The Chicago cubs 2010 posted by Jeff Lewis

    After two consecutive years of winning the National League Central Division, the Chicago Cubs watched their hated rivals the St. Louis Cardinals win it. In order for this not happen again, the Cubs have some concerns they have to address in order to get back to their winning ways.

    First, they have to get rid of Milton Bradley. This guy was a cancer on and off the field. He was quoted saying that he does not like the Cubs fans. I am here to tell you that the feeling is mutual. The Cubs general manager, Jim Hendry, needs to get this guy off this team no matter how. If that involves eating majority of his contract in a trade, then that's the way it needs to be done. There have been a few teams mentioned in trade talks for Bradley. The Tampa Bay Rays, the San Diego Padres, and the team that keeps getting mentioned the most the Texas Rangers. It doesn't matter what team the Cubs get the deal done with, as long as this guy is off the team come next year.

    Second, the Cubs need a lead-off hitter and center-fielder. These two go together, because the Cubs can fill both of these holes with one player. Coco Crisp. Crisp is a great player. He has speed, he is a descent outfielder, and he can hit. He did have a down year last year, but he played for the Kansas City Royals. Put a good team behind Coco he will shine! Look what he did in Boston an few years ago. There have been rumors that the Cubs are in the Curtis Garnderson sweepstakes. Grandy would be a good fit with the Cubs, and probably benefit from the National League style of play. The one downside to getting Garndy is that he can't hit left-handed pitchers. So the Cubs would have to find someone to platoon with Grandy in center when they are facing a lefty. With the Cubs payroll, I don't see that happening. Crisp should be Hendry's guy, but we will see what happens.

Nobody’s perfect posted by David

Last week I saw Andy Pettitte throw six and two-thirds innings of perfect baseball at against the Orioles at Camden Yards.  With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Adam Jones hit a ground ball to third.  Alex Rodriguez was getting the night off, and his replacement at the hot corner, Jerry Hairston, booted it.  Having grown up an Orioles fan and somewhere along the way developing into a Yankee-hater, one might think I would have been rooting for the Birds to end Pettitte’s bid for perfection; however, this was not so.  As a fan of the game, I wanted to witness history.  Sure; I would have preferred seeing an Oriole pitcher throw a perfecto (though even a shutout by one of this year’s starters would have been historic), but I can’t expect miracles.

How ‘bout that?

How about Jonny Gomes?  Called up by the Reds on May 22nd after not making the team out of spring training, Gomes has crushed the ball to a tune of a .563 slugging percentage and 19 home runs in just 240 at-bats.  His former team, the Rays, could sure use his bat right about now; they’ve lost eight games in a row and have all but eliminated themselves from the Wild Card race.

How about Chris Carpenter?  The Cardinals’ righty has put together a strong case for the National League Cy Young Award: mainly a 16-3 record and a major league-leading 2.16 E.R.A.  Additionally, he’s allowed less than one baserunner per inning pitched (0.97 WHIP), he’s surrendered only seven home runs in 24 games started, and he’s thrown three complete games – which may not seem terribly impressive but he’s tied for third in the N.L.  If all goes well for him and Adam Wainwright (18-7), the duo could become the first pair of teammates to each win 20 games since 2002, when the feat was accomplished in both leagues: Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did it for the Diamondbacks, and Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez did it for the Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox to MISS Playoffs in '09 posted by Joe Burgmeier

Sunday August 16, 2009 following their 4-3 loss at Texas, is the first time since April 21st that the Red Sox do not have a share of the wild-card or AL East lead.  Does this mean that Red Sox nation should give up hope for the playoffs or a world series birth this year?  Probably not.  However, they should.  Sorry Red Sox fans and band wagoners, your team simply is not going to make the playoffs this year with the emergence of the Rangers pitching staff and the dominance of the Yankees offense.

