BEN CHRISTENSEN BRAVO!! Thank you for having the guts not to soft-peddle the behavior of this lout. If he wasn’t an athlete, he’d be in prison right now… which is exactly where he belongs. Yet another case of preferential treatment for an athlete who might be able to make someone else a few bucks. A…
YOUNG PITCHERS… “I think I’m just happy to get that first one out of the way. I just want to come in and help the team win as much as I can.” — Rick Ankiel, Cardinals pitcher, on his ML debut “I can’t worry about whether I’m going to be here next time or the…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed LHP Mike Holtz on the 15-day DL (strained hamstring). [8/25] It’s been a bad year for Holtz all season long, so this is merely the latest piece of bad news for him. Check in next year. BALTIMORE ORIOLES Acquired RHP Juan Aracena and a PTBNL from the Indians for DH Harold Baines;…
ATLANTA BRAVES Placed RHP Rudy Seanez on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 8/21 (stress fracture/elbow); recalled RHP Dave Cortes from Richmond. [8/23] Losing Seanez is an extremely hard blow to the Braves at this late date, especially since he may not return. While his infamous back isn’t the source of his troubles this time, "Traction…
BREWERS FIRE GARNER AND REASSIGN BANDO “Change is not always easy, but there are times when you need to make changes to move forward.” — Wendy Selig-Prieb, Brewers president “I suggested that it was time to make a change with Phil and myself. It’s something she obviously had been thinking about, because she understood how…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Recalled RHP Ramon Ortiz from Edmonton; optioned RHP Mike Fyhrie to Edmonton. [8/19] Ortiz’ highly-touted debut has come and gone, and he managed to mow down the White Sox. Comparisons to Pedro Martinez abound, but unlike Martinez, he isn’t going to get to cut his teeth in middle relief, and unlike Martinez, he…
Special thanks to Retrosheet Injuries to pitchers are not a new phenomenon. They date as far back as the rule change that allowed pitchers to throw overhand, and so do the attempts to restrict the workload of pitchers to a safe level. When Old Hoss Radbourne reminisced about winning 60 games (now reported as 59)…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Placed RHP Ken Hill on the 15-day DL (strained groin, strained abdominal muscle, tendinitis/knee, plain old broken-downedness). [8/15] Recalled LHP Jarrod Washburn from Edmonton. [8/16] The Angels’ rotation has been exactly the debacle it was supposed to be all season. Now that they’ve mercifully put Ken Hill on the shelf and Black Jack…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Gave RHP Jack McDowell his unconditional release; purchased the contract of LHP Lou Pote from Edmonton. [8/9] Placed 1B/OF Darin Erstad on the 15-day DL, retroactive to 8/11 (strained knee ligament); recalled INF Andy Sheets from Edmonton. [8/13] After going 0-4 in four starts, it looks like Black Jack has forgotten how to…
Death of a Race Although the Texas Rangers were up by five games in the AL West entering the All-Star break, there was only a 6 1/2-game spread from top to bottom in the division. All three teams entertained dreams of catching the Rangers, but Texas came out of the break hotter than the Astroturf…
A Couple Days Off Last month’s All-Star break was a high point for baseball, peaking with the pre-game ceremony that honored, among others, Red Sox legend Ted Williams. And while 64 players were appointed to the teams in Boston that night, for many others, the break was a chance to rest, see family and friends,…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Purchased the contract of 2B Trent Durrington from Erie (Double-A); optioned INF Andy Sheets to Edmonton; released C Charlie O’Brien outright. [8/6] Activated RHP Tim Belcher from the DL; optioned C Steve Decker to Edmonton. [8/7] Well, hand it to the Angels. They aren’t going to just give the fans a warmed-over Jeff…
MILESTONES “I’ve exceeded everything I expected of myself.” — Mark McGwire, Cardinals infielder, on hitting his 500th home run “The way he’s hitting home runs, he could break the record next year.” — Hank Aaron, on the possibility of Mark McGwire breaking his home run record “To get 3,000 on my mom’s birthday is a…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Activated CF Jim Edmonds from the DL; designated OF Reggie Williams for assignment. [8/2] Designated C Charlie O’Brien for assignment; purchased contract of C Ben Molina from Edmonton. [8/3] Well, the cavalry’s riding in, just in time to find that the natives have already wiped out the settlers, paved over the range and…
Twenty-six years after the American League anointed the Designated Hitter rule as its savior from ten years of low offensive totals and dwindling fan interest, the debate rages: is it a necessarily evil, or just evil? Baseball’s braintrust seem intent on resolving the disparity between the two leagues, but they’ve been promising that for about…
ANAHEIM ANGELS Recalled INF Andy Sheets and C/OF Todd Greene from Edmonton. [7/30] Just when you thought a team couldn’t get less offensive production out of a position than the Angels already get out of Gary DiSarcina at shortstop or Matt Walbeck at catcher, the Angels one-up themselves and go with Jeff Huson (.288 OBP)…