FanHouse

Random YouTube Magic: Where Have All the Mustaches Gone?

Denton — 2008-01-15T16:34:00 00:00

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, Baltimore

Back in the old days, you couldn't swing a dead cat at a baseball game without hitting a player who was rockin' some sweet facial hair. A few of those "retro" 'staches are still out there. But, man, did anybody match the face-fur magic of Eddie Murray? He had discovered "manscaping" by the time this commercial was made, but you can still see shades of what used to be.

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Rays Almost Double Payroll Heading into 2008

Denton — 2008-01-15T16:10:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Rays, AL East, Tampa Bay

How does a small-market team compete in the AL East? Not by having a team payroll the same size as a single player's annual salary. In 2007, the Rays spent about $24 million in payroll, Alex Rodriguez swaggered to the bank with about $23 million. Close enough to make my point.

In 2008, the Rays look to spend over $40 million, a 70 percent increase. The St. Petersburg Times reports:

The Rays have more than $20-million committed to seven players (Carl Crawford, $5.25-million; Troy Percival, $4-million; Cliff Floyd, $2.75-million; Akinori Iwamura, $2.4-million; Al Reyes, $2.3-million; Rocco Baldelli, $2.25-million; Gary Glover $1.075-million); four players remaining in arbitration (Carlos Pena, Scott Kazmir, Dan Wheeler and Jonny Gomes) who could make $13-million to $14-million; 12 or 13 players who will get the $390,000 minimum or slightly more; and openings for a backup catcher, super-utility type and left-handed reliever. Plus millions in incentives.

The $40+ million blows away the 20% increase touted by principal owner Stuart Sternberg, but certainly solidifies a few key position players and bullpen arms. Assuming the arbitration cases are settled amicably, it might just be enough to get the team out of the basement.

A lot depends on the status of Rocco Baldelli. After a couple of big years in '03 and '04, Baldelli has spent most of the past three seasons on the DL. He missed all of 2005, half of 2006, and had just 137 at-bats last season. If he can return to form, the Rays might find themselves looking down on the Orioles come September.

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Are the O's Pumped for Spring Training...2010?

Denton — 2008-01-14T14:27:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, Baltimore

I've said it before and I'll say it again: being an Orioles fan must really suck. This is the time of year, spring training just a month away, when most baseball fans begin to shrug off the winter doldrums and take an optimistic look at their favorite team. Which of the big Hot Stove deals and free agent signings will help the team? Which of the young prospects are going to make an impact this season?

But in Baltimore, hope does not spring eternal for even the most diehard of O's fan. The pilot was out on the stove and it never heated up. The biggest news was a departure, of their best position player no less, not an arrival. And the two biggest chips they had on the table in Bedard and Roberts remain there, probably to carry the team to yet another season where mediocrity would be an improvement.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun says it perfectly:

Will fan favorite and community leader Roberts be dealt to the Chicago Cubs? Will Bedard take his sarcastic sneer and blessed left arm to Seattle? Will the Orioles keep both players, and decide to play seven in the field because they don't have enough legitimate big leaguers to fill out a diamond?

With spring training looming, the 69-win Orioles have traded their most heralded player, shortstop Miguel Tejada, for five youngsters while signing an obscure backup catcher and a Rule 5 reliever.

That's it.

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Red Sox Nation Spreads North

Denton — 2008-01-12T14:27:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, Blue Jays, AL East, MLB Fans, Toronto

Sitting on the southeastern shores of Nova Scotia is a place called Halifax. Located in the Great White North, you might expect the few residents who aren't hockey fans to support a "local" baseball team in the Toronto Blue Jays. Not so. According to the Toronto Star, Halifax is officially part of Red Sox Nation.

On Tuesday, Red Sox club officials brought a special piece of hardware to the fans up north: the 2007 World Series Trophy. The trophy was on display for two days in order for thousands of Nova Scotia fans to photograph and touch the Commissioner's Trophy.