Now I assume most of the Boston fans are screaming and their faces are steaming with team colors and pride.  But we have to look at match ups in the remaining schedule.  The Red Sox have a tougher remaining schedule than the Wild Card leader Texas Rangers and the only other team with an outside chance in Tampa Bay, has a tougher remaining season schedule than either and it would be one of the more amazing stretch runs if they make it.  The Red Sox have 20 games left against teams that are trying to make the playoffs, this of course comes with 6 games against all of Boston's beloved Johnny Damon and the New York Yankees, 6 games against newly acquired division rival Tampa Bay, who play tough at home, and 3 games with the Angels.  Out of the 20 playoff type team games left, there are 8 interesting games between the White Sox and Red Sox.  I'm not going to predict any winners from these games {insert 2005 playoff flashback here} but will be some of the most intriguing match ups of the season as Chicago has bolstered their hitting and pitching with the addition of Alexei Rios and SP Jake Peavy.  Peavy has been rumored for a late August return or early September return and could be a factor.  The White Sox are doing everything they can to try to win the Central this season.

How Joba Got His Groove Back posted by Cesar Valverde

You may be wondering how Joba Chamberlain came off the All-Star Break with 2 consecutive victories: 1 against the Tigers and 1 against the A's. Before the break, it just seemed to be no-decision after no-decision. He holds the Major League Record for most No-D's in a season.

Reports say that Joba went home to Oklahoma during the All-Star Break. He didn't even think about baseball. He just spent quality time with his family. He only had a couple of throwing sessions and that's it! Nothing complicated. No pressure. No nothing. Just basic throwing. No Joba rules to worry about.

As a family man with 2 kids, I can relate with how Chamberlain can come back and have success on the mound his first 2 starts back . Joba was grinding it out in the first half. He was working hard with coaches trying to figure things out. This is a lot like a student grinding it out with his schoolwork; grinding it out with his schoolwork, getting pressure from his teachers to do better, getting pressure to keep their GPA up, but oh, when the semester is over, they go home, hang out with family and friend, and just breathe. When the new semester starts, they're fresh minded and ready to go.

This was Joba all the way. He went home to spend quality time with his wife. He went home to spend quality time with his daughter. These times are special and are able to help turn things around when you go back to the grind.

Could this fresh start with 2 victories in a row against Detroit and Oakland be only the beginning for a great 2nd half or will his woes from the 1st half come back to haunt him?

Much love for Don Zimmer at Yankee Stadium posted by Cesar Valverde

Moses spent 40 years in the desert before shepherding Israel through the desert enroute to the Promised Land. Michael Jackson grew up in a musical family and became the King of Pop over a span of 50 years. Don Zimmer tops them both. We're talking 61 years in the game and he's still going. Homeboy loves baseball. He was Joe Torre's bench coach when he managed the Yankees to 4 World Series championships. He had left Yankee management over a dispute with the boss George Steinbrenner after the 2003 season. Check out this interview with Kimberly Jones from the YES Network.

 Zim felt disrepected by the Boss. He is a stickler for the game. When he sees something's not right, he will complain about it. He is not afraid of getting kicked out of a game. He will get into a player's face and let him know; like this altercation with Pedro Martinez where he took one for the team in the ALCS. Yankee fans, this may be a little painful. Red Sox fans get ready to gloat.

Sometimes I think it's this disrespect that caused Zimmer to leave the Yankees. Bronx Bombers fans, you have to admit that it was  this altercation that gave the Red Sox the momentum to go on to win 2 World Series over the next 5 years. So where is Don Zimmer now? He's now part of the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays organization as a senior advisor. They beat Boston last year to go to World Series. I guess you could say Zim got a measure of revenge.

Rays send 4 All-Stars to St. Louis, look to send a 5th posted by Matt Hewitt

The Tampa Bay Rays will send 4 players to St. Louis for the All-Star game, and possible a 5th. Evan Longoria had the most votes for any third baseman, and for a while, had the most votes of anyone in the AL, until Derek Jeter surpassed him. Jason Bartlett was second among AL shortstops, behind only Derek Jeter and Carl Crawford earned another All-Star bid in the outfield. To add to those three, Joe Maddon (manager of the AL All-Star team by virtue of bringing the Rays to the World Series) chose Ben Zobrist to join the team as well.

