Juan Pierre Is No Longer Atop the White Sox Lineup

After watching Juan Pierre hit .200 with an OBP of .261 through the first half of the season, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has decided it's time to make a change with his lead off hitter. Ozzie made the decision after the White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 7-5 on Thursday, and seeing Pierre go 0-for-5.

"He ain't playing [Friday],'' Guillen told the Chicago Sun-Times. "And then we'll try and figure out the next day, we have a couple of righties [pitching Saturday and Sunday], move him down to the No. 9 spot to make him relax a little bit...

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Who Wants A Helmet Full Of Ice Cream?

It seems that insane ballpark food concessions is something that the minor league affiliates of the Detroit Tigers specialize in. Last March we were all introduced to the 4,800 calorie burger being sold at West Michigan Whitecaps games. Well, if you ever took the time to go to a Whitecaps game and buy one of those burgers, your body probably just finished digesting it.

Which is great news, because after a 4,800 calorie burger, you're going to need some dessert. Which is where the Toledo Mud Hens come in. The Mud Hens introduced a few new options for fans to stuff down their faces while attending games this year, and one of them is 15 scoops of ice cream that comes served in a full-sized batting helmet...

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Rockies Send Iannetta to Minors, Call Up Joulys Chacin

On Opening Day Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta found himself as the team's number one catcher, and in the starting lineup. Now, just over three weeks later, he finds himself on his way to the minor leagues. The Rockies made a series of roster moves on Tuesday after they had to place Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Hammel on the disabled list, and one of them was demoting their starting catcher.

Iannetta had shown some good power in limited duty over the last two seasons, hitting 34 home runs in 622 at bats, but was hitting only .133 with two homers in 2010. In his place will be Paul Phillips whose contract was purchased from Colorado Springs where the 33-year old journeyman catcher had been hitting .182. ...


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Hit And Run: Time To Protect Catchers?

Oops!  I forgot to post this on Monday.  Got a new work schedule that I'm still adjusting to.

One thing I've learned in my life, and I've learned upwards of five different things, is that if I'm convinced something will never happen, odds are it's going to eventually. That didn't keep me from being absolutely shocked on Saturday afternoon as I was watching the White Sox and Mariners play on Fox. Tim McCarver was in the booth working with Kenny Albert, so I knew I was in for a long day of hearing things like, "When you're 6-foot-8 it seems like you're throwing from a higher mound!"

You know more of the invaluable pearls of wisdom that McCarver has blessed us all with for years...

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Big Papi Plans On Playing Two Or Three More Years

While there are probably quite a few Boston Red Sox fans who would tell you that David Ortiz hasn't played baseball in the last two years, it turns out he has, just not very well. Those fans wouldn't be happy to hear that Ortiz would like some more time to get his game back together, as he said before Boston's game on Tuesday against Toronto he wants to play two or three more years.

Speaking to WEEI's Rob Bradford, Ortiz said he wanted to play another few seasons before taking it "to the house." Whether or not he meant that he'd be starting a basketball or football career after that, I'm not entirely sure. What I do wonder is where Ortiz plans on playing those final years...

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Rockies Hold Memorial Service For McGregor

Before the Colorado Rockies took to the field to take on the Florida Marlins on Sunday afternoon, the team held a memorial service at Coors Field for Keli McGregor, the team's president who passed away last week at the age of 48. With a podium set up at home plate featuring a large photo of McGregor, purple flowers and McGregor's wife and four children, mourners came out to celebrate the life of a man who played a large role within the Rockies organization.

Several thousand people turned out and sat behind home plate on a brisk, windy day in Denver to remember the man who had spent 17 years working for the Colorado Rockies, eight of which he spent as the team's president. Members of the team sat in seats behind the home dugout...

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No Suspension For Hossa

Marian Hossa sat down with the NHL on Sunday afternoon, and though he was no doubt told that he was naughty, he's not going to have to serve any suspension for helping accelerate the introduction of Dan Hamhuis' face to the United Center boards.

From the NHL's Senior VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell:

"I have made the decision that this play does not warrant supplemental discipline after considering all of the facts, including reviewing the video and speaking with Mr. Hossa.

