Category: MLB (Page 368 of 448)

Jon Heyman of SI.com looks at the 13 worst free agent deals in baseball.

1. Hampton, $121 million, Rockies (and Braves). The deals for him and Denny Neagle ($55 million, five years) set the Rockies back five years. On the other hand, the complicated trade to send him away and get the Rockies on the path to the World Series was a stroke of genius. The Braves, who got him from the Marlins in November 2002, two days after Colorado dumped him, are known for wise pitching decisions, but this has to be their worst.

6. Kevin Brown, $105 million, Dodgers (and Yankees). The first $100-million free agent. There were whispers that no one was offering anywhere near nine figures, but the truth is that while L.A. was the high bidder, there were other fools out there, as well. He brought his surly demeanor to the Bronx for two years, and left without a word, never to be heard from again. That is, until the Mitchell Report was released.

9. Barry Zito, $126 million, seven years, Giants. Hard as it is to believe now, at least one other team (the Mariners) was willing to hit nine figures. Zito has lost 4-5 mph, leaving too little discrepancy between the fastball and his signature breaking ball. He’s still got almost six years to go, so there’s time to turn it around, but he turns 30 next month.

Interesting that six of Heyman’s 13-worst signings were starting pitchers. I’ve watched Zito pitch a couple times this year and he just doesn’t have it. Actually, he’ll have it for two or three innings, and then look completely befuddled the rest of the time. Of course, when your team only gets you a total of three runs in four starts, you’re not going to win many ballgames.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

Angels’ outfielder Torii Hunter recently had this to say about so many teams sporting No. 42 jerseys for baseball’s annual Jackie Robinson Day:

This is what Los Angeles Angels outfield Torii Hunter said, to USA Today: “This is supposed to be an honor, and just a handful of guys wearing the number. Now you’ve got entire teams doing it. I think we’re killing the meaning. It should be special wearing Jackie’s number, not just because it looks cool.”

What upset Hunter, he says now, was this: The Houston Astros had no black players on their team last April, and yet the entire team wore No. 42. Said Hunter: “That got it away from, ‘OK, we don’t have any blacks,’ ” he said. To Hunter, a roster with no black players did not represent the progress for which Robinson stood, and baseball celebrated according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but I’d like to assume that any player that wears No. 42 on that day is doing so in tribute to Robinson and not because “it looks cool.” I could be naïve here, but I’d like to think that baseball players understand the importance of what Robinson did for the game and donning his number on your back should be done with the utmost respect.

What do you think? Does Hunter have a point?

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

ESPN.com wants to know what’s wrong with Boston Red Sox slugger David Oritz, who is hitting just .070 on the season.

I love ESPN. Without fail, whenever a player or team is slumping, they run the “What’s wrong with…” segment. Big Papi isn’t 28-years old anymore and he’s battling a nagging knee injury. He’s going to turn things around and once he does, ESPN can run the “Which Big Papi is the real Big Papi – the Big Papi who started the season batting .070 or the Big Papi that is on a 34-54 tear?” segment.

Count Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News as someone who isn’t the least bit surprised by the Detroit Tigers’ massive early season struggles.

This is a team that was willing to cross its fingers that Dontrelle Willis suddenly would move from the National League to a more hitter-deep American League and find happiness, even though scouts have been concerned since the start of last season the 200-plus-inning seasons at a young age have taken a toll on his arm.

It’s great to add third baseman Miguel Cabrera and then get ownership to step up and hand him a seven-year, $141 million deal. He is a definite upgrade over Brandon Inge. Inge, however, is a solid third baseman, and considering he already is signed for two years, the question is why the Tigers didn’t put their resources into reinforcing their pitching staff.

Tracy had me nodding my head until the Cabrera/Inge comments. I get her point about how the money could have been more useful for other positions, but if you get the chance to add a four-time All-Star who hasn’t even seen his 25th birthday yet, you jump at it. While Ringolsby makes a good point about Inge’s defense, nobody in Motown is missing his brutal bat. The Giants had several opportunities to trade for him in the offseason, yet went with a nobody Pirates’ castoff named Jose Castillo (who actually has been a decent surprise thus far), so that should tell you what other club’s think of Inge.

With that said, Ringolsby does make a good point about the Tigers’ struggles. Detroit did nothing in the offseason to address its bullpen issues and to think Willis was going to magically turn things around in a tougher AL was a stretch, too.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com.

Turning 38 can be a momentous occasion in any man’s life. That’s why Tampa Bay Rays’ relief pitcher Al Reyes celebrated his 38th birthday the only way he knew how – by being arrested and Tased…twice.

Witnesses told police the incident started around 2:30 a.m. at the Hyde Park Cafe, 1806 W Platt St., when Reyes fell against a ceramic pot inside the bar. Thinking someone had pushed him, police said Reyes began exchanging words with patron Eduardo Mora.

Mora then punched Reyes in the face, getting the attention of the Hyde Park Cafe’s bouncers. Meanwhile, police said in a news release, Reyes “began to spit blood on the people in the area and began to swing his arms about.”

The bouncers tried to control Reyes, but the 6 foot 1, 230-pound right-hander kept pushing them away. A Tampa Police officer working extra duty at the bar tried to calm the fracas, but Reyes “continued spitting blood and thrashing about,” Tampa Police Lt. William Ferguson wrote in the release.

Moments later, the officer Tased Reyes, knocking him to the bar floor. Ignoring police commands to stay down, authorities said Reyes got up and was Tased a second time.

What’s the big deal? With a 13.50 ERA, this isn’t the first time this year Reyes has been knocked around a bit.

Photos courtesy of Flickr.