And if 4 All-Stars wasn't enough, Carlos Pena is in the running for the final fan vote, battling it out against Ian Kinsler, Brandon Inge, Chone Figgins, and Adam Lind. Pena, leads the American League in homeruns, but sports just a .230 average. If Pena fails to makes the team, he would become just the 9th player since 1951 to lead the AL in homeruns, but not make the All-Star team. However, if he does make the team, it would add to the record breaking number of Rays to make the All-Star team. In attempts to get him in, the Rays and the Tampa Bay area have launched a "Vote Los" campaign to get Pena the final roster spot.

Another reason Carlos Pena is good for the All-Star team; Homerun Derby! Evan Longoria has already said he'd rather not participate, and although Ben Zobrist would like to try, and even though he has 16 homers...c'mon, he weighs about 170 lbs! And fortunately for Carlos, his swing is made for homeruns, so it would be safe for him to participate with no fear of changing his swing. Pena needs our votes to get him on, and voting can be done through mlb.com or the Rays home page. Vote Los!

Burrell goes deep against his former team, Bartlett extends his streak, Rays win! posted by Matt Hewitt

A day after the Rays do seemingly everything wrong, they come back and do nearly everything right in a 7-1 victory over the Phillies. The second game of the World Series rematch was much more eventful than the previous, with Garza throwing a gem, Burrell homering and Bartlett extending his hit streak to 18 games (ties a franchise record held by the long time Devil Ray great Quinton McCracken).

Matt Garza pitched 8 strong innings, giving up only 3 hits, striking out 7 and giving up 1 earned run. His only mistake was a ball Werth hit out of the ballpark for a solo shot. Equally as impressive, Joe Blanton matched Garza as best he could, going 7+ allowing 6 hits, striking out 10 and giving up 2 earned runs. He also only made one mistake the whole game, the only difference was Carlos Pena was on first base when he left a 0-1 fastball over the heart of the plate. Pat Burrell didn't miss it and launched it into the left field seats for just his second home run of the season.

Jason Bartlett continued his hit streak as part of a 5 run bottom of the eighth for the Rays. Bartlett led off the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout making him 0-3 on the night and it looked as though he wouldn't get another shot. Until the bottom of the eighth when Pat Burrell stepped up with bases loaded and 2 outs, Bartlett on deck. Burrell gets handcuffed on an inside fastball and hits a slow roller to Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, and due to the fantastic hustle of Ben Zobrist (who should be an All-Star, but thats for another blog) beats out the fielders choice at second, allowing the run to come in for insurance, and giving Jason Bartlett one last at-bat. And he would not blow his opportunity, she flared a sinking line drive into right field, just out of the outstretched glove of Chase Utley for a 2 rbi base hit.

Mistakes Made and Pitching Counts; Phillies falter to Rays, giving up 5 in the 8th posted by SportsPhanatic

Pat Burrell had hit 251 home runs up to this year, and obviously hadn't hit any against a team with "Philadelphia" tagged in front of its team name, since drafted 1st overall by the team in 1998. Up until now.

Burrell blasted a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning of the Phillies-Rays World Series rematch from last year, at Tropicana Field, scoring Carlos Pena and giving the Rays (not to be confused with the "Devil Rays" of extinction, formerly) an early lead that would bulster.  The wheels came off in the bottom of the 8th when middle reliever JC Romero gave up 4 hits, a walk & a hit batter in his outing.  

Jimmy Rollins continued to struggle with the bat. He went 0-4 tonight, lowering his average, to .211- barely over the mendoza line.  He'll look for another chance to pick his game up, tomorrow night vs. Andy Sonnanstine. 

