Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 136 of 1503)

      How will Chase Utley’s injury affect the Phillies in 2011?

      March 24, 2011 /
      Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley walks across the field after taking batting practice before a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, March 8, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      The unsurprising happened on Thursday: Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed that second baseman Chase Utley will begin the season on the disabled list.

      The thought of beginning the year without Utley is something the Phillies have been bracing for all spring. He hasn’t seen the field once yet in exhibition and with Opening Day only a week away, him starting the year on the DL was the most likely outcome.

      Replacing Utley in the lineup is an impossible task. The Phillies recently signed Luis Castillo (formerly of the Mets), but he went 0-for-4 in his Philadelphia debut and may not even make the team if he continues to hit around .250 this spring. Of course, the other candidates to take Utley’s spot don’t look any better. Wilson Valdez is hitting just .239 is a 32-year-old journeyman who has only played in 247 major league games since making his first appearance in ‘04, while Josh Barfield has showed his versatility this spring but he’s still behind Valdez on the depth chart.

      As of right now, the Phillies aren’t saying when Utley will return because quite frankly, they probably don’t even know. If he winds up missing the rest of the season, the loss of him and Jayson Werth (Nationals) gives the rest of Philly’s offense a small margin for error. Given that Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are coming off poor seasons and Placido Polanco and Rual Ibanez are in the twilights of their careers, this is going to be a huge year for Ryan Howard (who must carry the offense).

      So what happens to the Phillies’ chances of winning the World Series? Thanks to their loaded pitching staff, they’re still the clear favorites in the NL. But the Braves are a big threat in the division and there’s a certain championship team out West that treated Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt like mortals in the postseason last year.

      Of course, the Giants won the World Series last year with pitching and the Phillies have more offense than San Fran did – even without Utley. But the Giants’ hitters also got extremely hot at the right time and this is a Philadelphia club that has been known to come out of the gates slow before picking it up in the second half. Considering they might not have Utley all season, they better kick it into gear right away. Without Utley roaming second base in Philadelphia, the playing field certainly evens out more in the National League.

      External Sports, MLB

      Orioles’ Showalter takes shots at Theo Epstein, Derek Jeter

      March 24, 2011 /
      Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter (R) and batting coach Jim Presley talk in the dugout during the third inning of a MLB spring training game against the New York Yankees in Sarasota, Florida, March 22, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      “I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay [Rays] payroll. You got Carl Crawford ‘cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their butt. It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?’”

      All right! Let’s fire this f**king season up!

      Those comments were made by Orioles skipper Buck Showalter, who recently did an interview with Men’s Journal. He also took a few swipes at Derek Jeter in which he said the Yankee captain “ticks” him off.”

      “The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout,” Showalter told the magazine, according to the Bergen Record. “Our guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Derek Jeter.’ Well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets — and yes, he [ticks] me off.”

      I love it. Some readers got upset with me last year because I didn’t mind when Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips stirred the pot with his comments about the Cardinals. But I don’t mind stuff like this. It brings intrigue to a league that has the opportunity to regain some of its popularity back from the NFL because of the CBA mess. I respect and love the game of baseball as much as anyone (I’ve played it my entire life and someone would have to cut my limbs off to ever get me to stop), but comments like Showalter’s breathe some life into Bud Selig’s stuffy league.

      What’s ironic is that Epstein would somewhat agree with Showalter’s comments. In fact, just last week Epstein told the Boston Herald that “it’s definitely easier” to win with the more money you have. But as Epstein points out, there’s more to his job then just spending John W. Henry’s money.

      “It’s easy to get defensive when people attribute a lot of our success to our payroll,’’ Epstein told Borges. “To a degree they’re right, but it’s still a challenge. It’s definitely easier the more money you have, but I’m justifiably proud of what our organization has done in the draft, in scouting, in player development. The core of our roster is 26 years old, and most of them came up through the organization.”

      Epstein is right. Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard and Jed Lowrie all came up through the Red Sox’s farm system. It’s also important to note that Boston isn’t a big market team. They may spend like a big market team, but that’s only because the fans’ interest is so high in Baaahstin. Otherwise, Boston is actually a mid-market team.

      But getting back to Showalter, whether he was trying to poke the embers in the AL East or pump up his young Orioles, it works. Baltimore may finish in fourth place again this year, but Showalter is trying to light a fire under his club’s ass. It’s time for everyone to wake up in Baltimore and maybe Showalter can be the rooster. (What? Stupid…)

      The only beef I have with what he said is the part about “whipping” the Red Sox’s butts. As ESPN’s Gordon Edes points out, the Showalter-led Orioles went 3-3 against Boston last year, which hardly constitutes whipping anyone’s butts. Still, I like his spunk.

      External Sports, MLB

      Cardinals to take Blaine Gabbert if he falls?

      March 24, 2011 /
      Missouri Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert runs onto the field for a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri on October 23, 2010. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

      I must admit, some of that faded excitement that I had for the draft is returning now that the rumors are flowing. Even though the NFL is trying to ruin the holiday with this CBA mess, little by little the draft is starting to creep back into my heart.

      ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets that if the Cardinals “can get” Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert at No. 5 next month, “they will.” Owners Michael and Bill Bidwill took Gabbert to dinner on Tuesday night and Arizona’s coaching staff held a private workout with him on Wednesday. It appears, for all intents and purposes, that the Cardinals are putting on a full-court press for the former Tiger.

      Now the question is whether or not he’ll fall to the Cardinals at No. 5. If the Panthers pass on Cam Newton, they could take Gabbert at No. 1. If the Bills don’t take him at No. 3, the Bengals could certainly nab him at No. 4 depending on how they want to handle the Carson Palmer fiasco. With three quarterback-needy teams picking ahead of the Cards in the first round, Gabbert might not fall.

      But if you’re a Cardinal fan and you want Gabbert, it’s easy to look at the situation and stay optimistic. Carolina could take Newton, Buffalo may address its defensive line and Cincinnati owner Mike Brown reiterated on Monday that he wants Palmer back, so maybe the Bengals go with either A.J. Green or Julio Jones. In that scenario, Gabbert would slip to the Cardinals at No. 5.

      Either way, Arizona needs to acquire a signal caller at some point this offseason and given how there’s no free agency, the Cards would be wise to take one in the draft. John Skelton showed flashes last season but on a whole, the quarterback situation was an absolute mess in the desert last year. Gabbert is a big kid with a strong arm and would be a good fit in Ken Whisenhunt’s balanced offense (which also features elements of the spread).

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Should the Falcons trade up for A.J. Green?

      March 24, 2011 /

      Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Falcons should do everything in their power to move up to select Georgia receiver A.J. Green in next month’s draft. He also appears to be confused on the CBA rules.

      It would take a lot for the Falcons to move up from 27th in the draft to get Green: at least this year’s and next year’s first-rounder pick. He’s worth it. There were 48 NFL scouts at Georgia’s Pro Day Tuesday. The only time they looked disappointed was when a bizarre league rule forced them to leave the field when Green ran pass routes.

      Next year’s “first-rounder pick”? Something that Schultz either fails to mention or fails to realize is that without a CBA, there is no draft next season – let alone draft picks to trade. As it stands today, teams can’t trade their 2012 draft picks because they don’t exist without a CBA. So the Falcons couldn’t include a package with their first rounder next year even if they wanted to. (This rule is also lost upon Schultz’s AJC co-worker D. Orlando Ledbetter, who seems to think that the Falcons might be able to move up by trading away their first two picks this year and their second rounder in 2012. Again, without a CBA in place, the Falcons couldn’t trade their 2012 second round pick.)

      Now, maybe Schultz and Ledbetter do know the rule and they’re basing their assumption that there will be a CBA in place by the draft next month. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t they just say they were working under this assumption? Furthermore, what’s transpired over the last month to make either of them believe that the owners and players are getting closer to agreeing to a new deal?

      Did these two not do their homework or am I missing something here? One would think that writers at a major newspaper such as the AJC would understand the situation before discussing what it would take for a team selecting at No. 27 to move all the way into the top 10 (where Green will undoubtedly be selected) when the league is in the midst of a labor dispute.

      Trading up for Green would seem highly unlikely unless the Falcons were willing to part with their entire draft this year. And considering their needs along the offensive line (three of their five starters are free agents), at defensive end and at nickel back, the Falcons can’t mortgage their draft for one player – even if it is someone as talented as A.J. Green.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Key witness says he saw Bonds’ trainer with syringe

      March 24, 2011 /
      Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds arrives before the opening arguments portion of his perjury trial at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco, California March 22, 2011. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL CRIME LAW)

      A key witness in Barry Bonds’ perjury trial testified on Wednesday that he saw Greg Anderson leave Bonds’ spring training bedroom with a syringe in 2000.

      From CSN Bay Area:

      Steve Hoskins said that when he saw Bonds and his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, coming out of the master bedroom he assumed Anderson had injected the star player with steroids.

      He testified that he saw the two disappear into that room “once or twice” at each spring training over three consecutive years beginning in 2000.

      He also told the jury of eight women and four men that, a year earlier, Bonds had ordered him to research the benefits and side effects of a steroid after the slugger had undergone elbow surgery.

      I wouldn’t think this news will make or break Bonds’ case. In his opening statements on Tuesday, lead attorney Allen Ruby acknowledged that Bonds took steroids but claimed that Anderson misled him about what the substances were. This trial is not about whether or not Bonds took steroids: He did. But it’s up to the defense to somehow prove that he didn’t know what Anderson was giving him.

      Good luck with that, by the way. Bonds’ defense team better have some real concrete evidence that their client had no idea what Anderson was giving him. And they better be able to convince a jury that Bonds was actually stupid enough not to question Anderson before ingesting/injecting unknown substances into his body.

      External Sports, MLB

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