It took a little doing for the decentralized fans to get the attention of the ball club. But relentless efforts, including a massive letter-writing campaign, orchestrated by the Bluenose BoSox Brotherhood fan club eventually made it happen.

Darrell Corbett, a life-long Nova Scotia resident who started listening to Sox games as a child in the 1940's said:

"I thought I would be dead before I saw them win the World Series but now I've seen two," he said, his face breaking into a wide grin.

Corbett is now 73 and made the trek to see the trophy along with an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

Great story, unless you're a Blue Jays fan.

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Aubrey Huff Recovering From Sports Hernia

Denton — 2008-01-12T13:39:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, MLB Injuries, Baltimore

First of all: ouch!

The surgery was performed Thursday in Philadelphia and will sideline Aubrey Huff for four to six weeks. According to team prez Andy MacPhail he could start resuming some "baseball related" activities in four weeks, but most will take six. What about the things I like to call "non-baseball related" activities like taking a piss standing up, or having relations with a woman? Give me a pulled hammie any day.

Position players are scheduled to report to training camp on February 19th. If my math skills are correct, Huff will miss at least a few days of camp. And what kind of "baseball shape" will he be in at that point?

Huff is 31 years old and had a relatively quiet 2007 season: .280 average with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. But when you break it down, his second half was actually more like the Huff of old. He batted .309 with nine of his homers coming in the second half. He also posted a .508 slugging percentage and .897 OPS. He might just have a little something left in the tank.

Huff is expected to mainly DH for the Orioles but may get some starts at first, third or out in left field. He will most likely bat fifth behind Kevin Millar.

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Mirabelli to Play Another Year in Boston

Denton — 2008-01-10T18:19:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Boston Red Sox are close to signing back-up catcher Doug Mirabelli to a one-year deal. To which I can only respond..."why?" If you recall, the personal catcher to Tim Wakefield arrived back at Fenway in a State Police car just minutes before he was to start a game against the Yankees in May of 2006. And that was pretty much the biggest highlight of his second tour of duty with the Sox.

Mirabelli hit just .193 in 161 at-bats in '06 and .202 in 114 at-bats last season. Not very compelling statistics to merit another season. But it has been Dougie's work behind the plate trying to tame Wake's knuckleball, not his prowess holding a bat, that has been his saving grace. But in his best offensive year in Boston (2004), he also led the league in passed balls (15) while throwing out just eight of the 46 attempted steals, a not-so-blistering 17%.

When you consider Wakefield's age, his injury last season, and the strength of the arms in Boston's farm system, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to keep Mirabelli around. Throw in the fact that Varitek is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth for an everyday catcher - meaning the back-up might see more than every fifth-day duty - and it makes less sense. Is it really so important to block a few errant knucklers that it is worth putting an almost guaranteed out in the batting order? I think not.

The Red Sox will likely explore options going forward and the Mirabelli signing may just be an insurance policy. The free agent market for catchers is pretty weak, however. And even with the depth of the Red Sox minor league teams, a suitable back-up catcher isn't in the mix. Get used to Doug, Boston, at least every five days.

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Baseball in Baltimore: Same as It Ever Was

Denton — 2007-12-17T17:20:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, Baltimore

If your baseball team was growing roots in fourth place, wouldn't you do something to get better? If your baseball team brought more opposing fans to home games than those there to root for your team, wouldn't you try to get better? Evidently not if you're Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail, and your team is the Baltimore Orioles.

Last week, the O's pulled off a trade that sent one of the game's star players (after a relatively bad season) on their way out of Baltimore in return for a crop of young prospects. The deal was widely supported by Oriole fans and could have been the start of a rebuilding process: as much for the team as for regaining some fan loyalty. But on the heels of that trade, the Orioles have returned to form.

