Interesting Baseball News Items That Do Not Warrant Their Own Thread

[Jersey Yankee]

In further embarrassment to Mut$ history, in his first HR of the season, Dontrelle Willis smacked a grand slam against them while striking out 9 and getting the win.


Jose Lima watches as Florida's Dontrelle Willis rounds
the bases after hitting a grand slam. (Getty Images)

[fredgmuggs]

In further embarrassment to Mut$ history, in his first HR of the season, Dontrelle Willis smacked a grand slam against them while striking out 9 and getting the win.


Jose Lima watches as Florida's Dontrelle Willis rounds
the bases after hitting a grand slam. (Getty Images)

And Lima was given his release right after the game.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/st...p-365189c.html

Lima Time has just expired

Veteran righthander Jose Lima was designated for assignment after he was bombarded for the fourth time in as many fill-in starts for the front-running Mets this season in a 7-3 loss to Florida last night at Shea.

[JDPNYY]

And Lima was given his release right after the game.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/st...p-365189c.html

Did the Mets wait until after the game?

[yankeebot]

Did the Mets wait until after the game?

Heh. Has a player ever been released during a game?

[JDPNYY]

Heh. Has a player ever been released during a game?

If there was ever someone more deserving, I'm not sure who?

[SoCal Pinstriper]

CHECK AGAIN: Kerry Wood returned to Chicago on Friday to have his right shoulder examined by Dr. Stephen Gryzlo, the club's orthopedist. Trainer Mark O'Neal said it was a routine visit.
Wood isn't close to testing his shoulder in another bullpen session, and his status for the second half remains doubtful. It's still possible that Wood won't pitch again this season for the Cubs.
The best-case scenario might be for Wood to be able to throw just enough to prove to himself that his future is as a reliever. The Cubs aren't going to exercise his $13.5million option for next season. The deal has a $3.5 million buyout, and many believe Wood will sign elsewhere as a free agent.
But an alternative route is for Wood to accept the idea in his mind that his shoulder only permits him now to throw one inning. If he would accept that role, the Cubs could offer him an incentive-laden contract that keeps him in Chicago as part of the bullpen.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/...t-cubnt08.html

[SoCal Pinstriper]

The Angels signed South Korean pitcher Young-Il Jung, 18, for a $1-million bonus, the Korea Times reported. General Manager Bill Stoneman said the Angels' international scouts have "talked about something in that neighborhood" for a Korean prospect but said he had not received a signed contract. Jung struck out 23 in a 13-inning high school game in April, according to the report.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printe...ines-pe-sports

[SoCal Pinstriper]

BILL OF HEALTH: Despite what seems like a spate of injuries lately, the Mariners have been by far the healthiest team in the majors. They've put only four players on the DL this year for a total of 76 days. The next-healthiest is Toronto, with 162 days. Pity the Washington Nationals, whose players have spent 827 days on the DL.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseba...44_mbok08.html

[SoCal Pinstriper]

MILWAUKEE -- Pitcher Kerry Wood's career suffered another serious jolt Saturday when it was revealed he has a partially torn right rotator cuff.
An MRI arthrogram taken Friday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital showed why Wood has been complaining about shoulder soreness while playing catch in recent weeks and why he had to shut down a simulated game June 19 in Cleveland after 70 pitches.
The Cubs right-hander was unable to make more than four big-league starts this season in his comeback from arthroscopic surgery on his right labrum last August, and now he is certain to miss the rest of this season.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/...t-cside09.html

[TheMelkMan]

Regarding Lima giving up the grand slam to Willis, I have a funny story to tell. I was at that game (a Mets fan friend invited me) and when Willis came up with the bases juiced, I said (just to annoy him) "you watch, Willis will hit a grand slam off this guy, then it'll really be Lima-time. I was just joking, and assumed even Lima couldn't suck that much. Boy was I wrong.

[Yankeeah]

In the bottom of the 11th inning of the Cards/Stros game, with two outs Roy Oswalt pinch-hits. He doubles down the line. Braden Looper appeals, throws to first, and they call him out.

I check on GameDay. If you view home outs, they have it as Oswalt grounding out the Looper, but the ball is in the LF corner.

[-tz]

I don't think I've ever seen anyone called out for failing to touch a base, though I've seen plenty of appeals (seldom first base though)!

