MLB 2008

[Chalupa]

The 32-year-old McCready was sentenced last September for violating probation from a 2004 drug arrest and was released from jail last Dec. 30. The violation occurred in July when McCready was accused of scuffling with her mother and resisting arrest at her mother's home in Fort Myers, Fla. She still must serve two years' probation.

[Dan Gould]

Might be interesting if the McCready story leads Deb to kick the big lug out and then come clean on the true circumstances of her HGH use. But he's been her meal ticket for so long, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew all along about what was going on between them. But a 28 year old interested in a 15 year old? The story doesn't say that the "intimate" relationship started then but the implication is sickening.

What I don't quite grasp though is the idea that this could help McNamee because it calls into question Clemens' character. If the point is that McNamee slandered him, isn't it his public image at the time of the slander that is germane?

[WorldB3]

^Sounds completely innocent to me. Clemens simply had the vision to recognize the wonderful voice spewing forth from a cute little 15 year-old package before anyone else did. Never did steroids, either...

Maybe he will call Hanah Montana next, you know to help her with her algebra.

File under nice work if you can get it:

"Ex Oakland Athletic Dan Johnson, claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay, lasted one day with the Rays before he was designated for assignment. He rode the bench Tuesday and was dismissed Wednesday when Gabe Gross was acquired from Milwaukee in a trade. Johnson cost the Rays about 40 grand - $20,000 waiver free, plus a tiny segment of his $410,000 salary, meal money and travel expenses."

[Dan Gould]

And now according to Buster Olney, Zito is the 126 million dollar long reliever!

[papsrus]

File under nice work if you can get it:

"Ex Oakland Athletic Dan Johnson, claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay, lasted one day with the Rays before he was designated for assignment. He rode the bench Tuesday and was dismissed Wednesday when Gabe Gross was acquired from Milwaukee in a trade. Johnson cost the Rays about 40 grand - $20,000 waiver free, plus a tiny segment of his $410,000 salary, meal money and travel expenses."

Those wacky Rays. They're wheeling and dealing now.

[Dan Gould]

Well that didn't take long. 24 hours after Rusty declared that Clemens had no "inappropriate" or "sexual" relationship with the country singer, the NY Post has an interview with her father confirming the affair (he says that it didn't become physical until after she split with Dean Cain) and the Daily News has McCready herself saying "I can't refute anything in the story".

It must really suck trying to defend a man who is incapable of telling his lawyer, or anyone else, the truth.

[BERIGAN]

Gee, imagine how good Smoltz would be this year, if he was healthy???

By CARROLL ROGERS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 04/29/08

The Braves have put John Smoltz on the 15-day disabled list with a severely inflamed biceps tendon and an inflamed rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder.

Smoltz, who started the season on the disabled list with shoulder soreness, pitched only four innings in a loss to the Mets on Sunday in New York. He was examined Tuesday by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham and will be re-evaluated again after giving his arm some rest.

Smoltz (3-2, 2.00 ERA) had back-to-back 10-strikeout games in his two starts before the New York series. On April 22 against the Nationals, Smoltz became only the 16th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts. But he's been saying throughout April that he was having to battle shoulder soreness to do it.

Smoltz turns 41 on May 15.

[zen archer]

Lester threw a gem tonight , pitchers duel against Halladay who pitched another complete game lost.

Pedroia saved the game in the ninth with an unbelievable diving lunge to stab a line drive off the bat of

Wells.

[Dan Gould]

Lester threw a gem tonight , pitchers duel against Halladay who pitched another complete game lost.

Pedroia saved the game in the ninth with an unbelievable diving lunge to stab a line drive off the bat of

Wells.

Yeah, too bad three straight gems by the starters has only resulted in one win.

But if Buchholz, Beckett and Lester can keep pitching like this, I like our chances. The pitching has to improve if we are to have a chance to repeat, and it starts with the starters so that we can avoid the dregs of the bullpen.