Late Saturday evening, the O's issued an enigmatic statement regarding the findings in the Mitchell Report. With the inclusion of Brian Roberts in the report, seemingly based on nothing more than a single passing comment, the O's had every reason to stand up and criticize the report. And they did, sort of. From their statement:

"The Orioles support Major League Baseball's efforts to institute the most comprehensive testing program of any professional sport and one that strives to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs from all of baseball.

"As to the information and allegations contained in the Mitchell Report, the Orioles caution observers to resist the temptation to accept collective judgments based upon unsubstantiated allegations."

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Paul Quantrill Honorary Chairman of Canadian Little League Championships

Denton — 2007-12-06T11:43:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Blue Jays, AL East, Toronto

Paul Quantrill spent 14 years playing Major League baseball, his prime years with the Toronto Blue Jays. But it is his younger days, much younger, that Quantrill says provided his favorite memories. The Toronto Star reports:

"I probably have more memories playing ball as a kid than I do of any big-league games," said Quantrill. "When you're 13 and 14, baseball's all and everything."

Quantrill's love of the game has not faded. And he is now giving back to the youth leagues that he played in long before his big league career. Quantrill has been named as honorary chairman for next summer's Canadian peewee championships.

"This is something right up my alley," said Quantrill, coaching the peewee team - and son, Cal - in hometown Port Hope. "I do want to give something back.

"I never got the opportunity to play in something like this but I guarantee you, 13-year-old kids will absolutely never forget it."

This is a story that we just don't see often enough. Too many ex-athletes take their millions and fade into oblivion, or try to make more money in the coaching or broadcasting arena. Guys like Quantrill that give back to the next generation are far more important to the game than guys that hit home runs.

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Jacoby Ellsbury Now a Boras Disciple

Denton — 2007-12-04T14:39:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

Boston.com is reporting that Red Sox centerfielder and trade bait extraordinaire has dropped agent Joe Urbon and signed on with Scott Boras. For Red Sox fans, and probably many front office execs, that's barely a step above being a Yankee.

Ellsbury has been named on and off in the potential deal-in-the-works for the Red Sox to acquire Johan Santana. Hometown fans were outraged to hear Ellsbury's name as part of the trade and were lighting up the local sports radio show phone lines to express themselves. After just 33 games in the majors, the Boston court of public opinion has deemed Ellsbury untouchable.

Boras is not held in high regard in the Boston area, thanks to his hardball negotiating techniques with several current and former players. Many people thought Theo Epstein bested him last off-season in pulling off the Daisuke Matsuzaka deal. Perhaps Boras saw this as a chance to strike back. It may be a blessing in disguise for the Red Sox, as the Twins will not want a Scott Boras client on their roster when the big pay day comes in a few years.

No doubt, there is much more to come on the Santana deal. Stay tuned.

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Sweet Caroline Unmasked!

Denton — 2007-11-21T14:52:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

For countless years, fans at Fenway Park have been serenaded by Neil Diamond crooning "Sweet Caroline" in the eighth inning. The tradition began about 10 years ago when the Red Sox played it as a tribute to an employee who had just had a baby and named her Caroline. The fans loved it, although after enjoying eight innings worth of over-priced beer, they probably would have gotten into The Brady Bunch theme with equal enthusiasm. In 2003, the Sox began playing it at every game.

Almost 40 years after the song was released, Neil Diamond broke his silence about who Caroline is. I, like many others, would have guessed it was an old lover. Maybe his mother? Wrong. The truth is now out there: Caroline Kennedy.From Boston.com:

"I've never discussed it with anybody before - intentionally," the celebrated singer told the Associated Press this week. "I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday."

Diamond finally got his chance when he performed via satellite last week at the former first daughter's 50th birthday party.

Now, if we could only get them to stop doing "the wave" at Fenway...

