Other MLB News Part 2

[Hope]

Well part one got chewed up and digested trying again...

There are two stories on this via Yahoo! Sports.

Twins dismiss sign-stealing allegation by fan
DETROIT – Tony Faust does not play baseball, nor is he a scout. He is a 28-year-old graphic designer who loves the Minnesota Twins. So when he saw video that he believed shows Twins catcher Joe Mauer stealing signs from the Detroit Tigers, Faust decided to annotate it, upload it and let the world witness just how slick his favorite player really is.

One problem: The Twins say it’s a bunch of malarkey.

As they prepared for the finale of a pivotal four-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, the Twins had to confront something positively 2009: a fan, one with a minimal baseball background at that, accusing the likely American League MVP of standing on second base and blatantly relaying signals to home plate to give batter Jason Kubel an idea of the next pitch.
Kubel laughed at the implication that Mauer was tugging at his helmet as a means of subterfuge. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire denied it, saying with such obvious sign-stealing “somebody would get killed.” First baseman Justin Morneau insisted on talking to the media to underscore the ludicrousness of the allegations.

Watch Clip Here

And yet across the field, in the Tigers’ clubhouse, Gerald Laird – the catcher for the game in question, a 6-5 Detroit victory Tuesday night – said the Twins’ reputation for stealing signs is no secret.
“They’re known for it over there,” Laird said. “I know they’ve done it in the past. I don’t know if it’s signs or location. They’re really good at stealing signs. It’s a skill. There’s nothing bad about it; they’re just well prepared.”

Sign-stealing is nothing new in baseball. The most famous hit in history, Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round the World in 1951, came off a Ralph Branca fastball he knew was coming. Players, coaches and managers consider it part of the game rather than cheating. If a catcher can’t deceive the opponents, he’s not trying hard enough. Because every team – Twins included – attempts to decode signals.
“I’m not saying we’re out there trying to steal signs, but I hope we are,” Gardenhire said. “I hope that they’re out there trying to steal signs. Because that’s the game. Everybody does it.”

It’s just … well, there’s an elegance to it that perhaps Faust didn’t capture in his breakdown of the 4-minute, 23-second clip, which Major League Baseball may soon take down for copyright violation. The theft of signs takes a keen ability to decode indicators, secondary signals and all of the other tricks catchers use. Relaying them is generally a subtle trick – an exaggerated lean that looks natural, or a hand tap that is familiar between only two players. They generally indicate pitch location instead of pitch type.
Something as remedial as putting a finger in the earhole for a breaking ball and touching the face for a fastball, as Faust interpreted, would be mighty dim of Mauer, generally regarded among the brightest players in baseball. Getting caught stealing signs invites the opponent to throw at the hitter. It’s like a public-urination rap. The cops aren’t chasing leads on a random puddle, but if you do it in front of them, they’re going to arrest you.
“It’s absolutely what they were doing,” Faust said. “It was such an urgent situation, they had to do something. There’s no question that was it.”

Actually, the entire Twins clubhouse questioned it. The video spread virally throughout the morning. At one point, a half-dozen Twins surrounded the locker of pitcher Kevin Slowey, who sat in his chair with a computer on his lap. The video played, and the Twins critiqued it like a group at Cannes watching the worst film of the year.
“What an idiot,” one player said.
“Can we write notes to this guy?” another said. “And tell him that his explanation of tipping the signs was atrocious?”

Their biggest beef came from the first pitch. Faust said that Laird put down two fingers, signaling a curveball, and that Mauer touched his helmet to indicate the pitch to Kubel. The pitch was actually a changeup. Mauer, who was unavailable for comment before the game, often tugs at his helmet, according to teammates.
“What else are they gonna say?” Faust said. “I don’t know. That was the one weird thing. It was a changeup. Maybe he was just tipping offspeed overall.
“I’m just a fan who noticed it.”

Whether it was legitimate thievery, only the Twins know. Their denial was quick and vehement. They were perturbed that hours before the biggest game of their season, they had to address something manufactured – literally, and perhaps in his head as well – by a graphic designer from Maple Grove, Minn., about 20 miles northwest of Minneapolis, and simultaneously amused that it had taken on life so quickly with such sparse underpinnings.
“I wish we could steal signs,” Gardenhire said.
“We don’t do it around here,” Kubel said.
“I’ve been hitting behind Joe for five years and haven’t gotten a sign from him yet,” Morneau said.

That’s fine, Faust said. He still loves the Twins even if he doesn’t believe them.
“I know what I saw,” Faust said.
And he won’t be convinced otherwise.

[Hope]

Twins angry at teammate’s ‘selfish act’

DETROIT – Delmon Young was furious. He writhed on the ground, his knee swelling from the 93-mph fastball that just ricocheted off it. When he stood up, he slammed his helmet. He wanted an explanation. Young turned toward the culprit. He jabbed his index finger through the air, took the heavy-footed steps of a man intent on delivering a beatdown and readied himself to charge and maim the responsible party.

Who sat in his own dugout.

Yes, it was that sort of a day at Comerica Park, the kind where the Minnesota Twins staving off elimination from the postseason comprised the third most interesting nugget of the day. Obscuring the Twins’ 8-3 victory Thursday that kept the Detroit Tigers from clinching the American League Central was first the hullabaloo created by an Internet-age whodunit – whether Twins catcher Joe Mauer had two days earlier stolen signs and passed them along to teammates, as alleged by a fan in his own Zapruder-like account of the incident. Mauer said no. The Twins denied it. The Tigers were dubious. The fan is sure he’s right.

By the afternoon, once the Mauer tumult died down, a new issue was bubbling, one far more toxic to a team trying to pull off a monumental comeback and still two games behind Detroit with three to play. Young believed that Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman hit him in retaliation for a 94-mph fastball Twins rookie reliever Jose Mijares threw behind Adam Everett the previous inning … because he was mad the Tigers were stealing bases when trailing by six runs. Every Twin, in fact, from manager Ron Gardenhire down to the 25th man, faulted Mijares for Young’s throbbing knee. So when Young melted down, they stopped him – though if Mijares took a wayward fist to the jaw, no one would have blamed Young.
“I knew somebody was going to have to wear it,” Young told Minneapolis-area reporters. “You can’t throw behind one of their players … and expect nothing to happen. …
“He needs to pay attention to how baseball’s played.”

The postgame vitriol toward the 24-year-old Mijares was remarkable in its unanimity. Twins shortstop Orlando Cabrera said Mijares apologized. Others hadn’t heard any contrition. Either way, it wasn’t sufficient. Because of Mijares, a blowout evolved into an ugly situation that could have turned disastrous.
“It was a selfish act on his part,” Cabrera said. “Because as a team we’re here to win ballgames. We’re not here to get into fights or hit people.”

Both benches cleared as Young hobbled around. Home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez already had thrown out Tigers manager Jim Leyland for arguing. Now Bonderman was gone, and catcher Gerald Laird – who earlier in the day told Yahoo! Sports that the Twins are “really good at stealing signs” – mouthed off to Hernandez and got booted, too. No one wanted to fight, really, but an ill-timed word here or a machismo-filled posture there could have caused something benign to degenerate.

Tempers cooled. Young remained in the game and never got to Mijares, teammates ensuring they stayed away from each other. The Twins were apologetic for causing the mess. Gardenhire intimated as much to Leyland.
“We told him we screwed up,” Gardenhire said. “They did what they had to do, and it’s over with. They did the right thing.”

Only in baseball, mind you, is intentional retaliation via speed-limit-busting projectile hitting flesh deemed the right thing. Young praised Bonderman, in fact, for keeping the beaning on the lower half of his body. In the midst of such barbarism – one man ravenously going after another wearing the same uniform – the teams themselves stuck by a code.

As they fought for a playoff spot, their mutual respect played out in the oddest manner.
“It’s hard for me to believe we just played the biggest game of the year and won, and I’m sitting here having to describe what happened,” said Twins catcher Mike Redmond, who apologized to Everett – a Twin last season – after Mijares buzzed him. “I don’t really know what to say. It’s up to him to figure out what he’s thinking.”

Mijares changed quickly after the game and escaped the clubhouse without talking to reporters. Outfielder Carlos Gomez said he offered to translate for Mijares, a Venezuelan who speaks limited English, but Mijares “felt so bad he didn’t want to talk.”
“On the plane,” Gomez said, “he told me he’s going to say he’s sorry. I hope they listen. I’m not a veteran, but I know you have to forgive.”

It’s easier to do so knowing Mijares has a 2.05 ERA in 68 games as a left-handed specialist, and that the Twins almost certainly will need him this weekend against Kansas City. Detroit’s magic number remained at 2, meaning they simply need to win two games against Chicago to clinch the division. Or win one and hope the Twins slip Saturday against Zack Greinke. Or back in by watching Minnesota lose a pair.

Should the White Sox sweep the Tigers and the Twins take two of three, a one-game playoff awaits Tuesday at the Metrodome, hosting its final baseball before the opening of Target Field next spring. The Twins don’t want this to be the dome’s last hurrah.
Which means they’ll have to take Gomez’s pleading and get past the Mijares snafu and the sign-stealing farce, then hope the Tigers’ fade reaches epic proportions. Should be easy for most. Except the guy limping off the plane.
“Gotta understand and learn how to play the game,” Young said. “It’s not the minor leagues up here.”

No, it certainly isn’t. In the minors there are no YouTube conspiracy theories and no games that will draw more than 40,000 people in an afternoon, no days like the wacky, wild Thursday that nearly redefined Twin killing.

[Hope]

Arroyo denies Cardinals’ cheating charge

CINCINNATI (AP)—Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo has denied accusations by the St. Louis Cardinals that he used pine tar to get better grips on pitches.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan both told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the stain on the bill of Arroyo’s cap was pine tar that helped him grip balls during a 6-1 victory Wednesday. Cardinals starter John Smoltz found balls slippery and walked five walks in four innings while allowing six runs and six hits.

Duncan said umpires assured him balls were properly rubbed. New baseballs are rubbed by clubhouse attendants with a special mud designed to give pitchers a better grip.

Arroyo said the stain on his cap is residue from mud used to rub baseballs at other ballparks.
“It’s from playing in every other park where there’s so much mud on the balls that that black stuff comes off on young fingers every time,” Arroyo said. “I guess (Duncan) said I went to my hat time every time. Yeah, I do 8,000 other twitches. What you want me to do about it? That’s how I pitch.
“I guarantee when I pitch against the Cardinals next year, I’ll call over and tell Dave Duncan I’m wearing a brand new hat.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker said the Cardinals have their own experience with doctored caps.
“If anybody should know, it would be Duncan,” Baker said. “I remember they had Julian Tavarez over there. They threw his hat out, remember that? His hat was all messed up. It’s not like it’s something new.”

Tavarez, then with the Cardinals, was suspended for eight days by Major League Baseball in 2004 for applying a foreign substance to balls during a game against Pittsburgh that Aug. 24.

