MLB

From MKRob Sports

The Yankees say owner George Steinbrenner has died. He was 80.

Spokesman Howard Rubenstein said he died Tuesday morning of a massive heart attack and was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Fla.

Steinbrenner, who celebrated his birthday July 4, had been in fragile health for several years.

Flags were immediately lowered to half-staff at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ spring training complex. The Yankees says many employees there were in tears.

The death comes two days after the team’s beloved public-address announcer Bob Sheppard died at 99.

From MKRob Sports

One year from today, the Mets will add to their payroll a 47-year-old, past-his-prime power hitter who has a reputation as a malcontent—a player who has been retired from professional baseball for nine years and won’t play another game again.

Nevertheless, starting on July 1, 2011, Bobby Bonilla will remain on the franchise’s payroll for 25 years, collecting an annual salary of $1,193,248.20. Those are the terms the Mets agreed to Jan. 3, 2000, when they bought out the final year of Mr. Bonilla’s contract.

This unusual arrangement between him and the Mets, though, is characteristic of his time with the team—4½ years marked by controversy and unmet expectations. By the time Mr. Bonilla departed, the Mets were so eager to be rid of him that they agreed to defer payment—with interest—of the $5.9 million they owed him in the final year of his contract.

The Yankees are tied for the best record in Major League Baseball as of June 17th. Their pitching has been solid. The manager has pressed the right buttons for most of the season as they’ve fought through injuries to several key players. The constant in the lineup all season and the Yankees team MVP as we approach midseason wouldn’t be at the top of the list of the usual suspects. Names like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez continue to have a lot to do with the team’s success but neither of those two names leads the2010 Yankees in batting average or extra base hits. The Yankees signed Mark Teixeira to play first base last season and bang the ball around the yard and he led the team in home runs and runs batted in last season but he’s struggled this season. The big bopper this season is a Yankees hitter with a shorter résumé. The man who leads the team in every offensive category is second baseman Robinson Cano. The 27 year old leads the team in hits, batting average, home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, extra base hits and on base+ slugging percentage (OPS.) OPS is a complicated little formula to break down but it basically measures how often a guy gets on base with hits and walks and how often he works extra base hits into to that mix. A good OPS is .800. A great OPS is .900. Cano’s is 1.034.

The thing about baseball is that it’s a long season with games almost every night so there are plenty of opportunities for big moments. The season is not even half over but Cano’s provided quite a few highlights already. As of June 17th he’s batting .370 with 14 home runs and 48 runs batted in and plenty of big hits. I have a friend who made a bet after Cano’s promising 2006 season where he batted .342 with 15 homers and 78 batted in in only 122 games that in 5 years Cano would either lead the league in batting average or hit 30 home runs. He’s got a year to spare and Cano is leading the league in batting by 27 points and on pace for 35 home runs.

The hits have just been piling up. He had more than 200 hits last year in a solid year numbers-wise and he has a lifetime .312 batting average so the talent has always been there. This season the comfort level in big spots -both for Cano at the plate and for fans who get amped for big at bats– is up. He has the statistics to prove it. Last year Cano batted .320 with 25 home runs for the season. Those are great numbers, but they didn’t tell the whole story. When runners were in scoring position he hit a weak .207. That’s shockingly low for a guy with his skills but he’s never been especially tough in those spots. His three year average for 2007-2009 with runners in scoring position was only .253 and his OPS was only .668 — which tells you he wasn’t even taking walks in situations when the pitcher should be the one feeling the pressure. So what happened this year? After talking to Alex Rodriguez in the spring about who the pressure was really on in those situations Robby has stopped squeezing the bat so tight and he’s flourished: he’s batting .382 with runners on second and third and his OPS in those spots is 1.076.

