Category: MLB (Page 113 of 448)

      Report: Astros not ready to trade Oswalt

      May 26, 2010 /

      A source tells Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com that the Astros aren’t looking to trade Roy Oswalt despite his request to be dealt to a contender.

      A source with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday that despite Oswalt’s request, the Astros aren’t looking to trade the right-hander and three-time All-Star at this point. But that could change as the summer moves along and the July trade deadline nears, especially if the Astros continue to languish in the National League Central cellar.

      While the Astros are not shopping their ace, Fox Houston reported on Tuesday that Rangers president Nolan Ryan reached out to Houston to express interest in Oswalt.

      It’s interesting that the article mentioned that the Rangers have interest, because I detailed over the weekend why Texas would be a great landing spot for Oswalt if the Astros decided to trade him. You can read it here.

      It would be rather ridiculous if the Stros didn’t trade Oswalt at some point this year. Their farm system is dried up and Oswalt isn’t going to be around when the club eventually starts competing again. To not get something for him now would be unwise, especially when he still has plenty of value to a contender.


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      External Sports, MLB

      What’s the root of the issue in the Pujols/La Russa spat?

      May 25, 2010 /

      With two outs in the eighth inning during a game last Friday night, Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa gave Ryan Ludwick the steal sign with slugger Albert Pujols up to bat. Ludwick, who has been unsuccessful in all of his steal attempts this season, kept his streak alive and was thrown out at second base, effectively taking the bat out of Pujols’ hands.

      This angered Pujols, who then threw a tantrum in the dugout. During the midst of his meltdown, La Russa barked at his star first baseman that, “I know how to (expletive) manage.” Once word of the exchange was made public, Pujols quickly defused the situation and nothing more was made out of it.

      But St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bryan Burwell suggests that the issue lies deeper than just a star player getting into a spat with his skipper.

      Of far more significance is the reason La Russa saw fit to essentially take the bat out of Pujols’ hand. The fact that the manager felt the need to attempt to manufacture a run in that situation tells you that he knows how much is favorite player is struggling.

      That’s what makes his most recent well-documented struggles so puzzling. Over the last 10 games, he’s without an RBI, and he has only five in the last 20 games. Through his last 11 games, Pujols is batting .222 (eight for 36) with only six runs scored, and two extra-base hits (one double, one homer) and two RBIs.

      Even more alarming is his last 22 games this month, with a .256 average, one homer and 10 RBIs. So when we see a man who has been a hitting and run-producing metronome for so long, it raises several obvious questions like “why” and “what’s wrong”?

      I don’t think we’ll ever hear it from Pujols’ mouth that he’s struggling physically, but La Russa needs to find a way to wake up his bat. I don’t know if that means sitting him down for a mental (or physical) break, or if the manager has any more psychological tricks up his sleeve. He is a master at finding ways to bring out the best in his players. He has spent most of the first few months nursing along Brendan Ryan, Skip Schumaker and Holliday with varying degrees of success.

      Pujols is right in that he’s spoiled everyone with his consistency over the last 10 years. He’s been a robot when it comes to production so when he falls into a slump this bad, everyone immediately hits the panic button.

      But he’s not immune to slumps, bouts of frustrations or (gasp!) poor play. He’s the best hitter in baseball and he’ll figure it out – he just needs time to work through it. And I don’t know if there’s anything La Russa can do, or needs to do.

      Baseball has a way of humbling players. When you’re in the midst of a slump, you feel like it will never end. But it does and Pujols isn’t the only marquee hitter that’s struggling. Prince Fielder is also off to a slow start and Pablo Sandoval saw his average drop nearly 80 points since the month of May started. Slumps happen – even to robots like Albert Pujols.


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      External Sports, MLB

      Could Matsui be heading to the bench soon?

      May 25, 2010 /

      A healthy Jeff Mathis could spell trouble for struggling DH Hideki Matsui, who signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Angels last December.

      Mathis, who has been sidelined since April 20 because of a broken bone in his right wrist, is hoping to begin his minor league rehab soon and once he’s ready to return to the club, Matsui’s spot in the lineup could be in danger. Mathis is the Halos’ best defensive catcher, but Mike Napoli has been the club’s hottest hitter this month and could move to the DH position that is currently being occupied by Matsui.