Arroyo (15-13) finished with 12 consecutive starts in which he went at least seven innings while allowing no more than three earned runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first Reds pitcher since at least 1900 to put together such a streak and only the fourth overall in the last 20 years, joining Greg Maddux (12 straight for the Cubs in 1992), Randy Johnson (14 for Arizona in 1999) and Curt Schilling (12 for Arizona in 2002).

[TribefanstuckinMA]

This last story made me troll the internet looking for a "where is he now?" story about good old Julio. Found this one from back on St. Paddy's Day that I thought was funny. The quote from Julio is priceless!

"Why did I sign with the Nationals?" Tavárez said on Sunday. "When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J-Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."

BTW, he was cut by the Nationals back on July 20th. How bad do you have to be to be CUT by the Nationals?

[Hope]

Tigers’ Bonderman suspended for 3 games by MLB

DETROIT (AP)—Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski does not agree with Major League Baseball’s decision to suspend Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman while only fining Twins pitcher Jose Mijares.

Bonderman was suspended for three games Friday for intentionally hitting Minnesota’s Delmon Young with a pitch, and Mijares was docked an undisclosed amount of money for intentionally throwing behind Detroit’s Adam Everett.
“I don’t think the ruling makes any sense,” Dombrowski said Friday night, before Detroit opened a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox with a two-game lead in the AL Central over the Twins.
“I don’t know how the person who starts it doesn’t get some sort of penalty too,” Dombrowski added. “I’ve expressed that to people in the commissioner’s office.”

Thursday’s situation started with inside pitches—two at Detroit’s Marcus Thames and one at Minnesota’s Denard Span—and ended with Young screaming at teamamte Mijares after getting hit.
“This was nothing more than a great series until, for some unknown reason, a foolish pitch by a Minnesota pitcher,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “I’m so sad to see the Tigers paying for it more than the pitcher who threw the pitch.”

After spending a moment on the ground in obvious pain, Young got up, slammed his helmet to the ground and had to be held back from going toward Minnesota’s dugout because he was upset with Mijares.
Mijares told reporters in Minneapolis his head was “not in the game” and that he planned to apologize to the team—and Young individually—for his action. Mijares said he realized following the game he made a mistake after teammate Orlando Cabrera confronted him.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said the conflict between Mijares and Young was resolved, but did not want to talk about the subject.
“We’ve got three big games here that we have to win,” Gardenhire said Friday night before the Twins hosted Kansas City in their series opener. “Can we just talk baseball?”

Gardenhire said he wasn’t surprised Mijares, one of his key setup men, wasn’t suspended.
“I didn’t think they would, they didn’t throw him out of the game,” Gardenhire said.

Both benches cleared after Bonderman hit Young, but the players only milled around once they realized that Young wasn’t about to charge the mound.
“Trust me, Delmon wasn’t at all upset with the Tigers,” Span said Thursday. “He knew what was going to happen, and he was angry at our teammate. I probably would have felt the same way if I had been the first batter up in that inning.”

Gardenhire and some of his players also were unhappy with Mijares after the series in Detroit ended.
“I want to make this perfectly clear—our pitcher lost his cool and threw a pitch behind one of their players, and you don’t do that,” Gardenhire said. “We told them that we screwed up, and that we know they did what they needed to do, and that it is over. I talked to Mr. Leyland, and I told him that.”

Leyland was ejected after a face-to-face argument with plate umpire Angel Hernandez that followed Mijares’ pitch behind Everett.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been as shocked in my baseball life as when he threw that pitch,” said Leyland, who has been a part of professional baseball for nearly a half-century.

Bonderman, who also was fined, appealed the penalty assessed by MLB vice president Bob Watson, delaying the start of the suspension.

Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon also was suspended for one game and fined because Bonderman acted intentionally following warnings to both teams during Minnesota’s 8-3 win Thursday. McClendon was acting manager following Leyland’s ejection.
“Lloyd McClendon got a $1,000 fine and a one-game suspension and didn’t even get kicked out of the game,” Leyland said.

Leyland and catcher Gerald Laird were fined for arguing with Hernandez.
Bonderman and Tigers catcher Gerald Laird were immediately ejected after the pitch that hit Young.
“I knew I was going to get thrown out, that’s the rule,” Bonderman said.

Laird said he’d never seen a player react the way Young did to being hit by a pitch.
It was a first for Twins catcher Mike Redmond, too.
“I’ve seen players get angry with their own pitcher in that situation before, but I’ve never seen it happen on the field,” Redmond said. “I understand why he was angry, and I understand why Leyland was upset.”

Reds fire pitching coach Dick Pole

CINCINNATI (AP)—Pitching coach Dick Pole has been fired by the Cincinnati Reds.
Pole was finishing his third season with the team, which began Friday seventh in the National League with a 4.52 ERA.
“I told Dick when I got here today,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He was hurt, and it was difficult for me, because you know how close we are. I’d rather be the one to tell him because of my relationship with Dick and my respect for what he’s done in the game. It was a tough decision, an organizational decision. I don’t want to get into specifics because I don’t think that would serve a point.”

General manager Walt Jocketty said he has several candidates in mind.
“As an organization, we feel that Dick has done a good job,” Jocketty said. “At this point, we felt going forward we needed to make a change, and leave it at that.”

Pole joined the joined the staff in 2007 under manager Jerry Narron, replacing Tom Hume, who served as interim pitching coach following the death of Vern Ruhle. Pole also has served as the pitching coach for the Expos, Indians, Angels, Giants and Cubs.

Chris Speier (bench), Brook Jacoby (hitting), Billy Hatcher (first base), Mark Berry (third base), Juan “Porky” Lopez (bullpen) and Mike Stefanski (bullpen catcher) will return for next season.

[Hope]

Blue Jays’ Gaston surprised at players’ criticism

BALTIMORE (AP)—Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston expressed surprise over stinging criticism from his own team, and insisted Friday he doesn’t feel the need to regain favor in his own clubhouse.
“If you’ve got two or three or four guys in there that have a problem, then you don’t have to win anything, do you?” Gaston said before Toronto began its final series of the season at Baltimore. “You might have to certainly deal with those guys, but you don’t have to win the clubhouse back.”

The Blue Jays are 75-84 this year, though they carried a six-game winning streak into Friday night’s game against the Orioles.
Gaston, who guided Toronto to World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, took over a 35-39 team from the fired John Gibbons last year and guided the Blue Jays to a 51-37 mark over the remainder of the season.
“Over the course of eight months, you’re going to have issues arise. You’re going to have problems and complications. … Things have gone on a downward spiral just throughout the whole year,” outfielder Vernon Wells said.

Published and Internet reports, using information attributed to players who spoke anonymously, began circulating Friday detailing widespread problems that players want addressed, including the perception that the 65-year-old Gaston displayed a negative attitude and a passive managerial style. They also reportedly complained that Gaston isn’t effectively communicating with them about playing time, and that a split exists between the coaches Gaston inherited last year and those he hired when he began his second tour as Toronto’s manager in June 2008.

Wells said he met Friday with teammates Aaron Hill and Rod Barajas to discuss the problems but didn’t outline a plan for resolving the grievances.
“What course of action we’re going to take, we don’t know,” Wells said. “It’s a family. You go through issues and you have to figure out a way to do this in a family manner. We’re not out to bash anyone. It’s a touchy situation. It’s something that most of us, all of us in this clubhouse, have not gone through.”

Any meeting, however, will include a large portion of the team, Wells added.
“I’m sure there will be a meeting and I’m sure it will be a large group,” he said. “We’re all in this together, good or bad.”

Informed that Wells told reporters that at least 50 percent of Toronto’s players believed problems existed with the manager, and that players were planning a meeting with interim team president Paul Beeston, Gaston said there was no reason to hold a meeting to clear the air.
“What would I say to them? I think I’ve done everything that’s right here,” Gaston said. “I think I’ve treated everybody the way I’d like to be treated. I’m not sure what I’d call a meeting about. If they want to call a meeting and talk to me, that’s fine. But I don’t know what to say to them.”

Barajas said the Blue Jays’ problems weren’t unlike those faced by many teams, but that concerns needed to be confronted instead of being left to fester.
“I’ve been on teams where the relationship between manager and players isn’t always the best and that makes for an unhappy clubhouse,” Barajas said. “Usually, you’re not going to have much success on the field. But it happens— and it happens to a lot more teams than people think.”

First baseman Lyle Overbay is one of those who wants Gaston to improve his communication. Overbay, who had expected to be a full-time player, found himself platooned with Kevin Millar as the season wore on.
“More than anything, I want to try to figure out what to expect for next year. It kind of caught me off-guard a little bit when I wasn’t playing. … (Gaston) never really said a lot. As we were winning, he was kind of sitting on the back burner, watching us play good,” Overbay said.

Overbay said talk about meeting with management began a couple of weeks ago.
“We’ve got to figure it out. We’re not going to be a very good team if this goes on,” he said.

Gaston isn’t convinced there’s widespread sentiment in the clubhouse that he needs to change.
“I think you have to go around to all those players and ask them that. I don’t think that you can … rely (on a few) players to find out,” the manager said. “I think you need to talk to all of them. If it comes up to 50 percent, then, hey, maybe we’ve got a problem. I’d like to know what the problem is because I can’t be any fairer than I’ve been.”

[Hope]

Source: Padres GM Towers has been fired

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Kevin Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in the major leagues, has been fired by the San Diego Padres, a person familiar with the situation said Friday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club hadn’t made an announcement. The Padres said only that CEO Jeff Moorad will address the media on Saturday afternoon. Moorad didn’t return a phone call, e-mail and text message seeking comment.

Towers, in his 14th season as Padres GM, told The Associated Press in an e-mail that he can’t comment on his situation. He is under contract through next season at approximately $2 million.
Under Towers, the Padres won four NL West titles and reached the 1998 World Series, where they were swept by the Yankees.

The Padres are 74-85. Coming off a 99-loss season in 2008, they have rebounded with a strong final two months, thanks in part to moves by Towers. Since July 28, they are 36-23, fourth-best in the major leagues over that span.
Moorad leads a group that is buying the team from John Moores. He has spoken about making changes in the baseball operations department.

Although it might seem curious that Towers is being fired while the club is rebounding from its slow start, Moorad apparently wants his own person in the job.
Moorad already reorganized the business operations, eliminating approximately a dozen key positions on July 23, including two vice presidents.

Padres manager Bud Black said he hadn’t heard about Towers being fired.
“Let’s talk about the game,” Black said after the Padres’ 7-2 loss to San Francisco. “If that’s the case, let’s give it its due course. If that does happen, we’ll talk about it.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy, San Diego’s manager for 11 seasons under Towers, was shocked to hear the news.
“I’d like to get some more information before I make any comments,” Bochy said. “Obviously, Kevin and I have a long history and a great relationship. He’s done a great job. If that happens, I’m stunned. I feel awful for him. But I’d like to hold back comment until I know more.”

Early speculation on a successor centered around Paul DePodesta, the former Dodgers GM who has been with the Padres since July 2006. He is in the first year of a three-year contract believed to be worth $800,000 per season.
Another possible candidate is Randy Smith, a former GM with the Padres and Detroit Tigers who is the Padres’ director of international scouting.
Moorad was CEO of the Diamondbacks until pursuing the purchase of the Padres in January.

