I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that there’s a worse-hitting team than my Giants (losers of another 1-0 game on Wednesday), so I checked the stats and it’s true. The Giants are only 5th-worst.
What’s alarming, though, is that 2 of the 4 teams below them in runs scored are also in the NL West (Dodgers and Padres)…which partially explains how the Giants are in first place.
It’s official - Josh Reddick has beaten out J.D. Drew for Boston’s RF job. Ryan Kalish was supposed to get it, but he’s still rehabbing.
Question about the Trop: Are the catwalks architecturally necessary?
They need a way to replace the light bulbs when a ball hits them.
Is there really nobody with the will and financial acumen to get an outdoor park built in Tampa, say next to Ybor City and its restaurants and bars, with ready Interstate access, so the team can actually thrive? It’s actually pathetic to see more people in the stands with Red Sox gear than their own in Boston games (same story in Baltimore, btw) - but understandable given how cheap and available game tickets and air fares are.
I’ve often read that it’s the weather and abundance of other activities in the area that keep attendance down. I’m not from there though, so I don’t know. Would a new stadium have a long-term affect on attendance?
Not so much the stadium as the location. St. Pete is just a too-long, too-annoying distance from the major population centers in its market (Tampa, Orlando, the northern Atlantic coast cities). The dome’s unpleasantness as a destination is only the capper. IOW taking the roof off won’t cure the problem.
Come on, they’re had these things since the 30s:
MLB doesn’t want people with the financial acumen. They want governments to build the parks for them.
But that said, no. The group that owns the team doesn’t have that kind of money, and they’re still stuck in the lease agreement Vince Naimoli get the team into. The plurality owner, Stuart Sternberg, has been recently very vocal in his disappointment with the attendance, but he’s stuck.
Blue Jays have DFAed Jo-Jo Reyes.
Well, that’s only overdue by… let’s see, how long has it been since the year started?
Ah, I feel bad for Jo-Jo, but this is a team with a lot of good young pitchers and why they were set on giving Jo-Jo all the major league innings when it was obvious he’s a scrub I don’t know. I realize it has to do with “options,” which after 30 years of being a baseball fan I still only half understand, but Reyes is a replacement player. He seems like a nice enough guy but he doesn’t really have the breaking stuff you need in the majors.
In any event I don’t think Reyes will be claimed.
ETA: the Jays also put Scott Richmond on waivers. Maybe a trade’s in the pipeline and they need room on the 40-man roster?
Anything’s possible, I guess, although as of now the Jays 40-man is currently at 37, plus Jesse Carlson and Dustin McGowan on the 60-Day DL.
Brett Lawrie should be coming up soon, though.
Darren Oliver’s in the game for Texas right now. I think it’s cool that young Travis Snider gets to bat against a pitcher who once faced Ty Cobb.
Congratulations to Terry Francona on managerial win #1,000! A man who’s very good at his job and eminently likable to boot. I wouldn’t want anyone else running the Red Sox.
Also, Jacoby Ellsbury. Wow. Everything about this year just emphasizes what a damned shame it was that we lost him last season. I now go around thinking previously inconceivable thoughts such as, “Gee, I wish Scutaro would get on base more so that we’d get more runs when Ellsbury launches it over the fence in right again. Seems like a waste.”
**So what are the realistic rumors floating around? **
I know of nothing major with the Yanks at least but for the Mets Beltran is rumored to be going to up to 5 different contenders and it seems likely to happen.
For the Dodgers Kuroda seems to have agreed to waive his no trade clause so he will likely be dealt. He’s a good pitcher and I have heard that the Tigers, Sox, and Yankees have all sniffed at him a bit. The Brewers seem to like Jamie Carroll though they have nothing at all in their system so I am hoping he goes elsewhere. I’ll be sad to see him go because I like him as a player but would be thrilled to see LA get anything for him.
What are you saying? 40 is old? 
A lot of guys would be glad to have just the major league career Phil Niekro or Jamie Moyer had after that age.
Really nice article in the New York Times today about the minor league career of the Yankees’ Kei Igawa.
He seems like a very level-headed and composed guy, and in some ways i feel sorry for him toiling away in Scranton after coming from Japan. It would be interesting to see him get another crack at the majors when his Yankee contract is up. On the other hand, though, i don’t generally shed too many tears for someone earning four million bucks a year.
Kei Igawa is a well-paid professional baseball player, which is what he wants to be. The only crummy thing about his situation is that the Yankees have declined trades or call-ups that otherwise would seem merited, out of spite. But a lot of guys have toiled as hard as he in minor league baseball with much less to show for it.
When did the Yanks decline a trade? My understanding is he would have been gone the minute anyone offered to take his contract for a bag of balls. Or do you mean it is unfortunate they were unwilling to waive their $4 million per year mistake?
I’m sure plenty of teams would have given him a shot if he came without the contract, it is such a shame he did not agree to break his contract or take the trades that were made to go back to Japan. Then he would have had another chance to catch on with a team like the Padres that had some interest. In the end, he preferred to collect his $4m per year vs. a chance at his own self-described dream.
Never suggested otherwise; doesn’t make the story any less interesting.
Tigers took 3 out of 4 from the Minnesota Twits. That is a good weekend. But the White Sox and even the Twins are still in the hunt. The Indians seem to hang on when they look like they are in trouble. So far they have saved the season, but the fun is just beginning.