"This play is distinguishable from recent incidents by a number of factors, including the degree of contact involved; the fact that the consequences of the play do not appear to be as severe; that this was a hockey play involving a race for the puck; that Mr. Hossa is not a repeat offender; and that the call of a major penalty by the referee was significant and appropriate."

While I can't say I totally agree with Campbell's explanation and decision, it's not like I'm going to complain about it.  

A Look At The Bears Draft Picks

With everything that was going on in Chicago sports this weekend, combined with one of my best friends getting married, I can honestly say that I spent less time watching or thinking about the NFL draft than ever before.  I had no idea who the first pick in the draft was until sometime on Friday morning, and since the Bears didn't have a draft pick until the third round, I didn't see any real reason to start paying attention either.

When I finally did start hearing the Bears' picks, though, I was actually quite pleased.  I kept waiting to find out that they'd taken some kid from Abilene Christian whom I had never heard of in the third round and didn't really fill a need.

But then I heard it was Florida safety Major Wright, and I was happy because he's a player I know a bit about, and was pretty damn good in college.  Oh, and he plays a position that the Bears really need to find players at.

A breakdown of what I know about each Bears draft pick after the jump.

Will Marian Hossa Be Suspended?

While Marian Hossa may have redeemed himself for his 5-minute boarding call by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime a few seconds after getting out of the penalty box, his punishment may not be over just yet.  According to TSN, Hossa will be meeting with the NHL for a disciplinary hearing this afternoon, and there's a chance he may not be available for the rest of the Blackhawks series against Nashville.

While opinions in Chicago may be different since Hossa is on the home team, the truth is, there really is no difference between Hossa's pushing Dan Hamhuis from behind and what Alex Ovechkin did to Brian Campbell back in March.  Sure, it didn't look like much, and Hossa probably was just trying to knock him off balance so he could get to the puck, but when skating at full speed like that, the slightest shove can wreak a lot of havoc.

And you saw that when Hamhuis went head first into the boards and crumpled to the ground.

So if Hossa does get suspended for a game or two, while Blackhawks fans may not like it, the suspension will be justified.  If there's anything working in Hossa's favor, though, it's that unlike the Ovechkin hit on Campbell, Hamhuis isn't hurt and won't be missing over a month of playing time.

Add to that the fact that the referees did not feel the need to kick Hossa out of the game, and throw in that this is all happening during a playoff series, and there may be no suspension.

We're all just going to have to wait around for a few more hours to find out.

A Lot Went On Yesterday

I don't have a lot of time today as I have a wedding to leave for soon, but yesterday was a pretty big day for sports in Chicago, and I feel I should talk about it a bit.  The Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls all had games going on at the same time last night, and I didn't really get a chance to watch most of it as I was at a rehearsal dinner.

I was able to watch the entire Blackhawks game, so I'll start there.

• Blackhawks - Now that was a much better effort than what we saw in game three of this series.  The Hawks came out like a team that finally realized the playoffs had started, had a plan, and stuck to it.  There was a lot more dumping and chasing into the offensive zone, and a hell of a lot more bodies in front of Pekka Rinne.  In fact, the Hawks first two goals were a direct result of traffic in front of the net as Patrick Sharp swatted in a loose puck and Jonathan Toews put in a rebound from a Marian Hossa wrister.  Sharpie's second goal of the night was just Sharpie doing what Sharpie does, and is always nice to see.  Antti Niemi was solid, though never really tested, which is just fine with me.  The only problem I had with last night's game was that the Hawks are still having trouble clearing the puck out of their zone.  It didn't hurt them last night, but it will at some point if it keeps up.  Let's just hope they don't relax going into Saturday's game, because they need to bury this Preds team.
• Bulls - I was mostly following this game on my phone during dinner, and was shocked to see the Bulls up 19 early in the third quarter.  I also knew that the score would get a lot closer as the night went on, and sure enough by the time they actually put the game on the only television in the joint last night, it was a four point game.  Thankfully they held on to win the game, and while I'm happy they got at least one, I hope this isn't going to convince anybody they have a chance to win this series.  They don't.  They might win another game, but they won't win this series.  Oh, and last night's game isn't going to convince LeBron James to come to Chicago, so just quit with that crap already.
• Cubs - As I said, they had one tv on at the bar last night, and with all that was going on, this is the game they felt they should show the entirety of.  So I got to sort of watch Tom Gorzelanny completely shut the Mets down for five innings before things went south in the sixth.  He gave up two runs, and then a Mike Fontenot error -- CALL UP CASTRO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TEAM SPEED AND OFFENSIVE PROWESS TO PLAY THIS CRAPPY OF AN INFIELD -- led to two more.  You knew it was over at that point, and it was.  
• White Sox - But hey, at least the Cubs kept it closer than the White Sox.  For the second straight night the Sox got rocked by the Rays, and Jake Peavy's ERA now sits at 7.66 after four starts.  He's walked as many batters as he's struck out (15) and has a WHIP of 1.84.  Not exactly what I thought Peavy would be giving the Sox this year.  I swear, the Cubs and White Sox are intent on making me hate baseball.  They're doing a good job of it too, though I'm not quite ready to start planning the funeral already, but Cowley is.