After the 2005 season, Towers interviewed for the vacant Diamondbacks GM position, but the job went to Josh Byrnes.
A former pitcher, Towers blew out his right elbow and never made it above Triple-A. He was a first-round pick of the Padres in the June 1982 draft.
Towers was promoted from scouting director to Padres GM in November 1995 after Smith left for the Tigers.

He built contenders in the mid-1990s by acquiring slugger Greg Vaughn and pitchers Kevin Brown and Sterling Hitchcock. He also twice acquired Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.
The Padres won division titles in 1996 and ’98, and 2005-06. They missed winning the wild card in 2007 by losing a 13-inning tiebreaker game at Colorado.

Towers was an adept trader and known for making do with tight player payrolls. On July 31, he saved the Padres $56 million by trading ace Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox for four pitchers.
He once commented that he’s a “sludge merchant,” able to move unproductive players with big contracts for more productive players.
In one of his biggest trades, Towers acquired All-Star right-hander Chris Young and All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in a six-player deal with Texas in January 2006.

[Hope]

Blue Jays fire GM Ricciardi 8-year tenure

TORONTO (AP)—The Toronto Blue Jays fired general manager J.P. Ricciardi on Saturday, ending an eight-year tenure marked by an inability to get past the Yankees and Red Sox and into the playoffs.
“This was a tough decision and a difficult one for me personally as I have enjoyed J.P.’s friendship and his perspective on the game,” said Paul Beeston, Toronto’s acting president and CEO.
“J.P. has put an incredible amount of effort into improving the team and he has brought along a number of great young players,” Beeston said. “However, I feel that it is time for a change and accordingly we have decided to move on.”

Ricciardi, who joined the Jays in 2001, had one year left on his contract. The Blue Jays (75-85) are finishing off a mediocre season in Baltimore, with the team embroiled in locker-room unrest with manager Cito Gaston.
The Blue Jays said assistant general manager Alexander Anthopoulos will assume Ricciardi’s duties until a permanent replacement is found.
Calls seeking comment from Anthopoulos and Ricciardi were not immediately returned.

Ricciardi’s firing was widely expected. He had been criticized for poor free agent signings and off-field missteps.
The team posted four winning seasons and four losing ones under Ricciardi, never making the playoffs in an AL East dominated by New York and Boston. Toronto last made the playoffs in 1993, when the team won its second straight World Series.
The best finish by one of Ricciardi’s clubs came in 2006, when the Blue Jays went 87-75 to finish second in the AL East.

The 2009 campaign was a microcosm of Ricciardi’s tenure as GM. There was a hopeful start, a sudden collapse, a lack of resources to turn things around, a spate of injuries, some painful decisions related to bad contracts and ultimately, pessimism for the future.
Adding to the Blue Jays woes this season were the clumsily handled Roy Halladay trade talks. Ricciardi essentially took every media call he could for a month in a bid to create pressure on other teams to overpay for the ace, but in the end he couldn’t get a deal done.

Other missteps included allowing A.J. Burnett an opt-out clause in his contract, giving Frank Thomas an $18 million, two-year deal with a vesting option, and signing B.J. Ryan to a $47 million, five-year deal.
Burnett left to become a free agent last fall, Thomas had to be cut in the second season at a cost of around $8 million, and Ryan was released in July with $15 million left on his contract.
Other bad contracts he signed included a $17 million, three-year deal for Canadian Corey Koskie and the monster deals for Vernon Wells and Alex Rios.

Wells has five years remaining on his $127 million, seven-year deal, a contract that will handcuff the club for seasons to come. The team managed to escape the $60 million remaining on Rios’ deal when he was claimed off waivers by the White Sox, but the team got nothing in return.
The Blue Jays also had a spotty record in the draft under Ricciardi, who produced several decent major leaguers but very few elite players.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON –– To understand what Victor Martinez now means to the Red Sox, one need only look at what his departure meant to the team he left behind.

With hours to go before the trade deadline, the Indians clubhouse was rocked by the revelation that their leader, their rock, their heart, was leaving for Boston. For a time, they felt lost, rudderless, said catcher Kelly Shoppach.

“He was our heart and soul. He was our heartbeat and him getting traded was one of those things where –– who do we turn to? We spent a month trying to figure out, basically, what we were doing, because he was always leading us in the right direction,” Shoppach said.

Martinez arrived in Boston on Aug. 1 in a trade for reliever Justin Masterson and two minor leaguers, and immediately won fans’ hearts by delivering clutch hits. He impressed the pitching staff with grit and intelligent game-calling, and even took over a leadership role in the clubhouse despite being new in Boston.

Meanwhile, back in Cleveland, the struggling Indians felt his absence every day. Already weak, they fell further without their leader.

“There was no question, you lose a guy like Victor Martinez, that’s more than a punch in the gut: That’s almost a knockout,” said Indians reliever Jensen Lewis.

“He was the heart and soul,” Lewis said, echoing Shoppach. “He was the heart and soul here. He was our sparkplug, he was our guy that when we needed a big hit, Victor would get it. It didn’t matter who it was against. We just knew that if we had guys on, and it was a big situation, you knew who you wanted up there.”

Boston fans have learned that quickly. The Boston front office gambled by bringing in Martinez, who was an obvious talent, but as with all trades, an uncertain fit. How would Martinez fit with catcher Jason Varitek? How would the team handle the logjam at the corner infield spots? How would Martinez adapt to the media spotlight in Boston? One by one, Martinez has answered every question, and risen to the challenge despite the new environment, said general manager Theo Epstein.

“He deserves a ton of credit. I mean, he couldn’t have handled himself better than he has, on and off the field, since coming here,” Epstein said.

Martinez excelled for his new team right away. He drove in a run in his first game, and went 5 for 6 in his second. He has hit .335 with seven home runs and 36 RBI through 54 games in Boston. He ran a hitting streak to 25 games before reaching on an error in his single pinch-hit at-bat one game last week. He has looked like he played in the Boston fishbowl his whole career.

“He was the right fit at the right time for this club in that respect. And his leadership as well. I mean, obviously an off-the-charts human being, and (he) accomplished something which is hard to accomplish, which is he came seamlessly into a pennant race and provided legitimate leadership at the same time,” Epstein said.

The Indians dealt away Martinez and ace pitcher Cliff Lee in the final weeks of July. For a time, they muddled through, actually posting a winning record in August. But then things started to go wrong: star outfielder Grady Sizemore went on the disabled list Sept. 4, and the team went into a tailspin. Normally, this would be the point when Martinez would rally his team, buoying spirits in the clubhouse and delivering big hits on the field. But as Cleveland lost 11 straight through September, Martinez was in Boston, providing his clutch hitting for somebody else.

“He always had that knack to come through. When times were tough, he’d always be that guy to keep our spirits high, and provide that energy every day. That’s going to be a huge thing for the Red Sox going forward,” Lewis said.

Shoppach agreed. Martinez’s love of the game is obvious, and infectious.

“First and foremost, he’s like a little kid. He’s so excited to play every day. I don’t know how he does it. He wants to catch every night. He’s a competitor and we missed that spirit probably the most when he wasn’t around. Even last year when he was hurt, it was evident he’s an important part of what we did here. He gets traded and we all kind of took a big hit with that one,” Shoppach said.

“It was very hard to see Victor go from a leadership standpoint. I thought I loved to play the game, but he takes it to a whole new level.”

Martinez, 30, came up through the Cleveland system, and he thought he was going to stay there for some time. Even though this was an obvious rebuilding year, Martinez was committed to staying through the process and leading the Indians back to the playoffs. Things didn’t turn out that way.

“At some point I thought I was going to stay in Cleveland, and I make it clear –– I really wanted to stay, but the owners were thinking different, and it’s not my fault, it’s not [general manager] Mark Shapiro’s fault, it’s not [manager] Eric Wedge’s fault. They wanted to take a different route, a different way. It’s their team, they can do whatever they want,” Martinez said.

Martinez is in the final year of his old Cleveland contract, which pays him $6.2 million this year. He has a $7.5 million option for 2010. With overall numbers of .302-22-104, it’s a foregone conclusion that Boston will want him back, and the only question is when they will talk about locking him up long term. There’s been no talk about the next step beyond the option at this point.

“Not yet. The only thing I can manage is to go out there and play hard, like I’ve always played. So we’ll see what happens. They’ve got the option on me now, so this is the last year of my contract, and then there is the option,” Martinez said.

Without discussing his feelings on signing long-term, Martinez said he’s thrilled to be in Boston, where he was welcomed with open arms by his new teammates.

“Now I’m here, I’m really happy. There’s no place better than coming to Boston if I was going to be out of Cleveland. Now I’m going to be part of this, and it’s pretty exciting. It’s pretty exciting, and it’s an honor to wear this uniform. A lot of baseball players, it’s a dream to come to Boston,” he said.

Varitek, in particular, shocked Martinez with his openness –– considering the ferocity with which he plays.

“You play against him, and he looks kind of mean. That’s the way he plays. He’s one of the guys I always looked up to. He’s pretty smart, he knows what he’s doing, and all the things he’s done for this organization, no one’s going to take that away from him,” Martinez said.

“When I got here, it kind of surprised me, because I never knew that was the kind of person that he is. He’s great, great. He’s been there for me the whole time.”

Still, he can’t help feeling a certain tug on his emotions, seeing his longtime friends and teammates across the field –– and on the mound opposing him.

“It’s really weird when I get to face the guys I used to catch for for a long time. I had to face [Rafael] Perez yesterday. Now I have to face Jeremy Sowers. That’s weird, I know them, they know me. That’s the toughest part,” Martinez said.

They know him, and they miss him. The Red Sox are beginning to understand why.

-With reports from Sports Writer Joe McDonald

dbarbari@projo.com

saddening

[Hope]

^^ you forgot Shapiro...

[Hope]

^^ you forgot Shapiro...

That's because I'm not sure how much culpability to assign Shapiro, but I'm quite sure that the Dolans are cheap.

Well the Dolans may okay the ending but Shapiro makes the trades, and recommends them. Not to mention tells the Dolans this guys is ... and give them the report.
Not saying the Dolans aren't cheap (though there is an article I still have to put up, a couple actually) but Shapiro is just as equal imo.

[Hope]

Well if true this is cold.

Towers: Never really told why Padres fired him

SAN DIEGO (AP)—Kevin Towers says he really wasn’t told why he was fired as general manager of the San Diego Padres, although he figures it’s because CEO Jeff Moorad wanted his own guy in the job.

“He never really told me exactly the reason why, but I’ve been around long enough to know why,” Towers, who held the job for 14 seasons, said Saturday.

The Padres have played well the last two months and will finish ahead of Arizona, a team Moorad helped build before leading the group that’s bought 35 percent of the Padres. San Diego is 74-86.

Moorad said during his own news conference that he wants to see a better job in drafting and player development.

Moorad said he’s already interviewed three candidates and might interview some more.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

^^ you forgot Shapiro...

