According to ESPN, free-agent pitcher Joe Kennedy, who played for Oakland, Arizona and Toronto in 2007, died early Friday of undetermined causes, reports ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. He was 28.
Rest in peace, Joe.
Story here: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3124303
For all the sports fans out there, I am opening up the floor — does anyone have a problem Kevin Millar appearing on Fox rooting and rallying on the Red Sox in a sport before Game Six? Furthermore, does anyone have a problem with him appearing before Game Seven throwing out the first pitch when he is a current Oriole?
Me, I don’t have a problem; however, some might. I think it’s a good thing that the Red Sox organization have the doors wide open for Kevin (to an extent) and there seems to be no bitterness on his part. Considering his significance in Red Sox history in the past decade, I guess it is somewhat appropriate.
If someone from your team did what Millar did, would you care or be incensed?
The floor is yours.
I’ll tell you right now, there are not a lot of people very happy with Kevin Millar right now in Baltimore.
Simply, from mouth of Joe Torre, stated why he did not return. The press conference was just held a few minutes ago…
His words and thoughts:
Joe Torre told his side of the story Friday, saying the incentives in the New York Yankees’ contract offer were an “insult.”
“I just felt the contract offer, the terms of the contract, were probably the thing I had the toughest time with — the one year for one thing, the incentives for another thing,” Torre said of his reasons for declining the offer. “I’ve been there 12 years and I didn’t think motivation was needed.”
“We knew exactly what was expected here,” he said, “So, I just didn’t think it was the right thing for me, I just didn’t think it was the right thing for my players.”
and…
Asked if he would return if the team reconsidered, Torre said he wasn’t expecting that to happen. He said committment, not money, was the biggest factor.
“I like to work with people — there’s a certain trust that has to be earned and forged in order to have the commitment to follow,” Torre said. “I can’t answer that question because I don’t anticipate it happening. If someone wanted me to manage here, I’d be managing here.”
“Yes it was a very generous offer,” he added, “but it wasn’t the type of commitment that ‘we’re trying to do something together,’ as opposed to ‘let me see what you can do for me.’”
I agree with Torre on this one, sorry.
You tell the guy he’s going to be fired if he loses, and yet offer him a contract more than two weeks later getting paid substantially less than he was previously for the same job.
After all he’s done for the Yankee organization, I’d give him no choice but to leave.
There are a lot of people not happy with Joe Torre more or less being shafted in the contract talks yesterday in Florida in returning to the Yankees.
Although the Red Sox and Indians are still battling in the ALCS, and the success of the Rockies in Denver is taking that area by storm, almost all the baseball related chatter yesterday was about the Yankees.
Boy, the timing of their announcements are impeccable.
My bud, Jason, who also runs a baseball blog, My Baseball Bias, says what I feel better than I could put into words. It also helps, he’s a huge Yankee fan…
12 Years as the Manager of the New York Yankees - 12 Playoff Berths
4 World Series Championships
6 American League Pennants
10 AL East Division Pennants
The Yankees organization shot themselves in the foot today. Sure, they’ll be just fine in the long-run because of their rather rich economic situation, but upper management went out and embarrassed the franchise today.
Why is this a sad day to be a Yankee fan? To put it bluntly, they treated one of their own like he s**t .
How do you suddenly ask a man who has led you to the playoffs in every year of his tenure to: 1. take a pay cut and 2. agree to an “incentives based contract”? That decision by all who were involved, Yankee President Randy Levine, GM Brian Cashman, Owners Hal, Hank and George Steinbrenner, COO Lonn Trost and the rest of the organization is a total slap in the face to Joe Torre.
The Yankees always talk about how classy of an organization they are, how they always try to do the right thing. Well, today they failed miserably. Egg is on all of your faces. You can’t in your right mind think that Joe Torre needs a financial motivation to manage the New York Yankees into the playoffs. And you can’t tell me that by offering him only a one year contract is nothing less than being disrespectful.
And if you really wanted him back, why not negotiate? Why have him fly all the way down to Florida with only one option on the table?
Because you never wanted him back in the first place. If you knew this, you should have fired him right after the ALDS loss to the Cleveland Indians. As an organization, you “suits” couldn’t have played this any worse. You all needed three days of meetings to decide that you were going to totally humiliate a person by offering him a contract that you knew he would reject?
Gimme a break.
and….
Let me just end with this:
just end with this:
A man who leads a team to the playoffs after a 21-29 start to the season is a man that deserves respect.
Good luck to the next manager of my beloved Yankees, I hope management doesn’t kick you in the ass when you take the job.
Could not have said it any better myself.
Well, the Boston Red Sox are in trouble as they are now down 3-1 to the Cleveland Indians.
Indians’ right hander, Paul Byrd, once again came through in the clutch; pitching five strong innings where only allowed two runs and struck out four. Once again,
They would soon knock Tim Wakefield out of the game and that coffin was nailed shut for the Red Sox by Jhonny Peralta’s three-run homer.
Peralta’s homer was the second for him in the series.
Despite an amazing display of back-to-back-to-back home runs by
The Red Sox season may come to an end tonight as Josh Beckett needs to have another amazing game, and the Tribe counters with C.C. Sabathia, who has struggled in the playoffs.
Meanhwile, what can you say about the
Incredible.
Right now, they are the biggest story in sports and most of
I don’t know how they have won; nor do I care, It’s an awesome story and we can be on the verge of history here. It looks like they have built up the team right and has players you can root for, starting with Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, to Troy Tulowitzki all that way down to Jamey Carroll.
It seems like they cannot do anything wrong and have a new hero, each and every day.
It’s too bad that TBS and MLB decided to put their games well after 10pm on the East Coast (where I live), making it near impossible for anyone to watch. Just a shame.
I have decided to join the bandwagon and root for
The Red Sox are great, but they have already won a World Series and frankly are closer to the Yankees than most would admit; the Indians, good team, great stars, but I have no emotional investment in them (nothing personal to fans of the Tribe).
It’s nice to see in that part of the world that the
If you have a moment, check out the Denver Post and some of their cool pictures of the celebration, their fans and of the games itself…
Crazy stuff. You rock and stay classy, Denver…
Like many fans out there in baseball, whether they root for the Yankees or not, are very much irked and angry that Joe Torre, the manager of the Yankees who has won four World series along with appeared in the playoffs for 12 straight years may be out of a job.
Well, a member from the enemy side now has put in his two cents - David Ortiz.
“Big Papi” Ortiz who has tormented the Yankees and just about every other team in baseball for years has a soft spot Torre and believes the Yankees would be damaged by his departure in an article from the New York Times.
He says:
“This is the way I see it,” Ortiz said. “Every organization is like the human body. You have a head that, if you mess around with it, everything just goes down at the same time. I think Joe Torre is the head of that organization right there.”
also…
“There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the best managers in baseball,” Ortiz said. “It’s because the way they played the first two months, and going through injuries, and going through everybody apart, and end up being in the playoffs, you got to give him a lot of credit. You need to have a good head to keep the body together that way. And I think he did.”
Ortiz is irked that the Yankees are not expected to make a decision on Torre until they hold organizational meetings in Tampa, Fla. He said that the Yankees “need to give the man respect” in how they dealt with Torre’s future.
To top it off…
Ortiz said that Torre, who has helped lead the Yankees into the playoffs for 12 consecutive years, might have done his best job this season because he prevented the Yankees from “falling apart.” With or without Torre, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry will continue. But if Torre is gone, Ortiz said, that will favor Boston.
“I tell you what, if he doesn’t come back to the Yankees, they’re going to feel that next year somewhere,” Ortiz said. “I’m telling you that right now. The guy, he knows what he’s doing. To tell you the truth, he plays to win.”
Thanks David. Though some in Boston may not be happy to hear what he had to say, it’s a classy thing to say about someone on the enemy side. It shows that ballplayers are not robots, or care solely about the money; they have heart.
As anyone who follows baseball knows, the stated goal of the Yankees each and every season is to not only get into the playoffs, but most important – win the World Series.
Perhaps the mission statement may be unrealistic, or just silly; however, it’s reality of playing and being part of the Yankees.
It’s been seven years and counting, thus, it looks like George Steinbrenner has gotten restless.
Even though the “Boss” has lightened up over the past decade, and is surely not as brash in public as he used to be; nevertheless, when he speaks, it’s akin to Zeus raining down on the laypeople as to how it should be.
This is what he said Sunday morning, as he interviewed with the Bergen Record, out of
“His job is on the line,” the owner was quoted in Sunday’s editions of The Record of
By now, Joe Torre will not tremble in fear, as it has been every year he’s had to face losing his job.
Torre quipped:
“You’re not surprised by whatever comes down the pike,” Torre said. “You don’t always get used to it, but you understand if you want to work here — and there’s a great deal of upside to working here — that there are certain things you have to deal with. We’ve had ultimatums during the season, early in the season. This obviously is down to a game we need to win, and you’d like to believe everybody’s trying to pull in the same direction.”
Well, at this point, I know the
However, from my point of view, Torre has done a magnificent job with the team almost every year, and especially this year, considering where the Yankees had to come back from in order to get the postseason.
Considering I root for the
Sorry, I think the “Boss”, as much as I respect him is off-base, whether you have $20, 60, 80, 130 million dollar payroll or a $185 million dollar payroll.
What do you all think?
Of course, naturally, we should hear more from the “Boss”.
Maybe he’ll channel Patton again and inspire his troops in battle…
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Baltimore Orioles
Here are photos from the game on Wednesday night! Hope you enjoy…
Check out more baseball photos and more at my personal site, the Oriole Post…
‘The Hits Keep Coming’ internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio just had it’s fourth episode on the air tonight. Thanks to Ian and Jason for helping make everything go smoothly, as well as the conversation and taking out part of their evening to talk about the sport we love.
The first was live and streaming; whereas, the second hour was just recorded after we got off the air.
Website: http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost
Thanks to Chad Gramling from Chad Gramling’s Baseball Blog and Ben from Oriole Central for joining us on the show this week.
Hour One:
Hour Two:
Downloads:
In a weird display of political correctness, the Toronto Blue Jays have been mandated to revise a commercial. Read more below from the Washington Post…
‘The Blue Jays have been forced to revise a television commercial featuring DH Frank Thomas after the ad drew objections from the Television Bureau of Canada, a regulatory body for private broadcasters.
A 30-second spot that shows the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Thomas taking part in a pillow fight with two young boys was edited to remove a scene where Thomas knocks one of the boys off a bed and onto the floor. Thomas leaves the room with a smile on his face as the youngster gets to his feet and says, “Wow.”
Laurel Lindsay, vice president of marketing for the Blue Jays, said Thomas and the child still exchange pillow blows in the edited version but the child is not knocked to the floor. Instead, he pops into the air when struck.
The decision to revise the ad was first reported by the Toronto Globe and Mail. Lindsay called the controversy over the commercial “ridiculous.”
“Clearly we have taken ourselves entirely too seriously if we have given a pillow fight this much attention,” Lindsay said. “The reaction we’re getting from the fans is that people can’t even believe this is an issue.”
The new commercial also features a disclaimer reading, “Dramatization. Do not try this at home.”
The original commercial still will air on CBC television, a public broadcaster that can set its own standards for content and advertising. Private broadcasters who have been running the commercial will have to switch to the edited version.
This week, in the wonderful city of Cincinnati, I possibly witnessed the worst Opening Day pitch ever.
Mark Mallory, mayor of Cincinnati, attempted to throw pitch to Reds’ legend Eric Davis.
He fails and fails miserably.
Rather than say anymore, I’ll let the video speak for itself…
Then he explains his performance. Actually, I’m quite impressed with his sense of humor and self-effacing nature.
Then later in week, Mark Mallory gets a chance to redeem himself on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show. With a second chance, um, he does not do well.
I’m so sorry to the people of Cincinnati…
He’s probably a good mayor, but athlete - no.
‘The Hits Keep Coming’ internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio just had it’s fourth episode on the air tonight. Thanks to Ian and Jason for helping make everything go smoothly, as well as the conversation and taking out part of their evening to talk about the sport we love.
The first was live and streaming; whereas, the second hour was just recorded after we got off the air.
Website: http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost
Hour One:
Hour Two:
Join us every Wednesday at 7PM Eastern Time for a live broadcast of the show.
Downloads:
‘The Hits Keep Coming’ internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio just had it’s third episode on the air tonight. Thanks to Ian and Jason for helping make everything go smoothly, as well as the conversation and taking out part of their evening to talk about the sport we love.
A special thanks to Chad Gramling of Chad Gramling’s Baseball Blog for joining us in the first hour.
The first was live and streaming; whereas, the second hour was just recorded after we got off the air.
Website: http://blogtalkradio.com/oriolepost
Hour One: (Live)
Hour Two
Join us every Wednesday at 7PM Eastern Time for a live broadcast of the show.
Or hear it streaming:
I do an intenet radio show called ‘The Hits Keep Coming’ on Blog Talk Radio, and we had out first show last night.
To listen to the show, click one of the links above.
It’s amazing how fast 2 hours can go by, and the conversation was effortless.
The first was live and streaming; whereas, the second hour was just recorded after we got off the air.
Hour One: (Live)
Hour Two
Join us every Wednesday at 7PM Eastern Time for a live broadcast of the show.
More info can be found at The Hits Keep Coming… page.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (92-70): For the past several years, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have been one of the powerhouses of the American League and perennial division contenders. Stocked with plenty of pitching, young talent and offense, the Angels should once again compete toe to toe with the Athletics in the American League West. As the Angels share a portion of Southern California that compromises L.A. and Anaheim, Arte Moreno has taken steps to re-invest in the team and battle the Dodgers for area supremacy.
The Angels had incredible pitching, especially from Jered Weaver and flashes of brilliance from the other members of the starting rotation. However, the offense struggled and that in turn hurt the team.
Although the team came up short in the AL West in’06, Moreno has once again taken steps to improve the team. Gone from the team are Darin Erstad who signed with the White Sox, Adam Kennedy who joined the St. Louis Cardinals, J.C. Romero and Brendan Donnelly and Kevin Gregg who were traded. The team in the winter added Shea Hillenbrand, Gary Matthews Jr., pitchers Darren Oliver, Justin Speier, Phi Seibel and Chris Resop.
The starting corps has some of the best veteran and young arms in the sport of baseball, as they were formidable in ’06 and should remain the same in ’07. With ace John Lackey, the aforemtioned Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Kelvim Escobar in the fold, the Angles will once again have one the premier staffs in the American League.
The bullpen for the Angels is just as impressive as their starting rotation. Returning to the closer role in ’07 is longtime mainstay, “K-Rod” Francisco Rodriguez. He was his usual dominant self with a miniscule 1.73 ERA and based on his record should be lights out in ’07 as well. Only 25, he’s got the chance to be one of the best closers ever in the history of the game.
The offense last year for the Angels was nothing short of anemic at times in ‘06, but 2007 might be the year where things come together. With the new additions to the team, like Shea Hillenbrand, Guerrero should have some protection and contribute as he always has.
Expect Chone Figgins, Orlando Cabrera and Garrett Anderson to productive, and youngsters Howie Kendrick, and Casey Kotchman to show what they have got.