Thank god there's an open bar tonight.  I'm going to need it.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/22/10

The greatest story in Chicago sports yesterday was not the Cubs moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen -- which I'm not going to write about but will say here that I think it's hilarious -- but rather the saga of Ozzie Guillen and his Comcast cable.  After a few tweets about having to wait, and reminding Comcast that there are other cable companies out there, the cable man miraculously showed up and Ozzie got his cable.

Not that he wanted to watch it when he got home apparently.  I'm glad he found it funny because as I sat at the Cell last night freezing my ass off, I didn't find the game nearly as humorous.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/21/10

Finally, he tweeted.

And about something I know we can all relate to at that.  Though, personally, I've never had that big of a problem with the cable guy showing up.  For me it seems that every time I've ever been told that they'll be here between 8am and noon, the latest they've ever shown up is like 8:30.

It's probably because I answer the door nude.

Ted Lilly Returns On Saturday, Who's Going To The Bullpen?

There aren't too many positives surrounding the Cubs this April, but even though they lost their fourth in a row on Tuesday night, the team did get some good news.  According to manager Lou Piniella, Ted Lilly will make his season debut on Saturday in Milwaukee.

Unfortunately, Lilly's return won't do much to help a bullpen that has been absolutely terrible so far this season.  In fact, Lilly's return only creates a new question for the bullpen.

Which starter will be joining it?

Michael McCaskey Is Retiring After 2010 Season

Here's some interesting news out of Halas Hall this morning, Michael McCaskey, the Bears Chairman of the Board, will retire from his role following the 2010 season.  He will be replaced by his younger brother George McCaskey.

Exactly what kind of impact that this will have on the Bears in the long run, I don't really know.  This would have been a lot bigger deal years ago, but to be honest, I don't think it's going to mean too much these days.

The Bears haven't exactly been shy about spending money the last few years, as was evidenced in the Jay Cutler trade and consequent contract extension plus the free agent spending spree this season that started with Julius Peppers.

Besides, Ted Phillips isn't going anywhere.  He'll still be the CEO and man calling all the shots.

You Worried Yet, Hawks Fans?

Because I am.

I know that I said not to be surprised if the Blackhawks come back to Chicago on Saturday with their series against Nashville tied at two games apiece, but after watching last night's 4-1 loss, I'm starting to think they may be down 3-1.  Last night's game was not pretty.

The Hawks were outhit, outskated, and just plain old outplayed on Tuesday night.  The Predators looked like a team in which there are expectations of getting to the Stanley Cup, and the Hawks looked like the team that had no idea what it takes to win a playoff series.

They also seem to be pretty stubborn.  I keep wondering when this team will realize that they can't just beat this Nashville team because they have more talent.

Trade Rumors Swirling Around Pierzynski

While the White Sox were able to put an end to their four-game losing streak thanks to a terrific start from John Danks on Tuesday night, what they couldn't put an end to were the trade talks surrounding catcher A.J. Pierzynski.

It's simple math, really.  Take a team that's off to a slow start, add in a player in the final year of his contract who is struggling, then multiply it by the fact his ten and five rights (10 years in bigs, 5 with current team which gives him right to refuse a trade) and you get rumors.  Rumors galore!

Pierzynski knows it too.

Your 2010 Chicago Bears Schedule

The NFL Draft starts on Thursday night, but seeing as how that means nothing to Bears fans this season, the only excitement we get about the team right now is seeing that the NFL finally released its schedule for 2010.

