Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 492 of 1503)

      Mariners suspended Cliff Lee for first five games

      March 18, 2010 /

      The Mariners suspended ace Cliff Lee for the first five games of the season and fined him an undisclosed amount for throwing at Diamondbacks’ catcher Chris Snyder in a spring training game on Monday.

      From MLB.com:

      Pitcher Cliff Lee of the Seattle Mariners has received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder during the third inning of Seattle’s Spring Training game on Monday, March 15 at Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona. Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.

      Unless appealed, Lee is scheduled to begin serving his suspension on Opening Day, Monday, April 5. If appealed, Lee’s suspension will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.

      At the end of the day, this suspension won’t affect Lee’s season much. He’ll miss one start and it’ll cost him some dough, but this incident will be forgot about soon enough.

      Still, this wasn’t the start the Mariners envisioned when they acquired Lee from the Phillies during the offseason.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

      Tebow receives mixed reviews on new throwing motion

      March 17, 2010 /

      Tim Tebow unveiled his new throwing motion at Florida’s Pro Day on Wednesday and some were impressed, while others felt as though he lacked arm strength.

      ESPN’s Todd McShay was one who did come away impressed (fast forward to about the 2:40 mark to see what McShay said):

      SI.com’s Tony Pauline wasn’t necessarily impressed, although noted that Tebow’s abilities have improved:

      Scouts are walking away from the workout with a better feeling about Tim Tebow than they did two months ago at the Senior Bowl. His accuracy was better and he was completing passes, but receivers found it necessary to reach backwards or bend to the ground to grab his throws. He also under-threw a lot of passes. The general feeling is while Tebow improved he still needs a lot of work on his game.

      Whether or not Tebow has progressed or regressed over the past month or so doesn’t really matter right now. If he wants to be a quarterback in the NFL, he still has a lot ahead of him because he didn’t play in a pro style offense in college and he also didn’t have to read defenses. His throwing motion is just one thing on a long list of factors that make him a raw prospect.

      As of right now, I can’t see him going in the first round, although it’s note-worthy that he was invited to New York on draft day. The NFL doesn’t invite prospects to come to New York if they’re not expected to go somewhere in the first round.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Rangers manager Washington tested positive for cocaine in 2009

      March 17, 2010 /

      According to a report by SI.com, Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season.

      Washington, 57, has been subject to increased drug testing since his failed test, which was administered by Major League Baseball last July, and he has passed all of his subsequent tests. In deciding to support Washington and retain him as manager, the Rangers accepted his apology as heartfelt and also his explanation that this was a one-time transgression.

      “I did make a mistake and I regret that I did it,” Washington told SI.com by phone from Surprise, Ariz., on Tuesday night. “I am really embarrassed and I am really sorry.”

      Washington declined to discuss the specific circumstances surrounding his decision to use cocaine because he didn’t want his family to hear about it in the media. “Any attempt to try to explain it is going to sound like excuses,” he said. “There is no right way to explain something wrong, and I did wrong. Was it tension? Maybe. Anxiety?”

      Cocaine generally clears the system in 3-5 days after limited use. (Heavy users could take 10-14 days.) After one-time use, a person usually tests positive for cocaine (or technically a metabolite of cocaine called benzoylecgonine) for only 2-3 days.

      Washington called the commissioner’s office shortly after he was tested to notify them that he might fail. He did the same thing with the Rangers’ front office and while using cocaine certainly was a terrible decision, at least he did the responsible thing by giving his superiors a heads up.

      Nobody would have faulted the Rangers had they fired Washington after the test results came back, but they deserve kudos for giving their manager their support and standing by him. We all make mistakes and if this turns out to be an isolated incident, then this shouldn’t be a dark cloud over his fine baseball career.

      But if he’s caught again, then all bets are off and Texas would have recourse to fire him immediately.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      MLB

      Florida CB Haden runs 4.4 forty at Pro Day

      March 17, 2010 /

      After he ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.57-4.60 range at the scouting combine, Florida cornerback Joe Haden rebounded with a solid showing at his Pro Day, clocking a time in the mid-4.4 range according to TFY Draft Insider.

      There were some pundits that thought Haden would slip in the first round after his showing at the combine, but he was dealing with a lower back sprain that no doubt factored into his slow forty time. But he apparently ran on sloppy conditions at his Pro Day and proved to scouts that he has more than enough speed to be a starting caliber corner at the next level.

      In my Mock 1.0, I have Cleveland taking Haden with the No. 8 overall pick, but I think his draft status will inevitably be tied to Tennessee safety Eric Berry. The Browns have major secondary needs and if Berry falls to No. 8, I don’t think he’ll get past Cleveland. If that happens, then Haden will likely fall out of the top 10 but won’t get past the 49ers at No. 14.

      If Berry is selected before then (I have him going No. 6 to the Seahawks), I believe the Browns will take Haden at No. 7 and pair him with Eric Wright, whom they believe can develop into a top 10 corner. Either way, I envision Cleveland investing their first round pick on its secondary this April.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Once again, Huston Street’s health a concern

      March 17, 2010 /

      While he proved to be a nice surprise in 2009 by staying relatively healthy on his way to racking up 35 saves, a 3.06 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP, Rockies’ closer Huston Street is once again an injury concern for fantasy owners.

      The Denver Post reports that Street felt tightness in his shoulder while recently playing catch and has been shut down indefinitely. There’s now a good chance that he will start the 2010 season on the disabled list, pending the results of a MRI. With Rafael Betancourt also sidelined due to a shoulder injury, Colorado may have to turn to Manny Corpas to close games to start of the season.

      How will Street’s injury affect your draft? Well, hopefully you weren’t overvaluing him on draft day solely based on his ’09 production. He was a top 10 closer before the injury, but now you might want to avoid him altogether on draft day. And with his early struggles last year, you might want to avoid Corpas until late in your draft as well.

      Given his history and current injury issues, there are plenty of other closers that will be more reliable and offer more upside than Street will. That list includes the Giants’ Brian Wilson, the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol, the A’s Andrew Bailey and the Mariners’ David Aardsma. Any one of those relievers would offer you more value than Street in your draft, with less risk.

      For The Scores Report’s official 2010 fantasy rankings of relievers, click here.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

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