Month: July 2009 (Page 37 of 59)

      Lincecum, Halladay to start in All-Star Game

      July 13, 2009 /

      Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum will oppose Blue Jays’ starter Roy Halladay in tomorrow night’s All-Star Game from St. Louis. Lincecum is 10-2 at the break with a 2.33 ERA, while the “Doc” is 10-3 wit a 2.85 ERA.

      Albert Pujols will bat third for the NL behind Marlins’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who will bat leadoff, and Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley, who will be in the two-hole. Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun will bat cleanup for the NL and be followed by Raul Ibanez (Phillies, left field), David Wright (Mets, third base), Shane Victorino (Phillies, centerfield) and Yadier Molina (Cardinals, catcher).

      The AL will have M’s right fielder Ichiro Suzuki leading off, followed by Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter and Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer. Yankees’ first baseman Mark Teixeira will bat cleanup, followed by Jason Bay (Red Sox, left field), Josh Hamilton (Rangers, centerfield), Evan Longoria (Rays, third base) and Aaron Hill (Blue Jays, second base).

      No word yet on when Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval will get in………….they didn’t get in? Jayson Werth? Jayson Werth?!

      Just kidding – Werth deserved to go. By no means did he and his .260 batting average get in only because Charlie Manuel is managing the NL.

      Again, just kidding. I know Werth has already popped 20 dingers and has driven in 56 runs this year. His numbers have been great both at home at that little league field Philadelphia calls a stadium, and on the road. I just hope for Manuel’s sake that Werth contributes, because Kemp and Sandoval have been freaking outstanding this year and deserved that final spot (the one that opened because of Carlos Beltran’s injury) as much as Werth did.

      MLB

      Pirates to hang onto Freddy Sanchez?

      July 13, 2009 /

      Over the past couple weeks a foregone conclusion around the baseball world was that the Pirates would wind up dealing second baseman Freddy Sanchez at some point before the July 31 trade deadline. Much like many Buc veterans before him, Sanchez was as good as gone.

      But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is now reporting that the Pirates aren’t engaged in any active talks regarding a Sanchez trade and that no deal is imminent. According to the report, the Bucs aren’t in any hurry to trade Sanchez and might wind up keeping him in a Pirate uniform for the foreseeable future.

      That said, what Pirate isn’t available? This organization has prided itself on losing over the past 15-plus years and seemingly wouldn’t hesitate trading one of its veteran players. Sanchez is also their biggest trade piece and if a contender like the Giants or Rockies puts together a deal involving multiple prospects, it would be hard for the shaky Pittsburgh front office to sit idle.

      Chances are, the Bucs are playing coy and Sanchez will still be dealt at some point over the next two weeks. If Colorado put together a trade package that included Eric Young Jr., I highly doubt Pittsburgh would take a pass.

      MLB

      Allen Iverson struggling to find a home

      July 13, 2009 /



      Allen Iverson continues to explore his options on the free agent market, but it’s not like he has teams tripping over each other for his services. There’s mutual interest between AI and the Heat, but Miami doesn’t want to pony up.

      Allen Iverson asked for the $5.8 million midlevel exception from the Heat in a one-year deal, but Miami has been reluctant to pay him much more than $2 million, if that. Iverson also is exploring Memphis and Charlotte, but Miami would be his preference if money is equal. The Heat spoke with the agent for Andre Miller — who’s in a stalemate with Philadelphia — but hasn’t pursued a sign-and-trade, and Miller wants more than the midlevel.

      Memphis is also interested and Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley speculated about why the Heat aren’t willing to offer Iverson a mid-level deal.

      Heisley indicated Sunday that Iverson is “only looking for a one-year contract,” which actually would mesh with Miami’s intent to add no players with contracts stretching past next season to preserve maximum flexibility to re-sign Wade and land him at least one marquee teammate in the summer of 2010. Yet it’s believed that the Heat are reluctant to come close to the $5 million for next season that the Grizzlies are reportedly prepared to pay, since Miami is already in luxury-tax territory.

      The Heat are sitting at about $69.86 million which is a hair below the threshold of $69.92 million. If they sign Iverson, they’ll go into luxury tax territory and will have to essentially pay a dollar-for-dollar tax on AI’s entire salary. Not only would they miss out on the reward for being under the luxury tax, but they’d have to pay the tax themselves. Therefore, a contract worth $2 million could perhaps cost the Heat $5.5 million (or more), depending on how many teams are over the threshold and how big the payout turns out to be.

      It’s strange to see a player of Iverson’s stature fighting for table scraps on the free agent market. He was once a franchise player, but his disastrous stint in Detroit (resulting from his distaste for coming off the bench) and his ball-dominant style has created an environment in which most teams are extremely leery of utilizing his services. True contenders don’t want to participate in an experiment that has a good chance of backfiring while the lower echelon playoff teams don’t see Iverson as the game-changer needed to put them over the top.

      He has proven that he is not willing to what’s best for the team (by coming off the bench), so why would a good team want to add him? The Heat are interested because he’ll put butts in the seats and would probably add a few wins, which might help to convince Dwyane Wade to stay in Miami.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Pujols favored to win 2009 Home Run Derby

      July 13, 2009 /

      The 2009 Home Run Derby is tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET and Cardinals’ slugger Albert Pujols is a 2/1 favorite to win this year’s event, which is hardly a surprise since a) he’s a G-damn home run hitting cyborg and b) the event is in his home park at Busch Stadium.

      Phillies’ first baseman Ryan Howard is 5/2 to win, while Tigers’ third baseman Brandon Inge is 7/2 and Rays’ slugger Carlos Pena is 5/1. Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres is 6/1, Nelson Cruz of the Rangers is 8/1, the Twins’ Joe Mauer is 9/1 and Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder is 10/1.

      It’s hard not to like Pujols in his home park, but the favorite never seems to win in the home run derby. Fielder is intriguing at 10/1, but that big boy is likely to crap out in the second round and Gonzo hasn’t hit a home run since before dinosaurs walked the earth so I’m scratching him too.

      While my head says go with Howard at 5/2, the underdog in me says Pena at 5/1. He’s leading the AL in dingers and doesn’t have the “immense pressure” of performing in front of his home crowd like Pujols.

      Update: Well, that makes sense. I totally crap on Prince Fielder and he winds up winning the damn thing. Not only that, but his dingers were the most impressive of the night. Ah well, at least I didn’t pick Brandon Inge to win…yikes.

      MLB

      Nationals fire manager Manny Acta

      July 13, 2009 /

      With a 26-61 record over the first half of the season, the Washington Nationals have decided to part ways with manager Manny Acta. The club anointed bench coach Jim Riggleman as the interim manager for the rest of the season.

      The Nationals organization gambled in 2007 by hiring a young coach (Acta was 38 then) to manage a young team. Acta seemed to be well liked by his players and peers, but you can’t have a manager learning on the job at the same time young players are trying to develop in the big leagues.

      Acta didn’t have the best talent to work with in Washington, nor did he have the greatest front office to support him. But he still deserves a ton of the blame for his eventual demise, so nobody should go on believing that he got a raw deal here.

      The Nationals do have a ton of young talent (with more on the way with Stephen Strasburg on the fast track to the big leagues), but they’re going to need to find the right fit at manager. Who that person is, I don’t know. But it has to be someone with the right balance of experience and exuberance, because this young team will wear on a manager’s nerves. Maybe somebody like Joe Giriardi after the Yankees impatiently fire him at the end of the season for not going to the playoffs?

      MLB

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