Category: MLB (Page 114 of 448)

      Would the Rangers be a good fit for Oswalt?

      May 23, 2010 /

      Roy Oswalt realizes that his window to win a World Series is closing fast. That’s why he recently told his agent to ask the Astros, the organization he has spent his entire pro career with, for a trade.

      But Oswalt doesn’t want to play for just anyone. He wants to go to a contender.

      “I’m not going to go to a team that’s not in contention of playing in the playoffs,” Oswalt said. “I’ve got two years left. In those two years, I’m trying to get back to the playoffs. I haven’t been there since ’05.”

      Oswalt declined to tell the Houston Chronicle what teams he would like to play for, but I’ve got one: the Texas Rangers.

      Let’s go down the checklist, shall we?

      Are they a contender? Check. They’re currently in first place in the AL West.

      Do they need pitching? Check. While they have some nice young arms in Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, their starting staff is average at best and if they want to seriously contend, then they’ll need a strong presence at the front of their rotation.

      Do they have the farm pieces in order to swing a trade? Check. Outside of maybe the Rays, the Rangers have the best farm system in baseball. Thanks to sound trades and a true commitment to scouting over the years, they have a bevy of power arms and bats in the minors. Surely they could put an attractive enough package together to entice the Astros to part with Oswalt.

      Of course, this is just speculation on my part but the Rangers seem like a great fit. They’re off to an outstanding start this season and adding a piece like Oswalt would give them yet another weapon to keep the Angels at bay in the West. Of course, the team is currently seeking bankruptcy, so who knows if it will be willing to take on Oswalt’s salary.

      As for the Astros, the club isn’t going anywhere this year and they’re incredibly depleted at the farm level. They need to rebuild and trading Oswalt (who deserves the opportunity to play for a contender) would be a good start.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Blue Jays figure out new way to beat opponents: Stop them at the border

      May 21, 2010 /

      According to a report by the Toronto Sun, MLB players with criminal records have been warned that Canadian officials may not let them into the country, even if they were only sentenced to a minor crime.

      “Individuals who are not Canadian citizens may be detained at the border and, in certain cases may not be permitted to enter Canada at all, if they have any sort of past criminal record,” he wrote. “Recently, Canadian authorities have stepped up enforcement of these laws, resulting in several non-Canadian players travelling to Toronto with their teams being detained at the border because of a past criminal record.”

      He warned that “even an arrest, conviction or suspended sentence many years ago for a minor crime, or a juvenile offence, can result in a border detention.”

      “It’s getting late in the game folks, and the Yankees will have to go to their pen in order to save a victory here in Toronto. Of course they can’t use Joba Chamberlain because he never made it across the boarder due to that arrest for driving under the influence, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle back in October of ’08. Well played, Canada.”

      Could you imagine if the Bengals were set to play the Bills for one of Buffalo’s home games in Canada? Cincinnati would only be able to use half its roster and Pacman Jones might be shot on the spot. Yiiiiiikes.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Reds’ outfielder Nix helps Braves complete amazing comeback

      May 21, 2010 /

      Usually when a club is down seven runs in the ninth, fans are busy making their way out of the stadium. But those that stayed to watch the end of the Reds-Braves game yesterday afternoon were treated to a thriller. (Unless they were Cincinnati fans, who were treated to heartburn.)

      The ball was heading for the yellow stripe before Nix intervened, so even if he didn’t get his glove on it, the ball would have probably been ruled a homer anyway. Still, to come thisclose to robbing a potential game-winning dinger only to have it go off your glove and over the wall must be excruciating.

      What’s even more excruciating is thinking about how the Reds’ pen gave up that big of a lead in the ninth. Come on, fellas – close the door!

      What a cool moment for Conrad, though. He’s a 30-year-old journeyman who had played just 36 games in the majors before this season and who has largely been a pinch-hitter.

      External Sports, MLB, Video

      Ramirez apologizes to his teammates, but has he learned anything?

      May 20, 2010 /

      You know when you’re a kid and you get into trouble and your parents threaten to take something away from you (TV, video games, play time, etc.) as punishment until you apologize? Then, even though you don’t mean it, you apologize because you just want your Nintendo 64 back?

      That’s what I feel just happened with Hanley Ramirez. He wanted back into the lineup after skipper Fredi Gonzalez benched him on Monday for not hustling after a ball that he booted into right field, so he apologized to his teammates and now he wants to move on.

      Here are the comments he made following his 3-for-5 performance at the plate last night in a win over the Marlins (via the Miami Herald):

      “I just came back in the lineup and got a lot of motivation from my teammates,” Ramirez said. “We get along. Things are going to happen. 162 games. But I think you put those things on the side and keep moving forward.”

      When asked what he told teammates before Wednesday’s game, Ramirez replied: “I just apologized to everybody. So it’s in the past. I talked to my family, wife and kids, and they’re happy.”

      When asked if he was glad the saga was now behind him, he responded: “We’re just going to try to win the series (with a win Thursday). I’m happy to be in the lineup.”

      Now, the apology was meant to be a private manner between him and his teammates, so I get that he might not divulge a lot of details to the media. But does anyone else get the sense that he’s just trying to brush this situation under the rug? At some point we in the media have to let this story die and move on (it’s not like he killed somebody and tried to bury them under Sun Life Stadium), but I don’t know, I expected more from him in light of the apology.

      Maybe that’s because I don’t believe that he believes that he did anything wrong. He said as much on Tuesday when he was questioned about the benching. So is he really sorry for potentially screwing his team out of a win or is he just sorry enough to get back into the lineup?

      We’ll see. This isn’t the first time Ramirez has had run-ins with a coach or teammate and if it’s the last, I’ll be shocked. But at least the Marlins can put the situation behind them for now. For now.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Should Braves consider Gonzalez as Cox’s replacement?

      May 19, 2010 /

      Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves should look to bring back Marlins’ manager Fredi Gonzalez when Bobby Cox steps down at the end of the season. Gonzalez was Atlanta’s third base coach for four years prior to his first season with the Marlins in 2007.

      Back to Gonzalez. It shouldn’t take much convincing for him to come back to Atlanta. In his four seasons as Marlins manager, the team’s payroll has ranked 29th, 30th, 30th and 26th (this season). Yet, Florida is over .500 for the third straight season, is coming off a second-place finish and in 2008 he was voting The Sporting News Manager of the Year in the National League for an 84-74 finish despite the majors’ smallest payroll.

      The Marlins have little fan support. They have a kooky owner, Jeffrey Loria, who actually balked at bringing Gonzalez back this season. Loria denied an ESPN report in October that he was exploring hiring Bobby Valentine to manage. But given that the report came from the nation’s best baseball reporter, Buster Olney, I know who I’m siding with.

      The problem, as Schultz notes in his article, is that Gonzalez’s contract runs through 2011. That doesn’t mean he’s untouchable until then, but it does make things a little more difficult from the Braves’ perspective. Plus, the Marlins and the Braves play in the same division, so I wonder how that would work. (Although Bruce Bochy went from San Diego to San Francisco in the same type of scenario and the Giants and Padres play in the same division.)

      That said, Brave fans have to at least like the thought of Gonzalez winding up in Hotlanta. Cox will go down as one of the most respected skippers in all of baseball and the Braves would be wise to hire someone with experience to fill his shoes. Gonzalez has done an admirable job in Florida and might be able to give Atlanta the shot in the arm that it needs.

      Of course, it’s only May. Who knows what will happen over the course of the next four and a half months leading up to Cox’s retirement.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

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