That's because I'm not sure how much culpability to assign Shapiro, but I'm quite sure that the Dolans are cheap.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

^^ you forgot Shapiro...

That's because I'm not sure how much culpability to assign Shapiro, but I'm quite sure that the Dolans are cheap.

Well the Dolans may okay the ending but Shapiro makes the trades, and recommends them. Not to mention tells the Dolans this guys is ... and give them the report.
Not saying the Dolans aren't cheap (though there is an article I still have to put up, a couple actually) but Shapiro is just as equal imo.

I think this was more of a gentle nudge by the dolans to tell him, if you dont trade him now you will have to later. I think shapiro wanted to keep him, but they politely said no.......I miss victor

[Hope]

In someways I agree I don't think Shapiro wanted to trade victor but what about Raffie? Carl? Ryan? Cliff? Garko? Ben? Etc. I think if he could and he probably could he would would trade the bat boy. Sorry but Shapiro admits he is as much responsible for this mess as everyone else. These were salary dumps, I get that, but how did he get so for lack of a better word over-extended that he had to do this...

Quote: ''The manager oftentimes becomes the fall guy for what is organizational failure,'' Indians President Paul Dolan said. ''That's just the tried and true way of baseball.'' & Dolan said he agreed with Shapiro that the Indians' failings went beyond Wedge.
Asked, though, if any thought was given to replacing Shapiro, Dolan simply said: ''No.''

Were going to pay Wedge 1.3 mil regardless if he is there or not, then your paying a new manager as well. Mark Shapiro is here until 2012 unless he is the next to fall and from that response above doubt it.

[Hope]

The Detroit News: Police pick up, release Cabrera after 911 call from home

Birmingham -- Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was taken in for questioning early Saturday morning based on a 911 call made from his home by his wife, Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson said Monday.

Cabrera allegedly upset his wife by coming home intoxicated at 6 a.m. and waking his children while talking on a cell phone.

Patterson said the pair struggled over the cell phone with each receiving minor injuries. Both refused medical attention.

Cabrera was asked to leave the house by his wife, Rosangel. He was taken to the Birmingham police station because he was "very uncooperative, incoherent, and there was a language barrier," according to Patterson. A Spanish interpreter was obtained from the Michigan State Police, because investigators were attempting to determine who was the aggressor in the struggle.

Neither party wished to press criminal charges. Cabrera has not been cited in the incident and was released to the care of Tigers officials. Police administered a breath test and Cabrera registered .26. A reading of .08 is considered intoxicated for motorists.

A neighbor reported she saw about three police cruisers in front of the Cabreras' home early Saturday morning and said officers put a man in the back of one of the cruisers.

Cabrera declined to comment on scratches to his face before Saturday's game, which the Tigers lost 5-1. Had the Tigers won Saturday and Sunday, they would have won the American League Central Division title and averted Tuesday's 5:07 p.m. one-game playoff at Minnesota for the right to play the Yankees in the AL playoffs.

He had a dismal performance in Saturday's game, going 0-4, including striking out once and leaving six runners on base.

Cabrera again declined to comment about the marks on his face after Sunday's game, which the Tigers won 5-3 to force the one-game playoff. Cabrera was 0-3 on Sunday.

He's been by far the team's most prolific slugger this season, with 33 home runs, a .323 batting average and 101 runs batted in. Among full-time players, he leads the team in all three categories.

Nobody answered the door at the Cabrera home late Sunday afternoon.

It was not the only domestic disturbance run by city police Saturday. Less than three hours earlier, about 3:30 a.m., police responded to a domestic assault incident at the Townsend Hotel in downtown Birmingham.

It was not clear Sunday if the two incidents were related.

[Hope]

Marlins may fire manager despite 87 wins

MIAMI (AP)—By most measurements, the Florida Marlins overachieved in 2009.
They finished six games out of first place in the NL East with baseball’s smallest payroll. They were 12 games above .500 while outscoring opponents by six runs. They had the third-best record in franchise history even though four of their five starting pitchers performed below expectations.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez’s job is in jeopardy anyway.
Owner Jeffrey Loria is upset the team failed to make the playoffs, and the Marlins have declined to say whether Gonzalez will return next year, even though he received a contract extension through 2011 just eight months ago.

ESPN.com reported Saturday that Bobby Valentine, an analyst for the network and a former major league manager, is talking with the Marlins about a job. He recently ended a six-year run as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League.
Valentine managed the Texas Rangers when Loria owned that organization’s Triple-A team in Oklahoma in 1989-92.

A decision is expected later this week. Loria and team president David Samson didn’t return phone calls seeking comment Monday.
During the season-ending series in Philadelphia last weekend, general manager Larry Beinfest offered a mixed critique of the season, but none of his criticism was directed toward Gonzalez. Instead, Beinfest praised the Marlins’ effort and resilience, traits often considered the reflection of a manager.
“Their attitude, will and fight every day enabled them to win (87) games,” Beinfest said.

They did it with a payroll of $37 million, while the division rival Mets, for example, finished 17 games behind Florida despite a payroll of $136 million.
Beinfest said the Marlins were too inconsistent with their starting pitching and offense, but the bullpen was a pleasant surprise and the bench was a strength.
“I don’t want to sound like we’re terribly disappointed or unhappy, because that’s not the case,” Beinfest said.

However, Samson said Loria is displeased. And the owner is known for acting quickly when it comes to changing managers.
Loria replaced Jeff Torborg with Jack McKeon in May 2003, when the Marlins began an improbable run to the World Series title. In 2006, Joe Girardi was fired after only one season, and shortly before he was chosen NL manager of the year.
Girardi brought a drill-sergeant approach to the job, while Gonzalez’s low-key personality makes him more of a players’ manager. Valentine would be another drill sergeant.

Valentine led the Mets to the World Series in 2000, where they lost to the Yankees. But he reached the postseason only twice in 15 years with the Rangers and Mets.
His career record is 1,117-1,072. Gonzalez, who has won the most games of any Marlins manager, is 242-243. In his three seasons, the team has improved from 71 wins to 84 to 87.
Organizational meetings this week will address more than the future of Gonzalez and the coaching staff. Decisions must be made about how to pare payroll to meet Loria’s perennially tight budget.

One keeper is right-hander Josh Johnson, up for arbitration after making $1.4 million this year, when he went 15-5. Beinfest didn’t rule out the possibility of offering Johnson a multiyear deal, a rarity for the thrifty Marlins.
“We don’t have a hard philosophy on multiyears,” Beinfest said. “We take them as they come. We’ll see on J.J. … We think he’s going to be one of the top pitchers in this league for quite a while.”

NL batting champion Hanley Ramirez is under contract through 2014 and going nowhere. But second baseman Dan Uggla, due for a hefty raise to perhaps $8 million, will likely be allowed to depart via free agency, as will first baseman Nick Johnson and right fielder Jeremy Hermida.
Right-hander Ricky Nolasco, infielder Jorge Cantu and outfielder Cody Ross are on the bubble and would be costly to keep.
“Nobody knows what can happen,” Ross said. “They could bring a lot of guys back, or a lot of guys could be gone.”

Surprisingly, those departing could include the manager.

[Jacob in Bedford]

Marlins may fire manager despite 87 wins

MIAMI (AP)—By most measurements, the Florida Marlins overachieved in 2009.
They finished six games out of first place in the NL East with baseball’s smallest payroll. They were 12 games above .500 while outscoring opponents by six runs. They had the third-best record in franchise history even though four of their five starting pitchers performed below expectations.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez’s job is in jeopardy anyway.
Owner Jeffrey Loria is upset the team failed to make the playoffs, and the Marlins have declined to say whether Gonzalez will return next year, even though he received a contract extension through 2011 just eight months ago.

ESPN.com reported Saturday that Bobby Valentine, an analyst for the network and a former major league manager, is talking with the Marlins about a job. He recently ended a six-year run as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League.
Valentine managed the Texas Rangers when Loria owned that organization’s Triple-A team in Oklahoma in 1989-92.

A decision is expected later this week. Loria and team president David Samson didn’t return phone calls seeking comment Monday.
During the season-ending series in Philadelphia last weekend, general manager Larry Beinfest offered a mixed critique of the season, but none of his criticism was directed toward Gonzalez. Instead, Beinfest praised the Marlins’ effort and resilience, traits often considered the reflection of a manager.
“Their attitude, will and fight every day enabled them to win (87) games,” Beinfest said.

They did it with a payroll of $37 million, while the division rival Mets, for example, finished 17 games behind Florida despite a payroll of $136 million.
Beinfest said the Marlins were too inconsistent with their starting pitching and offense, but the bullpen was a pleasant surprise and the bench was a strength.
“I don’t want to sound like we’re terribly disappointed or unhappy, because that’s not the case,” Beinfest said.

However, Samson said Loria is displeased. And the owner is known for acting quickly when it comes to changing managers.
Loria replaced Jeff Torborg with Jack McKeon in May 2003, when the Marlins began an improbable run to the World Series title. In 2006, Joe Girardi was fired after only one season, and shortly before he was chosen NL manager of the year.
Girardi brought a drill-sergeant approach to the job, while Gonzalez’s low-key personality makes him more of a players’ manager. Valentine would be another drill sergeant.

Valentine led the Mets to the World Series in 2000, where they lost to the Yankees. But he reached the postseason only twice in 15 years with the Rangers and Mets.
His career record is 1,117-1,072. Gonzalez, who has won the most games of any Marlins manager, is 242-243. In his three seasons, the team has improved from 71 wins to 84 to 87.
Organizational meetings this week will address more than the future of Gonzalez and the coaching staff. Decisions must be made about how to pare payroll to meet Loria’s perennially tight budget.

One keeper is right-hander Josh Johnson, up for arbitration after making $1.4 million this year, when he went 15-5. Beinfest didn’t rule out the possibility of offering Johnson a multiyear deal, a rarity for the thrifty Marlins.
“We don’t have a hard philosophy on multiyears,” Beinfest said. “We take them as they come. We’ll see on J.J. … We think he’s going to be one of the top pitchers in this league for quite a while.”

NL batting champion Hanley Ramirez is under contract through 2014 and going nowhere. But second baseman Dan Uggla, due for a hefty raise to perhaps $8 million, will likely be allowed to depart via free agency, as will first baseman Nick Johnson and right fielder Jeremy Hermida.
Right-hander Ricky Nolasco, infielder Jorge Cantu and outfielder Cody Ross are on the bubble and would be costly to keep.
“Nobody knows what can happen,” Ross said. “They could bring a lot of guys back, or a lot of guys could be gone.”

Surprisingly, those departing could include the manager.

That's just stupid.

[Hope]

Gonzalez to stay as Marlins’ manager

MIAMI (AP)—The manager with the most wins in Florida Marlins history will be given a chance to increase his total.
Fredi Gonzalez will return in 2010, the Marlins said Tuesday, ending two days of speculation about his status.

The Marlins, however, will seek a new pitching coach to replace Mark Wiley, who has been offered a different position in the organization.

Gonzalez’s job was considered in jeopardy because owner Jeffrey Loria was upset that the Marlins failed to make the playoffs, although they finished 12 games above .500 with the smallest payroll in baseball. Loria met with organization officials Monday in New York to discuss the status of Gonzalez and his coaching staff.

In a statement Tuesday, Loria said the postseason evaluation was normal.

“Every organization regularly evaluates itself to see how it can improve,” Loria said. “We do this on a constant basis. Our fans would expect no less.

“We are pleased with a winning season. And we are disappointed we did not make the playoffs. We always want to exceed expectations. Our fans share these feelings also.”

Loria didn’t address an ESPN.com report last week that former Mets and Rangers manager Bobby Valentine talked with the Marlins about a job.

Florida’s final victory this season was the 242nd for Gonzalez, and he passed Jack McKeon for most wins by a manager in team history. He’s one of only three managers to lead Florida to a winning season.

The Marlins will change pitching coaches after four of their five young starters performed below expectations. First base-infield coach Andy Fox will also be replaced but has been offered another position, the organization said.

Five coaches were offered contracts to remain in their current roles: bench coach Carlos Tosca, hitting coach Jim Presley, third base-outfield coach Bo Porter, bullpen coach Steve Foster and bullpen coordinator Pierre Arsenault.

In February, Gonzalez received a contract extension through 2011, and he has been praised in the past by Loria and general manager Larry Beinfest. In Gonzalez’s three seasons as manager, the Marlins have improved from 71 wins to 84 to 87.

This year they were widely projected to finish fourth or fifth in the NL East but instead finished second, six games behind Philadelphia. They were five games behind wild-card winner Colorado.

[Hope]

Another call for instant replay .. By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK – The human element. That’s the best argument purists muster against widespread instant replay in Major League Baseball. Let’s see how that works: Umpires make mistakes because they’re human, and … that makes it OK! Somehow, it’s difficult to believe such reasoning would stand up in a court of law or, say, anywhere in the world not populated by baseball’s dopey decision makers who don’t understand that a huge integrity problem is about to smack them in the face.

On Friday night, a bad call might have cost the Minnesota Twins a chance to beat the New York Yankees on the road in their American League Division Series. In the 11th inning of Game 2, Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer sliced a ball down the left-field line that not only glanced off Melky Cabrera’s glove in fair territory but also bounced at least 6 inches inside the line and then into the stands for what should’ve been a ground-rule double. Umpire Phil Cuzzi, standing 10 feet away, called it foul. And even though Mauer singled and the Twins managed to load the bases with no outs, they didn’t score, and the Yankees won 4-3 on a Mark Teixeira home run later that inning.

The Twins were here, of course, because of an umpiring error earlier in the week. A pitch glanced off the jersey of Detroit third baseman Brandon Inge with the bases loaded in the 12th inning of the Tigers’ one-game playoff with Minnesota. Umpire Randy Marsh didn’t call it. The Twins scored in the bottom half of the inning. Marsh claimed not to have seen the video, and MLB’s umpiring boss, Mike Port, said he stood by Marsh.

So that’s what baseball has come to: supporting egregious flubs to protect their own. It’s the epitome of an old-boys’ network, and it’s insulting to the game. MLB says it uses a grading system during the regular season that rewards the best umpires with playoff assignments. That alleged fair and impartial grading system, mind you, rewarded a postseason series to C.B. Bucknor, about whom a player once said: “My grandpa would be a better umpire than him. And my grandpa is dead.”

Bucknor, by the way, blew three calls at first base in Game 1 of the Red Sox-Angels series. Bungling one call is bad. Mangling two is unconscionable. Blowing three in a single game is fireable.

All of this, again, has happened within a half a week’s time. Two game-defining calls and three more that could have led to … well, no one knows. That’s a wall MLB hides behind: that even if Mauer were on second, who’s to say Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer would’ve followed with singles? Anyway, none of this would’ve happened had Alex Rodriguez not crushed a two-run home run off Joe Nathan to tie the game in the ninth inning, or if Delmon Young or Carlos Gomez or Brendan Harris absolved Cuzzi by doing something with the bases loaded in the 11th.

A sign something is totally backward: When the players wronged by an umpire are the ones whose later success can bail him out.

Technology exists to ensure that such errors are rectified before they cost a team. If Cuzzi is willing to admit he’s wrong after the game – “There’s a guy sitting over in the umpire’s dressing room right now that feels horrible,” crew chief Tim Tschida said – then it behooves him and others to allow their calls to be vetted in-game. In no way does it subvert their authority. Players will respect their fallibility, a grand quality for so many who try to play god.

In the most important part of baseball’s season, the best the sport offers is replay only on home run calls. Nothing on bang-bang plays at bases or pitches grazing body parts or balls floating near lines. Tennis’ replay system pinpoints every shot. Football offers a set of challenge flags that allow a team to protest. Baseball – the sport with perhaps more questionable calls than any – trusts almost implicitly the eyes of men, many older than 60, to make judgments that some aren’t equipped to make.

Now, this isn’t a rant against umpires. It’s against the system that enables them when they screw up. Replay wouldn’t have to extend to balls and strikes, an area that most umpires call consistently. It could encompass the rest of the field and work in a way that practically absolves umpires and turns blame instead on managers.

Take the cue from football. Use a red replay flag. Each team gets two per game. If the manager throws them too early, or misuses them, and can’t overturn a poor call later, it’s his mess. MLB likes to render decisions on home-run calls now in two or three minutes. One game’s replays, if all played, would consume 10 to 12 minutes – and might save time, too, presuming umpire-manager confrontations over blown calls would dip dramatically.

Back in July, a major league manager said this: “I’ve said all along that I want a red flag.”
It was Ron Gardenhire. He manages the Twins. They had lost a brutal game, and he was tired of the lack of accountability. He wouldn’t bite on the replay question Friday. So instead, Gardenhire and the rest of the Twins unloaded on Cuzzi. His lone job as the left-field umpire – a position, along with right-field umpire, used only in the postseason – was to judge fair-foul calls down the line. Nothing more.

“I wasn’t the only one who blew one tonight,” Nathan said.

He was just warming up.

“Hopefully, [Cuzzi] gets better,” Nathan said. “Hopefully, that umpire realizes he has to do something to get better.”

There was more.

“There’s really nothing we can do about a terrible call,” Nathan said. “And that’s exactly what it was. It was an awful call at the wrong time.”

Perhaps MLB will use the money it takes from Nathan in forthcoming fines and use it to start exploring expanded replay.

Accompanying the technology is the urgency. Nobody inside baseball wants a postseason defined by its umpiring screw-ups, and yet year after year, they happen. Ignoring the issue won’t make it go away. The NBA for years tried that, and now, in spite of the greatest talent influx in a generation, it’s a league hijacked by bad refereeing. Replay can help basketball marginally. It would help baseball, instantaneously and enormously. And it must.

“That’s a sticky situation,” Twins second baseman Nick Punto said. “I really like the human element part of the game. Where does it end? Maybe one day there’s robots back there umpiring, and that’s no fun.”

Fine. Though Punto would’ve preferred a robot that got Friday’s call right over a Cuzzi that didn’t.
“I mean, yeah,” Punto said. “Of course.”

That’s how it works with replay converts. The evidence piles up. The drawbacks seem minuscule comparatively. And the romanticizing of the human element in umpiring turns instead into another thing so great about humans.

The ability to recognize when you’re wrong.

[Hope]

Wife’s labor added drama to Hamels start .. By Gordon Edes, Yahoo! Sports 10/8/09

PHILADELPHIA – The text message landed at 4:07 p.m.
I’m in the hospital going into labor. Could you please tell Cole as soon as he is done pitching?

Frank Coppenbarger has been the Phillies’ clubhouse man for 21 years and traveling secretary for the last 10. He’s accustomed to handling all kinds of emergencies. But a player’s wife having a baby in the middle of a playoff game?
“Got to be a first,” he said.

This wasn’t just any player, either. It was Cole Hamels, the pitcher the Philadelphia Phillies had sent to the mound to start Game 2 of its National League division series against the Colorado Rockies. Hamels is 25, southern California bred, darkly handsome. Heidi Strobel Hamels is blonde, a former star on the TV show “Survivor” and a one-time Playboy model.
They met when she was invited to throw out the first pitch at a minor league park, and married on New Year’s Eve, 2006. They are the team’s reigning celebrity couple.

It was around the fifth inning, Coppenbarger thinks. He was back in his office, saw the text, then looked at his cell phone again. There were a couple of missed calls, and a voice mail. It was Hamels’ mother-in-law, with a similar message.
“It kind of startled me,” he said, “to hear something like that.”

Coppenbarger did not text back to Heidi.
“Didn’t want to bother her,” he said. “Sounded to me like she was kind of busy.”

But he did go down to the Phillies’ dugout to seek out Rich Dubee, the Phillies’ pitching coach.
“(Dubee) told me, ‘Just tell him right now,’ ” Coppenbarger said.

By then, it was the bottom of the fifth, and the Phillies were trailing by four runs in a game they would lose 5-4. Hamels had just been lifted for a pinch-hitter and was sitting on the bench.
“He was sort of numb,” Coppenbarger said. “He was watching the game, I went up to him and said, ‘Hey, we got word your wife’s in labor. She’s in the hospital and I’m supposed to tell you right now. He said, ‘OK.’ That was it. He jumped up and ran to the clubhouse.”

There have been plenty of times a player’s wife has given birth during the season, and these days, teams almost always give the prospective daddy permission to leave for the hospital. It wasn’t always that way. Terry Francona, the manager of the Boston Red Sox, tells the story of how his wife Jacque went into labor with their first child, his son Nick. Francona, who was playing with Cincinnati at the time, went to tell his manager, Pete Rose. Rose told him he could go, but if he did, not to bother coming back.
“I’ve heard that story,” says Coppenbarger, who was with Francona when he managed the Phillies. “World’s a little bit different now.”

In 1985, when the Kansas City Royals were in the World Series, their ace was a precocious 21-year-old named Bret Saberhagen. His wife, Janeane, was due any day with their first child. Saberhagen pitched and won Game 3 of the World Series, and during the game arranged for ABC, which was televising the game, to flash messages from him to his wife.
On Oct. 26, the day before Game 7, Janeane Saberhagen gave birth to a 9-pound, 3-ounce son, Drew William.
Saberhagen threw a five-hit shutout in Game 7, and during the eighth inning looked into ABC’s cameras and asked his wife over the air, “Is the baby still there?”

While Hamels hustled into the shower, Coppenbarger called the airport and arranged to have his bags pulled from the team’s charter flight. “You’re allowed to bring a guest,” he said, “and Cole had a buddy going with him. I had find him, too – he was in the stands – and get his bag off.”

By the time Hamels was ready to go, Coppenbarger had a car down in the tunnel under Citizens Bank Park, ready to take him to the hospital, and off he went. Now it was after 7 p.m., and Coppenbarger was grabbing a bite to eat before the team took off for Colorado.
“No,” he said when asked if there was word from the hospital, “haven’t heard anything yet.”