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Orioles Making a Pitch to Keep Erik Bedard Beyond 2009

Denton — 2007-11-15T11:33:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, Baltimore

Good pitching in the American League is hard to find. Good left-handed pitching is even harder to find. The Baltimore Orioles know what they have in Erik Bedard, and they know they need to keep him in an O's uniform as long as they can. Bedard finished the 2007 season 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA. He compiled 221 strike outs in 182 innings before being shelved with an oblique injury. His numbers in 2006 were impressive as well: 15-11 with a 3.76 ERA and 171 strike outs in just under 200 innings.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Andy MacPhail is planning on working with Bedard's agent Mark Pieper on an extension before the start of the winter meetings in early December. In the current market, it is not unreasonable to expect Bedard to bring in $18-20 million per year in a 4-year deal. That being said, Andy MacPhail also left the door open for a trade:

MacPhail made it clear last week at the GM meetings that every player in the organization is available. Predictably, Bedard, who was one of the front-runners for the American League Cy Young Award before his injury, was a popular target in a market short of quality pitching.

"We've taken the position that we're obligated to entertain offers on virtually any of our players," MacPhail said, declining to specifically talk about Bedard.

Personally, I think the O's would be crazy to trade Bedard. He is the type of ace a team could build around. When you've been wallowing in fourth place for as long as fans can remember, a guy like Bedard could become the face of the franchise and put Oriole fans back in the seats at Camden Yards.

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Red Sox to Open 2008 Season in Japan

Denton — 2007-11-14T11:37:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Oakland, Red Sox, Athletics, AL East

Following their spring in Florida, the Red Sox won't be heading north to start the season, they'll be heading halfway around the world. The Red Sox and Athletics will play exhibition games against Japanese teams on March 23rd and 24th. The two teams will then face each other in the Tokyo Dome to start the 2008 season on March 25th and 26th. After the trip, the two teams will return to play in Oakland on April 1st and 2nd.

The trip should be an honor for the two Japanese stars on the Red Sox, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. But the rest of the team may not be as excited.

From Boston.com:

"I'm all for a 13-hour flight around the world to...," Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said this morning sarcastically in an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. "You know what, it's one of those things, we had a meeting last week, and the players spoke, and most of the players... it wasn't that we didn't want to go, it's that we've heard enough to know, and I've been over there on tours to know that it does have an impact on the season."

The games will be broadcast locally at 6:00AM. Does that mean bars will open in Boston for breakfast cocktails and baseball viewing?

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Random YouTube Magic: Troy Glaus Commercial

Denton — 2007-11-12T16:31:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Blue Jays, AL East, Toronto

Troy Glaus was the American League Home Run Champion in 2000. He followed that in 2002 with a World Series MVP. Since then, Glaus is most famous for a variety of nagging injuries and being linked to a Florida pharmacy under investigation for illegal distribution of prescription medication, in his case the "performance enhancing" type. And of course, there's this 2006 television commercial.

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David Ortiz Wins Silver Slugger Award

Denton — 2007-11-10T12:10:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

The coveted awards for Major League Baseball - Cy Young, MVP, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year will not be announced until next week. The results are still being held in an underground bunker guarded by an army of robots and Albert Belle. In the meantime, Louisville announced the Silver Slugger Awards, their prize for the best offensive player at each position as voted upon by managers and coaches. Here are your 2007 winners:

1B-Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay
2B-Placido Polanco, Detroit
3B-Alex Rodriguez, New York
SS-Derek Jeter, New York
OF-Magglio Ordonez, Detroit
OF-Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle
OF-Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles
C-Jorge Posada, New York
DH-David Ortiz, Boston

No surprises, as the awards are much more numbers-based and less subjective than the BBWAA awards. David Ortiz, Boston's Big Papi, won his fourth consecutive Silver Slugger at the DH position. Ortiz played the entire season on a bad knee (he had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday) but still put up monster numbers to reap the award. Ortiz hit .332 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI, led the league with a .445 OBP and was third with a .621slugging percentage.

