Will Chipper hang 'em up? posted by David

Chipper Jones is out for the year with a torn ACL, but let’s hope this isn’t it for the man who has played his entire major league career for manager Bobby Cox.  Chipper has made it known since last season that retirement could be around the corner, but like Baseball Tonight’s Eduardo Perez, I don’t see Chipper calling it quits now that his season has ended unexpectedly.  He wants to go out on his own terms, and these aren’t them.  At 38, his career is nearing the end, but I find it hard to believe that he will be able to say good-bye after watching from the bench as his team battles for the National League crown.

If he’s truly done, Chipper’s numbers speak for themselves: a .306 career batting average and .405 On-Base Percentage, 436 home runs, 147 stolen bases, 2,490 hits, two Silver Sluggers and an MVP award.  The six-time All-Star won a batting title at the age of 36, hitting a staggering .364 to edge Albert Pujols, who hit .357.  He is also tied for the most home runs in a season by a switch-hitter (45 in 1999; Lance Berkman accomplished the feat in 2006).  A little known fact about Chipper is that he and Paul Waner hold the Major League record for most consecutive games with an extra-base hit (14).  Chipper will join Waner in Cooperstown as soon as he is eligible.

How ‘bout that?

How about Jered Weaver?  The 27-year-old righty leads the majors with 182 strikeouts and is having his best season (11-7, 2.87 Earned Run Average) since his rookie year (2006), when he went 11-2 with a 2.56 ERA.  Since the All-Star break, Weaver has been even better, posting a 1.93 ERA, limiting opponents to a .204 batting average, and averaging seven innings per outing over six starts.  With the Rangers playing so well in the AL West, the Angels are unlikely to win the division for the fourth straight year and may even finish under .500 for the first time since 2003, but they have to be pleased with how their ace has pitched this season.

Buyer or Seller? posted by David

With the Dog Days of August about to begin, now is the time for teams to decide whether they are buyers or sellers – that is, whether they should mortgage their future and go for it this year or trade away their veterans for up-and-coming prospects.  “Going for it” says to a team’s fans that the organization thinks it has a legitimate chance to win it all, but a more conservative approach can send just as strong a message.  While a middle-of-the-pack team may have to acknowledge that this isn’t the year, going out and building for the future – as long as it is not the distant future – can usually be taken to mean that the front office is willing to sacrifice an outside shot at the playoffs in order to increase its chances of winning in the long term.  Buyer or seller, every GM will be busy until tomorrow’s trade deadline.

How ‘bout that?

How about Buster Posey?  The 22-year-old rookie has been on fire since taking over as the Giants’ starting catcher when Bengie Molina was traded to the Rangers.  Though his 21-game hitting streak came to an end on Thursday, Posey has helped San Francisco go 17-8 in the month of July, in the process taking the lead in the Wild Card race.  It won’t be easy to edge Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg, but Posey has a legitimate chance to claim the National League Rookie of the Year award.

How about José Bautista?  Bautista leads the power-happy Blue Jays with 75 RBI and a .585 slugging percentage (teammate Vernon Wells, who is second, has driven in 55 and slugged .515), but more impressively, leads the majors in homers.  The journeyman played for Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh before finding a home in Toronto, and while he has always shown some pop, the Dominican native’s previous career highs were 16 homers (2006), 63 RBI (2007), and a .420 slugging percentage (2006).

Farewell to a pair of the game's greats posted by David

The game of baseball lost two old-timers this week, as beloved Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away at the age of 92 and Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts died at 83.

Harwell is best known for his 42 years broadcasting Tiger games, but before his career in Detroit, Harwell made history.  For this, I turn to wikipedia: In 1948, Harwell became the only announcer in baseball history to be traded for a player when the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager, Branch Rickey, traded catcher Cliff Dapper to the Crackers in exchange for breaking Harwell's broadcasting contract.

In 1981, Harwell became the fifth broadcaster to receive the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Harwell was inducted into The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1989, and in 1998, he was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame as well as the Radio Hall of Fame.  “The Voice of the Tigers” retired after the 2002 season.