Charlie Manuel, the Phillies’ manager, thought Hamels might have been distracted by the day’s other major event while he was pitching. Reliever Scott Eyre, one of seven Phillies pitchers used by Manuel after Hamels left, including one, Cliff Lee, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, said Hamels acted no differently before the game.
“I don’t think it affected him one bit, he puts things out of his mind pretty well,” Eyre said. “I don’t think he let that play into anything. He was the same normal self as he always is.”

Could Eyre have been as outwardly nonchalant in the same circumstances?
“I’ve been there,” he said. “I started a game in Chicago, and my wife went into labor with our oldest son. It was 1998. I knew we were going to induce the next day, but she was ready to go.
“But once you get on the mound and start pitching, you don’t think about squat. You’re a baseball player, and it comes out.”
Eyre’s voice became a whisper. “I think I threw five no-hit innings, in a spot start. Probably the best start of my career.”

Update on this story out of Philly..

Cole Hamels welcomes baby boy

PHILADELPHIA - October 9, 2009 -- Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife are proud new parents of a baby boy.
His wife, Heidi Hamels, delivered a baby at 9:00 a.m. Friday.
He's named Caleb Michael Hamels.
It all began during Thursday's NLDS game when Heidi Hamels went into labor.
After Cole was taken out of the game someone came up to him, told him the news, and he sprinted for the locker room.
Cole remains here in Philadelphia. It is not clear when he will rejoin the team in Denver.

[Hope]

Enough is enough with these blown calls - By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports

NEW YORK – Umpires added two more tick marks to their overflowing register of screw-ups Thursday night. These came in Game 2 of a World Series in which Major League Baseball broke from protocol and brought in a specific crew of veteran arbiters to ensure the miscues of the first two rounds wouldn’t dare find their way into games of such importance.

So, uh, oops?

It’s laughable at this point. It really is. It’s confounding to see players and managers and executives pooh-pooh the idea of instant replay when MLB is approaching a dozen missed calls in its most important month of the season. And it’s horrifying to see games turn not on the actions of players but of the men charged with enforcing the rules. And it’s sad that only an epic World Series will save this month from being remembered for the dodgy eyesight of middle-aged men.

Welcome to Blindtober, where everything that’s wrong is right.

“Utley was safe,” Charlie Manuel said, and he said it out of nowhere. The Philadelphia Phillies’ manager was trying to shake off his team’s 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees that evened the series at a game apiece, and he couldn’t get past the fact that Chase Utley, his second baseman, had grounded into a double play. Because Utley hadn’t. Oh, Brian Gorman called him out at first base – and since MLB is too pigheaded to expand replays beyond home run calls, the call stood, even though Utley’s foot beat Derek Jeter’s throw.

“Go look,” Manuel said. “Yeah. He was safe.”

Had Gorman determined so, up would’ve stepped Ryan Howard, the world’s best power hitter, with men on first and third base and two outs in the eighth inning of a two-run World Series game, to face Mariano Rivera, the best closer baseball has seen, and certainly the most effective postseason pitcher. Bud Selig drools over such matchups. Of course, the commissioner spent a few minutes earlier in the day explaining why expanded replay doesn’t fly in his world, so he retreated back to his cocoon robbed of an epic moment in waiting because we’re supposed to accept human error as an excuse.

Never mind that technology allows us to fix it. Technology, in the antiquated world of baseball, is looked upon as a bogeyman. So, in that spirit, let’s, for a moment, renounce it all. Spell check? Froget ti. Cars? America could use the exercise. The Internet? Shut it down. Except for MLB.com. Because that’s worth a billion and change, and Bud wouldn’t want to forfeit that in the name of some misguided maxim.

Umpiring this postseason falls under such scrutiny because technology spoils us with the right call almost every time. Sure, there are situations that are inconclusive. Most are rather clear. When something so obvious remains in place despite your eyes telling you otherwise, it feels wrong and unfair, and any sympathy toward the parties who allow their poor work to be supported by flimsy reasoning disintegrates.

Not that it makes things better, but bad calls did go both ways Thursday. In the sixth inning, Johnny Damon hit a sinking line drive to first base. Howard plucked the ball off the ground – the dirt in front of his glove kicked into the air – and fired to second base immediately, as clear a signal as possible that he hadn’t caught the ball. His throw went wide. All runners were assumed safe. Except Gorman – him again – said Howard caught the ball, which made its way back to first base for a double play.

“Did I catch it?” Howard said. “Well, they called him out.”

And he winked.

Now, maybe something got caught in Howard’s right eye. Damn if it didn’t look like a wink, though, a nod to those whose displeasure with bad calls demands more reaction from baseball than putting together a crew of veterans who still need a safety net. Nearly every call they make is correct, and yet they’re like the long snapper, taken for granted and remembered for the ones they miss.

“I’m not saying nothing about the umpiring,” said Manuel, who then did exactly the opposite: “I’ve probably never thought umpiring was good, if you want to know the truth.”

Almost certainly the old-time umpires were no better than the newer ones. They just didn’t have cameras and super-slow-motion replays to niggle their every call. It makes replay understandable, feasible, workable.

“Then you take away from the nature of the game,” Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino said. “They’re human. Everyone makes mistakes. It kills you, but again, how many times does it happen?”

Hmmm. Well, there was the non-call on a pitch that hit Brandon Inge’s jersey with the bases loaded and the scored tied in a one-game playoff. And Joe Mauer’s would-be double that landed about a foot inside the line but was called foul. Plus that time Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano were both tagged off the base during the ALCS but only Posada was called out. Oh, and when Nick Swisher was thrown out and called safe, then left on time during a sacrifice fly and was called out – that was Doublemint fun. Can’t forget Ronnie Belliard clearly being tagged out and ruled safe. And two poor calls at first base against Boston in the ALDS. To come full circle, Utley fouled a ball off himself (dead ball), ran it out and got beaten by the throw to first anyway (out) and was declared safe.

“Well, are you going to replay every damn play?” Victorino said. “If you’re going to do that every play, we’re going to play seven-hour games.”

No. No, no, no. That kind of extrapolation doesn’t work here. A solution comes in moderation. A red flag. Twice a game. There usually aren’t more bad calls than that, and if there are, MLB takes a long, hard look at that umpire. Use the challenge flags too early and it’s a mistake that a manager will rue.

This is about the correct, accurate call. Everybody deserves it. If it takes a little longer, it is worth the time, the hassle, the aggravation. Go to the bathroom. Nuke a Hot Pocket. Clip your fingernails. Three minutes isn’t long. Every one of these calls was quite obvious on replay, and almost all would affect the fortunes of the season’s most critical games.

Instead, the World Series turns into a game as much of what-if as what was. For the brilliance of A.J. Burnett in the face of a potential 0-2 deficit, there was the foot of Utley touching the bag before the ball hit Mark Teixeira’s glove. And for the clutch home run of Hideki Matsui off Pedro Martinez, there was Howard’s glove clearly not scooping the ball before it bathed in dirt. It’s not yin and yang, either. The two don’t balance out.

They leave us wondering just how much more of this baseball can take before adopting the rational point of view. The game is too good to get broadsided by something so fallible as eyeballs. So long as replay tops the offseason agenda, such a good-faith gesture will help temporarily. Until then, a kind request of the men in blue, who really try to make the right calls, as the World Series moves to Philadelphia for Game 3 and the calendar turns.

Please, don’t let it be Blindvember, too.

[Wahoo1324]

Yeah, some of these calls are ridiculous.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Yeah, some of these calls are ridiculous.

Yeah im holding my breath for selig to actually do something about it..cough hiccup...REPLAY

[TribefanstuckinMA]

Yeah, some of these calls are ridiculous.

Yeah im holding my breath for selig to actually do something about it..cough hiccup...REPLAY

Just remember to start breathing again before you pass out. Cuz you know you won't get to breathe if you're waiting on Selig.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

stupid selig, why does one man have so much power and refuses to use it. Its not the action thats the problem, its his inaction

[Hope]

Phillies pick up Lee’s $9 million option

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—The Philadelphia Phillies have picked up Cliff Lee’s $9 million option for 2010.
The team announced the expected move on Friday, two days after losing the World Series to the New York Yankees. Lee’s contract expires after next season, though general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team is open to signing the star left-hander to a long-term deal.

Lee, 31, was acquired from the Cleveland Indians on July 29 for four minor leaguers, and quickly became Philadelphia’s ace. Lee posted a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for the Phillies, then went 4-0 with a 1.56 mark in five postseason outings, including 2-0 in the World Series.
Lee might command a deal similar to the seven-year, $161 million contract the Yankees gave C.C. Sabathia.
Lee told MLB.com on Thursday that he’s interested in staying with the Phillies but had not given much thought to his contract.

The Phillies have until Monday to decide whether to pick up a $5 million option on third baseman Pedro Feliz, who batted .266 with 12 homers in 2009, hitting mostly seventh in the lineup.
“He had a solid year for us,” Amaro said. “I like the man personally. He’s a great person, a great teammate, but I also believe in trying to improve and change can be for the better. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to, but it’s something that we’ll look into.”

Not picking up Feliz’s option doesn’t prevent the Phillies from re-signing him.
With Lee in the fold next season, the Phillies have $104.5 million committed to 12 players, and are expected to give raises to four salary-arbitration eligible players: Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz and Chad Durbin. Amaro suggested that the team’s 2010 payroll will be similar to last season’s, somewhere between $130 million and $140 million.
If the Phillies decline the option on Feliz, they will have eight potential free agents, including Pedro Martinez, Brett Myers, Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park and Matt Stairs.

Amaro wouldn’t rule out bringing any of them back. Martinez will be an interesting decision for the Phillies, who have five starters under contract— Lee, Cole Hamels, Blanton, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer — plus young pitchers such as Kyle Drabek and Kyle Kendrick waiting for their shot.
Martinez helped his prospects by going 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine regular-season starts.
“We’re still assessing what to do on our free agents,” Amaro said.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

darn...i was hoping they might decline that

[Hope]

Red Sox exercise Martinez's option Acquired in July, catcher reportedly returns for $7.1 million

The Boston Red Sox have picked up a $7.1 million option for 2010 on catcher Victor Martinez, according to a report from the Boston Globe on Monday.

A 30-year-old catcher/first baseman, Martinez was acquired at the non-waiver Trade Deadline from the Indians in exchange for a prospect-laden pitching package that included young big league pitcher Justin Masterson as well as prospects Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price.

In 56 games with the Red Sox after his arrival, Martinez hit .336 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs, finishing the season with a .303 average, 23 homers and 108 RBIs in 155 games between Cleveland and Boston.

Two Red Sox players -- knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and catcher Jason Varitek -- still await news on whether their options will be exercised by the team.

[TribefanstuckinMA]

*clears throat* In related new, Wakefield had his one-year option torn up and instead has a new, two-year contract from the Red Sux. He has the opportunity to become the Red Sux all-time winning pitcher. Also, Varitek was not offered the $5M club option; instead, it is believed he will agree to and sign a one-year player option for $3M.

[Hope]

Colorado Rockies talking to Rafael Betancourt about new contract

CHICAGO -- News, notes and quotes from MLB's General Managers meetings at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport hotel.

-Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd is trying to work out a deal with Rafael Betancourt. The former Tribe reliever has a $5 million option for 2010, but the Rockies would like to turn it into a two-year deal to make it easier to handle financially.

Betancourt went 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and one save in 32 games for the Rockies after the Indians traded him last season. He was 4-5 with a 2.73 ERA with one save in 61 games overall.

-O'Dowd, former assistant GM for the Indians, was named Executive of the Year by the Sporting News on Monday night. The Rockies went 92-70 and won the NL wild card. After starting the season at 18-28, O'Dowd fired manager Clint Hurdle and replaced him with Jim Tracy. The Rockies responded with a run to the postseason.
"To make that decision, which I knew was the right decision, was emotionally very difficult. And draining to be frank," O'Dowd told the Sporting News. "I wanted to handle it the exact same way as I would want to be treated if I was in the same position."

The Rockies went 74-42 under Tracy.
"I'm not naive," said O'Dowd. "I studied all the managerial changes in the history of baseball and the percentage is extremely low that it turns out this way."

-White Sox GM Kenny Williams on free agency: "There are actually about three or four different free agent markets.
"There are the Yankees, Red Sox and both LA teams. Then there's a second market where we probably fall in. Then there's a tier below us, smaller markets, competitive teams who in a particular year want to go for it. Then you have the poorer market teams that are trying to piece things together.
"Some teams can't walk in the door and compete with the White Sox. They can't say, 'We want this player' because I'll say you're not getting him. It's the same with the White Sox and the Yankees. I can't tell Cash (Yankee GM Brian Cashman) that I want (CC) Sabathia."

-The White Sox are still talking about how to best use Daniel Hudson for 2010. Hudson
last year went a combined 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA at four different minor league levels. He went 1-1 in six games, including two starts, for the big league club.
"That's the million dollar question," said Williams. "Do you send him to Triple-A where he can pitch every fifth day and work on all his pitches. Or do you send him to the bullpen in the big leagues with the idea that he's competing at a higher level."

Williams is happy with his starting rotation so Hudson wouldn't have to be forced into it before he's ready.

Milton Bradley part of three-way trade talks with Mets, Jays

Add this to the Milton Bradley rumor pile as baseball's general managers meet this week: The Chicago Cubs reportedly are working to move him in a potential a three-team deal with the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.

FoxSports.com reports the Cubs have discussed dealing Bradley to the Mets for second baseman Luis Castillo. The Mets would then flip Bradley to the Jays for first baseman Lyle Overbay.

The Fox report says such a deal is a "long shot" to happen, however. An unnamed major league source tells the Web site that new Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is reluctant to make Bradley his first significant offseason acquisition.

Fox adds that Tampa Bay continues to be Bradley's most likely destination, perhaps in a deal for Rays outfielder Pat Burrell, if the Cubs agree to pay a significant portion of Bradley's $12 million salary for 2011. Burrell can become a free agent after 2010.

Still, a Bradley-Castillo-Overbay deal makes some sense. The Cubs want to trade Bradley, who had a troubled first season in Chicago and is owed $21 million total over the final two years of his contract. The Mets reportedly would like to replace Castillo, who has two years and $12 million remaining on his deal, with potential free agent Orlando Hudson. And the Blue Jays last week discussed a trade of Overbay to the Arizona Diamondbacks for catcher Chris Snyder. Overbay will make $7 million next season in the final year of his contract.

[Hope]

Police search for kidnappers of Zambrano’s mother

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)—Assailants who kidnapped the mother of former major league pitcher Victor Zambrano in Venezuela only decided to take her after they found little of value during a burglary, police said Monday.

Rafael Romero, a federal police investigator, said seven armed men burst into the home of Elizabeth Mendez Zambrano at her son’s farm near Maracay on Sunday morning and kidnapped her because they didn’t find large amounts of cash and jewelry as they had expected.

The kidnappers have yet to contact the 56-year-old woman’s relatives to ask for ransom, Romero said. Authorities are searching for the kidnappers. Police are hoping the assailants contact the family so investigators can gather more clues, he said.
“The information we have is that she remains captive,” Romero said. “So far, there’s been no contact with the relatives. We hope that occurs soon.”

Zambrano’s mother was abducted nine days after the former big league pitcher’s cousin, Richard Mendez Zambrano, was kidnapped and later killed.

Romero refused to comment whether the two incidents were related.

In Venezuela, which is home to dozens of major leaguers, the families of wealthy athletes are periodically targeted by kidnappers. Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba’s son and brother-in-law were released by kidnappers a day after they were abducted in June.

Zambrano played seven big league seasons for Tampa Bay, the New York Mets, Toronto and Baltimore. The right-hander had a career record of 45-44 with a 4.64 ERA. He currently plays in Venezuela’s winter league. He hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2007.

[Hope]

Playoff heroics could put Cliff Lee in line for a CC Sabathia-type payoff

CHICAGO -- News, notes and quotes from the General Managers meetings at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport Hotel.

-What will Cliff Lee will be worth if he becomes a free agent after the 2010 season. Based on his post-season performance, he could come close to the seven-year, $161 million deal that CC Sabathia received from the Yankees last December.
The Phillies exercised Lee's $9 million option for 2010 after he went 4-0 in the postseason. The Phillies are expected to try and sign him to a multiyear deal.

ESPN's Jayson Stark said Lee is the best trade-deadline starting-pitching acquisition in history. Stark made his evaluation based on Lee's postseason performance.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Lee is the first starting pitcher since division play to win four games in one postseason after changing teams in midseason.
He's also the first pitcher in 32 years to win two games in the World Series after switching teams the same year.

-With MLB apparently resistant to any expansion of instant replay for 2010 following several bad calls by umpires in the postseason, Mike Port is a man on the spot. Port is MLB's vice president of umpiring.
"I think the umpiring is improving," said Port at the GM meetings, "but technology is moving faster."
Port said the scrutiny produced by the postseason and the technology used to review plays has created a sometimes impossible situation for umpires.
"Do you formulate a judgment on the play as it happens or on the fourth replay?" he asked.

Umpires, of course, can't do that.
This past season the Z-system (Zone Evaluation) was placed in all 30 major league parks. It's a computer system that grades an umpire's work calling balls and strikes. It replaced the QuesTech system that was used only in about one-third of big-league ballparks and led to complaints by players who felt umpires may have felt pressure to call a tighter game when they knew a computer was looking over their shoulder.

When TV stations carrying the games use "tracking systems' to review ball and strike calls, that data is provided by the Z-system.
"That's just the raw information," said Port, referring to what fans see on TV.

The plate umpire receives a computer disk of his performance within a day so he can review it.
"We've got the same system in 30 parks and the guys are right there in terms of accuracy," said Port. "We've had umpires who have called perfect games this year."

-Adam Katz, who represents Omar Vizquel, was working the lobby Wednesday. He talked briefly to Chris Antonetti, Indians assistant general manager. The Indians need an extra infielder, and with Jamey Carroll apparently out of the picture, Vizquel is an interesting option.
Vizquel, 42, hit .266 (47-for-177) with seven doubles, two triples, one homers and 14 RBI for the Rangers last year.

Infielder Jason Donald, one of the four players the Indians received from the Phillies for Lee last season, could open next season at Class AAA Columbus because he missed time with knee and back injuries.

Vizquel spent 11 years with the Indians and holds a special place in the heart of many of their fans.

-The Mariners felt center fielder Franklin Gutierrez should have won a Gold Glove this year. LA's Torii Hunter, Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Baltimore's Adam Jones won the Gold Gloves for AL outfielders.

[Hope]

Rockies decline $5 million option on Betancourt

DENVER (AP)—The Rockies declined a $5 million option on right-hander Rafael Betancourt, a key setup man as Colorado won the NL wild-card race.

Betancourt filed for free agency later Friday. Colorado general manager Dan O’Dowd said the team will continue to negotiate with the reliever.

Betancourt went 4-3 with a 2.73 ERA in 61 games while splitting time with Cleveland and Colorado last season. He had 61 strikeouts to go with 20 walks and held opponents to a .209 batting average.

The Rockies acquired Betancourt on July 23, and he went 3-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 32 appearances for Colorado. He allowed one run in 2 1-3 innings against Philadelphia in the playoffs.

[Hope]

Recent Transactions:

Nov 13
Boston Red Sox Paul Byrd P Declared free agency
Chris Woodward 3B Declared free agency

Chicago Cubs Chad Fox P Declared free agency

Colorado Rockies Rafael Betancourt P Declared free agency
(team option declined)
Juan Rincon P Declared free agency

Kansas City Royals Edwin Bellorin C Signed to a minor league contract

Milwaukee Brewers Braden Looper P Declared free agency
(team declined mutual option)
Claudio Vargas P Declared free agency

Oakland Athletics Brett Tomko P Declared free agency

Seattle Mariners Jack Wilson SS Signed
(two-year extension)

Nov 12
Atlanta Braves Tim Hudson P Signed
(three-year extension)

Kansas City Royals Lenny DiNardo P Refused minor league assignment - free agent
Yasuhiko Yabuta P Declared free agency
(team option declined)
Wilson Betemit PH Signed to a minor league contract

Philadelphia Phillies Scott Eyre P Declared free agency

Nov 11
Boston Red Sox Jason Varitek C Signed
(exercised player option)

Los Angeles Dodgers Jason Schmidt P Declared free agency

New York Yankees Freddy Guzman PR Refused minor league assignment - free agent
Josh Towers P Refused minor league assignment - free agent

Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. DH Signed
(one-year extension)

Tampa Bay Rays Gregg Zaun C Declared free agency
(team option declined

[Hope]

Ex-Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge a New York Mets bench coach candidate

Former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge is a candidate to be the bench coach for the New York Mets, according to a weekend report by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi for FoxSports.com.
Wedge managed the Indians for seven seasons, compiling a 561-573 record. The Indians announced they were firing Wedge on Sept. 30, as reported here by Plain Dealer Indians beat writer Paul Hoynes. The Indians were 64-92 at the time. Following the announcement, Wedge managed the final six games of the season, and the Indians finished 65-97.

Included in the FoxSports.com report:
Former Indians manager Eric Wedge, former Mariners and Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin and former Orioles bench coach Dave Jauss are candidates to be the Mets' next bench coach, according to major-league sources.

The Mets, however, are considering numerous other names as well, and do not appear close to a decision. The position could be a stepping stone; Mets manager Jerry Manuel, coming off a 70-win season, is entering the last year of his contract.

Wedge, who is getting paid by the Indians through 2010, can be selective in choosing his next job. Melvin interviewed for the Astros' managerial position and also drew consideration from the Nationals.

Jauss previously worked as a bench coach with the Red Sox and Dodgers in addition to the Orioles.

Often, a bench coach is a former major league manager. In some situations, a bench coach is considered a "manager-in-waiting" should the team struggle and consider firing its manager.

The Mets visit Progressive Field for a three-game series next season, June 15-17.

