The Major League Baseball Post

[air 23 aj]

Joba is going to rebound from the bugs of last year and take us into the World Series.

 

[nnarum]

Originally Posted by 27th4theHood

Originally Posted by allen3xis

I'm not really in 'baseball' mode yet....

Same.

But Fausto is going to be lights out this year

i've been in baseball mode since december

and i can't wait to see fausto come back down to earth

Damn I've been in baseball mode since the end of the World Series...

 

[wildkycat]

did Shelley Duncan really say "in my eyes, my spikes weren't that high" ????

ok, someone get this dude some new eyeballs.

 

[wearinthefourfive]

A's are tearing up the preseason, but what does that matter.

 

[kiddin like jason]

Shelley Duncan is a %*+%+$#$# of epic proportions.

 

[wildkycat]

Duncan, Gomes, Cabrera suspended; Girardi fined

NEW YORK -- Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera and first baseman Shelley Duncan were suspended for three games each for their roles in Wednesday's spring-training fracas between New York and the Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa outfielder Jonny Gomes was suspended for two games Friday. All three players were fined along with Yankees manager Joe Girardi, third-base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long.
The suspensions, unless appealed, will start at the beginning of the regular season.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president for discipline, cited Duncan for "violent and reckless actions, which incited the bench-clearing incident," and penalized Cabrera for "violent and aggressive actions during the incident." Gomes was suspended for "violent actions, which escalated" the situation.

Benches cleared during the second inning of Wednesday's game, four days after Girardi complained about Tampa Bay's aggressive play after a collision at the plate that injured catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Duncan slid into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura with spikes raised after hitting a hard grounder off third baseman Evan Longoria's glove and trying to advance to second base on the play.

Duncan, thrown out by at least 10 feet, was immediately tossed. Gomes was ejected after racing in from right field and barreling into Duncan as other players poured onto the field. No punches appeared to have been thrown as order was restored.

 

[airjordanseattle23]

hopefully the m's improve this year. would love for them to bring griffey back.

is liriana going to be 100% for Minnesota this year?

 

[N41D]

Rangers almost had Johan... Twinsbailed

At least they tried.

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

supposedly the Mets are about to trade Angel Pagan for for CoCo Crisp

[h3]Crisp not headed to Mets for Pagan[/h3]
Coco Crisp | Red Sox | Interested: Mets? Angel Pagan
A radio station report on Wednesday said that the Red Sox and the Mets were discussing a possible trade of Coco Crisp for Angel Pagan. However, the Mets have since dismissed that report, according to the New York Daily News. York Daily News.



[h3]Cubs make an offer for Brian Roberts[/h3]
Brian Roberts | Orioles | Interested: Sean Gallagher, Ronny Cedeno, Orioles, Cubs
On Thursday the Chicago Cubs reportedly offered four players to the Baltimore Orioles for second baseman Brian Roberts. The players included in the proposed deal are pitching prospect Jose Ceda, infielder Ronny Cedeno, and pitchers Sean Gallagher and Donnie Veal.The two teams have resumed trade talks this week, and it appears likely that a deal will get done before the start of the regular season, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

 

[addictedtofreshkicks]

Originally Posted by maldonado316

Randy Johnson is 16 wins away from 300.

i doubt that eh gets 16 wins this season

 

[scuse7]

Originally Posted by AddictedToFreshKicks

Originally Posted by maldonado316

Randy Johnson is 16 wins away from 300.

i doubt that eh gets 16 wins this season

IF he is healthy he could. They would have a really good rotation if he can pull through for at least 140+ games.

 

[the pga tour]

Originally Posted by SCuse7

Originally Posted by AddictedToFreshKicks

Originally Posted by maldonado316

Randy Johnson is 16 wins away from 300.

i doubt that eh gets 16 wins this season

IF he is healthy he could. They would have a really good rotation if he can pull through for at least 140+ games.

Dang if he plays 140+ games he might get to 400 wins

 

[ooiron manoo]

[h2]Dodgers: Farewell, Dodgertown[/h2] [h1]After 60 years, an era ends at fabled spring camp[/h1]
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- His eyes red, his steps slow, Tom Lasorda waved to the fans for the final time at Dodgertown. Down in the right-field corner, his players and coaches silently gathered and formed two lines.