I know, I can hardly contain myself either.  A list with dates, cities and times!  Thank god I remembered to wear my diaper today!

Anyway, the schedule is after the jump.  Take precautionary measures before clicking over to it.

Alfonso Soriano Is Now Taking Fire From Television Booth

While the Chicago Cubs have always been known as lovable losers, their fans, though incredibly loyal, don't take the constant losing all that well. So with the Cubs off to a 5-8 start to the season, there's plenty of anger throughout Chicago. While most of it's directed at a bullpen that's already blown four leads in the eighth inning or later, there's still plenty left over for Alfonso Soriano, whom the Cubbie faithful booed during introductions at Wrigley Field before the home opener.

Already a target with his big contract and propensity for dropping fly balls, Soriano didn't do himself any favors on Monday night when he trotted out of the box on what he believed to be a home run at Citi Field, turning what should have been a triple into a double. Thanks to that mistake, Soriano is now not only a target of the fans, but he's taking fire from the Cubs color commentator, Bob Brenly...

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MLB Drops Cliff Lee's Suspension

It seems that Cliff Lee and the Seattle Mariners can stop worrying about the five-game suspension that MLB gave Lee following an ejection from a spring training game on March 15. On Tuesday MLB's Executive Vice President of Administration, John McHale Jr, informed the club that MLB has rescinded Lee's suspension.

McHale and MLB came to the decision after a two-hour appeal-hearing with Lee and the Mariners on April 14. After hearing Lee's side of the story McHale decided that "the difficulties in recovering from foot surgery during the off-season combined with the physical challenges created by [Lee's] serious muscle strain" were enough to forgive him for his errant pitch...

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For A Team That Hasn't Done Anything, The Bulls Sure Are Cocky

There's no doubt that the Bulls played a much better game on Monday night than they did on Saturday afternoon, but even as they held a lead in the second half, I knew what was coming the entire time.  There was LeBron James, content to share the ball in the third quarter, and then sit on the bench and watch his teammates hang close.

When the Bulls didn't bury the Cavs while LeBron sat out, I knew they'd lost.  Sure enough, James came off the bench in a close game, waited in the weeds for a few more minutes, and then turned it on in the final five.

It was the same "play" over and over again.  Just give the ball to James to the right of the key, and he'd just make a shot.  He didn't even have to try to drive to the basket.

Cal Ripken Issues Statement Regarding Talks With Orioles

Over the weekend a story broke that Orioles owner Peter Angelos turned down Orioles great and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr for a job within the organization, saying that he didn't want Ripken to get all the credit should the team turn things around. Angelos denied the report from Fox's Ken Rosenthal, calling it "inaccurate and grossly incorrect."

Of course, the one person nobody had heard anything from about the story was Ripken himself. Well, the Ironman finally broke his silence on the matter, issuing a statement on Monday...

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That's A Relief

Following the Hawks game one loss to the Nashville Predators on Friday night, I wasn't all that worried about the team or its chances to get past the Predators.  It was only the first game of a seven-game series, and if you look around the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, you'll see a lot of teams losing games who "shouldn't" be losing.

I wasn't worried about their sloppy play on Friday, because I had expected it following a five day layoff.  I wasn't worried about Antti Niemi either, as the two goals he gave up in the opener were rather fluky.

That being said, Sunday night's 2-0 win to even the series was a bit of a relief. 

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/19/10

Yeah, I know exactly how he feels.

Hit And Run: Chew On This, Congress

Baseball may be America's pastime, but it's starting to seem like Congress' pastime is trying to fix everything that's "wrong" with baseball. First Washington went to bat against steroids, and now they're turning their attention to one of the uglier aspects of the game. At least, cosmetically.

Last Wednesday House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman along with Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone prodded Major League Baseball to push for a ban on the use of smokeless tobacco by players. According to the Congressmen, baseball players are setting a bad example for children all over the country...

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Video: Security Beating Fan at Dodger Stadium

Earlier this week at FanHouse we told you about how security at Dodger Stadium recently began cracking down on the practice of tailgating in the parking lot before Dodgers home games this year. Now, while it seems that security is doing an excellent job of making sure people don't get too inebriated before entering the park, the question has become just who exactly is policing security?

