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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dewayne Wise Will Be Your Starting White Sox Centerfielder
The biggest competition in White Sox camp this spring was the same one it's been the last few seasons: the battle for centerfield and the lead-off spot. The three candidates were Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens, and Dewayne Wise, with Owens starting camp as the favorite. Well, now Owens will be leaving camp without being able to say he's even a member of the White Sox organization...Continue reading at FanHouse
At Least This Was Entertaining
Sunday night's Blackhawks game against the Vancouver Canucks was probably the most important game of the season for the Hawks. They entered the game fourth in the Western Conference with 91 points, two points ahead of the Canucks who they're likely to face in the first round of the playoffs. So a win on Sunday would have given the Hawks a four-point cushion and helped assure they'd get home-ice advantage in the series.
That did not happen. Instead the Hawks played like crap and lost 4-0, and are now tied with Vancouver. On the bright side, however, at least there was this.
Nice to see Ben Eager get back to work after a three-game suspension with a nice left cross to Kevin Bieksa's jaw, though what the hell is with Alex Burrows pulling Duncan Keith's hair?
What the hell is this, a catfight?
At least we know it'll be an interesting series should these two teams end up meeting in the first round.
That did not happen. Instead the Hawks played like crap and lost 4-0, and are now tied with Vancouver. On the bright side, however, at least there was this.
Nice to see Ben Eager get back to work after a three-game suspension with a nice left cross to Kevin Bieksa's jaw, though what the hell is with Alex Burrows pulling Duncan Keith's hair?
What the hell is this, a catfight?
At least we know it'll be an interesting series should these two teams end up meeting in the first round.
Doctors Disagree With Dontrelle Diagnosis
When the Tigers announced on Sunday that Dontrelle Willis was going on the disabled list because of an "anxiety disorder" it raised more than a few eyebrows. I know my first reaction to the news was surprise upon finding out that "anxiety disorder" had become another way of saying "can't throw strikes."Continue reading at FanHouse
Gary Matthews Jr Is Not a Happy Camper
On Sunday the Angels broke some news to Gary Matthews Jr. that most outside observers could see coming. Matthews Jr. was told he's going to be the team's fifth outfielder/DH on the depth chart behind Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu, and Juan Rivera. Matthews looked better this spring coming off of knee surgery and was hitting .258 with two homers and nine runs driven in, and more important, he looked to be at full speed while running the bases...Continue reading at FanHouse
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Kevin Gregg Named Cubs Closer
The biggest question surrounding the Cubs this spring was answered by Lou Piniella on Sunday when he made it official and announced that Kevin Gregg, not Carlos Marmol, will be the Cubs closer this season...Continue reading at FanHouse
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Cubs Players Split On Night Games
When Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said last week that he'd like the Cubs to play about 50 night games this season, it started a debate throughout Chicago that the city and its fans have gone through a couple of times already. While some people are of the opinion that day baseball is part of what makes the Cubs and Wrigley Field so wonderful, there are also just as many people who think the preponderance of day games has helped contribute to the extreme lack of World Series trophies the Cubs currently possess...Continue reading at FanHouse
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Who Wants a 4,800 Calorie Burger?
Have you ever been sitting at a baseball game with a hot dog or hamburger in your hands, and as you're eating your $6 investment in gastrointestinal fury thought to yourself, "It tastes good, but darn it, it's just not big enough. I don't feel my arteries hardening as I chew it, and as a red-blooded American, this just does not sit well with me....Continue reading at FanHouse
New Meds Ease Joe Mauer's Back Pain
With the start of the regular season less than two weeks away, most of the thoughts and concerns of Minnesota Twins fans are no doubt centered on the aching back of one Mr. Joe Mauer. The pain caused by the inflamed sacroiliac joint in Mauer's back has already kept him from doing anything of value this spring, and it's also going to cause the franchise catcher to miss Opening Day, and probably a bit longer than that...Continue reading at FanHouse
Minority Ownership of Rangers For Sale
Although it looks like Josh Hamilton isn't totally ready to stake his future in the Texas Rangers, that doesn't mean team owner Tom Hicks is going to stop his search for somebody to take some of the team off of his hands. While Hicks, who also owns the NHL's Dallas Stars and 50% of the English Premier League's Liverpool FC, isn't exactly bleeding money at the moment, he does see selling some of his share during these times to be prudent...Continue reading at FanHouse
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Jimmy Clausen Wants To Lead
Notre Dame football 2008 was somewhat bittersweet. Sure, the season ended with a 49-21 thrashing of Hawaii (sorry, I'm not spelling it Hawai'i because I'm lazy) in the Hawaii Bowl, but it also included a regular season that saw the Irish lose to Syracuse. At home. On Senior Day. With yours truly in attendance.The shame of it all.