They had their own way of helping him say goodbye to an old friend.

Crossing bats overhead in a sacred baseball tradition, they formed an arch to let Lasorda close this special place the Dodgers called their spring home for 60 years.

"These guys want me to cry," the Hall of Fame manager said.

He didn't, but chances are a few people in the overflow crowd did. Some of them stood in the bottom of the ninth, bidding farewell to their team -- and a piece of paradise lost -- as Los Angeles fell to the Houston Astros 12-10.

So long, Dodgertown.

"We're going to leave, but we're not leaving our memories," Lasorda told them in a pregame address, pausing between sentences. Later, he reflected: "In all probability, I'll never be here again."

Set to move next year into an $80 million complex that they'll share with the Chicago White Sox in Glendale, Ariz., the Dodgers will take away more than a team from this town of 30,000 on Florida's east coast.

In an era when spring training has become big business, this complex was more like baseball's petting zoo, where players were encouraged to chat with fans and sign their balls. To many visitors, Vero Beach was a true field of dreams.

"It is a special place," former Dodgers ace Carl Erskine said.

His white hair ruffling in the breeze, Erskine played the national anthem on his harmonica. He threw the first pitch at cozy Holman Stadium when it opened in 1953, back when grassy embankments served as the outfield walls. Even now, there are just 17 rows of stands and no roofs on the dugouts.

The popular "Oisk" first arrived in 1948, when the Dodgers touched down at the converted naval air station a year after they trained in Havana.

The Boys of Summer are grandfathers now, Jackie and Pee Wee are gone and Brooklyn is now home to a minor league team.

But there was always that link to Dodgertown, where Sandy Koufax still came back to teach pitching. History abounded -- heck, the camp is older than almost half the franchises in the majors.

There is a slight chance that construction delays in Arizona will force the Dodgers to return next year.

The Dodgers are scheduled to play one more exhibition in Florida, against the Marlins down in Jupiter on Tuesday, and then finish spring training out West.

If they don't come back, the Baltimore Orioles are poised to move up from Fort Lauderdale. They wouldn't need to do much -- they could simply change the signs for Jackie Robinson Avenue and Pee Wee Reese Boulevard to Brooks Robinson Road and Cal Ripken Court.

Eileen Conneely stopped to snap one last picture of the markers at the corner of Don Drysdale Drive and Vin Scully Way. She grew up going to games in Brooklyn and traveled down from Long Island to see the finale.

"We came just for this day," she said.

"We missed closing day at Ebbets Field in 1957," husband Tom said.

Rocky Staniford also wanted a final look. Born in Brooklyn, he's a spry 88. Wife Cricket is connected to baseball: Her grandfather, Morgan Bulkeley, was the first president of the National League and is in the Hall of Fame.

"If it was anybody else, we wouldn't come," he said.

Probably extends to Tampa Bay's team in the Class A Florida State League, which moved into Dodgertown last season.

The Dodgers' presence extended beyond the complex.

Minus the team, no telling whether nearby Dodgertown Elementary School will keep its name. The local phone book will need a new cover -- many copies still feature a picture of Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton

"You get down here and see yourself like that, it's pretty cool. The next day, they put a bunch of them on the table for me to sign," he said.

Lasorda managed the Dodgers for a week while Joe Torre took the team to China, and went 1-6 in his stint.

He did everything to try to win his last game, putting runners in motion and calling for a suicide squeeze. Like his players, he wore a lucky green hat on St. Patrick's Day.

David Newhan hit one of Houston's five home runs. As a boy, he sometimes came to Dodgertown with his dad, longtime Los Angeles Times writer and Hall honoree Ross Newhan.

"It was a day in history," Newhan said after homering.

When it was over, Lasorda walked toward the clubhouse and the Dodgers waited with their bats. The tradition is older than the manager himself and mostly reserved for minor leaguers getting married and movies like "Bull Durham."

"It was a tremendous way to exit," Lasorda said. "I'm a very, very happy 80-year-old man right now."

Erskine was the last person off the field. He spent the game sitting next to Lasorda, talking about the old days, and lingered 45 minutes after it was over talking to fans.

"I hate to leave," he said.

A bittersweet day.