Roberts spent the bulk of his career with the Phillies.  His best full season came in 1952, when he led the majors with 28 wins, 30 complete games, and 330 innings pitched, all of which would be considered absurd numbers in today’s game.  He won 20 games six years in a row, throwing 300 innings in each of those seasons as well.  Though he was a seven-time All-Star, Roberts never won a Cy Young Award, as the award was introduced in 1956, just after the peak of Roberts’s career.  He finished with 286 wins, 305 complete games, 2,357 strikeouts, and a 3.41 ERA.  Roberts also holds the record for surrendering the most home runs in major league history, with 505.  Jamie Moyer – still pitching (for the Phillies, no less) at age 47 – has allowed 498 and could pass Roberts some time this season.

"Time for the Giants to Focus on the Rockies and Not Wednesday's Disaster" posted by Michael McGauley

Okay Giants' fans, it's time to get over Wednesday's loss, and get ready for the Rockies Friday night. Hey, I can be just as greedy as anyone, especially when it comes to a potential three-game sweep of the defending N.L. Champion Phillies. Everything was looking good: Lincecum on the mound, a three-run lead in the top of the 9th, and Brian Wilson getting loose in the pen should Timmy run out of gas. Then, with one out, a four-pitch walk to Shane Victorino, Bochy yanks Lincecum after 106 pitches, and Wilson cannot close the door. Jayson Werth's bases-clearing bloop double down the right field line tied the game at 4-4. In my opinion, total fluke! Wilson had not allowed a single run all season, and actually retired the first batter he faced. There were two outs before Utley singled and Howard walked to load the bases. Listen, if Wilson had finished off the game as he usually does, we wouldn't be having this endless discussion about Bochy's ill-fated pitching change. If he had left Timmy finish the game and he blew it, the same people would be criticizing Bochy FOR NOT making a move. It's really an impossible position for the skipper. I don't mind seeing Lincecum throw 120 pitches, but you have to figure it will make a difference later in the season once he exceeds the 200-inning plateau. If Bochy can save him, and limit the pitch count here and there, it could keep him fresher into September, and that's really the big picture. Don't pound your horses into the ground in April. Yes, it would have been nice to see the complete game, but IT IS Wilson's job to slam the door, and Wednesday just wasn't his day.

Phillies take a Halladay posted by David

After the way Cliff Lee pitched against the Yankees in the World Series six weeks ago, I would have been surprised to hear that the Phillies were even listening to offers for their ace.  But when the chance to acquire Roy Halladay comes around, I suppose any team would be crazy not to listen.  Before I knew it, Halladay was a Phillie and Lee was heading to Seattle, where he’ll join his third club in the span of four and a half months.  How often does that happen to the defending Cy Young Award winner?

Mauer wins Triple Crown in my book

No major leaguer has won the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, but this year Joe Mauer did lead the American League in what should be the three Triple Crown categories: batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444), and slugging percentage (.587).  Home runs are exciting and contribute to a higher slugging percentage, but if I were a manager, I’d much rather see my cleanup hitter go 3-4 than hit a solo shot and strike out three times trying to do it again.  Reaching 100 RBI’s in a season is a nice accomplishment, but the stat itself is overrated.  If all nine guys in the lineup are getting on base 40 percent of the time, it doesn’t matter who is driving them in; someone must be.

Granderson to patrol center in the Bronx

At the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis last week, the Yankees landed themselves a great centerfielder in Curtis Granderson.  Many of Granderson’s fans – myself included – were disappointed that he will be wearing Pinstripes next season.  Even so, I’ll keep rooting for him wherever he goes.  Of all the people I met at the World Baseball Classic, he was the happiest to be there.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Curtis Granderson is the truest friend of the game.

"Tim Lincecum Captures Second Cy Young" posted by Michael McGauley

 Just sheer domination that didn't necessarily show up in the win column! Fifteen victories equals a Cy Young?  Let's look at ALL of the numbers to really appreciate how great Tim Lincecum has been through his first two-full seasons with the Giants (he did throw 146-plus innings in 24 starts in 2007). Back-to-back Cy Young Awards do not come around very often (see: N.L. stand-outs RJ and Maddux, each with four straight, and Sandy Koufax with three of four; Clemens, Palmer, McClain, and Pedro each went back-to-back in the A.L. ([Clemens did it twice; ten years apart]). The difference? Lincecum has done it twice in two full years by the age of 25! So how do you follow up a CY YOUNG AWARD WINNING SEASON??? You work even harder to improve (by perfecting a third pitch), and that's exactly what Lincecum did after winning his first CY in 2008 with an 18-and-5 record, and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. Lincecum worked 225 and one-third innings this year, and went 15-and-7 with 261 strikeouts. No, that doesn't sound any better until we delve deeper. Check this out - in roughly the same number of innings pitched, Lincecum allowed fourteen fewer hits (182 down to 168); sixteen fewer walks (84 to 68); four fewer earned runs (66 to 62), and an opponent's batting average of .206, down from .221 in '08. He also doubled his complete games (up to four); doubled his shutouts (two); lowered his ERA (2.48 from 2.62), and his WHIP (1.05 from 1.17). That is thirty fewer base runners which is certainly reflected in his walks- and hits-to-innings-pitched. Among his many double-digit strikeout performances this season, I was fortunate enough to see Lincecum dust 15 Pirates in a complete game victory on a Monday night in late July. Just unbelievable, even if it Continue reading ""Tim Lincecum Captures Second Cy Young""

A game for the record books posted by David

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard put themselves in the record books in back-to-back at-bats in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia.  Each tied an offensive mark originally set before Phil Coke, the Yankee pitcher who faced the duo, was born.  Utley matched Reggie Jackson, who hit five home runs in the 1977 Fall Classic.  Jackson, incidentally, was in his first year in Yankee pinstripes.  Howard tied Willie Wilson, whose 12 strikeouts in the 1980 World Series were at the hands of none other than the Phillies.  (Howard went on to set a new record in Game 6.)

How ‘bout that?

How about Chase Utley?  His five home runs against Yankee pitching were one fewer than all of his teammates combined for during the six-game series.  Utley absolutely carried the offense, either scoring or driving in 15 of the 27 runs the Phillies put up against the Yankee hurlers.

How about Mariano Rivera?  In 12 appearances this postseason, Mo threw 16 innings and allowed just a single run while striking out 14 and saving five games.  His value was particularly apparent in Game 4 of the World Series, when he retired the Phillies in order to preserve the Yankee victory after his counterpart, Brad Lidge, surrendered three runs in the top of the ninth and took the loss.

How about the Yankees?  With a record of 11 wins against just four losses this postseason, they really were the true champions, outplaying their opponents for the duration of the playoffs.  They never faced elimination and trailed only one of the three series they played – the World Series, after Game 1.  As always, expectations in the Bronx will be very high in 2010.

Mike Tyson, Ricky Hatton, UFC, Tom Cable, Yankees, Raiders & Manny Pacquiao posted by Colin Linneweber

The Yankees, Not the Red Sox, Were the Team of this Decade

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night in the Bronx to win their record 27th World Series championship in team history.

The Yankees, who went 103-59 to establish the best mark in Major League Baseball in the 2009 season, simply outclassed the Phillies over the course of six games.

“I really believe in this club,” said Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, who was widely scrutinized for his decision to utilize a three-man rotation throughout the playoffs. “I’ve always believed in this organization, the job the Steinbrenner family has done, Cashman and his staff and it’s where we wanted to be and the guys did it.”

Despite New York’s exorbitant payroll that exceeded $208 million, Girardi stressed that the Yankees chemistry and perseverance is what ultimately brought another crown to the Bronx.

“It’s unbelievable how this team came together in spring training,” said Girardi, who decided when he was hired by the Yankees in October 2007 that the number on his jersey would be 27 to emphasize that his sole mission in pinstripes was to win another championship. “They just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.”

Hideki Matsui, who has twice been selected as an All-Star since he made his debut in the Bronx in 2003, was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after he batted .615 with three home runs and eight RBI.

The Yankees are an extremely deep and talented squad and Matsui, whose contract has now expired, expressed immediate interest in returning to the Bronx to help defend their title.