So even though the season-ending bowl win gave the program some momentum and fans some reason to be optimistic going into 2009, the Irish still have a lot of problems to fix. The running game was non-existent last year; if the Irish are going to get back to a real bowl game and actually win it, this needs to be repaired. Also, while the defense improved a lot in 2008 over 2007, they still have plenty of flaws that need addressing.
Then there's the Golden Boy, Jimmy Clausen.
Clausen may have actually done himself a disservice in the Hawaii Bowl by playing so well. Clausen completed 22 of his 26 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns, easily the best game he's played since coming to South Bend. Of course, it now means that people are going to expect him to put up similar numbers in every game.That's just not going to happen, but as Clausen continues to grow and improve, he'll need to make some changes as well.
For instance, did you ever notice how whenever the Irish offense was playing well last season, Clausen had no problem running around on the sidelines and getting the rest of the team pumped up? The high-fives, the chest bumps, the primal screams, these were all on display when the Irish would score.
But then there were the games like the 23-7 loss in East Lansing, or the 17-0 affair at Boston College, and who could forget the 38-3 anal raping delivered by the Trojans on that final weekend?In those three losses the Irish only managed to score 10 points, so to say the offense struggled would be a gross understatement. Did you ever notice Clausen during those games? He wasn't hard to find.
He was the one sitting by himself at the end of the bench not looking at or talking to anybody. Just looking like a kid who was told by his mother that she's not buying him a new toy while they're at the grocery store.
If Clausen is ever going to be a great quarterback who lives up to the ridiculous hype he received before coming to South Bend, he needs to learn how to be a leader, and his attitude during those losses clearly shows he wasn't last year. Which is why Weis had a meeting with both Clausen and backup Dayne Crist to tell them they had to learn how to do just that.
They can't just be there when times are good, and in fact, are needed more when things are going downhill. So Clausen told Irish Illustrated (subscription needed) that he's going to make a concerted effort to be more of a leader to the team this season.
"I need to work on that and that's one of the things coach said I needed to work on, to be the same person when things go right and things go wrong, just stay level-headed and act the same," Clausen said. "It's going to be hard. It's not easy changing the way I used to be. Now's the time where I have to put my foot on the gas and start getting everything going."Clausen's right, it's not going to be easy.
One time somebody told me I had to stop being so good-looking and charming because it made life harder for everybody around me, and since I'm so caring, I gave it a shot.
Let me tell you, it's not easy. I even went out with garbage bags on as my shirt and pants, and all the girls in the bar still wanted to talk to me. So eventually I stopped trying.
Clausen can't be a quitter like I was, or we may have to deal with a few more Hawaii Bowls and losses to Syracuse around here.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I Want One Of Those
I guess this is an ad for Ray-Ban sunglasses, sent to me by Panger, and although she says it's a great ad, I beg to differ. Whenever a commercial uses a gimmick or a prop to sell their item, it should make you want to buy that product.
After watching that video, I want the chameleon. Screw the 80's sunglasses.