I also KNOW I've never seen a pitcher pinch hit ... but I don't watch many NL games. Say, do you think Chacon is any good with a bat?

[SoCal Pinstriper]

HERE'S JONNY: Most of the Rays were planning to take it easy during the break. And then there is Jonny Gomes.
"I'm going to drink some beer and get some tattoos," he said. "I'm going to stay on the beach. And hopefully, I'm going to pick up my new dog, an albino boxer."
Its name is Jager. That's short for Jagermeister, which is all you need to know.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/10/Ra..._keep_on.shtml

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Last year at the All-Star break, 13 major leaguers had 20 or more homers and three had at least 25.
This year, 23 have hit 20 and 11 have reached 25.
Last year, there were 1.032 homers hit per game, an average of 4.592 runs scored and an aggregate .419 slugging percentage.
So far this year, those numbers are 1.114, 4.900 and .431.

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15010802.htm

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15010802.htm

Well you know, it took a year to find the right masking agents.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Nice interview with Billy Beane here.
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story.../10/151635/440

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

Intracity rivalry at its finest.

Carlos Zambrano could be headed to the disabled list after being hit in the pitching arm by a fungo bat prior to the All-Star game.
Zambrano was doing an interview with Venezuelan television near the batting cage on Tuesday when White Sox coach Joey Cora accidentally hit his pitching elbow with a fungo bat. Zambrano was unavailable to pitch in the All-Star game and X-rays on the elbow were negative. He will have it further examined in Chicago on Wednesday.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub12.html

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Astros hitting coach Gary Gaetti was fired Wednesday night, paying the price for an offense tied for the worst batting average in the National League and the 27th worst average in the majors.
Former Astros third baseman Sean Berry, who became the club's minor league hitting coordinator last season after two seasons as the Class AA Round Rock hitting coach, has been promoted to interim hitting coach.


The Astros are batting .256, tied for last in the NL with the Philadelphia Phillies and 27th in the majors.
Only the American League's Tampa Devil Rays and Oakland A's have lower batting averages this season.

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4043689.html

[NyQuil]

My god. I just saw the Andrew Pointer special on Sportscenter and I came so close to bawling.

[Tifoso]

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4043689.html

Oakland A's

How the heck are they fighting for the AL West? (and yes, I know the division is bad, but still...)

[26 and counting]

I was waiting for someone else to mention this. Maybe they did in some other thread, but not here. Albert Pujols hit a walkoff home run last night in the 14th inning off of Odalis Perez. Also, Perez complained that he's being treated like trash by the Dodgers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260713124
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2518866

[SecretChiSoxFan]

Mark Prior joins Kerry Wood on DL.......again. Prior is nothing but a head case!

Cubs put Prior on DL

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

July 14, 2006, 12:35 PM CDT


The Cubs started the second half of the season by putting pitcher Mark Prior on the disabled list and calling up infielder Ryan Theriot from Triple-A Iowa.




http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....home-headlines

[hellonewman]

Brian Roberts, man of color:
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/od...850070&k=77992

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Baseball considering expanding humidor use?

OK, if the humidor must stay, then can we have one installed in every ballpark in the majors so it can counter the effects of steroids? Makes sense, doesn't it?
-- Josh Williams, Butte, Mont.
Josh - I have talked at length about this topic with Jimmie Lee Solomon, who is in charge of Major League Baseball's on-field operations. As of late last week, no team had lodged an official complaint about the humidor, though Oakland manager Ken Macha, Dodgers boss Grady Little and a handful of Diamondbacks players have groused about it.
Solomon said that the idea of other teams using humidors will be discussed at the GM meetings in November. In Colorado, it has reduced the game times. By normalizing the games at Coors Field, it has allowed the Rockies to improve dramatically on the road over the past year.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_4047787

[Tifoso]

Baseball considering expanding humidor use?
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_4047787

How frickin' cool is that?

[SoCal Pinstriper]

How frickin' cool is that?

I think it's more humid than cool.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Jason Bay channeling Yogi:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Pirates All-Star outfielder Jason Bay, on his team's immediate future: "The only way we're going to improve is if we actually go out and get better."

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15035935.htm

[TheMick@ND]

Jason Bay channeling Yogi:
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/15035935.htm

That's an awesome quote.

