- Apparently David Eckstein is not too worried about winning anymore. The 34-year-old middle infielder, who already has two world series rings, had the chance to be traded to the Twins and turned it down. The Twins are hanging in the AL Central race for dear life, so it's not like the postseason was a given. Still, the Padres are far out of anything relevant and are one of the worst teams in baseball.
You know Carlos Zambrano. He's the Cubs starting pitcher who can swing a power bat on occasion. He actually sports two Silver Slugger awards for his exploits with the lumber. Anyway, considering the Cubs have a rash of day-to-day injuries -- meaning they don't want to put any of them on the disabled list and, thus, have a short bench -- would the Cubs consider using him as more than a pinch-hitter? He was, after all, spotted taking ground balls at third base recently.
-- From Bambino to Billy Penn to Billy Goat, we love our curses here in America, particularly when it comes to the national pastime. What you may not know (we sure didn't) is that the Japanese professional baseball isn't immune from this phenomenon. The Hanshin Tigers have won just one championship since 1950, and their current title drought, which stretches back to 1985, is somehow related to a statue of KFC icon Colonel Sanders. Anyway, their long national nightmare, the Curse of Colonel Sanders, might be over. If the video doesn't explain it all, Bats will.
-- Seattle teammates Wladimir Balentien and Adrian Beltre couldn't play in this year's World Baseball Classic -- Balentien, a native of Curacao, because he is fighting for playing time and Beltre, a native of the Dominican Republic, because the Mariners forbid him.
But, as old friend Larry Stone points out, just because neither is playing doesn't mean Balentien has been sparing Beltre from trash talk in the wake of the Netherlands' shcoking elimination of the D.R.
* Hank Aaron's name has been in the news plenty in passing with the latest steroid bombshell. Here's a story actually related to the once (and future?) home run king. From AOL Home comes a story about Hammerin' Hank's boyhood home being moved from north Mobile, Ala. to the aptly named Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the minor league Mobile BayBears.
You wanna see a future Hall of Famer at the age of 15? He could start in the bigs right now! I kid. Hyperbole aside, though, this 15 year-old player named Bryce Harper is already being touted as the first overall draft pick in 2011. He's a catcher who can run, bats left-handed, and already hits with major league power. Here's a highlight film of this young George Herman Ruth reincarnation.
* If anyone saw the ESPN Sunday Conversation with Derek Jeter in the middle of the 2008 season, they'll remember he said he was taking a keepsake from the old Yankee Stadium when the season was ended. Well, now we know what he took. There was a sign in the tunnel leading to the Yankees' dugout with this quote from Joe DiMaggio on it: "I want to thank the Good Lord for making me a Yankee."
It is now in Jeter's possession. Bravo, Mr. November.
* The Rangers move into the lead for Ben Sheets, which pleases Kevin Millwood: "I think it would be great for us if he's on our team," Millwood said. "I don't know what's going on with that, but he'll make us a better team."
A Major League club in the US's richest and most populous metropolis, its own cable channel, three consecutive years of record-breaking ticket sales, and a brand new stadium should be more well off, shouldn't it? A team with that kind of financial support shouldn't be thinking twice about eating Luis Castillo's salary, bringing in Manny Ramirez, or rolling the dice on Ben Sheets. Should they?
But hey, let's give credit where credit is due: the Mets aren't completely sitting on their hands, they're building a "bigger, shinier and more advanced" Home Run Apple!
* There's been plenty of talk about Mark McGwire lately, what with the Hall of Fame vote last week, and his long lost (estranged?) brother seems ready to cash in on it. From Deadspin comes the news that Jay McGwire has been shopping a tell-all book that will detail, among other things, how he got Mark hooked on steroids and how he "crashed and found God." Don't worry it probably won't be on our Amazon pre-order list either.
