Baseball News Blog

Rangers’ win to six Napoli acts catalyst

Sebatek — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:51:51 +0000

The opposing team managers should take note of the fact that the star player of Rangers’ this MLB season, Napoli has been able to bring himself out of the slum he experienced early in the season. Pitching him would now require a lot of homework and solid strategy on their part.
Wednesday night saw Napoli walk out of the famous Fenway Park with eight RBIs and three home runs in the two games. The left handed reliever and the right handed home opener had real hard time struggling to get Napoli out.
On Tuesday Napoli hit the two out which made it 7 for 13 along with 4 home runs as well as 9 RBIs in the last three games that he played. The season started with shoddy figures of 2 for 20 slumps. Rangers’ 6-3 win over the opponent team Red Sox was attributed to the go-ahead 2-run run-off home Josh Beckett during the fourth inning and also the 2-run left-hander double off Franklin Morales during the eighth.
Napoli definitely felt “A lot better”. “I’m going out and make things happen.” This comes in sharp contrast to his early concentration on mechanics which took his focus away from hitting.
This victory gave a strong boost to the Rangers’. The victory took the team to their on the road fifth straight and to the sixth in overall.
This victory reminds of their win way back in 1989 when they on the road six straight at the very beginning of the season.
“It is quite early to think of the winning streak”, said the visibly thrilled outfielder of the team. He was happy that the team was putting up with some great baseball. “The offense has begun to hit from the top to the bottom, the pitching is also extraordinary.” he added.
The current score for the Rangers’ is 10-2 which is the best in American league so far. It got attached with the 1989 team for the finest start after the 12 games in the club’s history. In 2011, the Rangers were at 9-3 after the completion of 12 games.
“We’re into playing good game and resorting to numerous ways to achieve that”, commented Ron Washington, the manager of the team. “We are playing as the game demands”, he added. “Playing on the defense and grind the at bats; things are going as we had planned in MLB”, he added further.
Napoli is in his best of form and creating ripples with his good game this MLB season.

Brian Wilson to undergo an elbow surgery

Sebatek — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:51:38 +0000

All Star Giant’s star Brian Wilson will be soon undergoing an elbow surgery of reconstructive nature in Pensacola recently. Dr. James Andrews will be the doctor who will be performing the surgery. He is an orthopaedist and has performed similar kind of action to Brian during the collage days of the Giant’s star player. He will be assisted by Dr. Ken Akizuki.
Andrews has recently examined Brian and reported of a torn lunar collateral ligament. This outcome of the diagnosis will make the player sit in the benches throughout the whole season. He proclaimed that the time period of recovery is around 12-18 months in the standard cases. But it can take more time also depending upon the circumstances.
Giant is keeping all the hopes and is keeping their finger crossed for Brian. They believe that he will be healing faster and will be available for the MLB games in 2013.
“We are ready for the surgery to take place and want to get rid of the problem as soon as possible” said Bruce Bochy, manager, before the match with Philadelphia Phillies.
Bruce added, “From my experiences it takes more time to heal from the second time of the injury. But at the same time I am hoping that Brain will take over the field for the MLB seasons in 2013”.
30 year old Brian did forty eight saves in 2010 and also did the final out of the game number five of the MLB World Series. He grabbed the victory for his franchise.
Brian reported the discomfort in his elbow and soon he was sent for an MRI scan. According to Groeschner, Brain felt the discomfort on his elbow after the 32 pitch throw that he did in Colorado. But he reported the problem to the team a day after the event.
Brain has taken all necessary steps for his rehabilitation throughout the spring. Thus his injury took everyone around him by surprise.
Bochy said, “Brian will return back and will be resuming his rehabilitation process. He will be helping his teammates also.”
Bullpen took over the brains position last year and the team is very much confident about him doing well in the games. There are also other options available like Santiago Casilla for the place of Wilson in the team.
Romo said that their staffs are well equipped and they will be able to pitch in all kinds of the given situations. He added that there no pressure on the players to win the first game that was very close.