I have another friend who’s a Mets fan and Cano’s on his fantasy baseball team in our league. It’s always dicey to have players from a team you hate on your fantasy team because you find yourself forced to cheer for them when you’re used to hoping they fall flat on their faces. Being the jerk that I am I teased him about getting Cano when we drafted our teams and decided I’d text him whenever Cano has a good game. My phone bill has suffered more than my friend’s pride because Cano has been carrying him and he has had to respect him. I used to tease him every time Robby had a multi-hit game. He’s had 30 so I needed to stop. We went to a Yankees game together a couple of weeks ago on a Friday night when Cleveland was in town. I got to save my cell phone bill battery that night but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any teasing. That Friday the Yankees second baseman might have had his best game of the season going 3-4 with 2 singles and a grand slam. After the grand slam my Mets fan friend had a look on his face that was a mixture of a grimace and smile. It looked like Robby gave him gas.

Maybe that look was appropriate since Cano’s been the fuel in the Bombers lineup all season. It doesn’t stop with just the bat. Last season Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira both won Gold Gloves for their defense at shortstop and first base respectively, and many felt Cano was robbed by not winning one himself. He’s got a ton of range going in either direction and a cannon arm and always seem relaxed, even nonchalant when he’s making even a tough play, sometimes blowing bubbles while catching pop ups. The bottom line is he makes the plays. You see him long toss with Jeter before the game and he’s got an arm on par with Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, both well known for their arm strength. If the second baseman that was named after Jackie Robinson plays like this all season he won’t be wanting for hardware much longer. If the season ended today Cano would be the frontrunner for MVP of the American League and might get that Gold Glove as well. A lot can change before the end of the season but the one thing that seems certain is that the 27 year old Dominican has hit his stride.

One of the biggest names in modern day professional baseball is hanging it up.  Ken Griffey, Jr. has abruptly decided to retire in the middle of the MLB season.  I guess when you’re done you’re done or when you’re sleeping at games and team meetings.  At any event, it is sad to see him go…

From Fanhouse MLB:

SEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr. has retired from baseball, FanHouse has learned.

Sources said that Griffey, who didn’t report to Safeco Field for the Mariners‘ game against the Minnesota Twins Wednesday, is saying “it’s over.”

The team will make an official announcement on the field before Seattle takes on Minnesota.

Griffey, the man who more than any other helped build the Mariners into a viable franchise as the premier center fielder of the the 1990s, played for Seattle from 1989-1999 and came back again in 2009 where he helped revitalized the franchise.

But he hasn’t been able to duplicate that success in 2010 and he’s gotten increasingly less playing time. He’s only had seven at-bats since May 18 as Mike Sweeney has become increasingly more productive as the Mariners’ designated hitter.

The formal announcement should come within the hour.

New York Daily News – Yankee catcher Jorge Posada has a secret trick to help pitcher Andy Pettitte see his signs at night: painting his nails with Wite-Out.

Given their record, it seems to be working – but nail polish guru Essie Weingarten thinks Posada could improve his game by going pro with a real manicure.

She’s even changed the names of two of her namesake company’s polishes in honor of No. 20.

“I’ll make it smoother and shinier so really won’t miss the strike zone,” said Weingarten, who plans to send Posada a bottle of a white newly named Posada Pettitte Connection.

“It’s so bright and white he can’t miss.”

For day games, she thinks a navy blue shade called Midnight Cami might work. It’s now going to be titled Bronx Bombers.

“It’s special for my friends in the Bronx,” she said.

At the Samuel Shriqui Salon on the upper East Side Friday, the Daily News tried out the polishes before they hit 161st St.

As far as pampering goes, Weingarten hit a home run.

“It’s very relaxing,” she cooed, and offered to give all the Bombers a manicure before their next game. “It’ll make them feel so great…. I promise they’ll win.”

Veteran manicurist Josephine Allen was asked if she’d ever buffed a celebrity.

“Not a Yankee,” she said dryly. “But I would – my husband would kill me if I didn’t.”

Weingarten has invented more than 300 nail polish colors, but the Posada hues are the only honoring a baseball team.

Daily News reporter Jake Pearson tries out a Yankee-inspired manicure at Samuel Shriqui Salon on the upper East Side.