When it mattered most, meaning the post-season, Ortiz played all 14 games, hit .370 with a .696 slugging percentage. Oh, and he swatted three home runs and had 10 RBI in the Red Sox championship run. Great season, great ambassador for the game.

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Julio Lugo Assists Hurricane Relief Efforts

Denton — 2007-11-09T13:45:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

A lot of what we read about professional athletes is the same: contract disputes, banned substance allegations, run-ins with the law. Basically, a whole lot of negativity goes hand-in-hand with the people who have the money and recognition to do something positive. Sometimes they surprise us.

Julio Lugo, on the heels of winning a World Series Championship, spent his morning at Cambridge City Hall. He appeared with Red Cross officials and others to publicize a food and clothing drive for victims of Hurricane Noel, which devastated the Dominican Republic, including Lugo's hometown of Barahona.

From Boston.com:

"Julio Lugo puts a familiar local face on an international tragedy that should be of concern to us all," Galluccio said in a statement. "With the help of people like Julio Lugo, organizations like the Red Sox, and expert relief agencies like the Red Cross, relief efforts in the Dominican Republic will continue to make progress."

It is uplifting to see Lugo, who wasn't exactly the most beloved member of the Red Sox, step up in his city and do something positive for those less fortunate. Estimates report 79 deaths and over 62,000 left homeless from the storm. The New York Daily News reports that former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez is also involved in the effort:

Pedro Martinez expected to begin preparations for the 2008 season in South Florida yesterday with his personal trainer, Chris Correnti. Instead, the ace remained in the Dominican Republic, trying with wife Carolina and teammate Moises Alou to help areas of his country devastated last week by Tropical Storm Noel.
"There are a lot of people in need," Martinez said. "It's devastating the way the area was totally wiped out. The little shacks and houses where they were living were wiped out."

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Random YouTube Magic: Roy Halladay Commercial

Denton — 2007-11-09T12:10:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Blue Jays, AL East, Toronto

The Toronto Blue Jays may not be knocking on the door of first place in the AL East any time soon. Hell, second place probably isn't an option, either. And they didn't really make a big splash at the Managers Meetings. But if you want to talk about TV commercials, other than the Peyton Manning advertisement empire, the Blue Jays have the market cornered. "Doc" Halladay shows you why.

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Damon Likely to Remain in Pinstripes

Denton — 2007-11-08T14:58:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: New York, Yankees, AL East

With all of the uncertainty surrounding the Yankee line-up next season, Brian Cashman is doing his best to hang on to some of the core players. One of those players is Johnny Damon. Cashman and new manager Joe Girardi met Damon for breakfast to discuss the future. According to Joel Sherman in the New York Post:

"I don't expect to move Johnny," Cashman said. "You don't rule anything out. But I think Johnny is an important part of our club. I would love to see him in left field for us and leading off. He is an offensive force. I see him playing left field for us on Opening Day next year."

Damon's name has come up in trade rumors between New York and the White Sox involving Joe Crede. The seldom-shy Damon commented:

"They realize how important I am to the team," Damon said. "They realize how important I am to the team"

Damon struggled in early 2007 due to nagging injuries but came alive late. Damon hit .318 and stole 11 bases in his last 57 games. He also had seven home runs and 35 RBI in that time. According to the Post article, Cashman "would love to see him in left field for us and leading off."

Meanwhile, Hank Steinbrenner has made it clear he wants Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada back in pinstripes next year as well. That paves the way for moving Joba Chamberlain into the starting rotation in an attempt to get the Yankee pitching staff younger.

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Will Mora Leave the Orioles?

Denton — 2007-11-08T13:00:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Orioles, AL East, Baltimore

Melvin Mora joined the Baltimore Orioles back in 2000, making him the elder statesman of the team. In that time, he has seen four different managers run the team. During his tenure, the Orioles have placed fourth in the AL East every year except 2004, when they placed third. They have never one more than 78 games during that time.