Reds, Brandon Phillips OK contract

Sebatek — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:49:17 +0000

Cincinnati has again shown that it is serious about winning by signing on Brandon Philips to a six year deal worth $72.5 million. They went all in this big financial commitment and sports betting. This comes on the heels of another deal made five days before; this was with Joey Votto in a 10year contract worth $225 million. With these kinds of deals Cincinnati is out for serious games.

The team is getting more and more serious about searching for talent however the Philips deal is the last major signing for some time. This was no easy deal since the Reds could not agree on the length of the deal but they finally exercised the 2012 option agreeing to a longer deal.

In this new deal the salaries are added as follows, $10 million for 2013, $11 million for 2014, $12 million for 2015, $13 million for 2016 and $14 million for 2017. This is a spending spree for the Reds but with a keen purpose to be the annual contender.

Jay Bruce got a six year deal of $51 million after the season of 2010, Aroldis Chapman got a six year contract of $20.25 million where as Johnny Cueto was given a four year deal worth 427 million.

Phillips has always wanted to stay in Cincinnati and was fighting tears at the press conference when he announced the deal. This spending spree is the tactic being taken so as to keep the team together rather than loosing great players. Phillips is among the most popular player in this team and has blossomed at Cincinnati.

Ozzie Guillen suspended five games

Sebatek — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:45:11 +0000

After expressing admiration for Fidel Castro, the Miami Marlins suspended the manager Ozzie Guillen. His comments were taken very seriously especially considering the suffering Castro’s dictatorship has caused the citizens. This 5 game suspension leaves the bench coach, Joey Cora as the interim manager. Guillen however said he will fly to Philadelphia to address the team before beginning his suspension.

He made a bold move and apologized to the public and especially the Latin community for his comments which may have caused pain directly or indirectly. He mentioned how sorry he is to the Cuban-Americans profusely.

The suspension was officially supported by the baseball commissioner in a prepared statement. The comments, he said, had no place in the game. Guillen repeatedly said he only commented on how long Castro had stayed in power and the number of people he hurt along the way. It only came out wrongly in the interpretation from Spanish to English. He clarified that he did not mean loving Castro but being impressed by his tenacity.

This was the best decision by the Marlins in face of the tough public relations nightmare caused by the comment. It was very humiliating for Guillen even though he tried to save face. His job now hangs in the balance given the public outcry against the Merlins and the demonstrations that have taken place. Suspension for five games may not be a solution after all since most people are pushing for his resignation.

Guillen however has taken a big first step and may make it to win back those he has lost, he may be forgiven and loved even more due to his sincere apology.

Expansion for Wild Card in MLB Baseball–Talk Going

Sebatek — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:21:36 +0000

MLB players association and Major League Baseball both the authorities are doing a hard job to move towards a deadline with the motto to enlarge the playoffs by adding two more Wild Card teams at all , that will create 1 game playoff for first round in each of the league, beginning with its new year postseason.

This new format has been set a bit late at the end of 2011 for the next year that is 2013 inception with an all new five year agreement between the union and the owners. Both the sides had been provided with a deadline of almost two months to negotiate with each other regarding the logistics so that it can be implied a year before than 2013.

However, a last Wednesday report says that the deal is almost at the point of completion but nothing has been said about it confirm. It so being informed by a highly confidential resource that negotiation between the two sides are still going on and few work are yet to be done for the plan to be in action from this year only.

The agreement suggest that the Wild Card will be expanded by adding two more extra teams, one each in both the National and American Baseball leagues. Three division winners of each league have to wait for the survivor of 1 game playoff of Wild Card., establishing the Series Filed of Division. However, other leaguer formats like League Championship Series, Subsequent DS and World Series will not be categorized under this new format and the format of these games will remain as it is.