[Cuban Connection]

Cliff Politte was DFA after today's brutal performance.

HE sure fell hard from an amazing 2005.

Even though it isn't official yet, his replacement is Sean Tracey.

[ryanm1058123]

Cliff Politte was DFA after today's brutal performance.

HE sure fell hard from an amazing 2005.

Even though it isn't official yet, his replacement is Sean Tracey.

yep, when you let bubba crosby hit a HR off of you, it's time to call it a career

[Panamaniac42]

From Rotoworld:

Mariano Rivera - R - Yankees

For the first time since 1978, there were no saves recorded Saturday on a day with a full schedule of games. There were six blown saves, including two each in Pittsburgh's 7-6 victory over Washington and Cincinnati's 3-2 win against Colorado. 10 games were decided by at least six runs. The last time baseball went a complete day without a save was Sept. 15, 1978, when all 26 teams were in action during a 14-game schedule -- including a doubleheader, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Jul. 16 - 1:53 am et Source: The Associated Press

[Rice14]

Interesting stat during the Yankee game.

The top 5 HR hitters of all time for the White Sox are:

Frank Thomas 448

then...
Paul Konerko (222), Harold Baines(221), Carlton Fisk(214), and Magglio Ordonez(187).

All guys from the last 25 years? This is a franchise that's been around 105 years.

[26 and counting]

From Rotoworld:

Mariano Rivera - R - Yankees

For the first time since 1978, there were no saves recorded Saturday on a day with a full schedule of games. There were six blown saves, including two each in Pittsburgh's 7-6 victory over Washington and Cincinnati's 3-2 win against Colorado. 10 games were decided by at least six runs. The last time baseball went a complete day without a save was Sept. 15, 1978, when all 26 teams were in action during a 14-game schedule -- including a doubleheader, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Jul. 16 - 1:53 am et Source: The Associated Press

That's an incredible stat, especially in this day in age of 1-inning closers.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Get used to the new look, as center fielder Torii Hunter has been placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a stress fracture in his left foot. An MRI exam taken Sunday morning revealed a fracture in the fourth metatarsal, which connects the second-smallest toe to a bone near the arch.
"We look at it as maybe a couple of weeks," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, predicting the length of Hunter's absence. "We decided rather than have him try to play through something like that it is better to put him on the DL."

The other layer to Hunter's injury is how it affects his future with the club. The Twins must pick up a $12 million option on his 2007 contract or pay him a $2 million buyout. If the Twins want to deal Hunter before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, they likely would have difficulty doing so because of the injury. July 31 is the earliest he can be activated.

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/555419.html

[Soriambi]

Interesting stat during the Yankee game.

The top 5 HR hitters of all time for the White Sox are:

Frank Thomas 448

then...
Paul Konerko (222), Harold Baines(221), Carlton Fisk(214), and Magglio Ordonez(187).

All guys from the last 25 years? This is a franchise that's been around 105 years.

I saw that Konerko was 2nd on the big screen at the game and I was surprised by that also.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

THERE'S JONNY: Jonny Gomes' ejection might have been the shortest in history. With Navarro rolling on the ground after a sixth-inning collision at the plate, first baseman Greg Norton waved for someone on the Rays bench to get a towel. Gomes grabbed one and tossed it out on the field, and before Norton could pick it up, Foster tossed Gomes.
"I heard, 'Jonny, you're out of here.' I wasn't looking that direction or anything so I said, 'Why?' He said, 'You can't throw a towel on the field,' " Gomes recalled. "I said, 'Well, our catcher's bleeding, and he needs a towel, and he called for a towel.' And he said, 'Oh, I guess you can stay in then.' "

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/17/Ra...rustrate.shtml

[SoCal Pinstriper]

• Small crowds at Marlins games have amused some opponents. ''You're not supposed to hear the lights!'' Atlanta's John Smoltz said.
``When you hear the lights buzzing, it's not good. I don't know how baseball is going to survive here.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...s/15050750.htm

The Rangers have requested that Toronto officials disinfect the visiting clubhouse in advance of today's series. The Blue Jays disinfected their home clubhouse this weekend after two players developed staph infections. Rangers' equipment manager Zack Minasian also said the team is looking into having both clubhouses in Arlington disinfected as a precaution.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...fs.bf1977.html