I am glad that the Dodgers are moving their spring training facilities to Arizona, since it is easier to travel there and there is Las Vegas in between. However, I will never get to see Vero Beach, of course I could go, but with the Dodgers not there, there is no point IMO. I was set to go this year, but itwasn't possible due to things having to be taken care of in LA. Almost went on the companies dime,

. To see it once, in all it's "glory" would have been andincredible experience.

 

[allen3xis]

Bartolo hit 96 on the gun today...

 

[the pga tour]

Originally Posted by allen3xis

Bartolo hit 96 on the gun today...

Dude I know. He couldn't locate @!*$ but I think that will come with more innings. Like I said in the original thread, Colon will replace Schill.

 

[kiddin like jason]

Bartolo hit 96 on the gun today...

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

He was throwing like mid to high 80s last season.

 

[allen3xis]

Who knows..

But I wouldn't trust that fat piece of crap to do anything meaningful.

Always disappointed me

Are the Sox not that high on Lester now or what? Or is it Wake that isn't expected much from?

 

[GreenNGold89]

Originally Posted by WearinTheFourFive

A's are tearing up the preseason, but what does that matter.

A's first in Cactus league and Giants last

.

Yes my hate for the Giants runs deep

. But anyways I can't wait for baseball season.I am not expecting much but hopefully these kids can produce and show promise for the future.

 

[atljunkie]

All-Star (and > than Francoeur...yup, I said it)

 

[wildkycat]

Reds send Bruce to Minors

Top-ranked prospect will begin season in Triple-A

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Reds outfield prospect Jay Bruce got the news Thursday he was hoping he wouldn't get this spring.

The top-ranked prospect in all of baseball was told he was one of five roster cuts and that he would start the regular season at Triple-A Louisville. Manager Dusty Baker and general manager Wayne Krivsky informed Bruce he would be sent down.

"I knew what they'd tell me when I went in there," Bruce said at the Reds complex in Sarasota. "You don't want to get sent down. It's disappointing. But I will feed off of it, go to Louisville and play well."

Bruce, 20, who was named the No. 1 prospect in 2008 by Baseball America, was seeking to become the Reds' starting center fielder in a battle that started with Ryan Freel and Norris Hopper.

The race tightened when veteran center fielder Corey Patterson was signed on the urging of Baker. Like Bruce, Patterson is a left-handed hitter.

"When they signed Patterson, I knew the writing was on the wall," Bruce said. "They have an idea of what they wanted to do. I'll keep doing my thing and try to force the issue this season and see them soon."

Bruce certainly didn't have a bad spring at the plate but he probably needed to have a great one to erase all doubts about his big league chances at this early stage of his career. He batted .262 (11-for-42) with three RBIs in 16 games.

After starting out hot, with hits in each of his first five games, Bruce's cause wasn't helped when he sustained a mild strain of his left quadriceps muscle on March 2. He missed nearly a week and during that time, the Reds signed Patterson.

In the other cuts, Cincinnati optioned outfielder Drew T. Anderson and reliever Marcus McBeth to Louisville. Like Bruce, pitchers Josh Roenicke and Tom Shearn were reassigned to the Minor League camp.

 

[cashbox sunrise]

can't wait for baseball season.

it's gonna be a rough season for my Giants but that'll just make it easier to go to games. especially without all the hoopla around Bonds bringingrandom people to the park.

 

[jdcurt2]

Its good for Bruce going back to the minors for atleast a couple of months, after tonight Bailey will be there with him. My Reds opening day lineup will be:
Cf-Corey Patterson
SS-Jeff Keppinger
RF-KGJ
2nd-BP
Lf-Big Donkey
3rd-EE
1st-Hattey
C-Bako/Valentin (or hopefully a trade happens)
P-Harangatang

Its looking good.. Hopefully we can win the centeral this year

 

[kiddin like jason]

C-Bako/Valentin (or hopefully a trade happens)
Ross?

What about Votto? He headed down, too?

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by Kiddin Like Jason

C-Bako/Valentin (or hopefully a trade happens)

Ross?

What about Votto? He headed down, too?


i haven't gotten a good feel for who'll be catching just yet.
Votto's status remains unclear for now.

 

[jdcurt2]

Ross hasnt played in a spring training game yet because of back spasms.. and Votto is having a rough spring and is known as a slow starter, so he might startout the first month in AAA but i hope not