On the other hand, its nice to see our two young guys have great starts when the Yankee youngsters are holding up the bottom of the league with shortest average starts, and they are both still looking for their first wins.

[papsrus]

A little pitching rundown here over at cbssportsline.

The thing that jumps out at me: "The Rays have the best bullpen ERA in baseball at 2.26." They rank the Rays' starting pitching 13th overall in MLB -- maybe a little high. But the rotation should only improve with the return of Kazmir.

Hammel had a real shaky outing last night in Baltimore. His numbers in the box score don't look horrible, but I think the O's had multiple baserunners in every inning. He never did look comfortable out there. And the defense in general did not look sharp, with Crawford still seeming uncomfortable with left field fences (dropped a fly that hit him right in the glove on the warning track -- Bah!). Nice diving catch by Hinske in right early delayed the inevitable for a few innings. ...

Anyways, anyone else see the pitching rankings differently than CBS? ...

EDIT: actually, looking at those power rankings a little closer, they seem to be overall team rankings (with a glance, sort of, toward pitching).

Edited April 30, 2008 by papsrus

[Tim McG]

And now according to Buster Olney, Zito is the 126 million dollar long reliever!

...and a head case.

[Dan Gould]

If the Rays keep up their bullpen performance, there is no reason why they should not have a good season, which will qualify as a great season by Rays standards (I'm talking 83-88 wins). Last year all it took was to get the starter out (who was often mediocre at best anyway) and then pound on the worst bullpen in the league. This year it is a completely different situation, with the pen protecting leads, and the starters pitching, in general, far far better - and that is without Kazmir to date.

The Red Sox have the top or second best offense by runs scored in the league, and its a good thing too because the pitching has been mostly to almost entirely lacking, particularly the bullpen. Papelbon is even better than before (for instance, he walked the first batter he faced but hasn't given up another in something like 34 ABs since, and his strikeout rate is through the roof) and Okajima has been fine. But Timlin and DelCarmen have been mediocre to horrifying, and the rest of the 'pen is even worse than them.

I am encouraged by the trends for the starters - Beckett, Buchholz and Lester have pitched gems in succession, and Dice-K has an ERA just a hair over 3. The pen may improve if all of the starters continue to go deeper into games, and particularly it will improve if they bring up Masterson and Hansen sooner rather than later.

[Aggie87]

Not MLB, but a great story....

Softball opponents offer unique display of sportsmanship

Gary Frederick thought he had seen everything in 40 years at Central Washington University. He'd coached baseball and women's basketball for 11 years, been an assistant on the football team for 17 and athletic director for 18.

Last weekend, he learned he was wrong.

In the top of the second inning as his Wildcats played host to Western Oregon University in Ellensburg, Wash., something happened that spoke to the beauty of athletics. It came in the form of a home run that no one in attendance will forget.

"Never in my life had I seen anything like it," said Frederick, 70, in his 14th season as softball coach.

"It was just unbelievable."

Central entered Saturday's doubleheader one game behind Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference race. At stake was a bid to the NCAA's Division II playoffs. Western won the first game 8-1, extending its winning streak to 10 games. Central desperately needed the second game to keep its postseason hopes alive.

Western Oregon's 5-foot-2-inch right fielder came up to bat with two runners on base in the second inning. Sara Tucholsky's game was off to a rough start. A group of about eight guys sitting behind the right field fence had been heckling her.

"They were giving me a pretty hard time," said Tucholsky, a Forest Grove High School graduate. "They were just being boys, trying to get in my head."

At the plate, Tucholsky concentrated on ignoring the wise guys. She took strike one. And then the senior did something she had never done before -- even in batting practice. The career .153 hitter smashed the next pitch over the center field fence for an apparent three-run home run.

The exuberant former high school point guard sprinted to first. As she reached the bag, she looked up to watch the ball clear the fence and missed first base. Six feet past the bag, she stopped abruptly to return and touch it. But something gave in her right knee; she collapsed on the base path.