A video surfaced on the web today of security at Dodger Stadium taking down an unruly fan before the home opener on Tuesday. The video itself appears below, but we must warn you it contains some salty language along with a helping of violence...

See the video at FanHouse

Jay-Z Is Suing David Ortiz

Rapper, mogul, all around cool dude Jay-Z has been spotted and photographed wearing a Yankees cap many times during his life, and taken in his fair share of games at Yankee Stadium, so it's safe to assume the New York-born entertainer is a Yankees fan. Now it seems he's taking his Yankees fandom to another level, as he has filed a lawsuit against Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz.

It seems that Ortiz owns a nightclub in the Dominican Republic called Forty/Forty. Jay-Z owns, amongst many other things, a few nightclubs named 40/40. They're located in New York, Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and there are plans to open a few more clubs, including one in Tokyo. Seems Hova believes Big Papi is cashing in on his brand...

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Blood Clots Nearly Killed Jose Guillen

Jose Guillen is off to a pretty nice start for the Kansas City Royals this season, as he's hit five home runs with nine RBI in the first week and a half of the season. While his hot start is no doubt making him happier, odds are he's just happy to be alive right now.

Guillen missed a lot of time due to injuries for Kansas City last season, and aside from two games, the outfielder missed the entire month of September with what was described as "right leg injuries." Right leg injuries which Guillen finally admitted were blood clots that nearly killed him...

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Dodgers Crack Down On Tailgaters

The Los Angeles Dodgers had their home opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, but before the game even started, Dodgers fans who were hoping to do some tailgating before the game were in for a bit of a surprise. Though not as surprised as I was to find out Dodgers fans actually show up before the game.

Tailgating has never been legal in Dodger Stadium parking lots, but it's always taken place as security has chosen to look the other way. As long as there was no alcohol being served, or general belligerence, things were fine.

Not anymore....

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John Paxson Shoved Vinny Del Negro

Well this is quite a story this morning, isn't it?  Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reported this morning that John Paxson and Vinny Del Negro got into an altercation in late March over Joakim Noah and the amount of minutes that Vinny was giving him given his battle with plantar fasciitis.

And when I say altercation, I mean Paxson yelled at Del Negro, Del Negro stood up and walked towards Paxson, and then Paxson grabbed Del Negro by his tie and shoved him twice up against the wall.  Paxson then challenged Del Negro to a fight and had to be restrained by assistant Bernie Bickerstaff and others.

Oh, the Irish temper.

Orlando Hudson Believes Racism Is Why Jermaine Dye's Unemployed

Former White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye learned early over the winter that the White Sox weren't planning on bringing him back to Chicago for the 2010 season, and spent the offseason listening to offers from various teams. None of the offers seemed appealing enough for Dye to sign any of them, and he turned them all down.

Though, if you were to ask Minnesota Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson why Dye is sitting at home right now, he'd tell you there's another reason for it. Well, he'd hint at another reason for it, but he wouldn't actually come out and say it. Hudson believes that the reason Dye doesn't have a job has nothing to do with his declining skills, but rather his skin color...

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FanHouse Live Blog: Target Field Opener

I'm going to be live-blogging the Twins and Red Sox game at FanHouse this afternoon, which also happens to be the first regular season game ever played inside the brand spanking new Target Field.  The game is being broadcast on ESPN, so if you're at home you can watch along but use me and my cohorts as a nice alternative to the ESPN broadcasters.

Or if you're at work you can just follow along for the sake of following along.

Either way, the game starts at 3pm central and I hope you join me.

Join the FanHouse Live Blog

Blackhawks vs. Predators Schedule

With the baseball season starting last week, and my duties at FanHouse, I wasn't able to give the Blackhawks as much time as they deserved last week.  So in case you only get your Blackhawks info here, this is what you missed.

They had a six game winning streak and a chance to clinch the top seed in the Western Conference and home-ice throughout the playoffs on Sunday if they could manage to beat the Red Wings, but alas, they lost in overtime.

So they finished second in the conference and now get to play a first round series against division rival Nashville.  The Hawks went 4-2 against Nashville this season.  The schedule and television for the series is after the jump.

Marvin Benard Admits to Steroid Use

Score one for the Mitchell Report.