However, a few issues have been noticed regarding the implementation of this new format in this season of MLB baseball league. The regular season of the league will come to an end very soon within the coming week and not more time is left as the agreement has not yet been finalized. The schedule for this year league has already been settled a far before than the new agenda has been decided.

MLB was trying to impose this new agenda of basketball from last two years and from then on it had been a hot topic of criticism within the 14 man special team of Commissioner Bud Selig that were working on the filed improvement issue of the MLB baseball league.

The executive of union Mr. Michael Weiner however said that it would not have been possible for the authorities to implement the new agenda without Astros’ move towards AL.

Larkin nervous about his call from the Hall of Fame

Sebatek — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:53:34 +0000

These days Larkin is on a high spirit, as he is expecting a call from the Hall of Fame. He is one of the leading candidates expected to make it to the Hall of Fame, as the results are soon to be announced. Larkin commented saying that, “This can be shot of immortality in the history of this game.” For him this is a big honor, as this means that, he will have his name written in the history of the game. To be elected to the Hall of Fame a player has to gain at least 75%.
This target seems to be possible for this twelve time All-Star and the NL MVP in 1995, and earlier in 2010 Larkin got almost 51.6 percent votes, which was good for the first time. Even in the last year, his votes went up to 62.1 percent and he fell short only by 75 votes. In his place, Roberto Alomar and Bert Blylevel were chosen. This year, his chances seem to be more than last year, as there is a lack of best newcomers this time. In his nineteen-year career, Barry Larkin has 3 Gold Gloves in his pocket and 198 home runs. He spent most of his League career playing with Cincinnati Reds.
He also has 960 RBIs, 379 stolen bases and 2,340 hits to his credit. With a good career record like this he tried to get back into the game in 2005, but he retired when the team did not agree to take him back. Even though he was confused about the retirement at that time, but now he is sure that he made the right move. Now, when he is retired, he aspires of making it to the most coveted list of baseball. He will be in another special list as well.
Out of the 206 top leaguers chosen for the Hall of Fame, only 47 players had spent their careers with one league team and there are just two players in the list, who have actually played with the Reds. If Larkin get selected then he will be the third player of Reds after Bid McPhee and Johnny Bench to make it to the Hall. After his retirement, Larkin also broadcasted for MLB network in 2009 and 2010, but then he later moved on to ESPN. His association with Reds has not ended yet, as he is the spring training instructor in the team.

Wood still deciding whether you sign with the Cubs or retire

Sebatek — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:53:24 +0000

As per the sources, Kerry Wood is not going to return to Chicago Cubs in this year and the main reason behind this is the disagreement on duration and money of the contract. Wood, who is now a free agent, said that he would determine where he is going to pitch in the coming season. Another team, which is interested in this reliever, is Philadelphia Phillies. Last September Wood told reporters that there were no plans of him leaving the Cubs, and that he might retire if he did not play for the Cubs. Even though the front office of Cubs is obstinate to get back Wood, but the issues seem to be a problem.
Earlier Wood signed a very generous deal of 1.5 million dollars for one year and turned down a number of offers from teams such as Red Sox and White Sox, which were offering him a whopping sum of 5 million dollars. However, now he is looking for a deal, which is nearer to the market value. The Philadelphia Phillies want to sign Woods, but they seem to be waiting for Jose Contreras recovery prior to determine whether they should pursue Wood or not, as they can easily afford Wood.
The former general manager of Cubs Jim Hendry and Wood came to an agreement for helping out the team for reinstating Wood’s affiliation with Cubs. However, prior to re-signing the deal with Cubs Wood had his first face-to-face meeting with Tom Ricketts, who is the chairperson of the team. During this meeting, Ricketts assured Woods that can work with the Cubs as long as he wants to. Sources also say that Ricketts did not go deeper into the details of the job offer that he made to Wood. However, when Wood left the meeting, he felt that his job would be like an ambassador for the team after his retirement.
The main question is still the same, whether Wood will sign the contract or he will retire. During the time when he is still deciding, he can use it for other clubs or he can actually think of signing a deal with some other team. According to Wood, he will announce his decision until the weekend. There are no plans of Cubs participating in the World Series in the coming year, but they have traded Sean Marshall, which has created a gap in their late innings, giving more leverage to Wood.

