andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198 
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 16, 2015 23:18:32 GMT -5
Athletics signed LHP Barry Zito to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Captain on Feb 17, 2015 0:03:23 GMT -5
The numbers I would unretire from the Yankees:
1. Billy Martin. Great manager, but not all time great material. A Monument Park plaque for him and the other famous holder of #1, Bobby Mercer, is fine enough.
9. Roger Maris. His number is retired essentially because of two great seasons.
23. Don Mattingly. I hate saying this because I loved Donnie Baseball, but his career doesn't really warrant it.
44. Reggie Jackson. He was only on the Yankees for a few seasons. Amazing player, but he didn't even come close to spending a majority of his career with the Bombers.
49. Ron Guidry. Good pitcher with some great seasons, but not retirement-worthy.
Ones I'm iffy on:
6, 37 for two Hall of Fame managers in Joe Torre and Casey Stengel. I just think it's weird to retire the number of a manager unless he did something legendary like save the franchise from being contracted or something.
32. Elston Howard. I don't think he should have it retired purely based on his on-the-field performance, though he was a very good offensive catcher. But he is historically notable for being the first black player for the Yankees. Especially since the Yankees were one of the last MLB teams to have a black player thanks to their ridiculously racist GM at the time, George Weiss. Important not to forget that history, especially since Weiss set him up to fail by switching him from an outfielder to a catcher position (dominated by Yogi Berra) and he overcame that challenge.
I guess you could make a case for #15, but Thurman Munson's number was retired for the original reason they started retiring numbers way back when: to honor a great player who died in the middle of his career.
As for the upcoming retirees, I do think Jorge Posada has a strong chance of getting into the Hall of Fame and I'd hold off on that retirement until he's inducted. Andy Pettitte is borderline even without the steroids so I don't think he gets in and Bernie Williams, a guy I absolutely love, is also borderline at best.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2015 2:42:48 GMT -5
23. Don Mattingly. I hate saying this because I loved Donnie Baseball, but his career doesn't really warrant it. Don earned it, sure he doesn't have the best stats in the world but the man bled pinstripes. Plus he was a captain and he carried the Yankees till the core 4 showed up to usher in a new Yankee era. |
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 17, 2015 21:15:57 GMT -5
Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com reports that five teams are now willing to bid over $70 million for Cuban infielder Hector Olivera.
Angels signed RHP Matt Lindstrom to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 18, 2015 17:42:00 GMT -5
Cole Hamels acknowledged to USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he wants the Phillies to trade him.
|
|
BRV
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants him some Taco Flavored Kisses.
Posts: 17,437
|
Post by BRV on Feb 18, 2015 18:05:26 GMT -5
Cole Hamels acknowledged to USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he wants the Phillies to trade him. I've been pretty adamant in my lack of enthusiasm for a proposed Cole Hamels trade, but if Hamels basically has told Ruben Amaro or some higher-up in the Phillies' organization that he wants out, and with that information now public, Hamels' trade value is likely to plummet, to the point where some team could probably acquire him for a handful of mid-level prospects. I wanted no part of trading Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Blake Swihart, or Henry Owens for Hamels, but if Philadelphia will part ways with him for a package of, say, Trey Ball, Travis Shaw, and Bryce Brentz? Then sign me up. |
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 19, 2015 18:49:34 GMT -5
The Diamondbacks now have a 1 billion dollar TV deal
|
|
Fundertaker
Vegeta
Hideo Kojima should direct every ending ever!
Posts: 9,194
|
Post by Fundertaker on Feb 20, 2015 19:55:52 GMT -5
And now the Mariners sign Saunders on a minor league deal (w/ ST invite). "Safeco" Joe Saunders, that is, who will compete for a spot as the second lefty in the bullpen.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2015 14:08:45 GMT -5
John Hart confirming that B.J Upton will go by his real name, Melvin Upton Jr. this year.
He'll still play like shit though.
|
|
|
|
Post by fuzzywarble, squat cobbler on Feb 22, 2015 16:08:47 GMT -5
His dad's nickname was 'Bossman'. He took BJ because he was known as 'Bossman Jr.'. I think that's an awesome nickname to go by.
Melvin is fitting, I guess, because just like his career, it's weak and lame.
|
|
|
|
Post by Biggtone23 on Feb 23, 2015 9:17:04 GMT -5
Red Sox win the Yoan Moncada sweepstakes
|
|
BRV
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants him some Taco Flavored Kisses.
Posts: 17,437
|
Post by BRV on Feb 23, 2015 11:17:00 GMT -5
Well, the Red Sox have gone and done it again. Red Sox President Larry Lucchino and a group of investors have purchased the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Rhode Island-based Triple-A affiliate, and intend on moving the team from the city, according to city officials. Reports have the team moving to Providence in the future.
Let me break down step-by-step how this is impossibly stupid.
1. The Red Sox organization will constantly fall all over itself to promote history and to drain every single dollar out of celebrating and acknowledging history. Look no further than the full-season facepalm that was "Fenway 100". So it's interesting to me that instead of celebrating the PawSox's 45-year history in Pawtucket, this group of investors decided to instead to eschew that history in the interest of making a buck.