The great unknown so far is with Gary Matthews as he’s got a two-fold problem, the first being if he can replicate what he in 2006, and second the drug issue and possible reprimand from the team itself or Major League Baseball.
If the Angels pitching and their offense come together, then they could possibly win the AL West and find themselves in the playoffs. Southern California has two potential playoff contenders in the Angels and the Dodgers, and in the end, the Halos led by Guerrero, Lackey, Weaver, and company could make 2007 a year to remember in that part of the region.
Oakland Athletics (89-73): The Oakland Athletics in this decade, year after year have been able to compete in a stacked American League despite their market size and the economic reality of the sport. Under the tutelage of GM Billy Beane, the A’s have been able to build contender after contender, despite the economic disparity between the franchise and powerhouses like the New York Yankees. Although the team has seen a revolving door of stars leave like the organization, with the most recent being Barry Zito and Frank Thomas, through shrewd roster moves and great scouting, the A’s have remained an influential & a viable force in the game.
Changes were abound over the winter, as the aforementioned Barry Zito went to San Francisco, Frank Thomas parlayed his year to a big contract in Toronto, and maligned Ken Macha was disposed of, and Bob Geren took his place. In addition, Jay Payton and Jerome Williams left the team for free agency and Kirk Saarloos was traded. Over the winter, the team added longtime veteran and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, pitcher Alan Embree, and the team acquired Donnie Murphy, David Shafer and Ryan Goleski via trades.
The A’s have been known for their efficient pitching and an always durable, reliable young core of talent. 2007 should bring more of the same, and expect the A’s to once again fight with the Angels for the reign of the AL West, as well as an American League wild card spot.
With the exception of Barry Zito, the pitching rotation from last season remains pretty much intact with young Rich Harden now as the future ace of the staff, with young Dan Haren, veteran Esteban Loaiza, Joe Blanton and Joe Kennedy.
The bullpen for the A’s was one the strongest in baseball, and should remain the same way in 2007. Huston Street will be back in the fold, and in his third year, A’s fans should expect more of the same production from him. Although his ERA was nearly more than a run higher than his previous season where he won the Rookie of the Year award, he finished the season with 37 saves. He did struggle at times in 06, but overall, he’s been solid for the A’s and is regarded as one of the better closers in the game
The starting lineup and offense for Oakland struggled at times, but were buoyed by the big bat of Frank Thomas in 2006 and helped get them into the playoffs. However, he’s gone, and the everyday players will need to do better to improve an offense which at times looked anemic and lacked run production. In addition, the team will need to find a way to stay healthy, as almost all the everyday players with exception of Kendall, had injuries or ailments to deal with and in turn, the offensive numbers suffered.
The big question for the A’s is will Mike Piazza produce and replicate the success he’s had for the last two years, or will he start to regress as he gets older?
As well, the A’s will need Eric Chavez, and company to step up at the plate.
The A’s the A’s should once again be counted as contenders for both the American League West and the pennant; however, but the team must avoid injuries and get better production from the offense. The pitching, even with Zito leaving for the National League should be among the league’s best and will be perhaps what gets Oakland into the playoff. The main competition for the American League West will be the Angels, but in a stacked American League, it may become a dog fight in the end for a playoff spot American League supremacy with the crowded talented AL Central and East.
Texas Rangers (81-81): The Rangers for the past two decades have always been known as a team with a dearth of power and offense, but the pitching has always lagged behind. Thanks to the cozy confines of the park, and perhaps due to sweltering heat, AmeriQuest Field serves as a launching pad, but a house of horrors for pitchers, both for the home and visiting team.
Changes took place during the winter in Texas, with taskmaster Buck Showalter being shown the door, and former Athletics’ coach Ron Washington taking the helm. Washington’s positive attitude should counteract the problems that players had with Buck Showalter.