When you look at the career stats of former San Francisco Giants outfielder Marvin Benard, they don't exactly jump out at you, and they certainly don't indicate Benard used steroids during his playing days. Much like a lot of statistics in baseball, however, the numbers can be misleading.

Bernard was in San Francisco on Sunday for the Giants' 2000 team reunion, and though those festivities were rained out, Bernard did take some time to talk to the media and admit that he did take steroids during his playing career...

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Hit And Run: Black Out The Blackouts

It was announced earlier this week that MLB has decided to make some changes to their blackout policy for Saturday afternoon Fox games in their Extra Innings package.

Finally.

As someone who has long subscribed to both MLB Extra Innings on cable and MLB.tv on my laptop, I see this as a great change in a policy for which I've long held contempt. Considering the amount of money I'm shelling out every season for the right to watch any baseball game I choose, the fact that I was only able to watch a Fox broadcast destroyed, in part, the whole point of having the subscription.

It was somewhat like buying a subscription to the New York Times only to be told that on Saturday, USA Today would be delivered to my door instead. I like the pretty colors as much as the next guy, but it's just not what I'm paying for...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/11/10

Nine is the restaurant that Ozzie went to for dinner last night after the Sox lost their fourth straight.  It's also the number of runs the White Sox look like they're going to score every week. 

Foot is the fetish.

Actually, Ozzie meant to type food, and I know this because for the first time ever, he actually corrected one of his own tweets.  So I guess April 10, 2010 is a day that will go down in Ozzie Guillen Twitter history.

The day he became self aware.

At Least Somebody's Scoring At The Cell

While the White Sox scored six runs on opening day to beat the Indians, over the last two nights they've only managed another six runs, and wasted plenty of opportunities.  In fact, over their last 18 innings the Sox have managed 8 hits and struck out 14 times.  Strikeout to hits ratio is not a stat that I think anybody keeps track of -- yet -- but something tells me that the White Sox would be near the bottom of the league in that category at the moment.

Still, that doesn't mean nobody is scoring on the south side.  It's just that it seems all the damage is being done in the bathroom stalls at the park.

Dr. Paul Nemeth took his six-year old son to the Sox' opening day game against the Indians on Monday, and during the game his son had to use the bathroom.  While in there they got quite a show.

Chipper Jones Strains Oblique, Status For Weekend Unclear

Chipper Jones and injuries are not unfamiliar with each other. The face of the Braves franchise has had a lot of cuts and bruises, along with trips to the disabled list since he began his career in 1993, and he suffered his latest injury on Thursday night. Jones strained his right oblique muscle during an at bat in the third inning while facing the Cubs' Randy Wells.

After the game Jones said that he originally tweaked the muscle before the game on his second-to-last swing during batting practice, but felt like he could play through it.

Turns out he couldn't...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/9/10

This is Ozzie's latest tweet, which came on Thursday morning well before the Sox lost to the Indians on Thursday night.  Something tells me that when the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales got a chance to talk to Ozzie after last night's game, and thank him for the birthday wishes, Ozzie wasn't in as good of a mood.

Before heading to Toronto, I hope the Sox take care of things at home against Minnesota this weekend.

Games At Wrigley Field Cost More Than At Any Other Ballpark

Wrigley Field is a landmark, and as it turns out, if you plan on visiting the home of the Chicago Cubs anytime soon, it's going to put quite a dent in your wallet. According to a report from Team Marketing Report, a trip to Wrigley Field will cost the average baseball fan more than any other park in MLB. Now under new ownership, and undergoing plenty of renovations, the average ticket price to a Cubs game has raised 10.1% from 2009 to $52.26.

Of course, the difference between a trip to Wrigley or one to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium isn't much. Fenway's average ticket price comes in at $52.32 while Yankees tickets check in at $51.83...

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Cubs Putting Up Purty Pictures For Opening Homestand

When fans walk up to Wrigley Field on Monday for the Cubs 2010 home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers -- and believe it or not, I'll actually be one of them -- they're going to notice something different about the the place.

No, not a giant Toyota sign in left field that given Toyota's recent troubles is destined to collapse and kill hundreds.  No, not just the new bathrooms, or the sports bar under the right field bleachers.

Nope, they'll be seeing giant pictures of Cubs!