If all goes well, Sheets will rejoin the Brewers' rotation next Monday or the day after that against Pittsburgh at home.
"Whenever they say, I'm ready," said Sheets, who had a morning bullpen session in preparation for the Nashville start. "The shoulder feels good. I just need to get my body in pitching shape."
When Sheets was scratched from his scheduled start on May 7 in Los Angeles with shoulder tendinitis, there was no way to know how long he would spend on the disabled list. He began the year on the DL while recovering from a muscle tear behind his shoulder from August and made only four starts (1-3, 6.64 earned run average) before being sidelined again.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=468719

Saturday’s 7-0 Sox win was one of 10 games decided by at least six runs, the second most in major league history for a single day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The only occasion with more lopsided wins was May 30, 1884, when 12-of-24 games in the three existing leagues were won by six-or-more runs.

http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSo...format=&page=2

Little plans to ask Braden Looper to sign a baseball for his 7-year-old grandson, whose name was inspired by the Cardinals reliever.

Little's son, Eric, and his wife named their son Braden after scanning major league rosters. They didn't know much about Looper, but his first name stood out.

"You know how a lot of young parents look through a book that lists every name out there?" Little said. "These kids picked one by looking through the box scores in the newspaper."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/printe...ines-pe-sports

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Although he won't resume throwing for two more weeks, rather than immediately, the news on Rich Harden was mostly positive as far as the A's were concerned. Harden received a second opinion on Monday from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Southern California, and after getting the results of a contrast MRI exam, Yocum agreed with the A's medical staff that Harden has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and the injury is not operable.
Yocum had Harden do some exercises to test the elbow and there was still some discomfort, so to be cautious, he will not begin throwing again until the end of the month or the start of August. Trainer Larry Davis said that players generally are not allowed to throw for a week or 10 days after being injected with dye for contrast MRIs, anyway.
Assistant general manager David Forst said that it is too soon to say what role Harden will fill when he returns. Last year, when Harden came off the disabled list in September, he pitched in relief, a spot that would require fewer weeks of preparation.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...PG2EJVV561.DTL

[LuckyLopez]

Weird thing I noticed reading through last night's boxscores.

Angels 7, Indians 5: Joe Saunders is called up for an emergency start and gets his first career win. He was then sent back down to AAA after the game. 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Dodgers 4, D-Backs 3: Chad Billingsley picks up his first career win and drops his ERA down to 3.66. 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

Mets 8, Reds 3: Mike Pelfry goes to 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA on his career. 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Boston 1, KC 0: Jon Lester and Jonathon Papelbon combine for a 1-hit shutout. Lester goes to 5-0 with a 2.38 ERA on his career while Papelbon picks up save #28 and drops his ERA to 0.55.
Lester: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K; Papelbon 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Twins 8, D-Rays 1: Francisco Liriano misses his first complete game by an out but goes to 11-2 with a 1.94 ERA. 8.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Pretty decent night for rookie pitching.

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Roommates Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau of the Twins are expected to receive long-term contract offers this winter that could total $70 million between them.
"That would be nice, but who knows?" Morneau said Tuesday. "I've got to worry about finishing this year first."
Said Mauer: "I haven't even thought about that. All I'm thinking about now is playing."
Market value for each, if they continue at their current pace of production, would be in the $40 million range over five years. The Twins could offer each $35 million for five years, thus buying out their first two years of free-agency eligibility and binding them for at least two years to the team's new ballpark that is to open in 2010 in downtown Minneapolis.
Morneau, 25, and Mauer, 23, being paid $385,000 and $400,000, respectively, this season, are eligible for salary arbitration this winter. First baseman Morneau actually has more earning power because of his run-producing numbers: 25 home runs, 78 runs batted in while hitting .311 after homering Tuesday night against Tampa Bay.
Mauer, an all-star catcher, leads the major leagues in hitting (.376). Mauer's run-producing numbers (seven homers, 47 RBIs) aren't as impressive as those of Morneau, but he possesses nearly priceless intangibles: homegrown with tremendous marketing value to the franchise.
Salary arbitration for Morneau could cost the Twins $3 million for next season; Morneau could win a judgment for $3.25 million, industry experts say.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pionee...s/15069371.htm

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Those expectations were realized Tuesday when the Brewers announced that Hardy would undergo season-ending surgery later in the week to repair a tendon problem in his right ankle. The surgery will be performed by team physician William Raasch and tentatively is scheduled for Thursday.
The expected recovery time for Hardy is three to four months, giving him sufficient time to prepare for the 2007 season.
Hardy suffered a bad sprain of the ankle May 17 in a collision with Philadelphia catcher Sal Fasano at Miller Park. The sprain eventually healed but he began having problems with the peroneal tendon painfully snapping in and out of place.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=472379

[SoCal Pinstriper]

DETROIT -- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he's fed up about the lack of action of today's players when they take exception to an opponent.

