Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 820 of 1503)

      Red Sox desperately seeking a shortstop

      June 9, 2009 /

      According to the Boston Globe, the Red Sox “have left no stone unturned” in looking for a shortstop to replace Julio Lugo. The club would love to plug Jed Lowrie into the position, but the 25-year old hasn’t played since early April due to a wrist injury.

      Some of the names that the Sox have been linked to around the league include Omar Vizquel, Jack Wilson, J.J. Hardy, Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Crosby, Jason Donald and Miguel Tejada, but so far no trade has come to fruition.

      I’m not a Red Sox fan, but even I’d rather scratch my eyes out with an ice pick than watch Lugo play another inning. He’s absolutely brutal in all facets of the game and it’s flabbergasting how much Boston is currently paying him ($9 million this year, $9 million in 2010, $9 million in 2011) to be the worst player on the diamond most nights. At some point, the Sox are just going to have to eat that contact to ensure Lugo never plays in Boston again.

      Getting back to the club’s options, Vizquel has openly said that he wants to play for the Sox (which is a bit of a slap in the face to his current team the Rangers, but moving on…) and is currently batting .345 this season. He’s 79 years old (at least), but the guy still plays shortstop like he’s 30, so he would be an immediate upgrade over Lugo defensively.

      It’ll be interesting to see if the Red Sox make a move or if they’ll just wait for Lowrie to come back (whenever that may be). If they decide to wait, here’s hoping for Boston fans that Nick Green continues to see the field and not that suck-the-life-out-of-you Lugo.

      MLB

      Was Favre-deadline story made up?

      June 9, 2009 /

      On Monday, ESPN.com released a report that stated that the Vikings had given Brett Favre an ultimatum and a deadline of this week to tell them whether or not he wants to play next season.

      But according to Sirius NFL Radio host Pat Kirwan, the story is untrue and Kirwan even went as far as to say it was made up.

      Here’s the conversation between Kirwin and his co-host Tim Ryan today.

      Kirwan: “I heard you talking about Brett Favre, every show has been talking about him. I’ve got a couple of things to say. First off, let me make sure I’m clear on this to everyone who is listening. There is no deadline for Brett Favre to come in by Friday. There is zero deadline. The story was made up, it’s not true and trust me on that.”

      Ryan: “I still think he’s coming July 15. By then he’ll be signed up for the Minnnesota Vikings. ESPN calling it shoulder surgery, the biceps tendon attaches to a point up on the shoulder, did have that thing cleared out. We’ve been talking about it for a couple of months. That if he had the surgery he was coming back. It’s clear Favre’s on his way to Minnesota.”

      Kirwan: “Favre is on his way to Minnesota and it may be around July 15. It might be earlier. Remember how we said [that] first Step 1 is he healthy enough to play? He’s in the process of having that resolved. Step 2, get a contract done. We don’t think that’s going to be a problem either so the first two hurdles are going to be easy to fly over and then come in and be part of this program. With the OTAs winding down, and maybe that’s a good thing because he’s not ready to throw, and all the business that goes on with football. Maybe it’s better if he comes in at a quiet period of time and gets ready to roll. But I think you’re right on it, I think he’s on his way in. Friday may come and Friday may go and it will have nothing to do with him in a purple uniform.”

      I wrote yesterday how I thought if the Vikings did set a deadline of this week, that it was a little premature. I highly doubt ESPN made the story up, but obviously something isn’t right here. When you go on ESPN.com, their story is still at the top of the page, so clearly they’re sticking to the report.

      It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the week plays out.

      NFL

      MLB All-25 and Younger Team

      June 8, 2009 /

      There’s a different feel to baseball again – a good feeling.

      Yeah, I know – there are probably still plenty of players who are cheating. But at least the league is (finally) making somewhat of an effort to clean up its image and for that, we as fans have hope that maybe someday the game will be juice-free again.

      Those who have watched their fair share of baseball this season should be reveling in how the game is getting younger again. Instead of teams waiting for dingers in order to score runs, clubs are bunting, stealing and manufacturing scoring opportunities – the way the game is supposed to be played.

      After watching how the Rays won last season, more and more teams are building their rosters by developing home grown talent rather than signing big-name free agents (save for the Yankees, of course) and it’s making the game exciting again. An onus has been made on youth and speed and for the first time in quite a while, baseball is once again a young man’s game.

