Category: MLB (Page 437 of 448)

      Puckett suffers stroke, in critical condition

      March 6, 2006 /

      I used to be a huge Kirby Puckett fan. Who wasn’t, right? Then details of his “secret life” were revealed in a 2003 SI article. Fan no more.

      Still, you never want to see this:

      Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett, one of the most beloved players to ever don a Twins uniform, suffered a stroke Sunday morning at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home.

      A nursing supervisor at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix told The Associated Press that the former Twins center fielder was in critical condition. She did not provide additional details.

      Puckett had surgery to drain blood and relieve pressure resulting from bleeding in the brain, the The Star-Tribune of Minneapolis reported.

      Puckett’s friend, former Twin Tony Oliva, said he’s been concerned about Puckett’s weight for many years:

      “The last few times I saw him, he kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Oliva said. “And we worried about him. I saw him about five months ago. He always tries to invite me. He says, ‘Come to Arizona, and we’ll play some golf.'”

      What a sad story this guy has turned out to be. Once one of the most popular players in baseball, a guy many praised as a great family man, Puckett’s star certainly has fallen since being diagnosed with glaucoma in 1996 and forced to retire.

      MLB

      WBC Update: Two marquee matchups on March 7

      March 3, 2006 /

      Okay, so the World Baseball Classic officially reached ‘joke’ status when Al Leiter, Al Leiter, was brought in as a replacement for the United States’ roster instead of the, oh, 300-some pitchers out there that are far, far better than he is. But just try not to watch when this schedule pops up on ESPN and ESPN2 March 7:

      1:00 p.m.– Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela
      4:00 p.m. – Mexico vs. U.S.A.

      Granted, the Dominican lineup lost two thirds of their outfield (Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero) in the last week, but they still have Pujols, Big Papi, Soriano, Reyes, Beltre, Tejada, and enough pitching (Fatty Colon, Coco Cordero) to keep them in any game. Venezuela, meanwhile, has a 1-2 knockout punch at the top of their rotation in the form of Johan Santana and Carlos Zambrano, and their hitters (Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Victor Martinez) ain’t so bad, either. That is appointment viewing Chez Gigi, let me tell ya.

      The Mexico/USA game, meanwhile, looks like a letdown on paper, but that’s only because most of Mexico’s roster plays, well, in Mexico. Still, Oliver Perez is there, as is Jorge Cantu (dude knocked in 117 runs last year) and Adrian Gonzalez, who’s supposed to be a monster. Still, they will be no match for the Americans who, despite their many losses, still have a murderer’s row of hitters: A-Rod, D. Jitty, D. Lee, Utley, Damon, Griffey, Teixeira, Chipper, and Michael Young. Then there are the pitchers: Clemens, Dontrelle, Lidge, Peavy, Chad Cordero, Joe Nathan, Scot Shields… yowza.

      So get ready, baseball fans. It may not be the dream lineups we hoped for – if they want more players to participate, they should move the series until after the playoffs – but it’s still going to be better than meaningless spring training games. Play ball.

      MLB, Television

      Fantasy Baseball Q&A: Keepers and draft prep

      February 26, 2006 /

      The calendar is about to flip to March, which means it’s time to start thinking about two things: NCAA hoops and fantasy baseball.

      So what’s on your mind? Struggling with some keeper decisions, or wondering when it’s safe to take Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson? Maybe you want someone to tell you you’re crazy for thinking Michael Young is a better bet at short than Miguel Tejada, or that this is the year Mark Prior wins 20 and strikes out 220.

      Sleepers, keepers, drafts, busts, rookies, risks; whatever fantasy baseball questions you’ve got, post them here and we’ll give you our thoughts.

      And remember: Opening Day is April 2!

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Bonds can’t retire soon enough

      February 20, 2006 /

      I hate Barry Bonds. There, I said it. You all feel the same way, or most of you do, anyway. What’s not to hate? The guy uses steroids while chasing down one of the most sacred records in professional sports, denies ever using anything illegal, then tries to convince us that his steroid use was unintentional after his grand jury testimony was leaked to the press, bashes the media for reporting the story (“You all have dirt in your closets. Clean out your own closet before cleaning out someone else’s.”), and plays the victim in front of cameras while rehabbing his knee (“You guys [the media] wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally have jumped. You wanted to bring me down, you’ve finally brought me and my family down.”).

      And now, there’s this quote from Bonds in a recent USA Today article:

      “I’m not playing baseball anymore after this. The game [isn’t] fun anymore. I’m tired of all of the [stuff] going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me.”

      I would love nothing better than to forget about Barry Bonds, but that ain’t happening. In fact, it looks like Bonds may not even retire after this season, despite the above quote. Bonds later “clarified” his statement to USA Today in a phone interview with MLB.com:

      “If I can play [in 2007], I’m going to play; if I can’t I won’t. If my knee holds up, I’ll keep on going. I’m playing psychological games with myself right now. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment if things don’t work out this season. So I go back and forth. Back and forth every day. These are the things that are going through my mind. This is what I’m struggling with.”

      Do us all a favor, Barry: next time you go back, don’t bother coming forth. Just go away. I’d love to see him walk away before getting the seven homers he needs to pass Babe Ruth, but that’s a pipe dream. So let’s compromise: Get your 715 home runs, and then go away. Forever. Nobody wants to hear from you anymore. Nobody wants to see you whining to a bunch of reporters that they’re the reason you’re unhappy. Nobody wants to be subjected to these kinds of quotes anymore:

      “Baseball is a fun sport. But I’m not having fun. I love the game of baseball itself, but I don’t like what it’s turned out to be. I’m not mad at anybody. It’s just that right now I am not proud to be a baseball player.”

      If you’re not proud of being a baseball player, maybe you should look at some of the decision you’ve made throughout your career instead of blaming the sport, the media and the fans.

      Baseball is what it is today because guys like Barry Bonds think they are bigger than the game. The only way to cure that is for guys like Barry Bonds to just walk away.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Albert Belle: slugger, corker, stalker

      February 17, 2006 /

      Honestly, is anybody surprised by this?

      Former baseball star Albert Belle was arrested Thursday and charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend, police said.

      Scottsdale police said the 39-year-old Belle was taken into custody after a former girlfriend told officers that he had stalked her.

      This is my favorite part of the article, though:

      The volatile Belle often ran into trouble on and off the field during his playing days.

      He was fined in 1994 for using a corked bat and suspended after instigating a brawl by elbowing an opposing player. In 1991, he threw a baseball into the chest of a fan taunting him. Years later, he tossed a ball at a photographer.

      Ah yes, the good old days. Who can forget when Joey ran down a bunch of kids in his SUV after they threw eggs at his house on Halloween?

      MLB

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