Guillen wasn't singling out Detroit's Craig Monroe for claiming Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski elbowed him after Monroe's grand slam Wednesday night, but he expressed anger over players airing complaints through the media instead of physically confronting the opponent.

"I remember Kirk Gibson knocked the [stuffing] out of me at second base," Guillen said Thursday. "The next day, I threw right at his face. It wasn't bad blood; that's the way people should be playing. You talk about Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Don Baylor;that's a man's game. Now this is a bunch of little weasels' game. Baseball, Major League Baseball, not just the White Sox, everybody in baseball. Come on, just play hard."

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....home-headlines

[Seth]

In Saturday's Orioles-Devil Rays game, for the first time since 1933, both teams scored 9 runs or more in an inning.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/g...=.jsp&c_id=bal

[Slavenka]

Chorizo is the new Racing Sausage
http://www.jsonline.com/blog/index.a...06&entry=21831

I’m gonna marry a Brewers fan, so I find this fun- even though I am a vegetarian and would have liked to have seen a Tofu Brat.

[burke615-RSN]

Chorizo is the new Racing Sausage
http://www.jsonline.com/blog/index.a...06&entry=21831

I’m gonna marry a Brewers fan, so I find this fun- even though I am a vegetarian and would have liked to have seen a Tofu Brat.

Well that definitely didn't warrant its own thread!

Seriously, though, people LOBBIED to be represented in a SAUSAGE RACE???

[SoCal Pinstriper]

Eric Chavez will have more tests in an effort to determine how to better treat the forearm tendinitis that has rendered him so ineffective the past month or so, and he is also considering acupuncture to relieve the problem.
"I'll try anything,'' the third baseman said.
According to trainer Larry Davis, Chavez will have another set of MRI exams done, this time on his elbows, to see if anything there is contributing to the ongoing forearm pain. The last set of MRIs was done on Chavez's forearms.
"We'll start with the elbows and if we don't find anything, we'll go up the ladder: biceps, shoulders, neck,'' Davis said.
If Chavez is to receive acupuncture, Davis said the A's will arrange it. Several of the team's players have benefited from such treatment in the past, according to Davis.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...PGL5K4P781.DTL

[SoCal Pinstriper]

CLEVELAND - The day when Andy Marte makes his Indians debut is drawing closer, but club officials aren't giving any hints.
``I'm not going to speculate on that until it happens,'' manager Eric Wedge said Tuesday. ``That's out of fairness to everybody.''
``Everybody'' in this case is Aaron Boone, the incumbent third baseman, who will be spending much more time on the bench -- probably the majority of his time -- when Marte arrives from Triple-A Buffalo.
Marte has been all but anointed the Tribe's everyday third baseman for 2007, and the declining fortunes of the team this year have made it easier for the Indians' deep thinkers to give Marte a head start on next season.
Nobody would be surprised if Marte made his Tribe debut at the outset of the next trip Monday to Fenway Park in Boston. It might even be earlier, possibly when the Bisons go on the road Saturday.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjourna...s/15124442.htm

[NyQuil]

Chris Berman and Joe Morgan are having an orgasm on the air about how great the fans at Fenway were in game four of the 2004 ALCS even when they were trailing and that the fans are the reasons the Red Sox were able to rally and win it.

Oh yeah, they are calling a Cardinals/Cubs game.

[RollingWave]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5822932

Fox is reporting that Carlos Lee have declined a 4 year 48 Million contract ( duh ...) and will now likely be traded.

[yanksphan]

Aramis Ramirez has REALLY turned it on since the ASB:

Pre-ASB .259/.320/.482/.801 - 16HR, 52RBI
Post-ASB .368/.448/.807/1.255 - 7HR, 16RBI

Too bad he and D.Lee could never get it going together this year - that would be a scary duo.