      That said, I’ve decided to have a little fun by constructing an entire 25-man baseball roster (I’ve named the team “Team Youthful Exuberance”) by using only players who are 25 years of age and younger. Rules and guidelines for the roster are below so enjoy and as always, feel free to make an argument for any players that I might have missed.

      Continue reading »

      MLB

      Report: Vikings give Favre ultimatum and deadline

      June 8, 2009 /

      According to a report by ESPN.com, the Vikings want a decision from Brett Favre on whether or not he wants to play for them sometime this week.

      This is a smart move by the Vikings. They know Favre is the king of waffling and they can’t continue to wait on him and keep current quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson in limbo. The season is still months away, but OTAs wrap up this week and training camp will begin in about a month so they need a decision.

      But this hardly seems realistic. According to the ESPN article, Favre has done some light throwing following recent surgery to repair a tear in the biceps of his throwing arm, but he doesn’t feel confident enough yet to definitively say that he’s coming back. And if Favre doesn’t believe he’s at full strength, why would the Vikings rush a decision from him?

      If Favre believes he’ll be healthy in two to three weeks and the Vikings truly want him, then they should allow him that time and then hold a workout. If he’s ready to go, then they can sign him in time for training camp. If he doesn’t feel that his arm is 100%, then they can move on without him and go with Rosenfels or Jackson. But even after all of this will-he-or-won’t-he-come-back discussion that has been drummed up over the past couple weeks, the Vikings giving him a deadline of this week still seems a little premature.

      Then again, Favre can’t be trusted when it comes to making a firm decision, so I don’t blame Minnesota for giving him an ultimatum with a deadline. The Vikings have an entire team to think about – not just a decision about whether or not to sign Favre.

      I just don’t know if a couple of days is a long enough for Favre to know whether or not he’s completely healthy. I can certainly understand the Vikings wanting to put pressure on him to make a decision if he were healthy, but it’s out of his hands whether or not his arm will be completely ready by the end of the Vikings’ supposed deadline.

      It’ll be interesting to see if the Vikings hold him to this deadline and more importantly, whether or not they’ll officially move on if he tells them he still needs more time.

      NFL

      Scout: ‘Ortiz’s is older than his reported age.’

      June 8, 2009 /

      Here’s a shock: David Ortiz might be older than what it says on his birth certificate.

      “The chances of his birth certificate being accurate are zero,” the scout said. “That’s both birth certificates. Remember, he was David Arias [when he played in the minor leagues for] Seattle.”

      From 2004-07, Ortiz did things rarely seen on a baseball field. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of five players in MLB history to have four or more consecutive seasons of 35 or more home runs, 115 or more RBIs and a slugging percentage of .600 or better. The other players to pull off that feat are Babe Ruth (1926-32), Jimmie Foxx (1932-36), Sammy Sosa (1998-2001) and Albert Pujols (2003-06).

      Ruth’s power left him quickly, and he went from 34 homers in 1933 to 22 in ’34 and just six in his final season of 1935. But he was 40 years old when his career ended. Ortiz is just 33. Unless you believe his birth certificate is incorrect, which some people do.

      A better comparison with Ortiz is Foxx. His career hit a wall at age 34, when he only hit eight home runs after 14 straight seasons of double-digit homers. Foxx’s demise is attributed largely to a sinus problem and alcohol abuse, though.

      When it comes to Ortiz’s struggles this season, some believe the former slugger can’t hit without Manny protecting him in the lineup. Some believe that he’s off the juice. Some believe he’s still hurt. Some believe that he has lacked confidence and is just in a massive funk.

      Chances are, Ortiz’s issues come from a combination of a couple of the aforementioned reasons, if not all of them.

      But if you want to believe that his struggles are linked to him getting off the juice, there are some factors that support your theory, the biggest of which is that there’s a list out there with 100-plus names written on it of players who tested positive for PEDs. Is Ortiz’s name on that list? Who knows, but until that list is released (if it ever is), all of the Ortiz-steroid talk is just speculation.

      It’s not a stretch to believe, however, that Ortiz started using PEDs around the time he got to Boston in 2003. As the article notes, his most productive seasons came from 2004 through 2007. Last year he battled a variety of injuries and at some point, he could have gotten off PEDs and now his body is aging rapidly. With that, he’s not able to have the same success on the field and pitchers have figured out (quite easily I might add) how to pitch to him.

      Again though, this is all just speculation. As of now, there is no proof that Ortiz ever used PEDs and maybe he is just getting old and the game is passing him by. And if he is older than what his birth certificate says, who knows how much older he truly is.

      The mystery continues.

      MLB

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