The Rangers have not been contenders for the past several seasons, and they have had a backseat to the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Although the team has not gotten into the playoffs this decade, they have a great core in Mark Teixeira, Hank Blalock, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young. As well, the pitching corps may not have as much firepower as the Red Sox, or the Yankees, but they have capable starters Kevin Millwood in the fold, plus Vicente Padillia and recent addition Brandon McCarthy.
The bullpen for the Rangers remains pretty much like it did in ’06, though for one big addition – former Cy Young winner Eric Gagne. He’ll be the setup man for Akinori Otuska, who had a marvelous 2006 where he was 2-4 with a 2.11 ERA and 32 saves. Traded to the Rangers in ’06 from the Padres, Otuska was a reliable stopper for the team and should maintain at same level he was at in ’06 or possibly improve.
Although the team will miss the production of Mark DeRosa and Gary Matthews Jr., key players like Mark Teixiera and Michael Young return in ’07.
Right now, the wild card in the lineup is Sammy Sosa. As we know, he recently signed a minor league contract to join the team. He took of last season after struggling horribly in Baltimore in 2005 and as well trying to recapture his glory after a messy divorce with the Chicago Cubs. At 38, he’s attempting a comeback and Texas is a team that fits him well. Sammy will play in a hitters ballpark, and if makes the team and if he’s got some gas left in the tank, he may make the Rangers lineup formidable.
In the end, the Rangers may not have enough to win the AL West, but the team has a core of young and established veterans that could make an impact in ’07. A lot of the success that the team will have this upcoming season will depend on their pitching and if the weaker parts of the offense from ‘06 picking up the slack.
Seattle Mariners (77-85): The Seattle Mariners in the early part of the decade were the class of the American League West & always counted on being contenders, however, they have struggled in the past few years. Sadly, they may finish last again for the 4th year in a row.
With the development of the young talent, the Mariners inched closer to .500, but were still far from contending. For the upcoming season, quite a few changes were ushered, especially with the pitching corps, but will it be enough to get the Pacific Northwest excited?
The starting pitching will compromise of Jarrod Washburn, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Weaver, Miguel Batista and Horacio Ramirez. Washburn is expected to be the number one starter, as he was anything but an ace last year as he finished 8-14 with a 4.67 ERA. If the Mariners expect to go anywhere in ’07, they’ll need him to perform like he did for the Angels in ’05 to justify the huge contract he received from the Mariners last winter.
Felix Hernandez was 12-14 with a 4.52 ERA, and had some growing pains, but showed flashes of brilliance, especially towards the end of last season. The Mariners hope that ’07 is the season where Felix puts his amazing ability and assortment of pitches together.
The bullpen looks improved on paper, though it has a few questions. The closer, J.J. Putz is back in the fold and had a career year with 36 saves, 4 wins and a 2.30 ERA. He has progressed nicely in his career, and the Mariners will expect him to build upon his career year for the upcoming season.
The wild card in the bullpen is Chris Reitsma, and he struggled with the Braves with an 8.68 ERA and ended up on the DL for the remainder of the ’06 season. The Mariners hope he returns to his ’05 form with Atlanta, where he registered an ERA under 4. Another addition to the bullpen is longtime veteran Arthur Rhodes who hopes to jumpstart his career and beckon upon previous seasons which made him one of the better left handed relievers in the game.
The starting lineup for the most part remained the same at is was in ’06. For the Seattle Mariners, the main focus of the lineup is the amazing Ichiro Suzuki; however, the team will need a good year from Richie Sexson along with Adrian Beltre, Youniesky Betancourt, Jose Lopez, and new additions Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro to step up.
The Mariners play in a competitive American League West and it may be hard for the team to move up in 2007 in light of the additions made. The team has made a number of changes to attempt to get more competitive, but it looks like the Mariners may remain where they are unless the pitching rotation steps up and additions to the offense perform like they have in the past. Considering this is Ichiro’s walk year, it’s vital that the team make strides to move up the AL West standings.
The Mariners may be a few players away from seriously contending in 2007, but the young core that they have give the team hope for the future.