It's all a part of the new advertising campaign for opening week that the Cubs are calling "It's A Way Of Life."  There will be large panel photos of Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Lou Piniella, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Ryan Dempster, Ted Lilly and Carlos Marmol on the facade of the old stadium.

It's a nice little touch to get fans pumped for a new season, but I'm not sure writing "It's a way of life" on a picture of Alfonso Soriano is going to do much but cause Cubs fans to end theirs.

Tim Lincecum Has Never Changed Hats

Have you seen the new Evan Longoria commercial in which he runs all over town chasing a fan he believes has stolen his hat, only to find out it's not his hat? It's a good commercial, though the one thing I don't quite understand about it is why would Longoria care so much about a hat he can get replaced for free any time he wants to?

Well, after reading about two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum's superstition, that commercial makes a bit more sense...

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Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/7/10

That crazy son of a bitch actually went to Venezuela.  Who the hell takes a day trip to South America?

Angels Set Snuggie Record

Back in March FanHouse told you about the big plans that the Los Angeles Angels had in store for the 2010 season. They were putting together a plot to get the team into the Guinness Book of World Records by having their fans wear a Hideki Matsui-themed snuggie at the same time during a game.

Tuesday night was go time.

That's right, on Tuesday night in Anaheim over 40,000 of the Halo faithful put on the ridiculous looking blankets for five whole minutes and more than doubled the previous record of 17,758 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans back on March 5...

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Bulls Catch A Break In Bosh's Face

Chris Bosh may be on top of the Bulls' wish list when it comes to free agency this summer, but right now he's the best player on the team that is currently keeping the Bulls out of the playoffs.  So while the Bulls may not have been able to take advantage of Toronto's loss to the Cavaliers last night since they lost against the Bucks, there was some "good" news coming out of Cleveland last night.

Bosh was the recipient of an inadvertent elbow from Antawn Jamison, the result of which is a broken maxilla and nasal fracture on the right side of his face.  That's right, Bosh broke his face.

"He's a friend of mine and an Olympic teammate," said LeBron James. "You hate to see that happen to anybody, especially this late in the season when they're trying to make a push for the playoffs."

Correction: You hate to see that happen if you're not a member of the Chicago Bulls.

Should We Worry About Carlos Zambrano?

The excitement of opening day died rather quickly for Cubs fans on Monday.  Things started out well enough when Marlon Byrd began his Chicago career by staking the Cubs to a 3-0 lead with a home run in the first, but then things quickly dissipated when Carlos Zambrano took to the hill in the bottom of the first.

A walk here, a bloop single or two there, and then a mammoth Jason Heyward blast later -- that kid is gonna be good -- and the Cubs 3-0 lead had become a 6-3 deficit.  Zambrano would allow two more runs in the 2nd inning before Lou Piniella mercifully pulled him out of the game.

It wasn't the best start of Zambrano's career in Chicago, but it certainly wasn't the first time we've seen him get rocked either.  What I'm wondering is just how worried Cubs fans are about their supposed ace today.

Oliver Purnell Hired To Lead Program Nobody Cares About Anymore

Here's the problem with DePaul's basketball program in a nutshell.  I'm told they actually used to be pretty good at basketball.  I don't ever remember DePaul being good at basketball.  I'm nearly 30 years old.

Of course, even though that's the case, the school still thought it could go out and find themselves a big time coach this summer to help rebuild what was once apparently a strong program.  I guess they figured that playing in the Big East would be a big draw to a prospective coach, but they failed to realize that coaching a good team in the Big East is hard enough.

Taking over a team that has been the doormat the entire time it's been in the conference is an entirely different matter.  So after being snubbed by just about everyone they approached, and flirting with Reggie Theus and ignoring Isiah Thomas' love notes last week, the Blue Demons announced their new coach on Tuesday morning.

It's now former Clemson head coach, Oliver Purnell.

My Dad Is A College Basketball Genius

While I was busy spending 12 hours covering baseball for FanHouse on Monday, I did manage to find the time to pay attention to last night's championship game between Duke and Butler as well.  I'm sure you're all aware of how it ended already, but just in case, Duke won.

Oh, and stop calling Butler a Cinderella.  Cinderellas don't start the season ranked in the top 15.

