy team in a tough spot. This can be offset if his owner is savvy enough to draft one of the “surprise” backs that inevitably crash the top 10 every season.

But how does one pluck one of these backs out of the middle rounds? Better yet, how can we avoid drafting an early round bust in the first place?

As a forewarning, this is not a tight article. I ponder, deliberate and meander as I go along. Trying to predict the future is nebulous at best and futile at worst, so please bear with me as I muddle my way through this topic.

Here’s a list of the top RBs from 2008…

Continue reading »

Lakers and Odom negotiating again

While some are reporting that Lamar Odom has already come to terms with the Lakers, the Los Angeles Times are simply reporting that he and the Lakers are talking again.

The discussions were labeled productive, but there was nothing to report “at the moment,” according to a source familiar with negotiations who was not authorized to comment publicly.

It didn’t look great last week for Odom’s return to the Lakers after the franchise yanked its offers of three years and $30 million or four years and $36 million, with the fourth year only partially guaranteed.

But the sides began communicating in a more positive light Wednesday. Financial details were not immediately available, though the Lakers were not expected to have improved their initial offers. If anything, the offers might have dropped slightly.

Odom doesn’t have a lot of leverage. The Lakers are offering him the best deal he can get, and the other teams with cap space don’t seem too interested in his services. He’d be willing to play for Miami, but the best that they can offer is the mid-level exception, and it simply doesn’t compare to what the Lakers are wiling to give him (even after state taxes are taken into account).

With the Lakers back at the bargaining table, all signs point to Odom’s eventual return.

ESPN: Favre conflicted about whether or not to play this season

Here’s a shocker: Brett Favre is unsure about something.

According to a report by ESPN.com’s Ed Werder, Favre is conflicted about whether or not to play this season.

With Minnesota Vikings players scheduled to report to training camp in less than a week, Brett Favre remains anguished about whether he should come out of retirement and join the team. That decision, according to sources, has become more difficult in recent days because of the efforts of Vikings players including Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson, all of whom have now begun calling and texting Favre in an attempt to convince him to become Minnesota’s starting quarterback.

“If it weren’t for the involvement of the Vikings players directly telling Brett they want him on their team, I think he might have already decided against playing again,” a source said.

A source said that Favre is beginning to feel a sense of obligation, not only to Vikings players but to a coaching staff that has been recruiting him since the moment the New York Jets released him in April. According to sources, Favre has been communicating regularly with Vikings head coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was Favre’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay for three seasons.

Money is not an issue, as a source says that Favre and the Vikings have negotiated a one-year contract worth approximately $10 million. But the quarterback has not decided whether to sign it.
What seems unresolved in Favre’s mind is whether, at age 39, he can reasonably expect to be healthy enough to play 16-plus games for the Vikings while maintaining the standard of performance he expects of himself.

Hey Brett, do you want to play or not? You’re 39 years old – of course there’s a chance you might not be able to make it through an entire season. You didn’t technically make it through last season as you essentially had your biceps duct taped to your arm for the final couple weeks of the year. But again, do you want to play or not?

Favre shouldn’t feel like he has an obligation to the Vikings to play this season because ultimately, it’s his decision. But he does have an obligation to the Vikings to make a damn decision one way or another, especially considering we’re in late July now and not April. Minnesota has been patient this entire time with Brett, so he needs to make a decision so the Vikes can move on either with or without him.

He said he was going to make a decision by July 30. Then he said he should know by this Friday. All indications were that he was going to tell the Vikings yes, now he’s conflicted. It never ceases to amaze me how this guy can draw every last bit of drama out of a situation both for the good and the bad.

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