“No Mets,” she said, noting she was a wicked first baseman in Little League. “But I was an awful pitcher.”

Her real love is Derek Jeter.

“I saw him in a restaurant and he was so darling,” Weingarten fawned. “The clock stops on him. He is so drop-dead gorgeous.”

The polish bottles cost $8 a pop, but the $13 million catcher can probably afford them. The only question is whether he’s man enough to try.

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Baseball is back! The approach of baseball season gets me more giddy than any other sport. I think it’s because as a sports fan baseball is the ultimate in feeding my sports jones. In football your team plays once a week. In basketball you get four games a week in a good week. In baseball there are 162 regular season games over six months. By the time the summer really gets here teams are playing 6 days a week. Great weather and a game on every night. Sounds like heaven to me.

There is also the way that baseball mirrors life. Every season is completely encompassed by one year. In other sports it’s the 2009-2010 season. Not baseball. It’s the 2010 season. Neat and tied up in a little bow. The seasons change in baseball right before your eyes. The early season games have players wearing knit hats and face warmers, blowing on their hands to stay warm in the field. Once the middle of the season arrives there’s great weather and baseball is the backdrop to all of the summer fun. When you look up from your meal in a restaurant or ask for another drink at a bar there’s always a ballgame on. When run to the bathroom at somebody’s barbecue 4th of July weekend you have to stop and watch an at-bat. I’m already feeling warm as I type this. Pass me another hot dog! Then we get to the fall and the weather cools to go with the intensity of the playoffs and finally baseball disappears as we have to fight through another winter, and then finally baseball comes back and brings the warm weather with it. I’m on a horse!

Here’s what to expect from the 30 teams throughout MLB for the 2010 season. Last season’s record in parenthesis.

National League East

Philadelphia Phillies (93-69 1st place, lost in World Series to Yankees) Prediction: 97-65, 1st place

This team is incredible. They pound the ball on offense like they are an American League team and they also have strong starting pitching and defense. In the offseason they added Roy Halladay via trade from Toronto. He was one of the best pitchers in the American League and should be dominant in the National League and push the rest of the pitchers to be better as well. Throw in two former MVP’s in first baseman Ryan Howard and shortstop Jimmy Rollins along with perennial MVP candidate Chase Utley at second base and they’re going to challenge for a championship again. They might win 100 games.

Atlanta Braves (86-76 3rd place) Prediction: 91-71 Wild Card winner

They played well after the All Star break last season and look poised to make their presence felt this year. Late in the season they got back stud pitcher Tim Hudson who had missed about a full year with elbow surgery. He was solid upon his return and looks great this spring. They are also bringing up a prospect named Jason Heyward who has frankly gotten as much hype as any young hitter I can remember. He’s a 20 year old lefthanded power hitting right fielder with patience at the plate. People in the Braves organization have compared him to Cliff Floyd, Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols. Braves manger Bobby Cox said in February “There’s a little sound off the bat. His line drives are kind of like ‘ol Hank Aaron’s sound.” Nuff said.

Atlanta is hoping to get a mostly healthy season from Chipper Jones at third base and Brian McCann at catcher. They also signed veteran closer Billy Wagner in the offseason to shut the door on games for them. If the Braves are mostly healthy they’ll be in the playoff hunt.

Florida Marlins (87-75 2nd place) Prediction: 86-76 3rd place

The Fish always have good young players in their organization and they have a knack at surprising the league every 7 years or so. They won the World Series in 1997 and 2003 so they would seem to be on schedule for that kind of uprising again. They have two good young pitchers at the top of their rotation in Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco but the guys behind them are unproven. Closer Leo Nuñez is also young and erratic. Don’t completely count them out but there is a lot of talent around them in this division so they’ll need to mature quickly. Florida also has some talented bats including 2009 NL rookie of the year outfielder Chris Coghlan and superstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez is one of the guys in the league that is on the short list of MVP candidates before every season starts and it all depends on how well his team does around him.