The Yankees, Not the Red Sox, Were the Team of this Decade posted by Colin Linneweber

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night in the Bronx to win their record 27th World Series championship in team history.

The Yankees, who went 103-59 to establish the best mark in Major League Baseball in the 2009 season, simply outclassed the Phillies over the course of six games.

“I really believe in this club,” said Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, who was widely scrutinized for his decision to utilize a three-man rotation throughout the playoffs. “I’ve always believed in this organization, the job the Steinbrenner family has done, Cashman and his staff and it’s where we wanted to be and the guys did it.”

Despite New York’s exorbitant payroll that exceeded $208 million, Girardi stressed that the Yankees chemistry and perseverance is what ultimately brought another crown to the Bronx.

“It’s unbelievable how this team came together in spring training,” said Girardi, who decided when he was hired by the Yankees in October 2007 that the number on his jersey would be 27 to emphasize that his sole mission in pinstripes was to win another championship.

“They just kept fighting and fighting and fighting.”

Hideki Matsui, who has twice been selected as an All-Star since he made his debut in the Bronx in 2003, was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after he batted .615 with three home runs and eight RBI.

The Yankees are an extremely deep and talented squad and Matsui, whose contract has now expired, expressed immediate interest in returning to the Bronx to help defend their title.

St. Louis' Awful October and World Series Preview posted by Ryan Turner

It's been a while since I've written anything. It has certainly been a tough month. The Blues started their season by picking up a couple of huge wins over the Red Wings in Sweden, but now they've began to be plagued with injuries again. They've gone just 2-4-1 since returning to the United States and have lost Barret Jackman, T.J. Oshie, D.J. King, and Alex Steen to injuries. They were already without captain Eric Brewer. The only benefit to Jackman being out is that it's giving Alex Pietrangelo a chance to get some playing time. He recorded his first NHL goal on Saturday against Dallas. Unfortunately, nobody else scored in a 4-1 loss. The team admitted that they became unfocused after Dallas forward Steve Ott laid a cheap shot on Carlo Colaiacovo. That's fine if I'm playing a video game. If one of my guys gets hurt in playstation hockey, I spend the majority of the game afterwards trying to injure the other team, especially the player that got my guy hurt (Oh yeah, I go back in instant replay, find the guy, and place a personal vendetta against him for the rest of the contest).

However, the team can't let two points, especially in a home game, slip away so easily. The game went from 1-0 Dallas to 4-0 in a heartbeat. They have to realize that if a hit is really that dirty (which it was), then the league will take care of it (which it did, handing Ott a two-game suspension). If the play had occurred when the game was already out of reach, I'm fine with the team policing itself. Ott made another dirty play later, sticking his knee out to make contact with B.J. Crombeen's knee. Crombeen got up and immediately pursued Ott, beating the hell out of him. I would've done the same thing and I respect Crombeen for defending himself as well as his teammates. Ott knows that he'll be punished both by the league and the Blues if he makes anymore dirty plays against them this season. That said, the Blues play a team in Carolina tonight that only has two wins this season. The team has been extremely inconsistent this year. All of the lineup changes haven't helped that fact, but if they can play well game in and game out, the lineup won't matter as much.

Hamels shuts down SD to complete sweep

Cole Hamels shut down his hometown Padres on four singles ineight innings to win for the first time in nine starts, leading thePhiladelphia Phillies to a 5-0 victory Sunday and a three-gamesweep of bumbling NL West-leading San Diego. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Phils activate Howard off DL

The Philadelphia Phillies have activated All-Star first basemanRyan Howard from the disabled list, three weeks after he sprainedhis left ankle. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Rollins lifts Phils past Giants

Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer, Joe Blanton pitched neatlyinto the seventh and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the SanFrancisco Giants 8-2 on Wednesday night. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Phillies take series vs. Mets

Kyle Kendrick toyed with New York's sputtering offense into theseventh inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies ended the Mets'miserable week by beating them 3-1 on Sunday night. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB

Mets' Dickey one-hits Phillies

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey threw a one-hitter, allowing only asixth-inning single to pitcher Cole Hamels, and the New York Metsshut out the Philadelphia Phillies once again at Citi Field, 1-0Friday night. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for MLB