MLB 2011 Top Plays

Sebatek — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:53:12 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnmMTF-ITpQ

All star event, ticket sale! The big MLB ticket hunt

Sebatek — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:50:00 +0000

The road to the all star event on July 10 in the city of Kansas officially reaches the way at 11 am on Saturday when fans have already begun purchasing their tickets for the Fanfest and the Taco Bell.
Besides that, the MLB and the host Royals will conduct a ticket hunt in the city of Kansas and in four other cities as well. Fans, instead of choosing the opportunity to play free slots can choose to locate and keep an all-star voucher that can be used for tickets at the Fan Fest and the All star Sunday event as well. The registrations into the All star game charity and the Fun Run by Nike are starred as well.
Luis Gonzalez states at the opening of the FanFest that this is the location where memories are actually made. He served as the spokesperson for the All-Star week and feels that this is an ample opportunity for the old and the young to mix and patch up well. It is certainly going to be a lifelong memory for many and will definitely share it with their kids in the years to come.
Nearly 2.2 million fans have already enjoyed the FanFest every since its inception in Toronto during the year 1991 and it was a major part of the midsummer classic experience. It runs all the way from Friday to Tuesday of the game. This year, the event is said to transform the entire city Convention centre into one of the largest interactive locations of baseball theme park in the world.
The MLB fest is said to be free with a seemingly fair price for the admission although the additional costs involved are only for the concessions and other memorable that are attached to it. The tickets are fairly priced with $30 for the adults and for children as well. They are also sold on a timely basis providing the fans with the opportunity to collect tickets on the day and the time of choice for free. Also besides that fans can choose from several discount options that are available.

NL Central Could Flip

Sebatek — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:13:24 +0000

The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals finished 1-2 in the National League Central Division race this year but the Cincinnati Reds have to believe that they have a shot to take the division back as there is plenty of turmoil that could change the dynamics of the division race with the MLB betting lines.

The Cardinals lost superstar first baseman Albert Pujols to free agency as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed him. Not only does Pujols take his huge bat with him to L.A. but he also takes his leadership skills and clubhouse credibility and respect along with the hearts of millions of Cardinal Nation fans with him. The Cards cannot replace Pujols, they must simply try to adjust and move on. Another big departure in St. Louis is manager Tony LaRussa, who departs on top as a two-time world champion in the Gateway City. LaRussa had a club that was totally in his image as the Redbirds have been tough, professional, relentless, and completely focused on the game. New manager Mike Matheny will have a huge void to fill and how the Cards respond to their new skipper will be a key to the 2012 season.

The big news in Milwaukee has been the Ryan Braun fiasco as the 2011 National League Most Valuable Player tested positive for a banned substance. While Braun maintains he is innocent and that he passed a test two weeks later, the fact remains nobody has ever won an appeal on this issue and he and the Brewers are staring a 50 game suspension right in the face. Braun was a key component of the Brewers lineup with Prince Fielder and if he is out 50 games that could prove to be catastrophic. Speaking of Fielder, what looked to be a huge payday may instead turn into a return to Milwaukee as his free agent dreams of cashing in with a big market team have yet to be realized. Pujols got the deal that Fielder was looking for with the Angels and nobody else seems to need or want Fielder for the price that he commands which could mean a big payday on a short term deal.

The Reds took a step back in 2011 but would figure to be primed to jump back into contention, especially when taking into account the woes of the Brewers and the Cardinals. Cincinnati still has a hard hitting lineup that can carry a team for months. Thing should definitely be interesting in MLB betting lines in the NL Central in 2012.