Anyway, last night's game also had a big impact on how the Foul Balls March Madness pool would finish, and with Duke's victory in the game, that means my father, Bob Fornelli, won our pool.

Despite the fact that last night's game was probably the first college basketball game he'd seen all season.   So congratulations, Dad.  You know more about college basketball than I do.  You're prize for winning is this post.  You've been mentioned on Foul Balls, so you're famous now.

The Duke victory vaulted him over Joe McCahill, who actually had Butler in the title game in his bracket, though not winning it all.  So he got that right too. Take some solace in that, Joe.

Here are the top ten finishers from the pool.

1. Bob Fornelli 89 points
2. Silvio Rodia 83 points
3. Joe McCahill 73 points
4. Jason Shonders 63 points
5. Josh Alper 63 points
6. Dawn Alper 63 points
7. Jeff Fletcher 58 points
8. Tom Fornelli (that's me!) 55 points
9. Ed Price 53 points
10. Aaron Morris 53 points

Group Sales to Blame For Phillies Fans' Invasion of D.C.?

The Washington Nationals have never been a huge draw amongst fans in our nation's capital, and the team finished 24th in MLB last year with an average attendance of 22,715 last season. That's just above 54% of Nationals Park's capacity. Of course, considering the Nats have never won more than 81 games since coming back into existence, and that 81-win season was their first year back in Washington, it's easy to understand why they've never gained traction in the area amongst baseball fans.

Yesterday being opening day, however, there were 41,290 people who walked through Nationals Park's turnstiles. The problem for Nats fans is that a lot of those 41,290 people in attendance had made the short drive from Philadelphia and were there to support the Phillies. So how did so many Phillies fans get opening day tickets? Nats Insider's Mark Zuckerman did some research and found that group ticket sales were to blame...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/6/10

Now, this tweet from Ozzie came a few hours after the White Sox beat the Indians yesterday.  So, if I'm understanding it right, Ozzie was flying to Venezuela on Monday evening when his team has another game to play on Wednesday night in Chicago.

That seems like incredibly poor planning to me.

Of course, maybe he was just at the airport with somebody else who is flying to Venezuela, like his wife or something.  Though considering what Ozzie said about Hugo Chavez when ranting about Sean Penn last month, I'm not sure I'd let my wife go to Venezuela alone right now.

Mark Effin Buehrle

Really, what do I even need to say about this play during yesterday's opener?  That play is why Mark Buehrle won a Gold Glove last year, and why he deserved to win a few more in the years preceding it.

Seriously, cancel the rest of the Web Gems on Baseball Tonight this year, because absolutely nothing is going to top it.

Oh, and nice barehand by Paulie too.

Opening Day Marathon Chat at FanHouse

Trust me when I say that the guys at FanHouse have been looking forward to today for awhile.  I'm sure Price, Fletcher and Hickey are incredibly happy to finally be finished traveling around Arizona and Florida to cover spring training and ready to cover games that actually count.

The rest of us are just happy we have real baseball to follow yet again.

Still, I realize some of you weren't smart enough to call in sick to work tomorrow, or you're at home and can't follow every game that's going on, but fear not.  FanHouse is here to help.

We're holding a marathon live chat at FanHouse today.  And I mean marathon.  From the first pitches in Washington, New York and Cincinnati all the way through to the final outs in Los Angeles and Oakland tonight.  Yes, we are nerds and we love baseball that much.  I can't guarantee I'll be there for the whole thing, but I definitely plan on being there for a lot of it.

Including through both the White Sox and Cubs openers.

So if you're at the office, or just want to join in the fun, feel free to join me and my FanHouse cohorts for a full day of baseball awesomeness.

Ozzie Guillen Tweet Of The Day - 4/5/10

He's talking to you, Magglio.

Happy Opening Day, everyone!

Hit And Run: The Long Wait Is Over

Normally when my alarm clock goes off on a Monday morning, I'm not the happiest man in the world. The weekend is over and it's time to get back to work, but things were a bit different this morning.

I have absolutely no problem getting back to work this Monday. Nope, I woke up with eyes wide and clear. Colors were brighter, smells were stronger, and my steps were bouncier. Why? Because this is the greatest day of the year. It's Christmas, New Year's, your birthday and Independence Day all rolled into one.

It's Opening Day...

Continue reading at FanHouse