INJURY UPDATE:  (All Caps are necessary)  Brad Lidge will return tomorrow and is expected to be called up. Is John Mayberry back down or do you think they will keep him on the ballclub, even with Lidge back and Rollins struggling? Lidge has been on the 15-day disabled list, as of June 7th.

On another note, Scott Eyre will be expected to return in 7-10 days, after being sidelined since June 12th with a strained left calf. Lidge is  and Eyre is 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 25 appearences this year with the Phillies.

Tough Cookie- Joe Blanton came through with a tremendous outing tonight- going 7 innings, giving up 2 ERs & punching out 10 batters, getting little run support from his offense and going deep, despite getting the loss.  Previously, in 4 starts this month, Blanton posted a 1-0 record with a 3.58 ERA in that time span. 

Mile High Baseball posted by David

I’ve been in Denver all week and was able to attend two Rockies games at Coors Field.

Among the highlights:

I saw Evan Longoria hit home runs – his 15th and 16th - on back-to-back nights.  The first shot got the Rays on the board in the first inning on Tuesday en route to their 12-4 win over the Rockies, whose 11-game winning streak came to an end.

I watched Rays’ phenom David Price pitch against Aaron Cook, who in my opinion should have been the MVP of last year’s All-Star Game.  (People have a hard time voting for a player from the losing team, but Cook was more valuable to the N.L. than J.D. Drew was to the A.L.)  Price got knocked around for four runs in the second inning, but recovered to last seven innings while allowing five runs.  He was outpitched by Cook, however, who went seven innings and gave up just three runs.  Each surrendered two home runs, but the ones hit off Cook were both solo shots (including Longoria’s).  In addition to a solo homer, Price served up a three-run bomb.

How ‘bout that?

How about Luke Scott?  In just 170 at-bats, Scott has hit 14 home runs and is tied for 14th in long balls among American Leaguers.  Though he is not on the official list of league leaders because of a stint on the 15-day DL, Scott is slugging nearly .600 and if he had enough at-bats to be eligible, he would be ahead of the likes of Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, and Carlos Peña – among others - in the A.L.

How about the Nationals?  With a winning percentage of .281 (18-46), the Nats not only hold the worst record in the majors, but no other team is even close.  The Indians – the team with the next worst record – are 29-39, good for a .426 winning percentage.  Despite their awful record, Washington actually beat the Yankees the last two nights (including shutting them out on Thursday) to win the interleague series against the Bronx Bombers.

Rockies return the favor, snap the Rays 6 game win streak posted by Matt Hewitt

The Rays put up a dozen runs in the first game of the series, but can only muster three in the second game, as the Rockies hand them their first loss in seven games.

 Apart from his 4 run second inning, which included back to back base hits and a three run homer, David Price's outing last night was decent. He was finally able to go deeper into the game, something he was determined to do after several of his previous starts fell short. He gave up 5 earned in 7 innings of work. Unfortunately for the Rays, the couldn't match that offensively. Solo blasts from Crawford and Longoria and a RBI single by Burrell was the only support Price got, giving him his first loss of the season.

 Aaron Cook performed extremely well, pitching exactly the way you need to at Coors field; with a hard sinker and ground outs upon ground outs. Cook went 7 innings, giving up 3 earned runs and striking out 3, putting up the best performance by a red-head since Kathy Griffin on "Celebrity Mole".

With Toronto putting a pounding on Jamie Moyer and the Phillies, the Rays fall back into fourth place in the AL East. However, its still early in the season, the Rays just got Burrell and Bartlett back, and are still waiting on Bradford and Kazmir to complete the team. So it won't be long before the Rays are once again at the top of the division.

Red Sox sign reliever Nelson to minor leagues (AP)

The Red Sox have signed journeyman reliever Joe Nelson and minor league catcher Gustavo Molina to minor league deals that include spring training invitations. The 35-year-old Nelson has played for five pro teams, including Boston in 2004 when he allowed five earned runs in 2.2 innings. Last season, Nelson went 3-0 with a 4.02 ERA for the Tampa Bay Rays before ending the year in the minors. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports