Category: MLB (Page 242 of 448)

      Angels’ starter Nick Adenhart killed in car crash

      April 9, 2009 /

      In saddening news, Los Angeles Angels’ young starting pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car crash last night according to TMZ.com.

      Cops say someone driving a minivan blew through a red light, causing the Mitsubishi that Adenhart and three others were riding in to hit a light pole. Three of the four people in the Mitsubishi were killed in the crash — Nick, another man and a woman — while the fourth person remains in the hospital.

      Cops say the person driving the van fled the scene — but was later caught and charged with felony hit-and-run. The suspect is also being treated for injuries in a local hospital.

      We’re told one of the other men killed in the crash was also affiliated with the Angels organization.

      Nick was 22 years old.

      FYI — Nick pitched his ass off last night, striking out 5 guys in 6 scoreless innings. His performance was hailed by sportswriters as a “brilliant effort by a 22-year-old right-hander making his fourth Major League start.”

      This is such a tragedy. Adenhart was one of the better young arms in baseball and he had a bright career ahead of him. I feel for his family, as well as the families of all the victims involved in the crash.

      MLB

      MLB Daily Six Pack 4/9

      April 9, 2009 /

      1. The defending champs needed that one…
      Staring 0-3 in the face, the Phillies rallied from a 10-3 deficit in the seventh inning to beat the Braves 12-11 on Wednesday. Raul Ibanez homered and drove in three runs as Philly went on to score eight runs in the seventh inning. While 1-2 isn’t the start the defending champs would have liked, maybe now their offense has awaken from their slump and they can use this game as a confidence builder.

      2. And I was like, Emilio!
      I know, I know – it’s only one sweep of the Nationals (and at home no less). But the Marlins’ 3-0 start (they beat Washington 6-4 on Wednesday) should raise some eyebrows because this team is loaded with bright, young talent. Granted, Emilio Bonifacio isn’t going to hit .571 the rest of the way, but he gives the Fish a strong table setter at the top of the lineup and catcher John Baker has been a nice surprise so far in the two-hole. If the young starting pitching can hold up and five-tool 22-year old outfielder Cameron Maybin can grow up in a hurry, the Mets, Phillies and Braves will definitely have competition this year in NL East.

      3. The Tigers might not have a good year, but Miggie will.
      For all intents and purposes, it looks like the Tigers are due for another down year, although outside of Justin Verlander, the starting pitching has looked good the past two nights. But one thing that won’t hold Detroit back this year is Miguel Cabrera, who hit two dingers and drove in four runs in the Tigs’ 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday. It’s early, but Cabrera looks like he’ll be a favorite for the AL MVP all season.

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      MLB

      Scott Olsen: Crowds at Marlins games were ‘a joke’

      April 8, 2009 /

      New Nationals’ starter Scott Olsen apparently wasn’t a fan of the home crowds of his former team, the Marlins.

      • MLB president Bob DuPuy, at Monday’s opener, said ”there’s no reason the Marlins can’t draw 2.5 million” (nearly 31,000 per game) annually in the new ballpark.

      Others aren’t convinced.

      ”It’s not a baseball town. The stadium will help, but it won’t cure the attendance,” Washington/ex-Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen said, noting he liked playing here but the small crowds at times were ”a joke” and that a few times, Marlins players would actually count the number of fans.

      ”It made it feel almost as bad as being in the Gulf Coast League.” (Florida sold 5,000 season tickets this year.)

      Olsen isn’t saying anything new – the crowds in Florida are a joke. I remember going to a Cubs-Marlins regular season game during the year Florida won the World Series in 2003 and the park was empty. It was so empty that the park was selling seats down the first base line just 15 rows back for practically nothing. And when you watch the games on TV or check out the highlights, the park is always a graveyard, which is sad because the Marlins always have some nice young talent (this year is no exception).

      But hey, I think the club is on to something with their “Mermaids”:

      MLB

      MLB Daily Six Pack 4/8

      April 8, 2009 /

      1. Nice start for Josh Beckett
      This season hasn’t gone the way of the ace so far, with CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Justin Verlander and Tim Lincecum all struggling for their respective teams. But one No. 1 that didn’t struggle in his ’09 debut was Boston’s Josh Beckett, who fanned 10 in the BoSox’s 5-3 victory over the Rays on Tuesday. You hate to make claims that a pitcher is already in midseason form after only one outing, but Beckett’s two-hit, one-run effort against Tampa was impressive.

      2. Speaking of Tim Lincecum…
      Boy did he struggle yesterday for the Giants. But the good news for San Fran and the reining NL Cy Young winner is that his velocity wasn’t down, it just looked like he had a major case of the yips in his Opening Day debut. He looked too pumped up from the start and just never settled down. Fortunately, Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina, Travis Ishikawa and the rest of the G-Men offense helped Lincecum out as SF romped the Brewers 10-6. Huh, what a concept – the Giants offense bailing out the pitching for once…who would have thought?

      3. Dombrowski better be taking heat today in Detroit
      In the offseason, Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski’s answer to solving the bullpen issues in Detroit was signing former Arizona closer Brandon Lyon instead of pursuing other avenues like J.J. Putz (who is now a setup man for the Mets). At least for one day, the decision backfired as Lyon blew Edwin Jackson’s (7.1, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K) gem in Toronto by giving up three runs on three hits as the Jays knocked off the Tigers 5-4. Granted, Lyon has plenty of time to bounce back but if he doesn’t, the Tigers will be left with mental midget Fernando Rodney to close games, who didn’t necessarily earn the role this spring with a 7.00 ERA. Considering Joel Zumaya may never pitch again due to freak injuries and Nate Robertson (who Dombrowski just gave a 3-year, $21 million deal in January of ’08) is pissed about being taken out of the starting rotation, Dombrowski has quite a mess brewing in Detroit.

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      MLB

      Canseco hints that Manny is on the juice

      April 7, 2009 /

      Jose Canseco recently touched on the topic of steroids in baseball to an audience at Bovard Auditorium on the campus of USC and hinted that Dodgers’ outfielder Manny Ramirez could be/could have been on the juice.

      Jose CansecoWhat about Manny Ramirez? someone asks.

      He says this, despite the fact that A-Rod isn’t being treated as toxic, nor are other players who were caught up in the steroid scandal but publicly apologized, including Miguel Tejada, starting shortstop for the Houston Astros, and Andy Pettitte, a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees.

      Why didn’t Ramirez get a long-term deal? Canseco asks. Why were owners gun-shy about signing arguably the game’s best hitter?

      Never mind that Ramirez was asking for a mega-deal at age 36. Or that he was negotiating in a sickly economy, while weighed down by the heavy baggage of a surly reputation. Canseco will have none of it. To Canseco, the drawn-out negotiation, the lack of a long-term deal, the lack of interest all raise red flags, and so he tells the Bovard crowd that Ramirez’s “name is most likely, 90%,” on the list.

      Canseco admits later that he has no way of knowing. But it makes sense to him, so he threw it out there — kaboom! — swinging for the fences, still.

      Late Saturday, I tracked down Ramirez to tell him what Canseco had said. The immediate response is pure Ramirez: He laughs. Sitting at his locker, he says, “I got no comment, nothing to say about that. What can I say? I don’t even know the guy.”

      Canseco is a nut, but as it turns out he’s been right about a lot of the players he has called out for taking roids. But that doesn’t mean Ramirez has ever been on the juice and I don’t know if you can point to his contract troubles this past offseason as an indication that he was taking performance-enhancers. I think teams were more leery of Man-Ram’s age, eroding defensive skills and the possibility of him flat out quitting on the Red Sox last year.

      MLB

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