Keith Olbermann Has a Blog
A long, long time ago when I was a teenager ESPN was actually a network that was dedicated to showing sports. The showcase of the network was SportsCenter, which every day showed highlights from every single game played in the country, without any interruptions from Coors Light or their cold hard previously scripted opinions. It was during these halycon days of ESPN that the world was introduced to the duo of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann...Continue reading at FanHouse
Alex Rodriguez Has Given Up On Trying To Earn Your Approval
The last few months have been pretty damaging to Alex Rodriguez's persona. After spending the first 15 years of his Major League career carefully trying to craft his image to be the perfect baseball player, it's all come crashing down around Rodriguez in light of his divorce from his wife, those darned steroids, and that whole high-priced hooker fetish of his.So you would think that at this point A-Rod is trying to come up with a way that will get the people to love him once more, but you'd be wrong. Rodriguez sat down for an interview with YES Networks' Michael Kay for their annual Yankees preview that airs on Tuesday night, and in that interview he says he's given up on trying to get people to like him.
Kay: People have knocked you before, Alex, is that “Alex wants everybody to like him,” and “he tries to be a chameleon so everybody likes him.” Do you worry that people might not like you?What's odd is that I like Rodriguez more now than I ever did before. I've always respected him as a baseball player, but that whole Mr. Perfect thing he was trying to pull off always bothered me. Now that the chinks in his armor are showing, and he seems more human, I don't hate him nearly as much.
A-Rod: Well, I’ve given up on that! I’ve given up on that; it’s just the way it is. I mean, look, I feel like right now, that, not too many people like me, so I’ve given up on that. As long as my teammates like me, and they respect me, and my two daughters love their Daddy, I’m going to go out and do the very best I can. Look, I really screwed up, and for that I’m sorry. I’m just happy to be playing baseball again.
Schadenfreude is a wonderful thing that can bring us all together!
Tommy Lasorda Can Give Interviews In His Sleep
You kind of have to feel sorry for Tommy Lasorda in this video, even as you're laughing at him. It seems that the 81-year old Dodgers legend was somewhat worn out before going on television to do an interview with Chicago Tribune Live, which coincidentally is taped in Chicago...
See the video at FanHouse
The Marlins Are Getting a New Stadium
Ever since 1993 when the Florida Marlins were born into Major League Baseball existence, they've been trying to get a new stadium. Time and time again they failed to get it done. Even after winning two World Series titles in the first eleven years of the franchise history, efforts would come up fruitless...
Continue reading at FanHouse
Monday, March 23, 2009
Rays Get a Visit From a Wild Boar
One of the things the Tampa Bay Rays can expect in 2009 after their trip to the World Series in 2008 is a lot more attention. They started to get a taste of it towards the end of last season and in the playoffs when they noticed they were no longer playing in front of 10,000 fans but full houses. This season the Rays will be playing in front of large crowds all season, and they're going to be finding themselves on national television a lot as well...Continue reading at FanHouse
Gavin Floyd Signs Contract Extension
The Chicago White Sox didn't spend very much money this offseason in part due to the nature of the economy, and also because they have a lot of young talent who they'd like to start locking up with long term deals in the near future, and they'd like to have the money around to do so. On Sunday afternoon they were able to do just that....Continue reading at FanHouse
Curt Schilling Is Retiring
After missing all of the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, Curt Schilling had surgery in June and did so saying that he'd be ready to pitch again come summer of the 2009 season. Which is good for Schilling if not for one tiny, somewhat significant problem....Continue reading at FanHouse
Sunday, March 22, 2009
This Is Worth Three Games?
Ben Eager has been suspended for three games by the NHL for that hit on Edmonton's Liam Reddox on Friday night. There was no penalty called on the hit, and it is somewhat of a cheap shot, but three games? It's not like Eager swung his stick at his head or anything.
Which, coincidentally, is why Eager was suspended three games earlier this season when he did just that to Sean Avery. But who doesn't want to hit Sean Avery over the head with a stick?