      Even though Matsui is hitting just .229 with a .302 on-base percentage this year, his manager Mike Scioscia told the L.A. Times that he’s not giving up on the veteran hitter.

      “His track record — and I mean recent track record, not seven years ago — is clear,” Scioscia said. “Maybe his timing is not right, maybe he hasn’t squared balls up on a consistent basis, but he’s shown that it’s in there; he was our best hitter the first three weeks of the season. We’re confident he’s going to be productive.”

      Matsui said through an interpreter that he “feels good physically,” though one has to wonder whether his arthritic knees aren’t a factor in his struggles.

      “The results just aren’t there,” Matsui said, “so I’m going to have to keep working until they are.”

      The killer for the Angels is that Vladimir Guerrero, the man who hit in the DH position last year, is now hitting .339 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI for division rival Texas. The Halos thought they had sewn up their hole at DH last winter with the signing of Matsui, but in the early going it appears that allowing Vlad to escape to Texas was a poor decision.

      It’s kind of amazing to think that the 2009 World Series MVP might be benched soon, but if Matsui doesn’t start hitting that scenario will surely become a reality.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Milton Bradley admits to thoughts about suicide

      May 25, 2010 /

      Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times writes that troubled Mariners’ outfielder Milton Bradley has pondered suicide following years of stress and frustration stemming from baseball.

      The answer was simple. For the last two years, since he first came back from a torn ACL in his knee, suffered late in the 2007 season when he fell while arguing with an umpire, Bradley has been allowing “unpleasant thoughts” into his head. Thoughts about what? Well, sometimes suicide.

      “When you start feeling that the only way you can end it is to kill yourself, that’s not a healthy feeling,” Bradley said of the constant negativity and anxiety that surrounded him. “So, I needed to get away, to step back for a bit. There are too many people I care about in this world to let things go down that road.”

      Now, obviously that’s an attention-getter right there. It’s what folks will be talking about in the street tomorrow. But it’s only part of what Bradley wanted to convey. This doesn’t mean he was about to end his life. What it does mean is that Bradley, as a man who does an awful lot of thinking and put quite a bit of thought into the answers he gave me this morning, began pondering the merits of suicide. He told his wife that he could understand why people chose to end their lives. Not that he was about to rush out and do it himself. But that he could sympathize with their feelings. And that’s not a good thing. To be so unhappy that suicide begins to look like a reasonable alternative.

      Sometimes we all get caught up in the actions of an athlete and forget that they’re all human. I’m guilty of this too; I see a headline and think to myself, “Well, that’s just Milton Bradley – he’s crazy.” But it takes an article like this to really put things into perspective.

      Athletes are paid an enormous amount of money to play a game. But with that money comes stress and the pressure to succeed on a consistent basis. In today’s world, the media has access to everything so these athletes’ private lives are often on full display. That only leads to more pressure and stress, and as a human being I only hope that these athletes can deal with these circumstances.

      Here’s hoping Bradley gets the serious help he needs.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Jose Lima will be remembered by fans

      May 24, 2010 /

      Jose Lima, who played 13 seasons for five different clubs in major league baseball, died at the age of 37 on Sunday. He apparently suffered a major heart attack in his home and later passed away at Huntington Memorial Hospital.

      Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle wrote a nice piece on Lima today about what he meant to the fans and his teammates. Below is a small taste of the article.

      You never forgot how he stopped that afternoon and signed an autograph for your kid.

      Jose Lima didn’t just scribble his name and hurry into the dugout like the others. He struck up a conversation, asked his name, made him laugh.

      Your kid was hooked on Lima Time from that moment, and so were you. He captured an entire generation that way.

      As legacies go, isn’t that a wonderful one?

      “I was born for this,” Lima once said.

      Indeed he was. Thousands of fans surely left the ballpark vowing to return because Jose Lima made them feel special.

      “I know they pay my bills,” he said. “Some people change when they make a lot of money. That’s not Jose Lima.”

      Death always has a way of making you remember the good in people. Some baseball fans didn’t like Lima because he craved attention and was outlandish, but part of the reason sports are great is because they give you athletes to both cheer for and root against.

      Lima finished his baseball career with a losing record (89-102) and a 5.26 ERA. But even though he won’t go down as a good pitcher, most fans that watched baseball during his career span remember Jose Lima. He had a colorful personality and he will be missed.

      External Sports, MLB

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