"I was in a lot of pain," she told The Oregonian on Tuesday. "Our first-base coach was telling me I had to crawl back to first base. 'I can't touch you,' she said, 'or you'll be out. I can't help you.' "

Tucholsky, to the horror of teammates and spectators, crawled through the dirt and the pain back to first.

Western coach Pam Knox rushed onto the field and talked to the umpires near the pitcher's mound. The umpires said Knox could place a substitute runner at first. Tucholsky would be credited with a single and two RBIs, but her home run would be erased.

"The umpires said a player cannot be assisted by their team around the bases," Knox said. "But it is her only home run in four years. She is going to kill me if we sub and take it away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do. . . .

"That is when Mallory stepped in."

Mallory Holtman is the greatest softball player in Central Washington history. Normally when the conference's all-time home run leader steps up to the plate, Pam Knox and other conference coaches grimace.

But on senior day, the first baseman volunteered a simple, selfless solution to her opponents' dilemma: What if the Central Washington players carried Tucholsky around the bases?

The umpires said nothing in the rule book precluded help from the opposition. Holtman asked her teammate junior shortstop and honors program student Liz Wallace of Florence, Mont., to lend a hand. The teammates walked over and picked up Tucholsky and resumed the home-run walk, pausing at each base to allow Tucholsky to touch the bag with her uninjured leg.

"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' "

Holtman got her answer when they arrived at home plate. She looked up and saw the entire Western Oregon team in tears.

"My whole team was crying," Tucholsky said. "Everybody in the stands was crying. My coach was crying. It touched a lot of people."

Even the hecklers in right field quieted for a half-inning before resuming their tirade at the outfielder who replaced Tucholsky.

Western Oregon won the game 4-2 and extinguished Central Washington's playoff hopes.

Afterward, Central coach Frederick said he received a clarification from the umpiring supervisor, who said NCAA rules allow a substitute to run for a player who is injured after a home run. The clarification, however, could not diminish he glory of Holtman's and Wallace's gesture. Holtman downplayed her role, which her coach said is typical of the White Salmon, Wash. native.

"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run. . . .

"This is a huge experience I will take away. We are not going to remember if we won or lost, we are going to remember this kind of stuff that shows the character of our team. It is the best group of girls I've played with. I came up with the idea, but any girl on the team would have done it."

Tucholsky went to the doctor Tuesday. Her knee was still swollen; her trainer suspects she tore her anterior cruciate ligament. She will be in the dugout this weekend when Western Oregon attempts to cement an NCAA berth with games against Seattle and Western Washington.

Tucholsky will graduate this spring as a business major with a minor in health. She plans to continue her studies at Portland State and pursue a career in the health field. But she will never forget the generosity of her opponents in her final collegiate game.

"Those girls did something awesome to help me get my first home run," she said. "It makes you look at athletes in a different way. It is not always all about winning but rather helping someone in a situation like that."

Holtman knows something of knee injuries. On May 8, she is scheduled to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees, which have pained her all season. On June 7, she will graduate with a degree in business. She intends to study sports administration in graduate school at Central Washington.

Holtman believes sports has made her a better person.

She wants to give back.

Mallory Holtman plans to do that by becoming a coach.

[Dan Gould]

Well that's a nice story, though I have to wonder what would have happened if the same thing happened in a Men's baseball game. I kinda doubt anyone from the opposition would have volunteered to carry the opposing player around. I also don't get the rule - iirc, a similar thing happened two or three years ago to the Red Sox. Gabe Kapler was on base when someone hit a home run and Kapler, needing to score but not thinking the ball would go out, tore up his knee rounding the bag. The hitter had to stop behind him while they conferred with the umps, and by rule, a pinch runner came in to complete Kapler's jog home in front of the guy who hit it out.

[Aggie87]

I think the rule was misinterpreted at this particular softball game.

"Afterward, Central coach Frederick said he received a clarification from the umpiring supervisor, who said NCAA rules allow a substitute to run for a player who is injured after a home run."

Still a great story, IMO. And what sportsmanship is really all about.

[papsrus]

Real nice story Aggie. Thanks for posting it.