[Hope]

Former Cleveland Indians star Omar Vizquel, 42, is reportedly close to signing with the Chicago White Sox

Omar Vizquel, who won nine of his 11 Gold Glove Awards as the Cleveland Indians' shortstop from 1994-2004, is reportedly on the verge of signing a free agent contract with the Chicago White Sox.

Vizquel, 42, played with the Texas Rangers last season as a utility infielder. Dave van Dyck writes about the White Sox' potential signing of Vizquel for the Chicago Tribune:
The Sox first tried to sign Vizquel when he became a free agent after his days with the Indians, when he was still a Gold Glove shortstop. Now, Vizquel is expected to be a backup and unofficial "coach" of the White Sox youth movement.

Sources say the Sox are close to signing the Venezuelan shortstop, who -- literally -- would follow in the footsteps of countrymen Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Guillen, who is now the manager.

On Friday, the first day teams were allowed to sign free agents, the Sox reportedly offered Vizquel a deal worth about $1 million, same as he earned last year with the Rangers, for whom he hit .266 in 62 games.

But his value goes much deeper. As an 11-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop, he is expected to tutor Alexei Ramirez at short and Gordon Beckham, a trained shortstop who is moving to second base. Beckham played third last season.

Vizquel has built a 21-season career that makes him a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate. Besides his defensive excellence, Vizquel's Hall of Fame chances are aided by his career totals of 2,704 hits, 1,378 runs and 389 stolen bases. One negative is that he was selected to play in just three All-Star Games.

[Wahoo1324]

IMO it sort of cheapens the legacy to bounce around like that but the dude wants to play even that this age and you gotta like that. Obviously, he will have a tough time sticking with someone so whatever.

Too bad he's gonna fall just short of 3,000 hits but he should be a HOF'er.

[Hope]

Former Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel signs with the Chicago White Sox

Omar Vizquel agreed Monday to $1,375,000, one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox.

The 42-year-old is an 11-time Gold Glove winner and has played mostly shortstop during 21 major league seasons. He figures to add depth to Chicago's young infield.

With the Rangers this year, Vizquel hit .266 with one homer and 14 RBIs in 62 games. He had no errors in 207 chances while playing shortstop, third and second.

Vizquel, who will turn 43 in April, will play for fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen, a former shortstop who will be 46 in January.

The switch-hitter has 2,704 hits. He is a career .273 hitter with 78 homers, 906 RBIs and 1,378 runs in 2,742 games with Seattle, Cleveland, San Francisco and the Rangers.

Vizquel, who has played 238 games at shortstop since turning 40, has a career fielding percentage of .984. A three-time AL All-Star, Vizquel played in the 1995 and 1997 World Series with Cleveland.

Vizquel will provide experience as a backup in the infield where newly acquired Mark Teahen will play third, Alexei Ramirez will be at shortstop and Gordon Beckham will switch from third to second.

Chicago made 113 errors this year.

Vizquel picks Sox ahead of Indians Former fan favorite takes one-year deal with South Siders

CLEVELAND -- So much for the "Little O" reunion show.

Omar Vizquel signed a one-year contract with the White Sox on Monday, which means his return to Progressive Field in 2010 will have him in the visitor's dugout and wearing the uniform of a division rival.

That's a far cry from the comeback many Tribe fans were hoping for. Knowing the Indians had a need for a utility infielder, the hope among fans was that Vizquel would be brought aboard to mentor fellow Venezuelans Asdrubal Cabrera and Luis Valbuena and to finish off a potential Hall of Fame career in the city where he truly made a name for himself over 11 memorable seasons.

The Indians did express interest in Vizquel, but they were told by his agent, Adam Katz, that the White Sox were a higher priority on his list. It had been speculated that the 42-year-old Vizquel, perhaps seeking future support for his Hall of Fame candidacy, wanted to land with a "high-profile" club, and the Sox are obviously in a bigger market than the Tribe.

Of course, there were other reasons why Vizquel wasn't what you'd call the perfect fit for the Indians' utility vacancy. While the Tribe certainly valued the defensive help Vizquel could have provided, the leadership he'd bring to their middle infielders and the sentimental reasons to bring him back to Cleveland, the truth is that the Indians are hoping to land a utilityman who can hit well right-handed and spell Valbuena, who will be entering his first full season in the bigs, against left-handed pitching.

The switch-hitting Vizquel, a career .255 hitter against lefties, didn't exactly fit the bill.

But Vizquel, who won eight Gold Gloves and was named to three All-Star teams during his Indians tenure from 1994-2004, would have been a boon to the Tribe's marketing department, particularly in a 2010 season in which the Tribe will be fielding a roster filled with young, unproven players.

Alas, Tribe fans looking for reminders of the club's 1990s glory days will have to settle for the return of Sandy Alomar Jr. as first-base and catching coach.

[Sara Tonyn]

"The Indians did express interest in Vizquel, but they were told by his agent, Adam Katz, that the White Sox were a higher priority on his list. It had been speculated that the 42-year-old Vizquel, perhaps seeking future support for his Hall of Fame candidacy, wanted to land with a "high-profile" club, and the Sox are obviously in a bigger market than the Tribe."

Gee, thanks Little O. One year with the Sox instead of the Indians is going to make a difference? He's headed to the HOF no matter who he plays for.

Oh well, maybe he hates Shapiro or thinks the Sox will win the WS in 2010. But it still kinda bugs me that he would snub the Indians.

[Hope]

Seattle hires former Indians pitching coach Carl Willis

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Indians old coaching staff continues to find work.

Carl Willis, Indians pitching coach for the last seven seasons, has been hired by Seattle to be its minor league pitching coordinator. Willis, along with manager Eric Wedge and the rest of his coaching staff, was fired Sept. 30.

Willis spent 13 seasons in the Indians organization. He pitched parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues with Detroit, Cincinnati, the White Sox and Minnesota. He helped the Twins win the World Series in 1991 by going 8-3 in 40 relief appearances.

Under Willis, CC Sabathia (2007) and Cliff Lee (2008) won consecutive Cy Young awards. It was the first time Indians pitchers have done that in franchise history. Lee won 22 games in 2008, the first time an Indians pitcher won 20 games in a season since 1974.

Willis was signed through 2010 by the Indians. They still must pay him the difference between his salary with the Mariners and what he would made with the Indians.

So far former Indians coaches Derek Shelton (Tampa Bay) and Jeff Datz (Baltimore) have found jobs from Wedge's old staff.

[Hope]

Former Indians coach Luis Rivera will manage Toronto's Class AA team

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Another former Indians coach is back in the game.
Luis Rivera, fired along with manager Eric Wedge and the rest of his coaching staff on Sept. 30, will manage Toronto's Class AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats next season in the Eastern League.

Rivera coached first base and the Indians infielders for the last four seasons under Wedge. He spent the previous six years coaching and managing in the Tribe's minor league system.

He managed at Class A Lake County in 2003 and 2004 and Class A Kinston in 2005 before being hired by Wedge after the 2005 season. His three-year record as a manager was 246-173.

Rivera coached three years at Kinston (2000-2002) and in the Arizona Fall League in 2005. He played parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues with Montreal, Boston and the Mets. Rivera hit .258 (107-for-414) with 22 doubles, three triples, eight homers and 40 RBI for the Red Sox in 1992.

The native of Cidra, Puerto Rico, played 18 years professionally. He signed with the Expos at 17.

Hitting coach Derek Shelton (Tampa Bay), bench coach Jeff Datz (Baltimore), pitching coach Carl Willis (Seattle's minor league pitching coordilnator) and Rivera have found work after being fired with Wedge.

Rivera, 45, heads a Fisher Cats coaching staff that includes hitting coach Ralph Dickenson, pitching coach Tom Signore and athletic trainer Bob Tarpey.

[Hope]

Angels vote full playoff share to Adenhart estate

NEW YORK (AP)—The Los Angeles Angels voted to give a full postseason share to the estate of Nick Adenhart, the rookie pitcher killed in April in a car accident allegedly caused by a drunken driver.
The Angels’ shares were worth $138,039. Los Angeles lost to the New York Yankees in the AL championship series.

The Yankees won the World Series, and their full postseason shares were worth a record $365,053, Major League Baseball said Monday. That was up from $351,504 on the 2008 champion Philadelphia Phillies and the previous mark of $362,173 set by the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals.

With a hike in some ticket prices this year, the players’ pool for the postseason was $59.1 million, an increase from $51.16 million last year and the previous record of $55.60 million in 2006.

Yankees players received $21.27 million and split it among 46 full shares, 12 partial shares and two cash awards.

A full share on the Phillies, who lost to the Yankees in six games, was worth $265,358, up from $223,390 last year on the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies voted 45 full shares, 8.35 partial shares and three cash awards.

The players’ pool includes 60 percent of ticket money from the first four games of the World Series, the first four of each league championship series and the first three of each division series.

Full shares for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost in the NLCS, came to $102,620.

Among first-round losers, full shares were worth $37,993 for Minnesota, $32,141 for Colorado, $29,447 for St. Louis and $28,263 for Boston. For second-place teams that didn’t make the playoffs, full shares were worth $11,138 for Detroit, $10,424 for Florida, $9,276 for Texas and $8,262 for the Chicago Cubs.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

well i guess with the trading of curtis granderson and edwin jackson the tigers are in "reload mode"

[Dnthateonthepronk]

amen. I wonder what tiger fans are saying

[Hope]

screw the yankees.

Ewwwww no way.

[Hope]

From SF Giants MLB: Giants make Garko a free agent Team doesn't offer 2010 contract to first baseman

SAN FRANCISCO -- As anticipated, the Giants announced Saturday that they declined to tender first baseman Ryan Garko a 2010 contract, casting him into free agency.
Expected to be a run producer after the Giants obtained him from Cleveland for Minor League left-hander Scott Barnes on July 27, Garko hit .235 with two home runs, 12 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .637. This represented a significant dropoff from Garko's performance in 408 games with the Indians from 2005-09, when he batted .283 with 53 homers and an .805 OPS.

Economics parly accounted for Garko's departure. He was eligible for salary arbitration, which would have virtually guaranteed him a significant pay increase from his 2009 base salary of $446,100. San Francisco faces possible arbitration cases with two-time Cy Young Award-winning right-hander Tim Lincecum and closer Brian Wilson, who are guaranteed astronomical raises. Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez and right-hander Brandon Medders also are arbitration-eligible.

Additionally, the Giants' pursuit of free-agent first basemen Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche demonstrates that Garko would have occupied a subordinate role had he remained with the club.

The move left the Giants' 40-man roster at 39 players.

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Might as well bring him back. at least we know what we will get

[Dnthateonthepronk]

Cliff lee traded again...... to the mariners?...anyone wanna place bets he will get traded again at the deadline?

[Wahoo1324]

Cliff lee traded again...... to the mariners?...anyone wanna place bets he will get traded again at the deadline?

Really? The Phils traded him? That doesn't make any sense to me; why trade him? He's cheap and the Phillies are definately still in it.

Now that he's a Mariner, I'm pretty sure he'll be moving again by August. Mariners are probably not going to be in it.

That's a weird, weird move.