B.J. Upton To Miss First Week
One of the things that was so amazing about Tampa Bay's 2008 regular season was that they were playing so well even though B.J. Upton wasn't fully healthy. Shoulder problems limited Upton all season, though he did play in 145 games, sapping him of his power and keeping his home run total to nine. A total he nearly surpassed in the playoffs when his 7 homers helped get the Rays to the World Series...Continue reading at FanHouse
Ozzie Guillen Thinks Obama is Human But Jeter's a God
President Barack Obama was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last Thursday night, and he got in a bit of hot water after making a remark comparing his bowling ability to the Special Olympics. As soon as he said it I winced knowing that there would be some hell to pay for it on Friday, and there was, but Obama apologized for it and we can all now move on to watching this country fall apart...
Continue reading at FanHouse
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Chris Getz Wins Job At Second Base, Clayton Richard Will Be The Fifth Starter
With Opening Day still over two weeks away, the White Sox roster is starting to take shape. After getting pasted by the Cubs on Saturday afternoon at Camelback Ranch, the Sox decided it was time to make some announcements, the first being that the battle for second place has been settled. As spring progressed, a contest that started with Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge, and Jayson Nix eventually added a fourth party after Gordon Beckham's hot bat left Ozzie and Sox no choice. But Beckham can probably start looking for six month lease on an apartment in Charlotte because he's not going to be coming to Chicago.
No, it will be Getz starting at second base on Opening Day.
The decision makes a lot of sense, and isn't unexpected. While Beckham has been a terror in the batter's box, he really does need some time at the Triple-A level before he can be expected to produce consistently in the bigs. This is what the Rays did with Evan Longoria last season, and it seemed to work out pretty well for them.
As for Getz, he has performed well enough to earn the job considering his .350 average so far this spring and his defense. Plus there's the fact Getz may end up as the de facto leadoff hitter against right-handers, so Guillen doesn't have much choice.
I'm not exactly comfortable with the fact that a kid with seven Major League at bats is going to be thrown into the lead-off role, especially when that same kid only had an OBP of .361 while in the minors, but on the bright side, at least he's not Jerry Owens.
Getz winning the second base job wasn't the only announcement the Sox made on Saturday. It's looking more like Clayton Richard will be the team's fifth starter once the season starts. That's because the team has slated Jeff Marquez to pitch out of the bullpen when they go against Oakland on Sunday, and there is that tweaked hamstring he's dealing with. Jose Contreras will be starting the game and likely be taking the fourth spot in the rotation.
As for the other guy battling for the job, Bartolo Colon, he's scheduled to pitch a minor-league game on Wednesday, and odds are he's not going to get enough work in before the season starts to warrant a spot in the rotation. So by process of elimination, it's Richard's job.
He's pitched well this spring, giving up 16 hits and 7 runs in 17.1 innings, but having him in the rotation does worry me a bit.
That's because with Mark Buehrle and John Danks already in the rotation, that gives the Sox three lefties who are very similar to one another in styles and pitch types. Not to mention that neither of them are the type of guys who strike out a lot of hitters, which means a lot of balls are going to be put in play, and when it comes to US Cellular Field, that's never a good thing.
What's even worse is Gavin Floyd and Contreras aren't huge strikeout guys either.
Not that Marquez and Colon are going to be blowing people away by any means.
It hasn't been talked about much, but this could be a problem for the Sox this season, and one of the reasons those computers hate the team so.
Corey Koskie Retires
Corey Koskie's bid to come back to the big leagues has ended almost as quickly as it began, as he announced today that he was retiring from the game. Koskie was invited to spring training by the Chicago Cubs this season while he was working out with Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic. Koskie hasn't played baseball since 2006 when he left the game after experiencing a series of concussions....Continue reading at FanHouse
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Torii Hunter Thinks His Mouth Kept Him Out of the WBC
When you see the amount of players on the American team that are leaving the WBC due to an injury everyday, it goes a way in justifying all those players who chose not to participate in the event this season. It also means that even more players are going to be skipping the next WBC, but that doesn't mean there aren't players who are still willing to participate...Continue reading at FanHouse
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Because Farting Is Funny And I'm Incredibly Immature
Thanks to Panger for sending this one along. I wouldn't listen to it too loudly if you're at work though. Unless fart noises and F bombs are part of the everyday cacophony of your work day. If they are, when did we start working together?
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