2. I cannot emphasize this point enough: minor league baseball in Providence will fail. Where they could possibly construct the ballpark could lead to traffic jams and an inability to park, and the entire hook of minor league baseball is that it should be a fun, inexpensive destination for the entire family. That's the charm of the PawSox and McCoy Stadium. There's no single way to get there, but any way you do, you have to drive through neighborhoods for a few minutes, and then suddenly a ballpark appears out of nowhere. For 45 years, they have been a neighborhood team, with inexpensive tickets, food, and merchandise, and a family-friendly experience regardless of where in the park you sit. That, in all likelihood, will be replaced by a homogenized, faceless, soulless, corporate baseball-watching experience when the franchise moves.
3. What the PawSox mean goes beyond Pawtucket. Sure, moving them about 20 minutes down the road and into Providence doesn't seem like that difficult of a quest to go watch a baseball game, but it's the ambiance of watching a game in Pawtucket that is part of the selling point of the experience of it all. Dan Barry puts it into better words than I possibly could in his 2011 book "Bottom of the 33rd".
If I can try, though, allow me to explain why the PawSox matter to me. Growing up in Massachusetts as a huge baseball fan, I went to maybe one or two Boston Red Sox games at Fenway Park before I hit high school, because my family simply couldn't afford taking my sisters and I into Boston, and paying for tickets and food to keep three little runts happy for a few hours. And that was in the 1990s, before prices at Fenway skyrocketed.
So when they wanted to scratch my itch for baseball, we'd go to a PawSox game. This was before the park was renovated, and it was still a dump, but to me it meant the world to be able to watch a professional baseball game in person. I didn't care that it was minor league baseball, because I could believe that guys like Pork Chop Pough or Jim Chamblee could become the next Mo Vaughn or Gator Greenwell.
In the early 2000s, I got a summer job as a concessions worker at McCoy Stadium. The pay wasn't great, but it was a part-time job for a high school kid trying to make a few bucks so he could afford to take a girl to a movie. But the one thing I remember about it wasn't walking out of the park each night stinking of hot dogs, hamburgers, and sausage and peppers, it was the ambiance of working at a ballpark, and regardless of how crummy the night was or how hot it was working over a grill during a day game in June, I'd always stop on my way out to take a look at the murals of former players lining the exterior walls of the park, just to remind myself how cool it was that I worked at a baseball field.
So yeah, I guess I'm pretty biased about all of this, but to me it's a freaking travesty that the PawSox are leaving Pawtucket, and that within a few years, the cobwebs will be the only things filling the seats at McCoy Stadium.
|
|
Renslayer
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
every time i come around your city...
Posts: 17,392
|
Post by Renslayer on Feb 24, 2015 23:29:59 GMT -5
Wow, people really are mad at A-Rod for coming to camp early
|
|
|
|
Post by fuzzywarble, squat cobbler on Feb 25, 2015 17:29:16 GMT -5
Josh Hamilton meeting with the commissioner to discuss the fallout of his very-recent cocaine relapse. Could the Angels void his contract?
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 25, 2015 17:46:03 GMT -5
A major league executive told FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal that Josh Hamilton's coming disciplinary action is not for performance-enhancing drugs.
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 25, 2015 19:26:17 GMT -5
A player can be suspended for displaying "willful disregard" of the rule about stepping out of the batter's box, a source tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
A source tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that the Yankees are confident they can avoid paying Alex Rodriguez for home run milestone bonuses.
Yanks just coming off sad
|
|
|
|
Post by The Captain on Feb 25, 2015 19:50:00 GMT -5
The Yankees organization is looking petty and pathetic right now. And quite frankly hypocritical considering they're retiring the number of an admitted PED user. A player can be suspended for displaying "willful disregard" of the rule about stepping out of the batter's box, a source tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Are they naming this the David Ortiz Rule? |
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 25, 2015 19:57:02 GMT -5
Pretty Much
|
|
andrew8798
FANatic
on 24/7 this month
Posts: 106,198
|
Post by andrew8798 on Feb 25, 2015 20:05:57 GMT -5
@jonheymancbs: Hear hamilton had relapse. Believe occurred a couple months back. Involved at least cocaine. Honorably, he confessed.
@jonheymancbs: There's no word of a failed test. Word is, Hamilton told mlb about relapse. He'd be put in program as 1st time offender.
|
|
|
|
Post by mute09 on Feb 25, 2015 20:28:46 GMT -5
I am honestly disgusted to have ever called myself a fan of his. I rooted so hard for him through everything to keep fighting forward but how many chances are teams going to give this guy. This is what the second or third time in 3 years? The guys never going to learn from his mistakes his apologies mean as much as A-Rods at this point. Hopefully the angles will be able to get out of that terrible contract they gave him and send him packing. I'm sorry if I come off as a dick in that but I have stood by that guy since he was with the Rays and he has once again let me and anyone else who believed in him down. It's time and time again.
|
|