[Tim McG]

Not MLB, but a great story....

Softball opponents offer unique display of sportsmanship

Now how cool is that?

I'd like to think that is what sports is supposed to teach.

[papsrus]

A-Rod on 15-day DL. ...

[Dan Gould]

A-Rod on 15-day DL. ...

Yeah, and while Yankee fans seem to think that considering what they've dealt with to date (the 20 game stretch with 18 on the road, the injuries) that they are well-positioned right now, just a couple of games out. That's true, cuz it could be worse, but I say, let's see where the Yanks are by the time A-Rod and/or Posada returns. They've had trouble scoring runs and that figures to continue with those two on the shelf, and they look ready to send Hughes and/or Kennedy down to AAA, and even if they deserve it, the options to replace them aren't likely to be a whole lot better (Rasner and/or Igawa). Pettitte gave up a bunch of runs today and assuming that the Tigers hold on to a 6-2 lead late, it will be up to Kennedy to prevent a sweep at home. So the Yanks could find themselves in deeper trouble by the end of May.

[papsrus]

... and now Phil Hughes on the DL ...

I think you're right. They could be in for a rough ride here. (Not that Hughes was doing anything, but still. ... another setback.)

Edited May 1, 2008 by papsrus

[Dan Gould]

... and now Phil Hughes on the DL ...

I think you're right. They could be in for a rough ride here. (Not that Hughes was doing anything, but still. ... another setback.)

Wow - Hughes with a strained oblique. Is that an accurate description or is this a "general suckiness" DL stint? Because Colon had his oblique strain April 6th, and now he is targeting a rehab start May 5th. Those obliques are tough to rehab and easy to reinjure, and there's a period of time of no throwing at all. If Hughes really has one, you could be looking at June when he is ready to start a rehab assignment/regain his form. It could be the end of June before Hughes pitches in the Bronx again.

[Dan Gould]

Well, another sparkling performance by a starter - Dice-K went seven innings, allowing no runs and two hits and (I believe) only two walks, and it comes down again to a ninth inning walk-off, even more exciting than last night. Brandon Moss, a rookie playing for Drew, came through with a one out single to center but Jed Lowrie, running for Papi, was gunned down at the plate by Vernon Wells, with a tremendous block of the plate by Barajas. Then Tek came through with another single to center, Wells throw was a little to the 1st base side, and Manny slid in ahead of the tag.

The offense is still asleep but they've managed to win two in a row in their last at-bat at Fenway, 1-0 and 2-1. I'll take that - and a return to 1st place, by 1/2 a game.

[zen archer]

Well, another sparkling performance by a starter - Dice-K went seven innings, allowing no runs and two hits and (I believe) only two walks, and it comes down again to a ninth inning walk-off, even more exciting than last night. Brandon Moss, a rookie playing for Drew, came through with a one out single to center but Jed Lowrie, running for Papi, was gunned down at the plate by Vernon Wells, with a tremendous block of the plate by Barajas. Then Tek came through with another single to center, Wells throw was a little to the 1st base side, and Manny slid in ahead of the tag.

The offense is still asleep but they've managed to win two in a row in their last at-bat at Fenway, 1-0 and 2-1. I'll take that - and a return to 1st place, by 1/2 a game.

Yes, another GREAT game tonight , Dan explain to me why they don't put someone on the DL., how bad is Ellsburys injury or Drews . They keep saying they have 2 guys on the bench(cash,lowrie) and didn't want to pinch run for Ortiz until he

reached second ?

JD s injury sounds the same as A-Rod ( maybe not as bad??) and now Coco s leg is hurting .....geeeez .

Maybe they should put Casey on the DL and bring someone up that can run.

All these guys are sitting on the bench and they cant play ?

[papsrus]

... I'll take that - and a return to 1st place, by 1/2 a game.

Even better, you're up by a full game ...

(The mighty Rays are coming to town this weekend though )

[BERIGAN]

Not MLB, but a great story....

Softball opponents offer unique display of sportsmanship

I thank you as well for posting it!