So why would he want to stay on the O's? Apparently, he doesn't. According to the Baltimore Sun, Mora is considering waiving his no-trade clause:

"I can't tell you right now what I'm going to do. But I want to be on a winning team. I don't want to be like, 'Let's make the fans wait six more years and then we're going to try to start winning again.' You don't want to deal with that.

"I'm an Oriole. I want to win with the Orioles, but I have to see what moves they make. We need to bring in some good players - young players, veteran players. It doesn't matter. You can win with young players. But I have no idea what they are going to do."

President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail has not come right out and said the Orioles are going to try to rebuild. But MacPhail has stated that he will not pursue any of the big-name free agents such as A-Rod, Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter. The expectation throughout the league is that Miguel Tejada will be traded during the off-season. So let's review: not signing talented free agents, trading the team's best offensive player. Sounds a lot like rebuilding.

There have been rumors of conflict between Mora and skipper Dave Trembley as well. Mora felt disrespected when Trembley sat him to play rookie Scott Moore. Mora was also not happy with Trembley for publicly calling Daniel Cabrera "unprofessional" after throwing behind Dustin Pedroia's head.

The hot stove is heating up early.

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Error-Free Performance is Enough to Win a Gold Glove

Denton — 2007-11-07T10:13:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East, MLB Awards

It's hard to believe that there was any question about who would win the American League Gold Glove at first base. All Kevin Youkilis did was play 135 games at the position, making zero errors. Zero. He is only the second player to achieve this, the other being Steve Garvey in 1984. Youk handled 1,080 plays over the season. His last regular-season error at first base goes back to July 4, 2006.

Many believed the politics of the awards would make it difficult for a young player, regardless of the numbers. Mark Teixeira won it with Texas in 2005 and 2006, but was traded mid-season to the Braves. Terry Francona spoke about Youk's accomplishment on Boston.com:

Having been around baseball virtually his entire life, Terry Francona understands the politics involved in winning a Gold Glove. A young player usually has to pay his dues for a couple of years before he breaks through the barriers established by the veteran players who win year in and year out based on both merit and reputation.

"What an accomplishment for a kid in his first year at the position and for someone who didn't come up as a first baseman," Francona said. "He certainly deserves it. He's a testimony to hard work. I'll be damned. What a great job."

Youk's performance at first also helped out the rest of the infield. He certainly eased rookie Dustin Pedroia into the second-base slot, and also allowed Julio Lugo to reduce his errors at short. There is speculation on whether or not Youk will return to first, or move back to his natural position at third. Much, if not all, of the decision depends on Mike Lowell and the Red Sox coming to an agreement. At either corner, Youk will give 100%, and do it with that beard.

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Schilling on Free Agency and the Red Sox

Denton — 2007-11-02T12:30:00 00:00

by Denton

Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, AL East

Curt Schilling has been a busy man. Less than a week after helping his team win its second World Series in four years, Schilling has filed for free agency and has already been in contact with three teams. Schilling, "speaking" on his blog, would not identify the three teams, but he was quick to confirm that he has been, and continues to be, in contact with the Red Sox.

I also wanted to mention something else. For anyone interested please just assume things are happening with Boston without me mentioning it. Theo and I have spoken more than once but there will be no details or updates of these discussions. I am in contact with the Sox and talking.

In addition to Schilling's thoughts on free agency at age 40, free agency without an agent, and his 38 Studios venture, Curt shares a very intriguing piece of his life with the fans. With Theo's permission, Schill has published, in entirety, the letter that the Red Sox management sent to him prior to the historic Thanksgiving meeting that brought him to Boston. Then Curt adds this:

The letter was signed by Larry and Theo.As a player here I can tell you that from the first day I was officially a member of this family, through the parade on Tuesday, they owned up to every letter of the contract. This ownership group has put together something special here, and their commitment to players and players families is a pretty big thing.

Compelling reading from a compelling man. In addition to the "re-sign Lowell" chants, Boston should be lobbying hard for another year of Curt.

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