New York Mets (70-92 4th place) 81-81 4th place

Last season began with the Mets having playoff expectations but their season quickly fell apart due to a ton of injuries and a poor adjustment to a new ballpark. Key players like shortstop Jose Reyes, first baseman Carlos Delgado, centerfielder Carlos Beltran and most of the pitching staff including ace Johan Santana missed time due to injuries. Their season was such a disaster that everyone seems to forget how good people initially expected them to be. They have holes to fill but they’ll be better than last year as long as their injury luck evens out a little. They are starting the season with Reyes and Beltran on the disabled list but if they can get healthy summers from those two it will help an offense that was 12th (out of 16 NL teams) in scoring runs.

Washington Nationals (59-103 last place) 65-97 last place

#1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg is getting all the buzz here. There’s good reason for that. He’s a flame throwing starting pitcher with pinpoint control. The other reason is that there’s nothing else to see here. They added a decent closer in Matt Capps in the offseason… but he won’t have many games to close so it was probably a wasted move. Leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan has an opportunity to steal 40 bases… So that’s nice… *Cough.*

National League Central

St Louis Cardinals (91-71 1st place) Prediction: 92-70, 1st place

Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball. He strikes fear into the heart of pitchers. He hits for power to all fields and rarely strikes out. Hard to believe that a guy as dominant as he is wasn’t highly touted as an amateur. It almost like his dominance appeared out of nowhere. Hmm, the Cardinals are balanced and always find a way to get good pitching from their top guys and one or two guys who you don’t expect. They’ll win the division again barring a major injury to Pujols.

Milwaukee Brewers (80-82 3rd place) Prediction: 90-72, 2nd place

Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder lead the offense and both of those guys are beasts. Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf are their top 2 pitchers and they will be solid as well. It should be a tight race with the Cardinals for that division title into September and also a tight race for the Wild Card spot with a few other teams.

Chicago Cubs (83-78 2nd place) Prediction: 84-78, 3rd place

Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly is a really solid top of the rotation but the guys that help them score runs seem to be in and out of the lineup. If Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano can stay healthy the Cubs will be good. Soriano has been brittle the last few years so that may be a lot to ask.

Cincinnati Reds (78-84 4th place) Prediction: 83-79 4th place

Last year the pitching was average and the hitting was suspect. This year the pitching might be slightly improved. The starting staff is comprised of mostly young guys after #1 starter Aaron Harang who has no business at the front of the rotation if they expect to contend. They didn’t address the offense in the offseason. Second baseman Brandon Phillips bats cleanup right now and would be better in a more complimentary spot. Rightfielder Jay Bruce has power potential but had a terrible year last year. Any improvement by him could mean a few more runs for the team but otherwise they look like they need to make a trade or two.

Houston Astros (74-88 5th place) Prediction: 72-90, 5th place

Lance Berkman is still relied upon to captain the offense but he’s been battling injuries… Roy Oswalt is still relied upon to lead the starters but he’s been battling injuries… Houston needs to shift their focus to younger players or move to an AARP league. They have Wandy Rodriguez as a starting pitcher and he’s solid but they don’t have much after him. They had a really tough time scoring runs last year and adding weak hitting Pedro Feliz to play third base won’t help.

Pittsburgh Pirates (62-99 last place) Prediction: 61-101 last place

These guys are the LA Clippers of baseball. They haven’t been good since George Bush Sr was in office and they don’t have a ton of guys who make you think that will change. The only intrigue with this team is who will be their mandatory all star representative. Ryan Doumit at catcher is good and Garret Jones and Andrew McCutchen are solid young outfielders who can hit and run and should improve as the season goes on but here’s not enough here to win many games. The pitching staff is a train wreck. Let’s just put some yellow tape up here and move on.

National League West

Los Angeles Dodgers (95-67 1st place in division) Prediction: 91-71, 1st place

Manny Ramirez getting suspended for steroid use last year (shocker) calls into question what you can expect from him this season. He was a 35+ home run guy in his prime but can he still do that without chemical enhancements? The Dodgers need his bat to be lethal. I think he will be useful but not as scary as the old Manny. The pitching staff is still great (first in the NL last year) and deep and they will keep the Dodgers in the hunt all year. It should be a tough fight with Colorado all season.

Colorado Rockies (92-70 2nd place) Prediction: 90-72, 2nd place

Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is their cleanup hitter and best all around player. He’s capable of carrying this team throughout the season but doesn’t have to because this team knows how to steal bases and create runs without waiting for the big blast. The thing is after Tulowitzki, rightfielder Brad Hawpe, second baseman Clint Barmes and catcher Chris Ianetta are all capable of hitting more than 20 home runs but all three hit less than .250 last season. If they can hit for higher average they will win the division but if not they will fall short. The starting staff is solid. They have a question mark at closer with Huston Street being an injury risk, but they have options to back him up.

San Francisco Giants (88-74 3rd place) Prediction: 85-77, 3rd place

Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is a pitching marvel and he makes them relevant but it’s Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez who make them intriguing in their division. If Sanchez in particular has better control (88 walks in 163 innings last year is too many) he will win a few more games and they could sneak up on the Dodgers and Rockies or the Wild Card spot. They need to trade for another bat. Aubrey Huff batting in the middle of the lineup is not going to win anything for you.

Arizona Diamondbacks (70-92 5th place) Prediction: 78-84, 4th place

They should be better than last season but not good enough to challenge for the playoffs. Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson are solid starters and new import (and ex-Yankees pitcher) Ian Kennedy might surprise some people. If former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb returns from shoulder surgery they should feel good about 2011. Justin Upton, Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds are all threats for power and Upton can fly as well.

San Diego Padres (75-87 4th place) Prediction: 69-93, 5th place

Another team that’s not pretty. Maybe nobody cares because it’s San Diego and the weather is gorgeous. They don’t hit enough or pitch well enough to make any noise this year and the lead headline with these guys is whether they’ll trade their only stud hitter (first baseman Adrian Gonzalez) or closer (Heath Bell.) If the vultures are already circling before the season starts you know your season is dead.

Awards Predictions:

NL MVP: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals 1B

NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

Baseball is back! The approach of baseball season gets me more giddy than any other sport. I think it’s because as a sports fan baseball is the ultimate in feeding my sports jones. In football your team plays once a week. In basketball you get four games a week in a good week. In baseball there are 162 regular season games over six months. By the time the summer really gets here teams are playing 6 days a week. Great weather and a game on every night. Sounds like heaven to me.

There is also the way that baseball mirrors life. Every season is completely encompassed by one year. In other sports it’s the 2009-2010 season. Not baseball. It’s the 2010 season. Neat and tied up in a little bow. The seasons change in baseball right before your eyes. The early season games have players wearing knit hats and face warmers, blowing on their hands to stay warm in the field. Once the middle of the season arrives there’s great weather and baseball is the backdrop to all of the summer fun. When you look up from your meal in a restaurant or ask for another drink at a bar there’s always a ballgame on. When run to the bathroom at somebody’s barbecue 4th of July weekend you have to stop and watch an at-bat. I’m already feeling warm as I type this. Pass me another hot dog! Then we get to the fall and the weather cools to go with the intensity of the playoffs and finally baseball disappears as we have to fight through another winter, and then finally baseball comes back and brings the warm weather with it. I’m on a horse!

(more…)

Ask me what I love most in life and you’d be surprised by my answer.  Sports, Shopping, Shoes, Starbucks and Sushi…in that order (the “S’s” are merely a coincidence).  I can’t get enough of any of them and I feel I need each one to survive.  For me there has always been something a little different about me from the rest of my other girls.  Sure I love marathon shopping sprees, late night giggle fest with a bottle of Cabernet, or wearing that perfect dress that brings men to their knees; I mean who doesn’t love that.

But a girl’s gotta have her priorities…and if you drag me to the mall before a football game I better make it back home before kickoff or I’m raising hell.

For some people it’s just a game, for me it’s LIFE.  It’s really quite simple; Sports = Life.  My love of sports, football topping that list, defines who I am, and has shaped my existence.  That very existence has been molded by the men that have come in and out of my life over the years.  For as long as I can remember sports have been a part of my life, from my dad’s Super Bowl parties growing up as a kid, to my trips back and forth from Pennsylvania to Maryland to attend college football and professional games throughout  my teens, to finally becoming a love of my very own in 1999 when I discovered that  I knew just about every player’s name and number on both the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles’ roster.  It was the guys who taught me the difference between the 4-3 and the 3-4 defense.  Why pass interference and illegal contact carried different penalty yardage.  How impressive a triple double  performance in a basketball  game is.  And why the Red Sox were so excited to have finally won the World Series in 2004.  Guys shared their knowledge of the game with me, they mixed it up and teased me when I thought my Giants were unstoppable and then comforted me when I lost touch and wanted to run away from my fandom.  It’s no disrespect to the ladies who love their sports just as I do, who know them inside and out better than some of the guys.  I know plenty of women love the game as much if not more than me.

However, for me, my story in sports is my preference for a more low key existence…content with standing out in the crowd by carefully blending in, as just one of the guys.

But being one of the guys hasn’t always been easy or fun.  After being acclimated and accepted as one of their “own” I was tested and challenged, my motives were questioned and my interest probed.  I call it a rite of passage as nothing worth having is ever easy attaining or more importantly maintaining.  People often ask me why I don’t write for sites geared towards “female sports fans” which is amusing because I’ve never run across sites geared towards “male sports fans” so why would I separate myself.  Doesn’t make much sense…but honestly neither do I too many people.

Being a “female” sports fan and writer to some is a lot like rooting against the home team.  It throws people off, that I’m completely ok with the fact that my teams colors are different from everybody else.

Expect everything and leave nothing behind or to chance is how I go about my life in the sports world.  This past decade I learned a lot from the guys; however, entering into a new decade I intend to take those lessons and continue building my unique journey as one of the guys…through the eyes of a girl.

Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing with our readers that XI’s creator and sports editor, Khai G., has been asked to become a contributor for the Huffington Post (Huff Post)! The HuffPost is an American liberal news website and aggregated blog featuring various news sources and columnists.  The site offers coverage of politics, media, business, entertainment, living, style, the green movement, world news, and comedy in real-time.  The HuffPost has been a top destination for news, blogs and original content since it was launched in May 2005 by Ariana Huffington.  With all that has been covered on the HuffPost, a sports column was virtually absent.  However, next week, HuffPost will launch a sports section on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 which Khai will be a part of.  She will join an eclectic group of people – from politicians and celebrities to experts of academia and policy – who have contributed to the HuffPost since its inception.  These contributors include President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the late Senator Edward Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Congressman John Conyers, Al Franken, Michael Moore, Jamie Lee Curtis, Russell Simmons, Alec Baldwin, and Neil Young. This is such an exciting honor for Khai, whose dreams as an aspiring sports writer are coming into fruition.  Khai expresses her immense enthusiasm with XI:

“I really am at a loss for words.   I’ve been a reader of the Huffington Post for close to 4 years and to go from reader to blogger is truly a blessing.   That’s me on the sports section, my face my words are being featured, someone other than people I know and love me think my knowledge of the game is valuable.  Like wow!  This is the first step for me, so overall it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.  However, it brought a lot into focus and I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Again, it is my honor and pleasure to congratulate Khai on this new endeavor she is embarking on.  Please join me in congratulating her as well by reading her first feature article on Huffington Post: Saints Prove Perfection Isn’t Always Key on the Sports Big News Page.  And remember to log onto www.huffingtonpost.com on November 11^th when the full sports section will be rolled out and look for upcoming articles from Khai! Khai’s passion for sports and writing is undeniable!  And you won’t want to miss out on following Khai’s career and journey as she becomes one of the newest and freshest faces in sports writing and reporting.   Also, catch up with Khai somewhere running in heels chasing sports right here on www.xiximag.com!